Investors in People was born and officially launched at that year's CBI Conference in Glasgow by then Secretary of State for Employment, the Rt Hon Michael Howard QC MP.

It was a non-departmental public body and received funding from the former UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

The organisation was based in London, United Kingdom and managed the development, policy, promotion and quality assurance of the Investors in People framework.

The current framework reflects the latest workplace trends, leading practices and employee conditions required to create outperforming teams.

Organisations are assessed against these indicators using a performance model made up of four levels: Developed, Established, Advanced, High-Performing.

[8][9] In 2009 Investors in People funded research together with the Health and Safety Executive and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development concluding that companies that treated their staff well had a better chance of surviving economic downturn.