Tredegar based Penn, one of the UK’s leading providers of fully integrated pharmaceutical outsourcing services, was re-audited last month against the revised Standard, which assesses organisations against 10 indicators. The indicators examine areas such as whether or not the organisation has a clear vision and strong business strategy in place that is understood at all levels, equal opportunities in training and development and evidence of good communication. Strong emphasis is also placed on defined management competencies and leadership skills, recognition of individual performance, investment in learning and development and an evaluation process that measures contribution to business performance. Particular areas of best practice noted by the auditors included business planning, management competencies, employee involvement, sharing of knowledge and expertise and customer care. Valerie Ellis, Director of HR at Penn commented: "As a service provider in the pharmaceutical industry where the work involved calls for specialist skills, investment in people needs to be high. IiP accreditation however goes beyond this. Our retention of the Standard also recognises our strong leadership skills, attention and commitment to business planning and strategy and overall improved business performance – areas that are important to us as we continue a period of growth in both headcount and revenue." The Investors in People accreditation is a proven and flexible framework that helps UK companies succeed through improved performance of its people and processes. Penn Pharmaceutical Services Ltd is a leading provider of outsourced pharmaceutical development services to the international healthcare industry. The company’s core business expertise includes a fully comprehensive product development service, which consists of formulation and analytical development, clinical trial manufacturing, packaging and supply management and extensive contract manufacturing. Penn also offers CMC Consultancy and Qualified Person (QP) Services.