The society has not only been re-accredited with Investors in People status, which it was originally granted in 1998, but it also achieved the Leadership and Management standard for the way it develops its staff.

The Scarborough firm now joins only a small number of businesses in the region to attain the high quality necessary to be awarded the standard of Leadership and Management.

John Carrier, chief executive of Scarborough Building Society, said: "The award of these quality standards is testament to the level and quality of investment Scarborough puts into its people.

"Our leadership and management development schemes are constantly being enhanced to ensure that we are offering the best possible opportunities to our people, whatever their job role.

"This is not only central to our ethos, but is also key to achieving our future aspirations as an established, successful and growing Scarborough business."

One scheme the company was praised for was its Leadership and Management Development Prog-ramme, which helps to select staff from across the business to develop their skills and improve their capability in order to prepare them to take on greater responsibility in the future.

Peter Taylor is from Yorkshire and Humberside Assessment Limited, the organisation which represents Investors in People UK in this region. He said: "Scarborough Building Society is a major business in the locality which has invested substantially in its people over the past five years to continue enhancing and developing them in support of its culture, values and standards.

"Investors in People is all about supporting businesses in achieving their people aspirations in order to make them rewarding places to work, and the feedback we received from everyone we spoke to during our visit to the business was very positive about Scarborough as a professional, caring employer.

"Scarborough's ACHIEVE values are at the centre of its culture, and they are all about openness, positivity, team work, continuous improvement and aiming for excellence, particularly in customer service.

"It was clear that the employees we spoke to were very proud of these values and felt the business was continuing to enhance its reputation as a good place to work and one which is committed to its people and their ongoing development.

"I was delighted to also award Scarborough the Leadership standard, as its work to develop its managers of the future can only help towards its aspiration of being an employer of choice."