The Excellence through People accreditation is Ireland's national standard for human resource development. Its two main objectives are to encourage the development of employees to their full potential so as to maximise their contribution to the specific needs of the organisation and to show recognition for organisations that have achieved this standard.

The award is achieved by organisations that have best practice Human Resource Systems in place, particularly in the area of staff training and development, communication, and staff involvement in the decision making processes in the organisation.

The Central Statistics Office achieved the Platinum Level Excellence Through People Award in 2008. This is the highest level of this award and CSO was the second Government Department to receive it. This prestigious award is a great achievement on behalf of staff. It is an external validation of the commitment and effort of all employees to their own learning and development as well as their involvement, as individuals and part of a team in the continuous improvement of the operation of the organisation.