CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, has announced that entries are now open for its prestigious CIPD Wales awards, as the event returns in person for 2023.
After an unprecedented two years, the awards will provide an opportunity to reflect on successes and resilience; how HR teams and individuals adapted and innovated at speed to support employees and workforces across Wales to respond to and keep working during the pandemic and beyond as the needs of employees and nature of work has changed at a dramatic pace.
The awards celebrate the very best in human resources and people development practice across Wales as the country returns to the new normal and showcases how measures introduced have helped protect workforces and enable business growth.
The ceremony will take place at Cardiff’s City Hall on Friday 3rd March 2023, following the annual CIPD Wales Conference, being held earlier that day.
Head of CIPD Wales, Lesley Richards said:
“The last two years have really shown that the people profession across Wales is a force for change. The 2023 awards are an opportunity for organisations to show how they changed, adapted and transformed during the pandemic to protect their people has really made a difference to their business or organisation.
“It is time to recognise the individuals and teams that supported our organisations throughout the last few years ensuring we are in the best place to ultimately ‘build back better’. With the CIPD Wales Conference being held earlier in the day, we look forward to celebrating all that the profession in Wales has to offer.”
The entrants will be judged and moderated by a panel of highly experienced senior professionals and practitioners across HR and learning and development.
Organisations can enter any number of the 12 categories, three of which specifically recognise individuals within the People profession.
This year’s CIPD Wales Awards categories include:
1. Best Apprenticeship Scheme – recognises high-quality apprenticeship programmes that demonstrate clear alignment with the organisation’s business and people strategies, are well integrated into the organisation’s wider workforce planning, provide opportunities for learners to progress, and support efforts to increase diversity and inclusion.
2. Best Hybrid/Flexible Working Initiative – enables organisations to demonstrate how they excelled in their response to Covid-19, going through a significant journey and supporting managers and employees through the transition. Entrants should demonstrate agility, how they adopted an employee-centric approach and an appropriate leadership style.
3. Best Diversity and Inclusion Initiative – recognising employers that are moving the D&I agenda forward, challenging inequalities, overcoming resistance, breaking down barriers and bias and making change happen.
4. Best Health and Wellbeing Initiative – recognising employers that place employee well-being centre stage within the organisation and have embedded a strong culture of workplace well-being.
5. Best HR Consultant / Consultancy – recognising the range of relationships between consultants/consultancies and a client organisation, whether delivering a specific piece of work, or providing a breadth of support on a retained basis. Additionally, organisations can nominate consultants/consultancies/suppliers who have positively impacted the business.
6. Best Learning and Development/Organisation Development Initiative – recognising entries that demonstrate strong links between achieving business goals and organisation development activity, and/or learning and development strategies to boost skills and improve performance.
7. Best In-House Team – recognising people teams that have worked together to demonstrate excellence in HR leadership and have partnered across the organisation to deliver value through people interventions, particularly throughout challenging and changeable times.
8. Best Resourcing and Talent Management Initiative – recognising creative and effective talent attraction, retention, talent management, workforce planning and restructuring strategies that take into account current and future needs. Showing how activity has benefitted the organisation, met business objectives, supported organisational agility and provided an organisation-wide pipeline.
9. Best HR Student – successful students apply what they have learned to bring about real business benefits. We’re looking for an exceptional individual who is currently studying or who completed a recognised CIPD qualification in 2022.
10. Rising Star of the People Profession – recognising early career individuals who have set themselves apart in their HR journey by having a meaningful impact in their workplace.
11. Excellence in HR Leadership – This new award recognises an individual responsible for the design and delivery of a highly impactful people strategy clearly aligned to their organisation’s objectives which has made a significant contribution to organisational performance and success.
12. Outstanding Contribution in the Field of People Development in Wales – this prestigious award is presented to an individual in recognition of their outstanding and exceptional contribution to the profession within Wales.
More information on the application process, judges and the Awards are available at www.cipdwalesawards.co.uk.
Entries close on 30th December 2022.
Sponsors for this year’s awards include Hugh James and Human Resourcing, Hoop Human Resources, HR Spectrum and Welsh Government, with sponsorship for some categories still available.
Previous CIPD Wales Awards have recognised some of Wales’ top businesses and organisations, including: Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Target Group, SA Brain, National Assembly for Wales, Companies House, Bridgend College, Welsh Ambulance Service Trust, Circle IT and Conduit Global.
