THERE is a growing understanding in Northern Ireland that attracting and retaining the best staff is vital to business success.
That was the message from recruitment specialists, Brightwater speaking ahead of this year’s Chartered Institute of Personnel Development Northern Ireland (CIPD NI) awards.
The headline sponsor explained that the awards — a highly anticipated event in the HR calendar — are a platform to recognise the talented professionals across the HR and personnel development profession. Stephanie Mulholland, associate director for the company, said: “At Brightwater, we are thrilled to be headline sponsors of the awards for a fourth consecutive year, particularly at a time when the HR profession is going through such a vibrant change. There has been a renewed confidence in the Northern Ireland economy in the last two years and we have witnessed a strong increase in recruitment activity most notably in the last twelve months. This has resulted in companies putting a real onus on the importance of their HR strategy and a growing understanding that the attraction and retention of the best people is vital to continued success.
“This means a real awareness of the necessity of employee engagement, learning and development and an in-depth knowledge of compensation and benefits. To cope with this demand, organisations are continuing to hire HR professionals in volume, both generalist and specialist.
“As the economy improves, the war for talent also increases particularly in some hard to source areas such as IT, legal and multilingual, making talent retention and attraction a primary focus and priority for HR teams. Employee engagement, training opportunities and an attractive employment brand are all key in any HR strategy, regardless of the size of the organisation.”
This year’s CIPD NI awards take place at a gala ceremony in Titanic Belfast on May 19. Stephanie concluded: “We are honoured to be able to help recognise the HR professionals who play such an integral role in their company’s success.
“We are also proud to be associated with promoting the excellence within HR across the NI region.”