THE depth of excellence within the HR profession in Northern Ireland was recognised at the CIPD Northern Ireland 2016 Awards gala.
CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development which has a 3000-plus membership in Northern Ireland, presented prizes across 10 categories to teams, individuals and organisations.
B/E Aerospace was named HR Team of the Year at the event in Titanic Belfast.
The judges said the HR professionals from the company based in Kilkeel, Co Down, deserved recognition for delivering a comprehensive people agenda which ensured employees had access to a strong learning resource with increased internal promotions and new flexible agreements recognising diversity and challenges faced.
They also noted the team from B/E Aerospace had worked tirelessly to increase organisational efficiencies.
The category was sponsored by principal awards sponsor Brightwater Recruitment Specialists.
The Consultancy of the Year accolade, sponsored by Health Shield, was won by Momentum Human Capital.
The judges applauded the Momentum team for overcoming a challenging situation by developing a strategy with clear objectives and robust and defensible actions.
And Linda Hutchinson of NIAMH was named as top HR Director for her comprehensive implementation of an HR strategy supported by strong metrics in a challenging environment with funding and organisational constraints. Worthingtons Solicitors was the category sponsor.
The Employee Engagement Initiative of the Year award, backed by Investors in People, was won by Northern Ireland Electricity.
The judges said the company had displayed an inclusive approach to addressing engagement involving senior managers right through to the industrial workforce.
South West College picked up the Health and Wellbeing prize, which was backed by Carecall, for producing a well planned programme aimed at supporting a learning ecosystem with great results.
One of the new awards for 2016, for best Talent Management Programme, went to The Macklin Group, which was praised for developing a solution to the problem of recruiting and retaining skilled staff in a challenging environment. It was sponsored by Frontier Software.
Another new category was for Most Effective Recruitment Strategy, backed by Core HR. Grafton Recruitment won the award for responding effectively to a high profile inward investment opportunity in an important sector for the developing Northern Ireland economy.
Ulster University Business School supported the Organisational Learning and Development category. The winner, Moy Park, was recognised for having a far reaching strategy aimed at all levels of the organisation that promoted core company values.
Lisa Dargavel of Neueda Consulting was voted top HR Student. The judges noted she had helped to create a culture of shared values in the technology firm, as well as developing an employee engagement strategy.
CIPD NI chair Paul Gillen presented the Chair’s Special Achievement Award to Gordon Milligan from Translink, who has more than 30 years’ experience in HR.
The award is presented annually by CIPD NI’s Executive Committee to an HR professional who has exemplified the strategic role of HR and who serves as a role model within the profession in Northern Ireland.