FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 CIPD AWARDS · 2 THE JOURNAL FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 CIPD AWARDS in association with ... and restaurant discount cards. ... exible bene ts portal,

2 THE JOURNAL FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016

cipd AWARdS in association with

with thanks to our raffle sponsors

THE JOURNAL FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 3cipd AWARdS in association with

ASSOciATE SpONSORS cATEGORY SpONSORS EvENT SpONSORS

HUNDREDS of industry leaders turned out to celebrate the best of the region’s recruit-

ment and training professionals at the CIPD North East of England HR&D Awards 2016, in association with The Journal and associate sponsors Newcastle-based Nigel Wright Recruitment.

The black-tie event, held at the Newcastle Marriott Hotel, in Gosforth Park last week, saw railway system supplier Hitachi Rail take the HR&D Team of the Year title. The event was hosted by Steve and Karen of Metro Radio.

This year’s judging panel included Kelly Angus, director of human resources at Northumberland County Council; Andy Holgate, director at Holgate HR; Sue O’Donovan, managing consultant at Nigel Wright Group; Ayshea Robertson, group HR director at Bellway Plc; Dawn Robinson, global HR director at Nomad Digital; and Nicola Sharp, HR director at Ubisoft.

Elouise Leonard Cross and Sarah Carnegie are co-chairs of the CIPD North East of England Branch.

“The CIPD North East of England HR&D Awards 2016 are particularly special as they are our 10th anniver-sary awards,” says Elouise.

She adds: “Raising awareness of CIPD within the region has been a key focus for the committee through-out the year, including sponsoring the North East Business Awards, to raise the profile of HR&D and the fantastic contribution our profession makes.

“For these awards we have been delighted to welcome on board a panel of expert judges, who volun-teered their time to judge the categories alongside members of the committee and sponsors.

“A huge thank you to all this year’s judges – every year making the final category decisions is challenging as we have so much great HR&D activity but we are sure you will agree that the winners are very deserving of their award.”

Sarah Carnegie said: “Thank you to those of you that took the time to submit an entry and whose work within HR&D makes a huge contri-bution within the region, both to business performance and the experience of the individuals working within organisations.

“We would like to make a special thank you to Cintra HR & Payroll Services who have been a category sponsor every year over the last decade – a huge thanks for the ongoing support!

“The team at CIPD North East, The Journal and Nigel Wright have

worked hard over the months to make the awards an enjoyable evening.

“A huge thank you to the creativity, energy and hard work of everyone that made it possible.”

Stuart Birkett, managing director of ncjMedia, said: “We are once again proud and delighted to be at the heart of the CIPD NE of England HR&D Awards.

“Our business continues to change, with our industry-leading Newcastle digital newsroom now being truly digital first, whilst still producing award-winning newspapers. This change has delivered astonishing rates of digital audience and revenue growth via the region’s leading online newsbrand, ChronicleLive.

“However, that growth would not have been possible without a transformation of the way we work. A transformation that itself would not have been possible without the expert advice, guidance and manage-ment of our HR colleagues.

“So, we as much as anyone, know that celebrating the achievements of the HR&D profession at these awards is a vital thing to do.

“As we all know, people are the most important ingredient of our economy. To that end, The Journal’s ‘Let’s Work Together’ campaign continues to champion the cause of enterprise and education coming together to match skills and qualifi-cations with vacancies, both now and in the future.

“A cause that must succeed if we are to ensure the North East LEP’s aim of delivering more and better jobs for the region is to be realised. By its very nature, the work of HR&D professionals is sometimes hidden from view.

“However, hidden from view isn’t a phrase that’s normally associated with this lively and energetic awards ceremony - and rightly so!

“I would like to offer my congratu-lations to everyone shortlisted.”

There was a fun side to the serious business of the night with a game and raffle raising funds for St Oswald’s Hospice, which provides specialist hospice care to North East adults, young people and children with life-limiting conditions.

Just over £2,629 was raised for the charity to continue its work.

Celebrating the finest in HR&D

>The scene is set to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the CIPD North East of England HR&D Awards

>Elouise Leonard Cross, co-chair, CIPD North East of England branch

>Sarah Carnegie, co-chair, CIPD North East of England branch




HR&D TEAM OF THE YEAR

>Sponsored by

>From left, Sarah Carnegie, CIPD North East of England, sponsor of the HR&D Team of the Year Award, Julia Potts (Hitachi Rail), Helen Parkinson (Arriva), Amanda Hamilton-Parkes (Engie) and Dawn Craggs (Isos Housing)

WINNER

■ Hitachi RailHitachi Rail Europe is a total railway system

supplier and has a new manufacturing facility in Newton Aycliffe. A new team was set up to develop a recruitment plan to find, interview and identify around 700 skilled people.

Two large “Meet the Team” events were organised and almost 3,000 people attended, generating an additional 1,423 applications the following week. Some job offers were made in advance of the start date and the HR team kept those people connect-ed through different initiatives.

Julia Potts, head of HR (manufacturing) at Hitachi Rail said: “The team has worked tirelessly to make sure the entire recruitment and training experience is a positive one.”

RUNNERS-UP

■ Arriva plcArriva is one of the largest providers of

passenger transport in Europe, employing more than 55,000 people and delivering more than 2.2 billion passenger journeys each year.

The Group HR team is a small team with a big scope to provide leadership and coordi-nation across 14 European countries.

In 2015, the team facilitated a single employer brand to be developed and agreed across all countries. It also clocked up 85,000 miles in its quest for data.

■ EngieEngie is a well-established UK company

with expertise in the energy and services markets. The HR team supports 20,000 employees and has 15,000 different activities to handle each month, across 12 different payrolls.

A major achievement in 2015 was the introduction of a new centralised HR administration system. The team receive around 1,200 telephone calls a month with a low abandonment rate monitored by a new

system. There is a “can-do” culture within the team, who have worked hard to manage their day-job activities alongside the changes and consistently receive excellent customer feedback.

■ Isos HousingIsos is a not-for-profit North East housing

association, providing affordable homes to rent and buy. It is responsible for around 17,000 homes across the region.

Following a major restructure, a new OD team was established. Using feedback from managers, the HR Payroll system was upgraded to improve processes and create new workflows such as absence trigger reminders.

The team appointed new providers for occupational health and pre-employment checks to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the service. The company also launched a stepping into management programme and career mapping.


people development initiative

WINNER ■ Komatsu UK LtdKomatsu UK is part of the Global Komatsu

organisation, which is the world’s second largest manufacturer and supplier of construc-tion and mining equipment.

In 2011 the company set out on a mission to achieve zero harm and identified and eradi-cated the biggest accident causes which were manual handling and slips and trips.

In 2012 analysis showed the main reason for accidents was operator error and the company introduced behavioural safety training. All staff were encouraged to raise safety concerns with a target of one concern per person per month, and a training facility, called their ‘Safety Dojo’, was built. Staff engagement has increased from 9% to 80% which means that currently 80% of site staff are now raising safety concerns.

Paul Blanchard, manufacturing director at

Komatsu UK said: “It’s great to be recognised for people development, and in particular, for the training we have undertaken in our Safety Dojo. The team involved in promoting health and safety have worked hard to create learning activities in the Safety Dojo environment which interest and engage participants, and we are really seeing the benefits of this approach in our improved safety results.”

RUNNER-UP

■ Smart Resourcing SolutionsSmart Resourcing Solutions Limited (SRS)

offers employers, universities and students a range of graduate recruitment consultancy and outsourcing services.

The graduate recruitment market is very competitive and the Hollings Faculty at Manchester Metropolitan University had a

desire to differentiate themselves and develop a much needed skillset for their students.

Following detailed research and collabora-tion with the Careers Service, employers and industry experts, the innovative ‘Synergy’ unit was developed and introduced.

Assessments were exclusively developed by SRS with a simple vision to prepare students to compete in today’s graduate jobs market.

SRS helped the university understand the challenges presented by employers along with the steps necessary to develop a much-needed skillset enabling thousands of students to appreciate the dynamics for entry into the graduate jobs market.

SRS is growing due to successful delivery of the assessment simulations of this nature and reports 81% growth on turnover and 92% growth of net profit since its first trading year in 2013.

>From left, Alex Newman (Komatsu), Christine Paxton of NCFE, sponsor of the People Development Initiative, Paul Storey (Komatsu) and Sophie Milliken (Smart Resourcing Solutions)

>Sponsored by


reward & benefits initiative

WINNER ■ LSL Property ServicesLSL Property Services plc is a leading

provider of residential property services to both consumers and mortgage lenders.

It employs 160 people at its head office in Newcastle, which supports over 5,000 employees across the country, and reward and benefits plays a critical role for the company in both helping to attract and retain talent to the business.

LSL has launched a number of staff initiatives including improving pensions, increasing employee ownership through greater participation in all employee share plan benefits, as well as the introduction of three new flexible benefits including salary sacrifice cars, gym memberships and restaurant discount cards.

Ben Thomas, reward and benefits manager at LSL Property Services said: “It’s a privilege for LSL Property Services plc to have won the CIPD North East Award for reward and benefits initiative.

“As one of the UK’s leading property service providers – with high street brands such as Your Move and Reeds Rains estate and letting agents under our banner - we

recognise, as an employer, that when it comes to benefits one size does not fit all.

“It’s for that reason that we developed a flexible benefits portal, ChoiceMatters, which not only offers staff the choice of over 14 different flexible benefits but also helps them to appreciate the advantages of working for us.

“We’re delighted, following the team’s hard work to improve the benefits offering, to have been recognised externally and to receive such praise - echoing the great feedback we’ve had from our employees over the past year.”

RUNNERS-UP

■ Calsonic KanseiCalsonic Kansei Europe is a supplier of

heat exchange, air conditioning, exhaust, interior, and electronic automotive components. It is based in the UK, with operations throughout Europe including Washington, Tyne & Wear.

The business recognised the impor-tance of rewards and benefits following the results of a survey showing improve-ment could be made to ensure staff felt

valued and recognised for a job well done. This led to the launch of the Raise N

Praise scheme. To date there have been over 1000 cards completed with circa 360 ideas generated, 70% of which have been fully actioned, some of which with significant financial benefits.

■ GE Oil & Gas UK Ltd (Flexible Pipe Solutions)

GE Oil & Gas UK Ltd, formerly known as Wellstream International, specialises in subsea manufacturing and services.

It has a vast portfolio which operates on a global level, as well as two facilities in Newcastle.

Following challenges due to the economic climate, GE introduced a range of programmes to engage its workforce. The Benefits and Rewards & Recognition programme and Health Ahead Pro-gramme which aims to actively encourage a healthy lifestyle.

There are also various activities organised by its Sports & Social club, as well as a paid volunteering opportunities for volunteering to GE lead charity projects.

>From left, Ben Thomas (LSL), Carsten Staehr of Cintra HR & Payroll Services, sponsor of the Rewards & Benefits Initiative, Lisa Charles-Jones (LSL), Michelle Brown (Calsonic Kansei) and Dionne Kennedy (GE Oil & Gas UK Ltd)

>Sponsored by





health & wellness innovation

>From left, Lisa Davidson of Connect Health, sponsor of Health and Wellness Innovation, Claire Atkins (Muckle LLP), Dan Trainor (MSD), Nicola Bennett (Procter & Gamble) and Lorna Hodgson (Tyne and Wear Fire & Rescue Service)

>Sponsored by

WINNER

■ Muckle LLPMuckle LLP is a commercial law firm with

an annual turnover of £12m. The company runs a variety of health and

wellbeing initiatives, including Healthy Living Week, healthy breakfasts and health checks.

A small group of maternity and work-life balance coaches support maternity returners and anyone who wants to achieve a better work-life balance.

The company is flexible, with 24% of staff working different hours to a standard Monday to Friday 9am-5pm contract.

Employees can access counselling, bereave-ment support and financial wellbeing. Fitness groups created by team leaders meet up regularly.

Claire Atkins, director of HR at Muckle LLP said: “Taking a proactive approach to the health and wellbeing of our people is really important to us. Our strategy is inclusive and is aimed to support our people to be healthy and happy both at work and at home.

“We are delighted to receive this award and to celebrate the achievements of our team – it’s not down to one individual but is a Muckle team effort!”

RUNNERS-UP

■ MSDGlobal pharmaceutical company MSD is

committed to helping save and improve the lives of others with a strong focus on mental health issues.

At its Cramlington site it has created and trained a 22-strong team of staff volunteers to be mental health first aiders (MHFA).

Since launching in January 2016 within the first quarter, six employees have been helped by MHFAs directly and absence figures for the same period show an 8% reduction in days lost to mental health-related absences.

■ Procter & GambleProcter & Gamble Newcastle Innovation

Centre is a global organisation which develops laundry detergent and automatic dishwashing

products. Its Vibrant Living programme aims to touch

and improve the health and lives of employees and their families with a key focus on mental health. The Connect and Listening Minders (Calm) team provide a listening minder in each department and an employee trained in mental health first aid. Employees also have easy access to free counselling.

■ Tyne and Wear Fire & Rescue Service Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service

(TWFRS) provides the 999 response service to put out fires, rescue people from road traffic collisions/other incidents, and deal with major flooding among other services.

Staff sickness was costing the service over £1m a year, half of which was linked to poor mental health.

The initial aim was to raise awareness and encourage conversations in an effort to reduce the stigma associated with the topic of poor mental health.

There are counselling services and trauma support in place for employees when needed.

Like to find out more? call: Maureen Brown: 07718 424724Melanie Bolton: 07738 948235www.sullivanbrown.co.uk

HR RecruitmentlPermanentlInterimlTemporarylFixed termlExecutive search

In-house ConsultancylInterview and selection traininglRecruitment process reviewlOutsourced exit interviews

It’s notrocket scienceOur customers choose us as their recruitment partner because we keep it simple, know and love what we’re doing and always go the extra mile


employee engagement initiative

WINNER

■ Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust

The Trust provides mental health, learning disability and neuro-rehabilitation services to a population of 1.4 million people in the North East.

It introduced new staff engagement events called Speak Easy which kept, with both national and local work, encouraging staff to speak up, raise concerns, notably those relating to patient safety.

The trust embraced its social media platforms to promote this work further, playing a part in seeing the increase in @ntwnhs twitter followers to over 5000, the largest following for NHS trusts in the region.

Lisa Crichton-Jones, executive director of workforce and organisational development at Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I’m so proud of all the hard work undertaken by the team.

“We have radically changed our approach to employee engagement over the last couple of years and it is wonderful to see external recognition, from our professional body, for the changes made. This work has been a true partnership approach between workforce, operational managers, trade union reps and others.

“I’m absolutely delighted that we have won this CIPD award and particularly that it was for engagement given the evidence base between an engaged workforce and better clinical outcomes.”

RUNNERS-UP

■ Greggs plcWith 1,698 shops, 12 bakeries and 20,000

employees serving millions of customers each week, Greggs is the UK’s leading bakery food-on-the-go retailer.

Following a major restructure employee engagement was prioritised with the view to drive the Greggs business to be a ‘Great Place to Work’.

The strategy focused on listening to employ-ees through different forums and a new scheme called Your Ideas Matter was launched where staff could submit ideas, with more than 550 ideas received so far.

Two programmes are also in place to reward and recognise staff achievements.

■ Homes and Communities AgencyThe HCA is the government’s housing, land

and regeneration agency in cities, towns and villages across England.

Following the 2010 election the HCA

underwent a restructure and two years later the People Plan was launched to develop, support and engage staff.

It was first active engagement opportunity with employees and over 90 from across the HCA (over 10% of staff at the time) volun-teered.

Throughout the project HR&D adopted an enabling approach providing on-going engagement support, professional advice and guidance – as well as delivering business as usual activities.

■ Performance HorizonPerformance Horizon (PH) is a leading

provider of SaaS solutions for digital partner marketing, enabling brands to directly connect with their marketing partners to increase customer acquisition.

It has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2010, with just five employees, to 108 in March 2016.

In 2015, a new HR manager was tasked with setting up an HR provision from scratch and develop a strategy to support the growth of the business.

As a result, the first employee engagement survey was launched, a new global e-learning platform was introduced and a staff recogni-tion scheme was implemented.

>From left, Maureen Brown of Sullivan Brown Resourcing Partners, sponsor of the Employee Engagement Initiative, Mark Spybey (Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust), Emma Walton (Greggs), Colin McLauchlan (Homes & Communities Agency) and Nicola Leyden (Performance Horizon)

>Sponsored by




sme hr&d award

WINNER ■ Connect HealthConnect has grown from a single private

clinic to being the largest provider of community musculoskeletal (MSK) physiotherapy services in the UK.

Its human resources and development team has been restructured to ensure that its team of HR professionals are focused on particular specialisms. As a relatively new HR team, there have been outstanding achievements in the past eight months. HRD are now represented at board level and significant improvements have been made to the colleague journey.

Lisa Davidson, HR director at Connect Health said: “We are thrilled to have been awarded this year’s SME HR&D Award. Being recognised by the CIPD and the professional standards they represent is truly an honour and highlights the continued hard work of the HR team in supporting colleagues and the wider business.”

RUNNERS-UP ■ Durham CathedralDurham Cathedral is a focus of pilgrimage

and spirituality in the North East. It inhabits a treasured sacred space set in the natural and human landscape of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The work of the Cathedral’s HR&D team is diverse given the myriad of professions it employs. The Cathedral is committed to developing a modern approach and raising standards. One such development was the introduction in 2015 of a pilot training programme aimed at all staff to increase knowledge and awareness on a range of issues.

■ END.END. was founded in 2005 with the vision to

source and retail unique and globally sourced menswear worldwide.

Today END. stocks over 250 brands, with a turnover of over £26m. The past 12 months have seen 120% headcount growth and the

200th END. employee welcomed in April 2016. An HR manager was recruited in 2015, while a recruitment co-ordinator was added in 2016 to further develop best recruitment practice and work towards increasing the END. profile as an employer of choice in the North East.

■ Performance HorizonPerformance Horizon (PH), leading provider

of SaaS solutions for digital partner marketing, enables brands to directly connect with their marketing partners to increase customer acquisition and drive high margin revenues from online marketing channels.

It has grown dramatically from five employees in 2010 to 108 employees in March 2016 and is continuing to expand.

The firm’s HR manager joined in May 2015 and was tasked with setting up the HR provision from scratch and developing a HR strategy that would engage and support the growth of the business.

>From left, Sue O’Donovan from Nigel Wright, sponsor of the SME HR&D Award, Lisa Davidson (Connect Health), Helen Svensson (END.), Nicky Crombie (Durham Cathedral) and Nicola Leyden (Performance Horizon)

>Sponsored by


employability & diversity award

WINNER

■ Sage UK LtdSage is a global company and the market

leader for integrated accounting, payroll and payment software. Its roots are in the North East, with its global headquarters in Newcas-tle. Sage believes that diversity of thought and equal opportunity in its culture drives genuine innovation. This philosophy has strengthened its focus on diversity and inclusion, which is now a key strategic priority for the business. In 2015, Sage set itself the challenge of achieving a 50/50 split in its male-to-female ratio by 2020, a journey that is now well under way.

Leisa Docherty, people director at Sage said: “This award win is representative of the importance we place on our people here at Sage. We believe in giving them the best opportunities to succeed, without limits. Our diversity programmes are a critical part of this work.

“For instance, we are very proud of our apprenticeship programme where this year we aim to employee 70 ambitious young people, an increase on previous years, and our involvement in Martha Lane Fox’s Doteveryone 50/50 tech event, which is

focussed on ensuring an equal gender split in the tech industry, is another highlight.

“However, it’s important to note that the success of these programmes and indeed this award win could not have happened if it wasn’t for the brilliance of our people; incredibly focussed, highly dedicated and very talented, who help us ensure what we deliver is successful.”

RUNNERS-UP

■ Avery DennisonAvery Dennison is a global leader in

labelling and packaging materials and solutions.

The company’s applications and technolo-gies are an integral part of products used in every major market and industry. Its site in Cramlington is home to the manufacturing facility, customer service, sales and all UK-based support functions.

In 2015 Avery Dennison committed to 40% female representation at manager level and above by the end of 2018. With a strong focus on recruitment and retention, its aim has been to ensure that all recruitment shortlists include at least one female candidate.

■ Newcastle UniversityNewcastle University is a member of the

Russell Group, an elite group of research intensive universities in the UK.

Employing a diverse and inclusive work-force is central to the University’s ethos. Its ability to deliver world-class research and teaching relies on its ability to attract, develop and retain talent from the widest pool. This is true of gender diversity which has become a growing area of activity in recent years in the HE sector, in particular the desire to attract and retain more female staff and students in STEM subjects.

■ Procter & GambleProcter & Gamble is the largest consumer

goods company in the world. With operations in more than 180 countries, P&G is the company behind more than 300 of the world’s most iconic brands. Diversity & inclusion has always been a part of P&G’s DNA and all it does.

It is part of its Purpose, Values and Principles and critical to its business growth. P&G seek to value the skills, experience, perspectives that each individual brings with them in order for them to build the workforce of tomorrow.

>From left, John Baines of Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, sponsors of the Employability and Diversity Award, Lisa Docherty (Sage UK Ltd), Lynsey Greenall (Avery Dennison), Richard Boggie (Newcastle University), and Alison Melling (Procter & Gamble)

>Sponsored by

Documents

FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 CIPD AWARDS · 2 THE JOURNAL FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 CIPD AWARDS in association with ... and restaurant discount cards. ... exible bene ts portal,