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Record number of entries as HR Leadership & Management Awards 2019 shortlist announced

The fifth HR Leadership & Management Awards will take place on May 9th, with a record number of entries and attendees

HR professionals will gather from all over the country for the big night on May 9th

Fri May 3 2019 - 14:30

Now in its fifth year, the recent shortlist announcement for the HR Leadership & Management Awards has served as further evidence of its growing importance to the sector's calendar. With a 25 per cent increase on entering companies from 2018, as well as a 20 per cent increase in the number of attendees who will gather on May 9th for the awards ceremony.

With 21 categories to be decided, two that have, interestingly, garnered the highest number of entries are: Most Effective Use of Internal Communications and Most Effective Employee Engagement.  Both form part of a larger overall conversation about the challenges that HR departments across business face at present, in terms of how they evolve with the technological revolution.

With recent research, by SD Worx, showing that over half of European employees now interact with their HR department through their own personal device, it’s clear how important internal communication and employee engagement is in today’s climate.

Other stand-out categories for this year’s awards include:

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  • Best Health & Wellbeing Strategy
  • Best Talent Management Strategy
  • Best Public Sector HR Initiative
  • HR Manager of the Year
  • HR Team of the Year

Among those shortlisted are: Google, Three Ireland, Goodbody, HSE, and German discount supermarkets, Lidl and Aldi.

AbbVie’s Associate Director of HR in Ireland, Samantha Commons, said: "AbbVie is committed to helping our employees balance their work and their personal lives. With this in mind, we work hard to deliver impactful wellness initiatives which deliver measurable positive outcomes. This shortlisting reflects our continued ambition to create a safe, secure, pleasant and sustainable working environment for all of our people."

The award winners will be decided by a judging panel of experts drawn from around the HR industry and other peer groups. This year’s panel is led by Shannon Consulting’s Brenda Dooley.

Speaking about the standard of this year’s entries, Dooley said:

‘The quality and range of entries just keeps getting better and better.  The HR community is leading great work in their various organisations across a range of people issues including employee engagement, wellbeing, communications and diversity.  The judges were extremely impressed with the clear impact the work is making on human capital.’

Full judging panel:

  • Head Judge is Brenda Dooley, Shannon Consulting
  • Paul Aherne, principal consultant, Ascend
  • Shirley Comerford, chief executive officer, Public Appointments Service
  • Professor Edel Conway, Prof in HRM and organisational psychology, DCU Business School
  • Kenneth D Glynn, senior director for Europe, Beacon HRM Group
  • Dr. Caitriona Hughes, lecturer in HRM and Programme Director Masters in HRM, National College of Ireland
  • Alan Jordan, partner, The Business Troubleshooters
  • Rosarii Mannion , national director for human resources, Health Service Executive
  • Hugh O'Brien, head of human resources, Applegreen Ireland
  • Breda O'Toole, head of product development and transformation, IDA Ireland
  • Claire O'Reilly, head of the HR Strategy Unit, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
  • ​Mary Patterson, operations director, Momentum Support
  • Brenton Ward, pensions consultant, Mount Street Group, COO & Co-Founder, WIZE Mentoring

Zellis are one of the sponsors of this year’s awards. Reflecting on their involvement, Simon Garvey, sales director and country manager, Ireland, said  "We’re delighted to be sponsoring the HR Leadership & Management Awards this year, with so many teams and individuals being recognised for their hard work and dedication. This event really shines a spotlight on all the amazing things being done to benefit employee wellbeing, engagement and diversity throughout Ireland."

Joe Creegan, head of Corporate Life and Pensions, Ireland, from Zurich, also spoke about why they are involved as sponsors, saying: "Zurich, a leading provider of corporate pension solutions in Ireland, is delighted to sponsor the HR Awards because we believe that the HR team is critical in driving basic values like integrity, diversity, teamwork and customer centricity, building trust between all the stakeholders in an organisation."

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The full shortlist is available below.

Overall Excellence in HR

The winner of this award will be announced at the awards ceremony on May 9th .

[ Zellis ]

Liz Joyce, director of HR at Central Bank of Ireland

[ Zurich ]

  • Clayton Hotel Dublin Airport
  • Hermitage Medical Clinic
  • Irish Wheelchair Association
  • MSD Ireland
  • National HR Performance Unit, HSE
  • Three Ireland

HR Manager of the Year

  • Patricia Daly, The Alzheimer Society of Ireland
  • Nicola Dillon, St. Columcille's Hospital, Ireland East Hospital Group
  • Roseanne Killeen, Our Lady's Hospital Navan, Ireland East Hospital Group
  • Claire McGrath, Google
  • Sinead O'Toole, Dalata Hotel Group

HR Rising Star of the Year

  • Fiona Culligan, Permanent TSB
  • Marcie Green, The Taxback Group
  • Lisa Harmer, Three Ireland
  • Aideen Hartnett, Aramex Ireland
  • Maura MacNally, Zurich Insurance
  • Andrew Magee, HSE
  • Shane O'Connor, Clayton Hotel Dublin Airport

Best Public Sector HR Initiative

  • Health Service Leadership Academy,HSE
  • Introducing Agile Working, Ervia
  • People's Needs Defining Change, Health Services Change Guide, HSE
  • Tallaght Hospital Heroes,Tallaght University Hospital
  • Walkways , Tallaght University Hospital
  • Workwell, Workplace Health & Wellbeing Unit, National HR, HSE

Best SME HR Initiative

  • Trūata
  • Voltedge Management
  • VOYA Organic Beauty

Best Recruitment Agency & HR Team Partnership

  • Clark & Teagasc
  • Sigmar Recruitment & FS Managed Services

Best Learning & Development Strategy

  • CBRE
  • Dalata Hotel Group
  • Goodbody
  • Health Service Leadership Academy - HSE
  • HedgeServ

[ Aon ]

  • Ardmac
  • Aspire - Aura Holohan Group
  • Cadetship - Laya Healthcare
  • Goodbody
  • MSD Ireland

Best Change Management Programme

  • People's Needs Defining Change, Health Services Change Guide - HSE HR
  • Voltedge Management

[ DeCare Dental ]

  • Digital Marketing Institute
  • Eversheds Sutherland
  • Goodbody
  • Tricel
  • VOYA Organic Beauty
  • WellFit - Aura Holohan Group

[ Aon ]

  • AbbVie Vitality
  • Actavo
  • GroupLife ,The Taxback Group
  • HedgeServ
  • Live It, MSD Ireland
  • Our Way to Wellbeing,Three Ireland
  • Salesforce Ireland

Best Use of CSR in HR

  • Aldi Ireland
  • Connecting Better Mental Health, Three Ireland
  • Taxback Give Back - The Taxback Group

[ Zellis ]

  • MSD Ireland
  • Relaunch Your Career, Mastercard
  • Salesforce Ireland
  • Vodafone Ireland

Most Innovative Use of Technology

  • MyLearning, Abtran
  • The Use of Digital Learning In Safeguarding Children, Tusla
  • Voltedge Management

Most Effective Use of Internal Communications

  • 30k30Days for Childline, Vodafone Ireland
  • Building your Future, Glenveagh Properties
  • Communicating Effectively in a Crisis, Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland
  • Creating Employee Advocacy in a Crisis, Irish Water and Ervia
  • Delivering a Better Connected Life,Three Ireland
  • GroupTalk, The Taxback Group
  • HR Listen and Learn, Irish Wheelchair Association
  • My Aldi, Aldi Ireland
  • Strength in Balance, Version 1

Most Effective Employee Engagement Strategy

  • Career Spotlight, Bank of Ireland
  • Culture at the Core of Employee Engagement Excellence, Collins McNicholas Recruitment & HR Services Group
  • Digital Marketing Institute
  • DPD Ireland
  • Employee Engagement Journey, Surmodics
  • HR Roadshow, Irish Wheelchair Association
  • Our Way,Three Ireland
  • Sports and Social, Bringing Us Together, Irish Life & Canada Life

Most Effective Rewards & Benefits Strategy

  • Glenveagh Properties
  • MSD Ireland
  • Takeda Ireland

HR Supplier of the Year

  • CR Payroll Solutions
  • HireHive
  • Sigmar Recruitment
  • Umbrella Wellnes

Best Employer Branding Programme

  • Ardmac
  • Glenveagh Properties
  • Vodafone Ireland

We would like to remark that our annual Rewards & Benefit Summit has a day and place to happen, November 19th at Croke Park Stadium, Dublin. If you are not currently within the BusinessRiver HR community, but are a practitioner who would like to attend, then there is a registration page with further information and where contact details can be entered: businessriver.rbsummit.ie

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