HRM Awards 2012: Honouring the nation’s best HR practices

The official launch of the HRM Awards 2012, the recognised benchmark for industry best practices in human resources organised by the Association of Human Resource Professionals, was held yesterday.

Organised for the fifth time, the Awards, which commenced in 2002, aim to provide a platform for public and private sector companies in Sri Lanka to evaluate the effectiveness of their HRM practices against internationally-accepted guidelines.

Widely considered a prestigious accolade that honours the passion and commitment of organisations whose innovative thinking and strategies have broken new ground in human resource management, being ranked as one of the HR ‘Super 10’ organisations is considered one of the top honours in the corporate world.

“The Awards and learning conference provide a forum at which Sri Lankan HR professionals can meet, fraternise and work towards the betterment of the profession and nation and furthermore, provides professional development and a knowledge sharing platform,” stated HRP President Gayathri Chakravarthy at the launch.

The HRM Awards has a track record for recognising and celebrating the very best in HR every biennium. Initially launched by the Association of Human Resource Professionals to benchmark the ‘Best HRM Practices’ in Sri Lanka, the Awards have since then evolved into a competitive arena in which corporate giants and small enterprises alike compete for recognition and ranking as one of the ‘Super 10’ practitioners of HRM in the country.

To keep up with the rapidly changing world of business the evaluation processes have been constantly fine tuned since its inception and a comprehensive range of awards criteria has now been developed for the HRM Awards 2012 to more effectively assess the success of internal HRM processes of local companies, in a modern business setting that throws unexpected challenges at both organisations and HR professionals on a daily basis.

The HRM Awards this year will feature 10 Gold Awards, 10 Silver Awards and 6 special category awards to the private sector. A new addition to this year’s Awards is the participation of the public sector with three special gold and silver awards.

The eminent panel of judges, comprising of prominent local and international HR professionals and industrialists, will pay special attention to processes that enhance productivity, promote employee growth and give organisations a competitive, long term advantage in their respective fields of business. The scientifically designed evaluation tool which is in the form of a comprehensive questionnaire will first evaluate the best practices of participants against established norms and benchmarks facilitated by AON Hewitt.

Short listed organisations will then be ranked and assessed according to a set process by a panel of independent auditors from AON Hewitt. Points will be given accordingly and the ‘Super 10’ Gold & Silver winners will be announced at a formal ceremony, the HRM Awards Night, in July 2012. A key feature of the independent judging process is that strict confidentiality is maintained throughout the evaluation, with organisations being identified by a code number based on points/merit and the names of the participants being released to judges, committee members and the public only after the winners have been confirmed.

The Awards Ceremony will also coincide with a learning conference that will focus on the best practices advocated in the HRM Awards, as well as other topics of relevance with regard to human talent management in the present local and global context.

The Learning Conference 2012 will create a platform for business leaders, CEOs, CFOs and human resource professionals to deliberate and discuss how HR creates sustainable growth for organisations.

Thought provoking sessions on multiplying value through employee brand equity, ROI through high employee engagement, creating the workplace of the future, etc., together with power packed technical sessions on HR metrics for efficiency and effectiveness will also be discussed. The HRM Awards Learning Conference will feature international and local speakers of repute and will be held as a precursor to the HRM Awards.

The HRM Awards 2012 too, will be partnered by AON Hewitt Associates India – the largest human resources consulting and outsourcing solutions provider in the world. As the content partner of the HRM Awards 2012, AON Hewitt will use its experience and expertise to add value to the Awards in a manner that will benefit participants across the board.