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HR and people development at the heart of business in the North East

As the North East branch of the CIPD - the professional body for HR and people development - we see great examples of businesses large and small looking after their employees and recognising how they contribute to the overall success of the business. That’s why we’re delighted to sponsor the Employer of the Year Award at the inaugural Newcastle Business Awards.

Earlier this year, TH_NK won the SME HR&D Award at our annual HR&D Awards. TH_NK went through a tough restructure when a large contract came to an end and managers knew they needed to refocus their business. The HR team brought together the leadership team to help reset their goals, vision and objectives for the next year around key themes such as talent, work and systems. This proved so successful that the HR Manager now joins the weekly executive board meetings to discuss people and talent, and the board members now advocate the value HR brings to the business.

A similar success story came from Waterstons Ltd in 2014. They introduced an innovative continuous professional development strategy through initiatives such as knowledge-sharing sessions. Any member of staff could hold sessions they felt would be of interest to others across the business to help them grow as professionals and to provide a level of knowledge, experience and customer support that their clients had come to expect and appreciate.

Good people practices can also extend beyond your traditional workforce. Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust developed “Project Choice”, a development programme that provided work experience placements to young adults aged 16-24 to gain important employability skills. Staff were actively encouraged to become mentors and were given training to develop the skills and techniques they would need to help these young adults reach their full potential. Those mentors fed back that they learned a great deal themselves and felt a sense of reward.

These are just some of the many examples we’ve seen in recent years. Our HR&D awards have been running for nine years now and each year we feel such pride at the people initiatives taking place across the region.

CIPD are sponsoring the Employer of the Year award at this year’s Newcastle Business Awards on 26th November. To nominate a business for an award or purchase tickets to the event, head over to the website.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by CIPD North East of England Branch .