NZ HR Awards 2021

In May, New Zealand’s leading HR professionals gathered to celebrate industry success at the NZ HR Awards ceremony. Human Resources magazine reviews this glamorous and prestigious night.

Finalists, sponsors, fellow HR professionals and their guests enjoyed a special night as people celebrated in person, and joined via live stream, for the first time. Postponed from March, due to the COVID lockdown in Auckland, attendees commented on how exciting it was to be able to network face to face once again.

The awards were split into two categories: individual and organisational. The Individual Awards recognise the contributions of leading HR professionals across New Zealand. Our congratulations go to all the deserving winners and finalists. The Organisational Awards recognise the contributions of HR teams and organisations across New Zealand.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw HR teams pushed to the frontline of response, having to adapt systems and processes with limited or no in-person contact. The role these HR professionals and teams played was vital to the survival of many New Zealand organisations, and these awards reflect that.

Nick McKissack, HRNZ Chief Executive, summarised the special feeling on the night, saying, “HR professionals throughout New Zealand really rose to the occasion in 2020 as workplaces experienced massive disruptions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been great to take some time to celebrate the truly amazing achievements of the HR community at our annual Awards Ceremony. Our heartfelt congratulations [go] to all the finalists and winners.”

Sake Hitman, LHH New Zealand Country Manager and Principal Partner of the Awards, extended congratulations to the winners and finalists. “We often forget that the work our HR professionals do directly impacts individuals and members of our community,” said Sake. “It’s an honour and a pleasure to join with HRNZ in recognising the positive impact of and excellence in HR initiatives that demonstrate innovation and responsibility. On behalf of LHH, I’d like to, once again, congratulate all of our award winners.”

Sake Hitman, Country Manager, LHH

In association with Principal Partner LHH, HRNZ announced the following winners of the prestigious NZ HR Awards for 2021.

Lifetime Achievement Award recipient – Frances Tweedy

HRNZ Branch of the Year – Auckland Branch

Best Wellness Programme winners – Chorus

Leadership Award winner & HR Person of the Year – Amy Clarke, Statistics NZ

Individual Award winners

• HR Student of the Year: Rebecca Ralph (Victoria University of Wellington)

• Emerging HR Practitioner: Sona Valesyan (Tonkin + Taylor)

• HR Generalist of the Year – Natasha Holloway (Fulton Hogan)

• HR Specialist of the Year: Bonita McCarthy (Fonterra)

• Leadership Award in association with Sorted at Work: Amy Clarke (Stats NZ)

• HR Person of the Year: Amy Clarke (Stats NZ)

• Lifetime Achievement Award in association with Strategic Pay: Frances Tweedy.

Organisational Awards winners

• Diversity and Inclusion: SkyCity Entertainment Group

• HR Innovation: Jade Software

• Learning and Development Capability in association with Open Polytechnic: New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research

• Organisational Change and Development in association with LHH: Whangarei District Council

• Technology in association with Ceridian: Vodafone

• Talent Acquisition in association with Aims Global: Summerset Holdings

• Best Wellness Programme in association with Southern Cross: Chorus

• HRNZ Branch of the Year: Auckland

It was a big night for Amy Clarke from Stats NZ, who was a finalist in the HR Generalist Award, won the HR Leadership Award and the prestigious HR Person of the Year Award (which is selected from the winners of the individual awards). The judges were impressed that Amy actively leads a generalist HR team while simultaneously operating as the organisation’s subject matter expert in diversity and inclusion, for which it is clear Amy has a major passion.

In announcing Amy as HR Person of the Year, the Chief Judge commented, “Amy deserves this award because she operates at a very senior and effective level as a proven HR leader, an effective HR generalist manager and as a committed and passionate subject matter expert in diversity and inclusion. Amy makes a meritorious people contribution within her organisation and in the wider community.”

The new HR Student of the Year Award attracted a lot of entries, with four deserving finalists named. Rebecca Ralph was named Student of the Year, with the judges commending her proactive approach to networking, in particular, her role as student ambassador in the Wellington region.

Sona Valesyan from Tonkin + Taylor was awarded the Emerging HR Practitioner Award. The judges were impressed with Sona’s willingness to take on specialist tasks, such as involvement in wellbeing and diversity and inclusion teams. She also operates significantly outside of the business, involving herself in many external groups relating to HR and engineering, and in community groups, particularly focusing on youth and employment.

The HR Generalist of the Year Award went to Natasha Holloway from Fulton Hogan. Without any formal qualification in HR, Natasha followed her passion working to build her knowledge through practical on-the-job training. The judges commented, “Natasha has risen to a senior role providing the highest quality of people leadership whilst externally working in community initiatives relating to apprenticeships and other youthfocused activities.”

The HR Specialist of the Year Award went to Bonita McCarthy, who operates the reward management, mobility, performance, and people analytics speciality globally for Fonterra. The judges were impressed that Bonita’s complex specialist activities span the entire company and include operating at the highest strategic level on a regular basis, making a real difference to the company and its people.

The Lifetime Achievement Award, in association with Strategic Pay, was presented to HRNZ Distinguished Fellow Frances Tweedy in recognition of her lifelong dedication to the human resources industry in New Zealand and her incredible achievements throughout her career.

SkyCity Entertainment Group took out the Diversity and Inclusion Award for Project Nikau. The main objective of Project Nikau was to achieve their Character and Culture goals and deliver on their sustainability strategy, ultimately enhancing their social licence to operate, while also building a pipeline of talent for SkyCity.

Jade Software won the HR Innovation Award for its “Hybrid Way of Working” or HWoW initiative. Described as a reimagined way of working, HWoW enabled Jade staff to define where they work from and have a level of flexibility on when they do their hours, to better enable them to balance their lives.

The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research won the Learning and Development Capability Award in association with Open Polytechnic for its mentoring programme. In formalising the natural mentoring relationships that were occurring, Plant and Food Research brought together a focus on career values aligned to creating a smart green future with a collaborative workforce.

Whangarei District Council won the Organisational Change and Development Award in association with LHH for its Our Korero initiative, which led to the formation of a group tasked with developing a strategy set by staff. Both the tikanga and action plan were made up of the things that mattered most to their people.

Vodafone won the Technology Award in association with Ceridian for its Vlife app. The Vlife app was enhanced to reduce disruption during the changing COVID alert levels, and additional and innovative functionality was added to Vlife to support the new ways of working. This ensured teams stayed connected when working remotely and enabled digital management of the health, safety and wellbeing of their people.

Summerset Holdings won the Talent Acquisition Award in association with Aims Global for the implementation of its iLearn learning management platform. The Summerset Learning and Development team fast-tracked iLearn. They repurposed it so new staff could begin their on-boarding and orientation programmes from home while they self-isolated. This ensured they met their clinical risk-mitigation plans, ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of Summerset’s people.

Chorus won the Best Wellness Programme in association with Southern Cross for the overhaul of its wellness programme, to develop a wellbeing support model focused on Courageous korero, a dedicated intranet space, the development of a mental fitness network (monthly support group) and participation in national awareness campaigns, such as Pink Shirt Day.

Auckland Branch was awarded the HRNZ Branch of the Year for 2021. The Auckland Committee worked tirelessly to continue delivering a variety of quality events online during the COVID-19 lockdown. With a focus on putting faces to names, Auckland Branch Committee Members created profiles, sharing them to the Auckland LinkedIn group page, to increase the profile of the Committee and provide greater connection with its Members.