Organisations that provide robust support to help individual contributors transition to become first-time managers and instil confidence when diving into their new role will be shortlisted as finalists. Judges will crown teams whose programmes set new managers up for success in their new role, by equipping them with the tools, knowledge and behaviours that they need to build and motivate their team.

Focused on grooming high potential talent across various career stages from early, mid to top-level for leadership positions, judges are on the lookout for effective and all-rounded management training programmes. Entries that showcase how relevant and consistent management training has enabled the talent to execute business strategies, and contribute to long-term success will be frontrunners in the judges’ eyes.

This award recognises the efforts of organisations in developing high caliber graduates that are either recent school leavers or those with one-two years of work experience. The judges will determine the success of the organisation by its ability to display success in grooming young talent to become future leaders through an accelerated learning environment, formal training, purposeful business opportunities and professional development.

This category celebrates organisations that advocate for a collaborative, positive and open approach to women empowerment and leadership. Entries that highlight how the organisation supports and nurtures a growing pool of talented female professionals, while pushing to become an equal opportunity employer in all aspects of rewards, performance and development will take home this award.

HR and leadership functions are under extreme pressure to proactively prepare organisations for the long road to recovery. With that, this category looks at leadership development strategy as a whole, the effectiveness of the various programmes, and the business benefits accrued as a result of developing high-quality leaders. As such, leadership programmes that focus on communication skills, soft skills training and more will rise above the rest as winners.

This award will spotlight HR teams that not only prioritise developing the organisation’s cross-functional capabilities in its agenda, but also enable the breaking of silos across teams and business units to allow for more collaborative leadership transformation. The entrants would have proactively put in place programmes that enable employees to move between functions and business units with the objective of development and best practice sharing.

This category acknowledges organisations that have successfully managed their remote workforce, including gig workers, through their work-from-home and flexible working arrangements pre, post and during the pandemic. Entries that emphasise how organisational leaders have successfully leveraged on digital technologies to keep a pulse on employees without causing disruptions to workflow processes and business productivity will win.

Equal opportunity employment goes beyond numbers and quotas, to unlock inclusive policies that do not discriminate in recruiting, hiring, training or promoting whatsoever. The winning entry should demonstrate that the organisation has taken active steps in recognising and celebrating all forms of diversity, not limited to race, gender, age, sexuality, culture and physical capabilities; and has put in place policies for inclusion across the workforce.

Managing succession has come more into focus than ever before. Judges are on the lookout for the future-focused practice of identifying the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform certain functions and then developing and executing a plan to prepare multiple individuals to potentially perform those functions.

In the face of dramatic contextual jolts, HR deliverables of talent, leadership, and organisation become even more pivotal. Winning entries are those that clearly indicate how HR helps leaders make bold business decisions, instil confidence with all stakeholders through clear crisis communication, and have a robust business continuity plan in place to ensure the business stays afloat.

Leading organisations are able to deliver a gold-quality employee experience by capitalising on the wide array of internal and external communication channels. HR teams that have transformed the business through their effective and transparent communication strategy should enter. Winners of this category are those that have leveraged on social media and other innovative practices to reliably communicate key messaging to various stakeholders, to keep them highly engaged on the progress of business decisions.

Recent times have seen some of the most challenging socio-economic times and brought with them a real test of leadership. This category is a remarkable opportunity to recognise a leader who has demonstrated leadership at any level, from the frontline to C-suite, and has stepped up to help individuals and teams navigate personal and business challenges. Inspirational leaders who showcase how they leverage on their ambition and vision to spark confidence in others, motivate, engage and drive high performance will win.

An in-house learning academy is on the wish list of a majority of L&D professionals who are able to devote the time, investment and resources to pooling together expertise internally. However, an academy today is no longer just a physical learning space, but rather a library of content that organisations provide their employees. Winners in this category must demonstrate their expertise in building a sound infrastructure that enables functional, technical and business learning.

Increasingly, organisations are on the lookout for the right talent to compete effectively in the global market. This award recognises companies that offer exciting international and/or regional exposure through a talent exchange or mobility programme. The programme must be geared at developing in-demand skills, fuelling employees’ growth, sharing best practices, strengthening organisational culture, and building a pipeline of global-ready talent through internships and overseas work opportunities.

Leading the future of work transformation, L&D programmes form a key element of robust talent development and business progression. Workplace learning empowers employees to hone new skills and grow professionally, while on the business front, it helps to engage the workforce and increase productivity. HR teams that integrate blended learning and unlock talent capabilities through learning tech and tools to improve bottom line business productivity will emerge victorious.

This award celebrates organisations that value professional and lifelong continuing education as an essential foundation of capability development through benchmarked standards of excellence. Judges are on the lookout for in-house certification programmes which are tailored to suit the needs of employees and the business, and are built with a view to progressively enhance the competencies of the workforce.

HR professionals themselves must embody the value of upskilling to remain strategic and trusted business partners. Entries that highlight focus on the HR team’s own development, by providing a plethora of innovative developmental opportunities and build in-house cross-functional expertise in HR will ensure a win in this category.
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