What does it take to be an 'award-winning' HR leader?

While 2020 was synonymous with surviving the pandemic, 2021 has become more about thriving. After a year full of learning opportunities and accelerated transformation, leaders had to shift gears from crisis mode to opportunity. In a global human capital trends study, Deloitte found that HR leaders had effectively handled everything thrown their way during the crisis, thereby raising their reputation across the organisation. Their standing with fellow C-suites saw a peak post-COVID-19, with leaders evermore confident that HR would be ready and able to navigate the organisation through future disruptions.

This was exactly what winners of last year’s HRD Awards Asia embodied. Sharif Khan, general manager HR, Asia at Microsoft, who judged the awards, said that HR in 2020 had successfully changed the way we think about work.

Fellow judge, Matthew Kimball, vice president of human resources at Shell agreed on the significance of being a winner in the regional awards. “[2020] was an exceptional and special year to be a winner,” said Kimball. “HR has never been more important in creating value in the business and importantly supporting employees, leaders and the whole organisation during unprecedented times.”