How to 'stand out' at the Canadian HR Awards

This year's Canadian HR Awards will be something very different...

BY Emily Douglas 18 Aug. 2020

2020 has been a year of change. We’ve seen our normality shift from a nine-to-five traditional model to a remote strategy. What began with a COVID-19 crisis has been spun into something of an opportunity for change by savvy HR teams and professionals.

This year’s Canadian HR Awards will be different too. We’ve evolved and shifted to meet the needs and expectations that the past few months have wrought – bringing you a whole new way of approaching employee recognition.

This year, the Canadian HR Awards will be viewed online, meaning that anyone can tune in to watch from the comfort of home – for free.

HRD spoke to one of our judges this year, Colin Druhan, executive director of Pride at Work Canada who revealed what he’s looking for in this year’s hopeful candidates.

“The categories I’m judging are mainly related to diversity and inclusion - and as such I’m really looking for organizations which promote a positive employee experience,” prefaced Druhan.

“There’s lots of jargon-based catchphrases out there – which is fine – but if it’s a case of all talk and no action then it’s pointless. It’s fantastic when employers talk about their D&I strategy or explain why they think their organisations are really going above and beyond for staff – but it’s so much more impressive when employees themselves tell the story. Not everyone loves their job – but everyone should love the place they work.”

When it comes to devising authentic strategies, Druhan advocates uniqueness.

“I think employers need to start focusing on resolving challenges that exist within their own company,” he told HRD. “Oftentimes, HR teams will look to see what other companies are doing – how they showcase support at Pride or celebrate Black History Month. This is all well and good – but you have to keep in mind that these strategies are what work for those companies. As a D&I professional, you need to assess what will work in your own organisation- and this will often be unique. Listen to your employees’ feedback – take the time to really hear what they’re saying. I always find it incredibly impressive when applications show statistics and feedback from employee engagement surveys – it shows that HR is investing their time and effort into making people happier at work.”