It’s been another tough year for the people and learning profession, with continued pressure to bolster employee wellbeing, drive inclusion and connection, rethink the way we upskill employees and mitigate the impact of the ‘Great Resignation’ – to name just a few. But this didn’t stop our 2021 entrants from demonstrating real imagination, ingenuity and grit in their quest to shape a better culture.
Our judges have been busy these past few months reviewing submissions and were incredibly impressed by the calibre of the 2021 entrants. Needless to say, they had to make some tough calls with selecting the finalists!
Thank you so much to everyone who supported the campaign – all the culture-driven people professionals who sent in their entries, the judges who gave their time to evaluate the submissions, and our partners and sponsors who have followed the initiative throughout and helped us to spread the word.
We’ll be announcing the winners at our virtual awards night on 18th November at 5pm (GMT). We’re promising a night of celebration, compelling stories and motivation for the year ahead. There will be no Zoom fatigue on our watch, so please join us and raise a glass of your favourite tipple to the fabulous individuals and teams who are shaping our industry.
Without further ado, here are the finalists for this year’s Culture Pioneer Awards!
Use #CulturePioneers on our social channels to let us know which stories resonate or reflect your organisation’s initiatives and future plans.
Learning Award
The past 18+ months has been a steep learning curve for the L&D profession with the rapid transition to more virtual (and now hybrid) ways of learning. Key to the success of this transition is a culture in which business critical skills and capabilities are developed and harnessed. Our five finalists for the Learning Award showed real agility, empowerment and innovativeness in their efforts to build such a culture.
Congratulations to the finalists of our learning category!
Patrick Mullarkey and Brij Palicha, Synk
Eman Al-Hillawi, Entec Si
Jessica Leigh Jones MBE and Tom de Vall, iungo Solutions Limited
Yasmine Alani, News UK
The HR team at Foundry
Find out more about the achievements of our learning finalists on HRZone here.
Wellbeing Award
Employee wellbeing has remained a key priority for most businesses during the past 18+ months, but our five finalists for the wellbeing category stood out as going above and beyond to support their people’s wellbeing in a holistic, data-informed way.
Congratulations to the finalists of our wellbeing category!
Kelly Perry, Awin
Munpreet Cheema, Atos
Kate Adney and the People & Organisational Development Team, Royal Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital Trust
Jessica Badley, Blood Cancer UK
Linda Mountford and the HR team, John West
Find out more about the achievements of our wellbeing finalists on HRZone here.
Inclusion Award
In the current climate, taking steps to improve diversity, equity and inclusion has never been more important. Yet making meaningful impact in these areas and embedding a culture where all employees feel like they belong is no easy feat. Our five finalists for the Inclusion Award demonstrate a commendable effort to create a more equitable workplace with an inclusive culture.
Congratulations to the finalists of our inclusion category (sponsored by Culture Amp)!
Steph Clark and the people team, Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust
David Blackburn and team, Financial Services Compensation Scheme
Jessica Bensch and Sandra Simms, F. Homann-La Roche
Deryn McIntosh and team, RCI
The board of directors, Lewes Football Club
Find out more about the achievements of our inclusion finalists on HRZone here.
Innovation award
If there’s one thing Covid-19 has been a catalyst for to ensure organisational survival it’s business innovation. Our three finalists cut through the red tape, embraced out-of-box thinking and encouraged employee-led ideas generation to solve their most pressing challenges.
Congratulations to the finalists of our inclusion category!
Deryn McIntosh and team, RCI
Rachel Squirrell and team, Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Jessica Leigh Jones MBE and Tom de Vall, iungo Solutions Limited
Find out more about the achievements of our inclusion finalists on HRZone here.
