Press releases

inHR award – recognising pioneering HR projects in Switzerland

Zurich, 23 May 2018

Zurich, 23 May 2018. To provide a platform for innovative HR projects in Switzerland, a new award – the  inHR award ("innovative HR") – has been established by Deloitte Switzerland, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), SAP Switzerland and the University of St. Gallen. This award gives recognition to pioneering work in the area of HR by individuals or teams. The entry period for submissions runs from today until 31 July 2018. The awards will be presented in Zurich on 25 October 2018.

The world of work is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Much is now demanded from Swiss companies and their HR departments by the change from an employer to an applicant market, new platforms, alternative approaches to attracting and retaining employees, and the prevailing shortage of skilled workers. This includes adopting new technologies such as artificial intelligence, chatbots and augmented reality. To operate in this fast-moving environment, organisations must realign themselves constantly, and at the same time bring innovation and creativity into their everyday HR tasks and have the courage to take unusual (pioneering) steps.

With this in mind, HR experts from Deloitte Switzerland, NZZ, SAP Switzerland and the University of St. Gallen are launching an award for innovative HR projects and initiatives in Switzerland – the inHR award. The main aim of the award is to recognise and draw attention to pioneering work in new, creative HR projects by individuals or teams and to promote interaction between HR professionals.

The inHR award will be presented each year for outstanding HR performance in three categories:

  • Talent, Diversity & Inclusion, recognising ideas, measures and projects for pioneering talent management,
  • Future of Work,recognising practices, processes and programmes that restructure work, the working environment and cooperation,
  • HR (R)Evolution, recognising approaches and initiatives that expand and redefine the role and the identity of Human Resources. 

A jury will assess the submitted projects according to four criteria: the degree of innovation demonstrated by the submitted project; its benefit to the organisation and relevance for other groups; its practical implementation and associated supporting measures; and the description and illustration of the submitted project. The jury will consist of representatives from the four organisations establishing the award, with expertise in consulting, technology, research and communication.

The award is open to HR projects from companies and organisations headquartered in Switzerland. The period for submissions runs from 23 May until 31 July 2018. Application forms and further information on the inHR award are available from www.inhraward.ch. The awards will be presented in Zurich on 25 October 2018. The award ceremony will provide an opportunity for guests to network and learn from one another. The winning team of each category will be invited to a joint discussion day where they will be able to exchange ideas and gain insights from leading experts of the field of HR. In addition, each winning team will be given an individually tailored Design Thinking workshop so they can address challenges and problems specific to their organisation. During the workshop, the participants will get to know and practice different design thinking methods to identify initial solutions to their challenge and be able to adopt the methods for themselves going forward.

"The current developments are exciting and challenging. Digitalisation not only changes business models and processes, but it also affects how we understand management and what employees expect of talent management. Anyone with fresh ideas and new approaches who makes a difference here deserves to be in the spotlight. Thatꞌs why we created the inHR award." 

Enrico Palumbo, HR Director and Member of the Management Board, SAP (Switzerland) AG

"With the inHR award, we want to give a face to the future world of work and, in particular, give a platform to creative and innovative people who are carrying out pioneering work in the area of HR. And there are a lot of them! However, there must be a new definition of what it means to transform the future of work. Some, but not all companies, are already grappling with the challenges and opportunities offered by the future world of work. These pioneering initiatives should be acknowledged in this context."

Matthias Thalmann, Partner Human Capital Consulting, Deloitte Switzerland

"Digitalisation and the related pressure to change challenges us as a company and as HR professionals. We need confident HR teams who, through innovative and effective approaches, influence the working environment in their companies in such a way that employees and organisations can confront changes positively, meet the requirements put upon them and fully utilise their potential. The inHR award will recognise these teams and, at the same time, offer a platform for other HR teams to learn and further develop their ideas."

Petra Feigl-Fässler, Head of HR and Member of the Executive Committee, NZZ Media Group

"We want to recognise the everyday HR heroes. HR teams who have the courage to open the door to the future of work. Whether they promote inclusion, support agile working or break away from antiquated industrialised HR programmes. We are looking primarily for HR teams who valiantly rethink personnel management, because we are convinced that resourceful humans need the right framework to fulfil their potential." 

Prof. Dr. Antoinette Weibel, Director at the Institute for Work and Employment Research, University of St. Gallen

About inHR award

The inHR award, initiated by Deloitte Switzerland, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), SAP Switzerland and the University of St. Gallen, aims to find and recognise the most innovative HR projects and initiatives in Switzerland leading to a positive impact. The application period runs from today until 31 July 2018. Application forms and further information on the inHR award are available from www.inhraward.ch. The awards will be presented on 25 October 2018 in Zurich.

SAP Switzerland

As the market leader in enterprise application software, SAP is at the center of today’s business and technology revolution. Founded in 1972, SAP embraces an innovative culture throughout the entire company and spreads it to the world. Our powerful network of interconnected programs and entities covers all dimensions of innovation, from research and development to customer implementation to human resources. With our flagship technology and product innovations, we are helping society solve complex, intractable problems. We use our unsurpassed global reach, our relevance, and our relationships to drive positive change for individuals, organizations, and societies.

Deloitte Switzerland

Deloitte is a leading accounting and consulting company in Switzerland and provides industry-specific services in the areas of Audit & Assurance, Consulting, Financial Advisory, Risk Advisory and Tax & Legal. With more than 1,800 employees at six locations in Basel, Berne, Geneva, Lausanne, Lugano and Zurich (headquarters), Deloitte serves companies and organisations of all legal forms and sizes in all industry sectors.

Deloitte Switzerland is an affiliate of Deloitte North West Europe, a member firm of the global network of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) comprising of around 264,000 employees in more than 150 countries.

Note to editors

In this news release, Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”), a UK private company limited by guarantee, whose member firms are legally separate and independent entities. Please see www.deloitte.com/ch/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of DTTL and its member firms.

Deloitte AG is a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP, the United Kingdom member firm of DTTL. Deloitte AG is an audit firm recognised and supervised by the Federal Audit Oversight Authority (FAOA) and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

The information contained in this news release is correct at the time of issuance.

© 2018 Deloitte AG. All rights reserved.

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