entries open for EEO Trust Work & Life Awards 201

“Famous overnight” – entries open for EEO Trust Work & Life Awards 2010

Entries are now open for the EEO Trust Work & Life Awards 2010. The Awards celebrate employers who lead the way in making the most of New Zealand’s increasingly diverse workforce. One company which was a winner last year says it is still reaping the benefits.

“Huge, huge benefits – we became famous overnight,” says Margaret Doyle of accountancy firm BDO Taranaki, which won the Workplace Work & Life Award last October for the flexibility and work-life initiatives it offers to its 80 employees.

“The benefits are far greater than we ever could have imagined,” adds Margaret, BDO Taranaki’s practice manager. “All of a sudden everyone wanted to talk to us – there were invitations to speak at conferences and be interviewed. Our team were ecstatic. The advertising and media coverage we received – and are still receiving – is unbelievable.”

The EEO Trust provides information and tools on equal employment opportunities and raises awareness of diversity issues in the workplace, assisting employers with recruiting, retaining and engaging an increasingly diverse workforce.
Dr Philippa Reed, EEO Trust Chief Executive, says that New Zealand employers who show innovation in their commitment to their people deserve to be recognised. “We’re thrilled when winners get publicity like this,” she says. “The point is to share these success stories so other organisations can replicate them and build on them.”

There are six categories in the EEO Trust Work & Life Awards, with a Supreme Winner chosen from the winners of each category. The categories are:

+ Tomorrow’s Workforce Award, which recognises innovative responses to tomorrow’s employment challenges;

+ The Work & Life or Diversity Initiative Award, which celebrates initiatives that create opportunities for greater engagement and productivity;

+ The Workplace Diversity Award, for organisations which make the most of employee diversity;

+ The Workplace Work & Life Award, which celebrates organisations which enable people to flourish at work and at home;

+ The Skills Highway Award, which is back for a second year and recognises workplaces which can show how they have helped improve their employees’ reading, maths and communication skills;

+ The Walk The Talk Award, for a leader who exemplifies excellence in managing a diverse workforce.

Entries close on July 22, with winners announced at a gala dinner at the Auckland War Memorial Museum on October 28. Organisations of any size or sector can enter, whetheror not they are members of the EEO Trust. Judges take account of an organisation’s size and particular constraints when judging.

The EEO Trust Work & Life Awards are now in their 13thyear. Past winners of the Supreme Award include NZ Ski (2009) and Air New Zealand (2008). Among past category winners are Manukau City Council, Downer EDI Works, Comvita New Zealand, ANZ National Bank, and smaller enterprises RSVP Productions, Enterprising Manukau, Franklin Kindergarten Association and Mt Albert Pak ‘n Save.
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