Monday, December 10, 2012

HR Provider of the year - lessons learnt!



What a marvellous way to end the MCI year!  We were named as AHRI HR provider of the year in the inaugural year of this award.  The Judges appreciated our level of customisation and the standard of our customer service.

Oh boy...did we learn a few lessons along the way!

LESSON 1.       Never be afraid to punch above your weight!   

We walked in to the awards evening at Darling Harbour with 600 other people representing the top brands in Australia including Microsoft, Deloitte, the Australian Navy, the Department of Immigration, IAG and more...  We thought that there was no way that our small business could compete in the A League and so we decided to just have a good evening.  
When we saw that we were positioned at the back of the room, in the corner, near the exit, I was even more convinced that we had no chance.


Well, when they announced the MCI name, I was in shock.  No acceptance speech prepared.  Falling over high heeled shoes and struggling to get to the podium, desperately trying to think of what to say...  
I blew a great marketing moment because I simply did not have the belief in what we do and just how valued this work is in Australia for the business community.


LESSON 2.       Appreciate your clients!   

What I would have liked to have said in my acceptance speech is aimed at our  marvellous clients Toll, Peoplebank and Royal Wolf and the many, many others where there are HR teams who have not forgotten what the H in HR stands for.  They are passionate about what they do and continue to innovate for the benefit of their organisations.

LESSON 3.       Give in order to receive!  

So many congratulations came flowing in from many quarters.  Clients who have partnered with us over the years were so happy for us and mentioned that we deserved the award because of how generous we are with sharing our knowledge.  We regularly hold client events and we do indeed share information, learnings and insights with the community – and we will continue to do so.  
We see ourselves as an integral part of the learning and development fraternity and we are determined to ensure that high standards and new methodologies are known widely.   Our attendance at international conferences benefits our clients and the wider HR group as well.

LESSON 4.       When you are hot, you are not!  

We have to keep moving onwards and upwards and we cannot rest on our laurels.  We pledge to continue to find better, more effective ways of learning so that participants learn in the best way possible.  We are determined to remember our slogan - Because a Mind is a Powerful Thing to Use