The Lawyer Workplace & Diversity awards: WINNERS
Last night saw the presentation of The Lawyer’s Workplace & Diversity Awards at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, the ceremony recognising those firms with outstanding records in retaining and rewarding their talent.
Unpredictable times have put fire in the belly at forward-thinking firms, many of whom have demonstrated innovation and creative thinking to find new ways of delivering efficiency.
Baker & McKenzie scooped the top prize of employer of the year, for its total commitment to excellence in the workplace.
But judges were particularly impressed by firms who did something new and different during the economic crumble. Eversheds, winner in the Innovative Recruitment category, leads by example: the firm challenged the idea that partners should not be imposed with referral schemes by launching a private job network for employees and their contacts. The network has since streamlined recruitment costs, boosted its talent pool and bolstered retention.
Meanwhile the HR team at TLT, acknowledged for boosting retention rates and saving its firm big bucks, has reacted to substantial increases in top up fees by launching a four-year training programme for A-level students.
And unlike many of its competitors, Freshfields avoided a redundancy exercise during the heat of the credit crunch by launching a career progression framework that looks beyond the traditional focus of technical skills.
Winners:
Award for excellence in training
Sponsored by: GR Law
Winner: DLA Piper
Highly Commended: Keoghs
Best corporate responsibility initiative
Winner: SJ Berwin
Excellence in talent management and retention
Sponsored by: Inclusive Diversity
Winner: TLT
Most effective diversity programme - gender
Sponsored by: Frazer Jones
Winner: Irwin Mitchell
Most effective diversity programme - LGB
Sponsored by: Parker Wells
Winner: InterLaw Diversity Forum
Highly Commended: Clifford Chance
Highly Commended: Pinsent Masons
Most effective diversity programme - social mobility
Sponsored by: Taylor Root
Winner: Baker & McKenzie
Highly Commended: Pinsent Masons
Most effective internal communication
Sponsored by: HR in Law
Winner: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Most effective employee benefits scheme
Sponsored by: Portus
Winner: RPC
Excellence in the office environment
Sponsored by: MWB Business Exchange
Winner: Linklaters
Best graduate trainee recruitment campaign
Sponsored by: The College of Law
Winner: Irwin Mitchell
Highly Commended: Allen & Overy
Highly Commended: Clifford Chance
Most innovative recruitment initiative
Sponsored by: Blackbridge Communications
Winner: Eversheds
Highly Commended: Linklaters
HR Director of the year
Sponsored by: Enrich
Winner: Kevin Hogarth, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
HR team of the year
Sponsored by DMJ Legal
Winner: TLT
Employer of the year
Sponsored by: First Counsel
Winner: Baker & McKenzie
Readers' comments (4)
Anonymous | 8-Feb-2012 11:33 am
Does those awards take into account only the recruitment drive for gender equality or something more substantial?
To what extent, the recruitment of people with disabilities figure within law firm's priority list towards diversity? if yes, are awards given on this basis ?
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SN | 8-Feb-2012 12:50 pm
Diversity in the industry is dire so anything that moves the needle should be congratulated!
Re Anonymous @ 11:33am, I wondered the same. The Lawyer states the following in relation to the GENDER equality award- "Submissions can relate to recruitment, client development or awareness training. The judges will be looking for evidence of the integration of diversity and inclusion into everyday organisational life and particularly welcome examples of senior level diversity champions who have made a significant contribution to advancing the diversity agenda within the firm. The organisation should illustrate how objectives have been met (or are on the way to being met) by supplying staff demographics."
Congrats to Daniel and Laura for leading the Interlaw Diversity Forum to the LGB award! No doubt many gay folks in the legal sector will be applauding your efforts....in public or in private!
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Anonymous | 9-Feb-2012 10:41 pm
Congrats for the team at B&M - they really deserve it!
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Anonymous | 16-Feb-2012 2:42 pm
I was at the awards and the only visible diversity I saw were the ethnic minority waiters serving us!
It is ironic to host a diversity awards ceremony full of non-diverse people, patting each other on the back on how great they are in ensuring diversity in the work place.
If HR committees aren't diverse themselves or firms can't send a visibly diverse representation to these ceremonies, what are we exactly celebrating?
There were absolutely no or negligible guests from ethnic minority backgrounds and not a single disable guest. Visible diversity is just as key to events like this.
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