International Awards Map of HR in Turkey!

All HR departments have the same objective independently of region, country, sector… Attracting and retaining the talent for supporting business goals.

For achieving this objective, HR departments focus on two main points:

-          1^st: Attracting the talent

-          2^nd: Developing processes and practices that will boost employee performance and engagement

International awards are good ways to show HR’s success in these fields. Thus, management, employees and candidates will trust more to HR department and its practices. And also the HR department will be noticed in the sector and consulted for benchmark.

There are lots of institutions / organizations that give awards on HR field. However, it is certain that most prestigious ones are ATD, SHRM and CIPD. Brandon Hall is also a significant one. 

Let’s see the approach of these institutions to giving awards and evaluate the awards received by companies in Turkey. 

For A Quick Start

Since 2007, companies from Turkey received 135 awards from ATD, Brandon Hall, CIPD and SHRM. The categories of awards received are shown below. 

1.       ATD Awards

 ATD gives two different awards:

a.       ATD Best Award: For recognizing organizations that demonstrate enterprise-wide success as a result of talent development. There are no categories at this award. Since 2003, every year approximately 30 companies win this award from all over the world.

Although the award is given since 2003, first awards Turkey received date 2010. Since then, 9 companies received this award from Turkey:

Year	Company
2010	Yapı Kredi Bankası, Global Bilgi
2011	Garanti Bank
2013	Denizbank, Migros
2014	Türkiye İş Bankası, Teknosa
2015	TEB, Turkcell, Yapı Kredi

In 2016, there not any winners from Turkey.

Award Web Site: https://www.td.org/About/ATD-Awards/Best-Awards

b.      ATD Excellence in Practice Awards: For recognizing results achieved through the use of practices and solutions from the entire scope of workplace learning and talent development. This award is given since 2000.

There are 10 categories at this award and a practice can be entered for consideration in two categories.  Approximately 30 companies win award and 30 companies are honored with citation.

Although ATD Excellence in Practice Awards are given since 2000, first awards companies from Turkey received date 2007. Since then, 12 companies from Turkey received 30 awards (11 awards, 18 honorable mentions and citations).

“Award” Winners:

Year	Company
2007	Global Bilgi
2011	Turkcell, Türkiye İş Bankası & Dilek Sağlık & Sistema & Nar
2012	Yapı Kredi bankası
2013	Turkcell
2014	Finansbank
2015	Eczacıbaşı,Teknosa, TEB, Tük Telekom, Vestel
2016	Migros

“Honorable Mention” & Citation Owners:

Year	Company
2009	Turkcell
2010	Turkcell
2011	Turkcell, Finansbank & MCT, Yapı Kredi
2012	Turkcell
2013	Migros, Tukcell - Ufukkoç Strateji ve Yetkinlik Gelişimi
2014	Coca Cola İçecek, Eczacıbaşı, Finansbank, Teknosa, Yapı Kredi
2015	Eczacıbaşı, Teknosa, Türk Telekom
2016	Migros

The number of award / honorable mention and citation winner companies from Turkey seems to increase regularly.

Award Web Site: https://www.td.org/About/ATD-Awards/Excellence-in-Practice-Awards

2.       HRM Impact Award

SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management): Together with SIOP (The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology), SHRM gives HRM Impact Award since 2013.

Their aim is to promote human resource management practices that contribute to the success of today’s global work organizations, making them better places in which to work.

With a belief that the way to improve practice is to publicize the best available evidence regarding the usefulness and impact of successfully implemented innovative HRM initiatives…

Every year maximum 3-4 companies are awarded by HRM Impact Awards. This makes the award more prestigious than the others. There are no categories. Every applicant is evaluated through financial, people and scientific impact of practice. 

QNB Finansbank from Turkey was awarded with “Honorable Mention” in 2016. There is no other company from Turkey who was awarded by HRM Impact Awards.

Year	Company
2016	QNB Finansbank

Award Web Site: http://www.hrmimpactawards.org/

3.       CIPD Awards:

CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) gives two different awards.

a.       CIPD Recruitment Marketing Awards (RMA): RMA provide reward and recognition for excellence and professionalism in recruitment marketing and talent management. This award is given since 1980.

There are 20 categories. For each category, shortlist is announced and the winner is selected within the finalists. There is also “Grand Prix” for overall winner.

Finansbank was one of the finalists in 2014 under the category “Best In-house Recruitment Team”. There are no other finalists or award winners from Turkey.

Year	Company
2014	Finansbank

Award Web Site: http://thermas.co.uk/

b.      CIPD People Management Awards: PMA provide reward and recognition for excellence and professionalism in increasing engagement and performance since 2010 (there is no mention to the first PMA award on website; but the first award I saw dated 2009).

There are 19 categories. For each category, shortlist is announced and the winner is selected within the finalists. There is also “Grand Prix” for overall winner.

There are no companies from Turkey who were shortlisted or awarded by PMA.

Award Web Site: http://www.cipdpmas.co.uk/

4.       Brandon Hall Excellence Awards

Brandon Hall Excellence Awards are given since 1994. The award recognizes the best organizations that have successfully deployed programs, strategies, modalities, processes, systems, and tools that have achieved measurable results.

There are 7 categories and more than 80 sub-categories at this award. More than 600 companies win gold/silver/bronze award in a year.

Although Brandon Hall Excellence Awards are given since 1994, first awards companies from Turkey received date 2011. Since then, 34 companies from Turkey received 92 awards.

Year	Company
2011	Turkcell, Garanti Bank
2012	Türk Telekom, Denizbank, Enerjisa, Garanti Bank, Avea
2013	Migros, Denizbank, Avea, Türkiye İş Bankası
2014	Denizbank, Turkcell, Horizon Hızlı Tüketim, Koç Holding, Enerjisa, Eczacıbaşı Holding
2015	TEB, Turkcell Global Bilgi (Sağlık Bahçesi, Patika, Bilge Adam ile birlikte), Eczacıbaşı Holding, Acıbadem, Vodafone, Vestel, Tofaş, Albaraka Türk, Garanti Bank, Carrefoursa, Doğa Okulları, Cigna Finans, Teknosa, Bilim İlaç, Defacto, Omsan Lojistik
2016	Türk Telekom, Yapı Kredi, Türk Asset, Turkcell, Doğuş Holding, İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi, Yıldız Holding, Eczacıbaşı İlaç Pazarlama, Türkiye Finans, Boyner, Domino’s Pizza, Eczacıbaşı Holding, Enerjisa, Defacto

Award Web Site: http://www.brandonhall.com/excellenceawards/

Summary:

In 2007, only one company from Turkey won an award. Howeever in 2016, the number of award winner from Turkey was 31! 

When all the information above is considered together;

-          It seems that companies started to attach more importance to employee experience especially since 2010s and develop practices / programs for employees; received awards with them.

-          Most of the awards were received for “Learning & development programmes”. Companies might have invested more on learning & development programmes than any other field.  

-          Receiving an international award has become important and such a trend in Turkey in the last 4 years. It has mostly become prestigious in HR environment to receive them.

-          Banking and telecommunications are the top sectors attaching great importance to these awards. 

-          ATD and Brandon Hall give lots of awards each year and companies in Turkey are especially interested in these awards.

*There are lots of other international awards HR departments in Turkey received such as Stevie, HR Excellence Awards, etc. However, considering that ATD, SHRM, CIPD and Brandon Hall are the most important ones, this article focuses only on them.