Every year, the Foundation for Human Resources Development celebrates outstanding projects and initiatives in people management. Twenty-three Maltese

enterprises are participating in the Malta People Awards 2010, which consists of seven different categories aimed at rewarding the best contributions to the way people are engaged, managed and developed. The Excellence Award will be presented to the enterprise that has most distinguished itself.

Companies and organisations can enter more than one category, which is the case with the Medicines Authority. It considers participation in this event important not only to motivate its staff but also to get feedback regarding its HR practices. “The Awards are a good way of benchmarking ourselves. The assessor judgment is very important, because it can help us improve,” says Gavril Flores, Operations Manager at the Medicines Authority.

The Medicines Authority has applied for the “Equal Opportunities” Award. This category is intended to acknowledge the approach of companies who understand, appreciate and are able to effectively manage diversity, which is on the increase in all places of work. Mr Flores explains how the Medicines Authority embraces diversity through an open culture based on performance rather than other factors such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.

For example, the staff come from several different countries and range in age from 19 to 75. “We do our best to break down barriers and this helps people to be themselves in a way that increases motivation and productivity,” said Mr Flores.

Green Skip Services and GS Rec Ltd have also applied for the “Equal Opportunities” Award as it employs a considerable number of people of different nationalities. “Sometimes it takes a long time for foreign workers to be allowed to work in Malta. But in the meantime we give them training and prepare them for work. This enables them to start working immediately they get their permit,” says joint managing director Doris Sammut. Edward Bugeja, H&S and Projects, explains that GreenSkip Services Ltd takes a risk by investing time and money without being sure that these people will eventually be permitted to work with Green Skip Services. “But they bring a lot to the company and the self-development of employees is important to us.”

Another opportunity provided to employees is teleworking. As part of a management policy to promote equal opportunities among all its staff, Enemalta Corporation considers requests from all employees to

benefit from this family-friendly measure.

“Teleworking allows employees to complete part of their duties and responsibilities from their home, allowing them to retain their full-time employment status while also taking care of either their children or other family members at the same time. Such a policy has helped further dedvelop the mutual trust between management and employees”, according to Robert Delia, Manager Organisational Design & Planning of Enemalta.

“Teleworking has increased not only the trust and commitment of employees towards the organisation, but also their output, reflected in their ability to attain a better work-life balance.” Enemalta Corporation promotes equal opportunities for all employees through numerous training courses that are offered to all employees irrespective of gender, grade and age, as well as the various career opportunities open to both female and male candidates. In fact, over the past few years the

corporation’s new recruits have been predomnantly female.

Corporate Social Responsibility Award

Another category, “Corporate Social Responsibility”, recognises initiatives that demonstrate the commitment of companies to the wellbeing of the community. The impact of businesses on society and the environment has assumed great importance and some organisations are making an effective contribution in this respect. The four companies participating in this category are Simonds Farsons Cisk plc, HSBC Bank Malta plc, Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Golden Sands and Deloitte.

The Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Golden Sands has been committed to social responsibility since it opened five years ago. “When the former hotel was demolished, the architect was already concerned about the environment. The way we have worked since then is within a proper framework,” explains Christina Galea, Group Director of Human Resources. The company has three pillars of corporate social responsibility: social and ethical, health and safety and the environment. “New staff are trained to understand our commitment,” adds Ms Galea, who sees the awards as a good way of encouraging companies to think about what they are doing and motivating them to improve their activities.

“We could have applied for different awards but the Corporate Social Responsibility is something relatively new to Malta, so we thought it would be interesting to participate and share best practices with other companies taking part,” says Georges Pulis, Deputy Head of Human Resources with HSBC. The company has taken part in the Malta People Awards since its inception and this year it is through the joint effort of the CSR and HR departments that HSBC is participating.

Unlike HSBC, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc is making its first appearance at the Malta People Awards. Employee Relations Manager John Attard explains that the company strongly believes in the voluntary aspect of corporate docial responsibility: “We don’t participate in the awards to promote ourselves or for financial benefit. It is all about the values and beliefs we practise, and our support is backed by our expertise.”

Similarly, The Farsons Foundation – as an autonomous body – has been promoting, diffusing and safeguarding Maltese culture, 

heritage and social solidarity since 1994, specifically by evaluating all the requests forthcoming in these areas, assisting public manifestations or contributing to research projects.

“In any event, the importance of certain aspects of Maltese cultural heritage and social solidarity should not be left to chance and need to be promoted and supported,” he adds.

The Foundation for Human Resources Development will be presenting the awards to the winning organisations at a ceremony to be held on 10 December at 8pm at the Intercontinental Hotel in St Julian’s. For participation please contact Nancy Vella on 2137 8895 or send an e-mail to [email protected].

Ms Gransard is a Belgian journalist at the Foundation for Human Resources Development.