HPMA - Workforce in the NHS

Virtual judging panel schedule

Monday 20 June

12-2.30pm Capsticks award for innovation

12-2.30pm Director of the year category sponsored by NHS England and NHS Improvement

2.30-5.30pm Browne Jacobson award for excellence in employee engagement

Tuesday 21 June

9-11.30am Team of the year sponsored by NHS England and NHS Improvement

12-2.30pm Deputy Director of the Year sponsored by NHS England and NHS Improvement

2.30 – 5.30pm SPF award for partnership working between employers and trade unions

Wednesday 22 June

9-11.30am Workforce Analytics Wednesday 22 June

12-2.30pm Hill Dickinson award for education, learning and development initiative

2.30 – 5.30pm HST talent acquisition strategy of the year award

Monday 27 June

10-1pm University of Bradford Award for cross-sector working

2.30-5.30pm Mills & Reeve award for leading in equality, diversity and inclusion

Thursday 30 June

12-2.30pm HEIW award for working smarter

Friday 1 July

12-2.30pm NHS Employers award for wellbeing

2.30 – 5.30pm Academi Wales award for excellence in OD

Please be aware, there is no panel judging for The Rest Less Star Award or President’s Award for Lifetime achievement sponsored by DAC Beachcroft.

Judging process

Stage One

Entries will be initially assessed on the basis of online submissions alone. Therefore failure to address a submission question or stated category criteria will have a negative impact on your score at this short listing stage of the competition.

The judges (selected members of HPMA council, branches, representatives from the UK Health Departments, industry specialists and category sponsors) do not review any entry with which they have a conflict of interest, any personal or professional affiliation.

Each entry is evaluated and scored by multiple reviewers. Entries which fair the best through this process are included on category shortlists.

Stage Two

All entrants must be available to participate in our virtual judging panels (20 June – 1 July 2022) as shortlisted projects will be interviewed about their project entries in greater detail.

Usually three shortlisted teams in each category are invited to answer questions about their project entry from our judging panels. The judges further evaluate the shortlisted entries based on the original criteria and identify the winning project entry. In the event of a tie, the panel Chairperson casts the tie-breaking vote.

Rules and guidelines:

Entries must be submitted online
The submitting organisation or a member of the project team must be a member of the HPMA
Project submissions may be submitted into only one award category (although you can enter as often as you like with different projects)
The judges reserve the right to re-allocate an entry to a different category, if appropriate.
Entries will be initially assessed against the judging criteria set out
Failure to address a submission question will have a negative impact on your score at the shortlisting stage of the competition.
All entrants must be available to attend the virtual judging panel as shortlisted projects will be asked to answer questions about their project in greater detail.
Winning submissions will be published in a variety of media.
Online feedback is now offered by our shortlisting judges on the awards platform to all entries. Judges feedback is not compulsory but encouraged.
The judges’ decision is final.

Experienced HR professionals who are members of the association are invited to apply to become judges in the 2022 programme. We are seeking representation from across the UK – visit https://www.hpma.org.uk/become-a-judge/ to find out more.

Tips for entering the awards

Top tips for making the HPMA Awards finals:

Read through all our award categories and make sure you enter your project in the most suitable category
It would be a shame to have done all the work only to be told by your director at the twelfth hour that you can’t enter it. Get senior management approval, and even involvement, to help your case
Complete all questions on the online submission form, and keep the category you have entered in mind as you write
Keep to our word count limits
Thoroughly check your entry form before submission, and ask a colleague to take a look too
Complete your submission well in advance of the deadline, so you have plenty of time to ask questions and prepare your answers
Don’t forget to call us if you have a query 020 8334 4500
And remember you can enter as many projects into the competition as you like.

Make your awards submissions stand out:

Remember that by the time the judges get to read your entry, they may have already sifted through 40 others, so make yours stand out…

1) Tell a good story
Write your project summary as though you are writing a really good story. Imagine you are back at school and have to think of a “beginning”, a “middle” and an “end”. The beginning should set out the objectives clearly. The middle should explain the strategy, and the end should reveal the results.

2) Keep it simple
As many judges say: “less is sometimes more”, avoid jargon and flowery language. Check for typos, grammatical mistakes and spelling.

3) First impressions count
First impressions count, so make an instant impact.

4) Stick to the truth
Don’t exaggerate, lie or include spurious claims, as judges will see through them.

5) Involve the whole team
Make the entry a joint effort, this will often produce a better, more comprehensive summary, as well as making the story more interesting.

6) Be ruthless when redrafting
Once you’ve written your rough draft submission, read it over several times and cut out superfluous information. This will make it much clearer. It’s also a good idea to get someone who hasn’t been directly involved to cast their fresh eyes over it to double-check clarity.

For more tips watch our Hints & Tips webinar with Nicky Ingham, Lisa Crichton-Jones and Shelly Rubinstein and download our Guide to creating a winning entry.

How to enter

Register for an account at http://hpma.awardsplatform.com/ if you experience problems accessing the site to register please contact your IT department to unblock the site.
Review the categories (criteria and submission questions in the 2022 information sheet) and decide which best fit your projects, change process or initiatives. You are welcome to discuss project suitability with the awards team on 02083344530. You are welcome to submit more than one project into the competition but each project should only be entered into one category.
Prepare your entry, check you have followed word limits, and fully answered each question, reflecting the listed criteria. You will be scored again each criteria. Failure to address a criteria in your answers will impact your shortlisting score.
Confirm that your head of department or nominated director (for Deputy HR director, HR director of the year or rising star) is happy to endorse the entry. The nominations for lifetime achievement should be kept secret!
Complete the online form. You will be asked to complete full contact details of project team (or nominator / nominee). Please do so carefully as we will use this data to contact you with the results of the shortlisting stages.
Additional attachments for the recruitment and analytics categories are permitted so remember to upload and submit files to support your entry when promoted.
Make a final check that all details are correct and submit your entry. You may continue to return to your entry and resubmit until the entry deadline.
If you do not receive the confirmation email, please contact the awards team and we will confirm receipt of your entry.
In the event of a problem with your submission, please contact the awards team by calling 02083344500 or emailing ellie@chamberdunn.co.uk.