The Deccan Herald Avenues Awards for HR Excellence on January 17 saw the best of the HR fraternity come together in Bangalore. Initiated for the first time, the event is set to be a regular feature. Besides being a contribution to the industry, this venture is expected to go a long way in boosting the Deccan Herald brand name.
Stressing on the growing importance of HR today, Tilak Kumar, Joint MD, Deccan Herald says, "We need to provide a platform for the HR community to meet and discuss issues which are affecting HR. We have been organizing advertising seminars for 18 years now and this is a continuation of that. This is Deccan Herald’s contribution to the HR community." Promising to present a bigger-better event next year, DB Dutta, GM Advertising, Deccan Herald, says, "This will certainly be a yearly feature. We will also look at adding different categories to broaden the horizon of the awards. As part of this event, we had organized a seminar earlier where leading HR professionals got together, made presentations and discussed issues. The turnout was very promising."
Kumar states, "Besides being a clear contribution to the industry, it will help build the image of the paper." Dutta adds, "Being a newspaper from the city, we have a lot to give back to the city. These Awards will also help us in creating a national niche for the paper itself. It will do a lot to our brand image. People will notice that we are exploring ideas we hadn’t earlier and that we have become a lot more in touch with market requirements. It conveys the sentiment that Deccan Herald goes way beyond being just a newspaper."
The Deccan Herald Awards was presented in association with the Center for Change Management. The awards were presented under several categories. The Outstanding HR Professional Award went to Chandrashekhar Pingali, Senior VP & Head HR (India & Nepal) Standard Chartered Bank. While Harish Mehta, Chairman & MD, Onward Technologies was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman & Group MD, Bharti Enterprises won the CEO of the Year Award. Other award categories included Best Teacher in HR Practices, Young HR Professional and HR Professional of the Year. Multiple awards were presented in the categories of Organisation that created fun and joy at work and Organisation with Innovative HR Practices.
