Australian firm Cooper Grace Ward has achieved national recognition for employer excellence, being awarded a finalist in four categories of the Australian HR Awards.

The awards, which took place in Sydney on Friday 6 September, brought together industry leaders from across the country to celebrate excellence in the HR profession, recognising individuals, teams and companies for their outstanding achievements in people management.

Cooper Grace Ward’s outstanding performance was recognised with finalist positions in the categories of Best Change Strategy; Best HR Strategic Plan; Employer of Choice (<1000 employees); and the firm’s Director of People and Culture, Neil Baker, was selected as a finalist for Australian HR Director of the Year.

Mr Baker said he was delighted to be acknowledged as a leader in people management, and that Cooper Grace Ward’s recognition as an employer of choice placed the firm in strong company.

“It represents a tremendous honour to be acknowledged for HR excellence alongside such high profile organisations as Coca-Cola Amatil, PepsiCo Australia & New Zealand, Woolworths, CSIRO, Foxtel, Heritage Bank, Optus and QBE Insurance,” he said.

“As a law firm, we recognise that our people are our strength; however the legal profession itself presents many unique challenges in terms of achieving a positive, vibrant workplace culture and genuine employee engagement.
“Our success has hinged upon our integration of people strategies into our executive culture, ensuring that people issues are at the heart of every important business decision.”

Closer to home, Cooper Grace Ward is also in the running to win a Brisbane-based award for Outstanding Corporate Citizenship at the Lord Mayor’s Business Awards in October. The award recognises companies that demonstrate leadership and excellence across ‘triple bottom line’ criteria – economic, social and environmental performance – as well as demonstrate leadership in the development of their people, including staff development, incentives and work/life balance.