The Internal Talent Awards (fondly referred to as the ITAs) were created by TaPod – We talk talent acquisition podcast co-hosts Lauren Sharp and Craig Watson.
Sharp and Watson saw the lack of opportunity to recognise professionals in the industry for outstanding achievement.
“Recognition in the talent acquisition industry is long overdue, and we decided that an awards gala was the best way to remedy this."
“These individuals work unbelievably hard to find the right person for a role while helping to build the culture within an organisation. They are the face of their company’s brand and truly deserve to be acknowledged,” the duo explained.
The evening was attended by people across Australia in the talent industry. Frocks were donned and suits dusted off, as people poured champagne and settled down in front of their computer for some good old-fashioned virtual mingling.
Recognising everyone
Both Sharp and Watson wanted to create an award night that celebrated every aspect of the talent acquisition industry. A full list of the categories and their glorious winners can be found here.
We were thrilled to be asked to support the event and sponsored the Talent Professional of the Year to acknowledge those who went above and beyond during a time of upheaval.
The hiring landscape has changed drastically, and talent professionals have had to adapt in all sorts of ways, in particular mass hiring freezes, remote hiring and onboarding – not to mention extraordinary volumes of applicants.
That’s no small feat! So, as they say…“without further ado”:
The most talented professionals of the year
It was stiff competition from the start, and there was just 0.2 of a point between first and second place!
Finalists for the category were:
- Jasio Dunford – Flybuys
- Rebecca Thomas – Allianz
- Kate Graney – Allianz
- Quila Cervelli – RMIT University
- Cholena Orr – ANZ
Rebecca was crowned the winner largely because her work in the risk and compliance space set her apart.
“I started at Allianz on a short-term project to increase capacity in risk and compliance, prioritising a proactive approach across the board. I never looked back!” explains Rebecca.
Rebecca admits that she’d never imagined herself working in this space, but her innate drive to connect the best talent with the right opportunity led her here.
“It’s the psychology that I love. I’m inquisitive, so when I understand what drives someone its rewarding to find a role that suits them.
“I’m also lucky to work with incredible people who have a sense of camaraderie and all play an important role in being a best practice talent team,” she finishes.
A wise word from our winner
“If an individual isn’t right for the role in question but still aligns to a company’s values, keep them in mind for future positions with that organisation. Think long term and focus on building resilient talent pools,” advises Rebecca.
And finally:
“The candidate experience should always be central. The year ahead will be tough for everyone, so be empathetic towards your candidates while keeping the end goal in mind."
And that’s a wrap for this year! Thank you to the ITAs for recognising the appropriately named “talent” industry, and a huge congratulations to nominees and winners alike.
See you next year…maybe even in person!
If you’re interested in finding out more about CVCheck and what we’ve been up to, or you’d like to discover more stories in the hiring space, you can sign up to our blog below.
