2021 has been an awards-filled year for Ingram Micro Canada!  Through different industry awards, we are able to showcase some of the amazing work we’re doing internally as an HR team, and it is a great way for us to tell our story and amplify our brand. Our approach is strategic, in which we choose awards that will help us benchmark ourselves against the best in the industry and give us a platform to highlight our focus on our employee experience through engagement and communications. I am delighted to share our 2021 awards and shine a spotlight on our accolades.

ACE Communications Awards

 

The Achieving Communications Excellence (ACE) Awards has celebrated Toronto’s talented and innovative public relations community for over twenty years. The Awards, hosted by the Canadian Public Relations Society, recognizes outstanding work in the practice of public relations, as judged by some of the industry’s most accomplished communicators. This was our inaugural year in applying for these awards. We were extremely proud to be honoured with the Bronze Award in two categories: Canadian Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Campaign of the Year and The Employee Engagement/Internal Communications Campaign of the Year, COVID-19 related. These two awards were a true testament to our focus on Internal communications through the pandemic and through our efforts in the space of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. In March 2020 our office associates quickly transitioned to working remote. Our warehouse operations were deemed essential, so we continued to operate through the lockdowns with enhanced health and safety measures. Through a robust internal communications strategy, we continued to drive engagement through the new normal. For office associates our strategy was designed to ensure transparency, regular updates, build connections, provide easy access to resources, and focused on mental health and overall effectiveness. For warehouse associates the focus was communicating Health & Safety measures, ensuring they had all the resources and personal protection equipment necessary to be successful and reduce fear and apprehension. Our COVID-19 communications had a positive impact on the business, helped foster connectedness and led to increased engagement. From a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion standpoint, we have a collaborative approach that consists of both global & local strategies. Here at Ingram Micro, our people and their diverse talents define us. Our unique perspectives generate innovative ideas; our lived differences help us find new futures; our varied strengths and weaknesses enable our growth. Together, we will make Ingram Micro an even better place to work for everyone. Together at Ingram Micro celebrates what makes each of us unique, because it is our uniqueness that brings us together. Through a robust program of listening sessions, training, resources, and more, inspired by our participants, we look deeper into what makes us all uniquely Ingram Micro. 

This global approach is then localized across countries. For Canada, with the global strategy as the foundation, our DE&I strategy aims at educating, creating awareness, building connection, and taking meaningful action. We continue to drive our DEI initiatives to make Ingram Micro an inclusive and great place to work.

Achiever’s 50 Most Engaged Workplaces Award

The Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces® Awards recognize top employers that display leadership and innovation in engaging their workplaces. Ingram Micro Canada won this award back in 2018, and winning this award in 2021, with all that transpired through 2020 makes it even more rewarding. Associate engagement, and the employee experience, are key drivers for our HR team and is a critical part of our organization’s success. Our Engagement strategy is well rounded and touches upon different aspects – Accountability and Performance, Belonging, Equity & Inclusion, Culture Alignment, Manager Empowerment, Professional & Personal Growth, Purpose & Leadership. We layer our Internal Communication Strategy with our Engagement strategy to ensure consistency in communications, alignment across the organization and a shared purpose which helps strengthen and drive our culture. We continue to enhance the associate experience, through an equitable and inclusive culture focused on work flexibility, professional development and wellness of associates.

Canadian HR Awards – Best HR Communication Strategy

For 8 years now, the annual Canadian HR Awards has been recognized as the leading independent awards program in the HR profession. The awards showcase the nation’s most outstanding HR teams, leaders and employers for their achievements, leadership and innovation for their achievements, best practices and leadership in the HR profession over the past 12 months. The Canadian HR Awards is presented by HRD Canada and Canadian HR Reporter, the resources of choice for the country’s most forward-thinking HR professionals. The dentsu award for Best HR Communication Strategy Award recognizes the team that has delivered the most unique, compelling, and relevant internal or external HR communication strategy. Our HR Communications Strategy is aimed at keeping associates informed, supporting the business objectives, driving performance, and fostering engagement through a shared purpose. It lies at the core of our Engagement Strategy. Our overall content strategy, targeted towards the internal audience is unique, tells a compelling story and drives engagement. Our Internal Communication Strategy is designed to ensure that any content being received by associates is always consistent, informative and upholds the brand. Designing and launching our communication collateral includes communication design and content development. All content and design are done in-house, and in alignment with brand guidelines. We use a wide range of communication channels to keep associates informed. We constantly monitor the effectiveness of the plan and make changes as required. As we approach the new year, Internal Communications remains an area of focus and we look forward to building a robust strategy to help support our business objectives. 

Each of these awards are testament to our focus on the associate experience, engagement, and our culture. I am extremely proud to be leading such an amazing team of HR professionals that helps create magical associate experiences and drives engagement. As we soak in the excitement of these accolades, we look forward to 2022 and hope for yet another successful awards season!