UK IT Industry Awards 2009: Promoting IT Professionalism award

One of the categories introduced this year for the all-new UK IT Industry Awards is the Promoting IT Professionalism Award.

Chosen from the finalists below, the winner will be an organisation that its IT employees view as a great place to work; that values the role of IT and the professionalism of the staff that provide and support it, offering career and skills development, reward and recognition for personal achievement and industry-leading employment benefits.

The winners will be revealed at the lavish prizegiving party, to be held at Battersea Evolution, formerly Battersea Park Events Arena, in London on Thursday 12 November 2009.

To view the full list of finalists for each award, and to book your table at what will be the biggest night of the UK IT calendar, visit our web site at www.computing.co.uk/awards.

Procter & Gamble

In 2009 Procter & Gamble (P&G) launched a UK-wide programme to make P &G IT the best place to work. The programme focuses on: building organisation capability, via training, coaching and mentoring; building long-term, rewarding careers via recruitment, career planning and world-class career choices; and building an effective community, via networks and strong communication internally and externally. Clients and employees have rated P &G’s business performance and employee satisfaction higher than ever before.

IBM

In IBM’s long-term strategy for developing the capabilities of employees, the supplier studies emerging technology and business trends, identifies skills becoming less valued in the marketplace, and seeks to upgrade staff with skills most in demand. IBM UK’s commitment to promoting IT professionalism is also demonstrated by the appointment of 25 executive-grade distinguished engineers and three Fellows.

Lincolnshire Police

Key to the success of the Lincolnshire Police IT department is a focus on career development through the BCS Career Developer accredited scheme. The commitment to the scheme has been highlighted by the chief constable as an inspiration in best practice for recognising people as the organisation’s main commodity. The scheme has helped to foster a learning culture, focusing on career development and ensuring skills best fit future needs.

Deloitte

Deloitte promotes IT professionalism through internal schemes, client work and wider commitment to advancing standards in the industry. Under vice chairman Chris Loughran’s stewardship, Deloitte’s commitment, passion for excellence and innovation makes promoting IT professionalism a key goal of the firm.

IT Lab

IT Lab looks for employees who care about great service. Over the past 12 months, the firm has extended its commitment to nurture, encourage and support its staff. By significantly stepping up investment in people and overhauling internal information systems to make everyone’s job easier, the company says it has seen its IT support services reach new heights of excellence.

Royal London Asset Management

Professionalism within IT is a major objective for all IT staff at Royal London Asset Management. The firm uses the BCS Professional Development Coaching and Managed Development Services to engage staff around developmental requirements to ensure a high level of professionalism. BCS membership is offered to staff to allow them to develop further. Employee satisfaction is at a high level with a low staff turnover.

UKFast

A focus on professional conduct is one of UKFast’s five core values and something every team member strives to achieve. Through a professional outlook the hosting provider aims to guarantee a superior service for clients. The company ethos is to act with integrity, work with purpose, and deliver on its promises. Every employee is encouraged to embody those values to drive the company forward.

Leeds City Council

The Leeds City Council approach to IT professionalism has born significant service delivery benefits internally and is also driving professionalism in the wider public sector. The use of in-house developed technology to implement and maintain IT professionalism has improved service delivery, staff satisfaction, motivation and well-being. The Aspire package is a nationally recognised best practice and Leeds provides the system as a managed service to 12 public sector organisations.

Allianz Insurance

Allianz can offer clear, tangible proof in support of its achievements in professional development, process improvement and delivering quality systems and services. It operates at level 3 on the CMMi framework, has been accredited by the Software Engineering Institute since 2006, and also by the BCS for its Professional Development Framework.

Northgate Managed Services

In the recent economic climate, Northgate has been able to develop and grow its services to meet customers’ growing needs for efficiency and effectiveness in both the private and public sectors through the use of transformational IT, while retaining employee numbers. The company develops and invests in employees to achieve excellence both internally and externally with customers. <