Water firm finds talent on tap

One of the most hotly contested categories in the UK IT Industry Awards is IT Department of the Year. In 2010, this prestigious prize went to the tech team at Yorkshire Water Services. So what was it about them that so impressed the judges, and what impact has their success had?

“As an IT department, we had transformed ourselves from a slow and flabby overhead to a key enabler of the business,” said Duncan Bennett, IT manager at Yorkshire Water.

“We are now an agile and responsive business partner. Our chief executive often says it is IT that differentiates Yorkshire Water from our peers.”

But did the team expect to win?

“We knew we had given it our best shot, and we were hopeful, but we were certainly not expectant,” said Bennett.

“Often these types of awards are dominated by big IT suppliers, and it is great that the UK IT Awards recognised how much we have done as a department, and felt we were worthy against the household names.”

Bennett believes that his firm’s commitment to staff development was a key factor in their success.

“We carry out extensive career planning for our team. We have excellent processes and procedures in place, governance is a top priority, we have a completely service-driven culture, and we also like to empower our staff,” he said.

So what has winning meant for Bennett’s team in the months since the lavish prize-giving ceremony last November?

“Winning gave the IT department, and the whole business, tremendous pride. Getting this recognition, and being named IT Department of the Year, is just brilliant,” said Bennett.

“We use the logo on all of our presentation material and all of our documents, so that everyone knows about our success,” he said. “It shows everyone in the company and in the industry that a well-regarded external body believes that we deserve this title.”

The achievement has also benefited the company in ways that go beyond marketing, morale and promotion: it has helped Yorkshire Water to attract more candidates for its graduate scheme than ever before.

“The award has helped us in lots of ways, but especially in helping attract, retain, and select the best people,” explained Bennett.

“We run an IT graduate programme, and in the past we have found it difficult to attract good candidates to a water utilities company. Usually we have to put a lot of hard work into this.

“However, when you have got the title of ‘IT Department of the Year’, it helps you massively. We pushed this point across at local universities, and we have seen a great response. It has also benefited our apprenticeship scheme.”

Yorkshire Water plans to enter the awards again this year, but has yet to decide on a specific category. It intends to review the past 12 months and identify where it has shown significant success.

“The UK IT Industry Awards is great for the whole industry, and it is a brilliant night to celebrate everyone’s success,” said Bennett. “We definitely intend to be there this year.”

The closing date for entering this year’s competition is 5pm on Friday 15 July. The winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held at Battersea Park Events Arena in London on Thursday 10 November 2011.

For a full run-down of this year’s award categories, with details on how to enter, go to the awards entry page.