Human Resources Awards Blog

Chandra Clements, Director of One Legacy Pty Ltd, in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia won the Gold Stevie for Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Asia, Australia or New Zealand in the Individual Awards categories of both the 2012 and 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business. (The 2015 Stevie Awards for Women in Business are looking for the world’s best female entrepreneurs, executives and employees. REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.)

After consulting to and working for several industries in multiple countries, Chandra Clements recognized an escalating need to increase levels of operational excellence, innovation, equity, and empowerment for the benefit of organizations, individuals, and communities alike.

Chandra founded One Legacy Pty Ltd in 2013 as a result. One Legacy offers customized solutions to address leadership, commercial and engagement issues across any industry or business. The business teaches leaders and team members how to leverage the power of their thinking and mindset to achieve the goals they desire.

Keeping It Simple

We asked Chandra what areas she felt would be the most important ones for her organization to focus on in 2015.  Her response: “The business world has faced a lot of challenges in recent times. People want solutions to their complex business and leadership challenges but need the solutions to be straight forward and easy to communicate to their people. One Legacy offer simple training and coaching tools to help address these problems. Simplicity is critical. ”

It’s All About Impact

Chandra left her role as CEO of global powerhouse Sentis to pursue her passion of changing people's lives through the application of neuroscience. She founded One Legacy so that, among other things, she could mentor and support various women, young girls, and charitable organisations towards achieving their goals.

Chandra has designed and written countless neuroscience and leadership programs targeting women's empowerment, entrepreneurialism, innovation in the workplace, confidence building, downsizing, redundancies and mergers, effective psychosocial leadership for managers and—her recent flagship— You First, a program targeting business culture and effective followership in the aviation industry.

“Winning a Stevie Award has rapidly expanded my profile across the globe,” Chandra told us. “I have had the pleasure of working across 28 countries, seven languages, and nine industries and people readily recognize that winning a Stevie is testament to the quality of my work. It has been invaluable.”

Added Chandra: “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. Don’t doubt yourself: enter the awards!”

Asia-Pacific: A Great Opportunity

Chandra was the Guest Speaker for the Global Mining Conference in October 2013, alongside some of the top mining CEO's in Australia. She was the Guest Speaker at the 2013 Women's Global Empowerment Conference in Bangkok. She was MC and Key Note Speaker for the Annual OHS Leaders’ Summit in Australia and will be the key note speaker for the Newcastle University’s largest business and commerce fundraiser in October 2015.

As someone whose work frequently takes her to other Asia-Pacific countries, we asked Chandra for her view on the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

“The Asia-Pacific region is in many ways an ‘acid test’ for the current economy,” she told us.  “If you can succeed there, you can succeed anywhere. The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards is a great opportunity to put yourself out there and explore where you are benchmarked against your peers and competitors in the region.”

Making an Impact

In addition to her other achievements, Chandra is a 2014 Inductee in to the Australian Businesswoman’s Hall of Fame, and was the 2012 Telstra Young Business Woman for Australia. She has won nine Stevie awards across four years.

We asked her where she found the inspiration for all this activity. “You get one life,” she told us. “It needs to have impact and it needs to leave its mark on the world while making it a better place than when you entered it. This is the test of life as I see it. People will forget your wealth or your title but they don’t forget, they never forget the impact you have on them. This is my inspiration.”

About Chandra Clements:

After completing her business studies in 2001, Chandra Clements rapidly climbed the ranks of the corporate world to lead the global psychology-based workplace safety consultancy firm, Sentis.  In 2013, she decided to turn entrepreneur and established One Legacy, which consults to companies on operational growth measures, ethical business, human capital improvement, innovation, and sustainable business modeling.

Chandra built her professional career in organizational development and management roles at Rio Tinto, Fluor, Campbell Brothers, and Reward Distribution. In 2009 at Reward Distribution, she led a business of 380 employees to achieve a Lost Time Injury rate of zero, down from 19 two years earlier, whilst managing 26 sites, 2,800 suppliers and 75,000 product lines across Australia and New Zealand. As CEO of Sentis, Chandra delivered a 33% growth in revenue and a 230% growth in earnings before tax. She took the business from broke to bestseller in two short years.

In addition to winning the Gold Stevie Award for Best Female Executive (Asia, Australia & New Zealand) in The Stevie Awards for Women in Business two years running, Chandra was named the 2012 marie claire National Young Business Woman of the Year Award and also holds an Australia Day Young.

About One Legacy:

One Legacy is a successful coaching, keynote speaking and consultancy business dedicated to equity, empowerment and ethics. It was founded to change the world, one mindset at a time! The business fosters sustainable change through an understanding of the "Total Human Workplace" and what people need in order to succeed. 

Randstad, the second largest HR services and staffing company in the world, won two Stevie Awards for in The 2013 American Business Awards: a Gold Stevie for HR Executive of the Year in the Human Resources awards categories; and a Silver Stevie for Brand Experience of the Year in the Marketing awards categories. (Entries to The 2014 American Business Awards are now being accepted. Find out more here.)

Randstad recently published a survey showing how important a factor it is for a company to have women in positions of leadership when it comes to their prospective employees.  We asked Randstad for more information from their survey.  

Equal pay, more visible female leadership, and more family-friendly work policies are among the most beneficial ways in which companies can help women advance, according to male and female respondents to the latest Randstad US Employee Engagement Index study. More than three-quarters (76%) of the women surveyed felt whether a company “has women in positions of leadership” is important when considering taking a position with a new company.

When asked about the ways in which their company could best help women advance to leadership levels, following were the top 5 responses:

1. Not surprisingly, equal pay was cited most often among women (49%) and men (37%).
2. Having more women in leadership positions was the second most cited (named by 34% of women and 31% of men).
3. More family-friendly work policies was the third most cited overall, selected by 31% of women and 26% of men.
4. The fourth way was more leadership development programs for women, named almost equally by women and men (25% and 24%, respectively).
5. Men and women differed significantly on their opinions on number five on the list, with 28% of women and just 20% of men noting that greater flexibility in terms of scheduling/telecommuting would help in the advancement of women.

Driving Innovation and Corporate Success

The study also found that 67% of total respondents strongly/somewhat agree with the statement: “By 2020, I expect there to be many more women in leadership positions in my company or organization.”  

“With nearly one billion women poised to enter the global economy in the coming decade, and representing the majority of college and advanced degree holders, employers will be increasingly reliant upon women in the workplace to drive innovation and corporate success,” said Lisa Crawford, senior vice president, Randstad US. “In order to compete in the growing war for female talent in the years ahead, companies that encourage the development and attainment of leadership positions equitably will be well-positioned in their recruitment efforts. The pursuit of leadership rank is a universal aspiration, and therefore organizations that help their workforce achieve those goals, regardless of gender, will emerge successful.” 

Women in the Workplace

Women and men surveyed by Randstad US weighed in on a variety of topics related to employee engagement and women in the workplace. Other relevant findings included:

• Women are less likely to be considering a job change.
  In the next 6 months, according to Randstad’s Q3 2013 Engagement Study, 42% of men compared to 34% of women are likely to seek out a job in a different company; and 48% of men compared to 40% of women are likely to give a lot of consideration to a job offer.
• Women are Optimistic about Opportunities for Growth with Their Employers. 
  Only 46%of women expect to have to switch employers to grow their careers, compared to 56% of men.

Elevating the Conversation

As one of the world’s largest staffing organizations and the third largest in the United States, Randstad US is committed to elevating the conversation around women and work. The company regularly creates and curates content on its Women Powering Business blog and convenes live conversations about women in leadership through its Women Powering Business initiative. Randstad Technologies is also partnering with CIO’s Executive Council to host events focused on women in technology careers in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Chicago and Dallas.

Randstad US recently launched an Inspiring Women in Our Lives contest on Facebook, focused on recognizing the women who are prevailing challenges, overcoming obstacles, and breaking barriers at home, in the office and in their communities.

Survey Methodology

The Randstad Engagement Index is comprised of findings from quarterly waves of research targeting employees and annual surveys of employers. The eighth wave of findings was conducted online between September 19 and October 4, 2013 from a national sample of 2,033 adults aged 18 and older who are currently employed full time from Ipsos’ U.S. online panel.

Weighting was used to balance demographics and ensure samples reflect the U.S. population of working adults. Employees and employers were surveyed to compare notable differences in perceptions and attitudes. Multiple waves of research allow for trending and to track changes in perceptions and attitudes over time.  Research into employee attitudes and perceptions will be conducted quarterly. Research into employer attitudes and perceptions will be conducted on an annual basis.

About Lisa Crawford
Lisa Crawford joined Randstad in 2010 as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Professionals. In this role, Lisa provides HR support with a focus on areas of high impact, such as employee relations, organizational development, policy and procedures, and workforce planning.

With fifteen years of experience in HR, Lisa is an accomplished HR leader with subject matter experience in managing rapid growth, acquisition, integration, and turnaround situations. Prior to joining Randstad, Lisa’s career as a marketing strategist for blue chip financial services and technology clients provided her with the unique insights to define and measure tangible HR business results for individuals, teams and the overall enterprise.

Lisa is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

About Ipsos Public Affairs
Ipsos Public Affairs is a non-partisan, objective, survey-based research practice which conducts strategic research initiatives for a diverse number of American and international organizations, based on public opinion research.  They are the international polling agency of record for Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals.  To learn more, visit: www.ipsos-pa.com.

About Randstad US
Randstad is a $22.0 billion global provider of HR services and the second largest staffing organization in the world. From temporary staffing to permanent placement to in-house, professionals, search & selection, and HR Solutions, Randstad holds top positions around the world and has approximately 29,300 corporate employees and around 4,500 branches and in-house locations in 39 countries. Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Diemen, the Netherlands, Randstad Holding nv is listed on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam. Learn more at www.randstad.com and access Randstad’s panoramic US thought leadership knowledge center through its Workforce360 site that offers valuable insight into the latest economic indicators and HR trends shaping the world of work.         

This week we've been recognizing the contributions of the judges in The 2011 (8th Annual) International Business Awards, the world's only fully-international, all-encompassing business awards program.

Today we honor the participation of the human resources awards judging panel, which was an all-Turkish committee, including

Ece Alakoc, CFE, CIB HR Business Partner, Unicredit Bank CIB (Corporate and Investment Banking Division), Istanbul, Turkey
Yesim Arkis, Vice President, Head of HR, Ericsson Middle East, Istanbul, Turkey
Ozan Duman, Head of HR, Levi Strauss & Co., Istanbul, Turkey
Hale Okmen, Head of Human Resources, SHAYA, Istanbul, Turkey
Ayse Guclu Onur, Consultant, Egon Zehnder International, Istanbul, Turkey
Pinar Temizkan, Human Resources Director, Alcatel Lucent, Turkey and Azerbaijan, Istanbul, Turkey
Savas Usta, HR Director, Turk Telekom A.S., Istanbul, Turkey

Sengul Demircan, Head of HR, HSBC Bank Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey, chaired and formed this committee, which judged categories including

• Human Resources Department of the Year
• Human Resources Team of the Year
• Human Resources Executive of the Year
• Training Web Site of the Year
• Training Production of the Year

This year's honorees selected by the committee include Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters, Accenture, Aygaz, Orange Slovensko a.s., and Protiviti.  See the complete list of HR awards honorees here.  

What do you think of the HR awards committees selections?

ITM Group, Inc. in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida won a Stevie Award for their HR Bartender blog, for Blog of the Year in the Business Services industry, in the 7th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business last Friday night.  The awards recognize women executives, women entrepreneurs, and the organization they run worldwide.  Most of the awards are for individuals and/or their organizations, but there are also a handful of web site awards, blog awards, marketing awards, advertising awards, and public relations awards categories in the Stevies for Women in Business.

ITM Group, Inc. is a strategic human resources consulting firm that works with client companies to cultivate individual and organizational talent.

In nominating the HR Bartender blog, ITM Group wrote: "HR Bartender http://www.hrbartender.com is a friendly place to discuss workplace issues.  It was created to give working women and men the opportunity to learn critical aspects of business and management tips from a human resources perspective.  Key learnings center around leadership, professional development,
strategic planning, workplace social media and career strategies."

In accepting her Stevie Award on November 12, Sharlyn Lauby, SPHR, and President of ITM Group, Inc., said she called her blog HR Bartender because through the years she's grown to feel that HR professionals are thought of like bartenders: always available, with a smile, willing to listen, and to offer comfort to those in need.