BC HRMA awards recognize 'out-of-the-box' strategies

5 individuals honoured

Wayne Balshin saved Vancouver Coastal Health $4.3 million in relief staffing costs and thousands of hours of productive time for his work with the organization’s attendance promotion program.

Balshin, who is the executive director of human resources and labour relations at the organization, implemented a range of workforce initiatives that required "out-of-the-box strategy and deployment with provincial union and multi-health authority consensus," said the British Columbia Human Resources Management Association (BC HRMA).

His creation, implementations and positive union relations earned him the Award of Excellence: HR Professional of the Year at the BC HRMA’s annual conference mid-April.

The Award of Excellence: HR Professional of the Year is given to an individual who contributes to an organization by achieving significant business results and by demonstrating exceptional leadership both as a personal and professional role model.

Nominated finalists alongside Balshin included Elaine Jones, executive director of the strategic human resources branch of the province’s Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labour and the Office of the Premier and Jennifer Perry, vice-president of talent management at HUB International Insurance Brokers.

Kara Biles was announced the winner of the Rising Star Award. Biles is a dedicated HR professional at the B.C. Public Service, helping support a 30,000-member workforce delivering services to more than four million British Columbians.

She is one of only a few people in the B.C. Public Service to design and develop training courses and systems using technology. Biles has become a recognized expert in training and development for her own agency, as well as other ministries in the B.C. Public Service. As the go-to person for e-learning, her entire job is defined as innovation in training, said the BC HRMA.

Alongside Biles, nominated finalists included Carly Gordon, human resources advisor at NRI Distribution and Sarah Siddall, human resources recruiter for the Resort Municipality of Whistler.

The Rising Star Award recognizes and honors a BC HRMA member who is “lighting the HR community on fire,” said BC HRMA.

Fellow CHRPs

The Fellow CHRP (FCHRP) is a prestigious title that aims to recognize the most exceptional CHRPs in Canada who have made outstanding contributions to the human resources profession and their communities, said BC HRMA. This year’s FCRHP recipients are Rod Killough (Teck Highland Valley Copper), Suzanne McIntyre (People in Focus Consulting) and Kevin Jeffrey (Pointbreak Consulting Group).

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