The award for best talent strategy celebrates a company's ability to spot and nurture talent and this is very much what we at Cedar passionately believe in.

Often I encourage people to put their work forward for an award, only to be met with the same response - ‘Oh, it's not that special' or ‘Isn't this what everyone else is doing?'
They are genuinely surprised to hear that what they are doing is both special and unique.  So if you've been putting extra effort and commitment into getting talent management on the radar, aligning your business strategy with your people strategy, let us know by putting yourself forward.
The judges see loads of entries so here are a few tips for catching their attention

• Make it eye catching - get someone from your communications team to help or someone with a creative eye to make it impactful
• Keep it simple - explain the background and organisational issues driving your work, what your goals and vision were
• What was the process - how did you set about meeting your goals and what was particularly special and creative about your approach?
• What made the difference - what were the outcomes and impact?
• Use existing data to provide evidence of success and return on investment

o    Employee opinion survey data
o    Reduction in regretted losses
o    Reduction in external hires

• Present a business case showing how your initiative aligns with organisational priorities and translates into positive business outcomes
• Gather anecdotal feedback and quotes from a whole variety of stakeholders from the chief executive to people in the business who have benefitted from your project - let us know what you learned along the way
• Tell us how you plan to build on your efforts and achievements in the future
• State the blindingly obvious - don't assume the judges know or understand your business

And, finally, as the lottery people say - you've got to be in it to win it.  So download your application form today, and I look forward to seeing you at the Awards ceremony in the summer!

Cindy Mahoney, chief executive, Cedar Talent Management