Merchants' Ward named IPM HR Director of the Year

"Victoria's award is an acknowledgement not just of her quite remarkable gifts as an HR leader, but also of Merchants' overall business strategy," said Merchants' MD, Martin Dove.

"Having cut her teeth at Merchants and then going on to experience other business environments, Victoria returned in a board position. It was very important both to Victoria and the company because HR is the fundamental fabric of every organisation and, therefore, the HR director must be in a position to inform all business strategies.

"Her approach worked perfectly with the direction in which we were taking the company, which was to have everyone in contact with us experience the exceptional. We realised that if our own staff didn't understand what exceptional is and feel exceptional about themselves, they could not possibly give our clients and their customers an exceptional experience," said Dove.

High levels of employee churn

Contact centres traditionally see high levels of employee churn among a typically young workforce. Ward has made it possible for Merchants to attract and retain great talent and, therefore, retain clients well beyond the industry's usual three- and five-year contract norm.

Dove continued: "It takes rare skill and insight to execute a vision like that across nearly 4000 employees. Had we not had Victoria at the helm in HR, I don't think we could have pulled it off.

"We have her to thank for the fact that many of our agents progress to senior management positions, not just in our 10 contact centres, but within Merchants itself. This ensures that our culture of exceptional is embedded at the core of the organisation. In other words, Victoria has taken the 'sound HR principles' mentioned in the IPM award to new levels," he said.

For Ward, the IPM recognition gives momentum to her belief that HR is about business sustainability. "For a South African school leaver, finding a job is tough. The majority of young people don't dare - and don't know how - to reach for the life they really want.

"It's been gratifying to see that by showing that you believe in them - by offering them development opportunities and then helping them take advantage of them - they automatically become an expression of exceptional. Those are the kinds of employees that ensure company growth. And, if you help them bridge the gap between their generation and the generation currently in executive positions, your succession planning takes care of itself. The company becomes self-sustaining."