…as Head of HR grabs Outstanding Contribution to HR industry award
Telecommunication giant MTN Ghana Limited was adjudged Human Resources (HR) Company of the Year-Gold category at the third Africa Human Resources Innovation Awards (AHRIA), 2020, organised by Instinct Wave.
MTN grabbed gold ahead of Gold Fields Ghana Limited and Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited, which grabbed silver and bronze respectively.
Besides that, MTN Ghana also won three different organisational awards at the event. The awards are HR Innovation Company of the Year, Employer of the Year and Outstanding Employee Retention Policy award.
Furthermore, MTN Nigeria also won Excellence in Employee Brand of the Year while its Regional Director of HR, Esther Akinnukawu, was also honoured as One of Africa’s Top-50 HR Practitioners.
Again, on the individual awards, HR Executive-MTN Ghana, Ama Benneh-Amponsah, also walked away with two awards: Outstanding Contributor to HR Industry and One of Africa Top 50 HR practitioners award.
AHRIA is an annual celebration of leading HR practitioners and organisations with top-notch HR models which have made sterling contributions to the corporate sector over the years.
Chief Executive Officer of Instinct Wave, Akin Naphtal, in an address delivered on his behalf reiterated that this year’s awards are about recognising and rewarding resilience, innovation, hard work, exemplary management practices and transformative leadership, especially in a year that has been challenging for many organisations.
Commenting on the awards, the HR Executive-MTN Ghana, Ama Benneh-Amponsah, emphasised that MTN is a very feedback-driven organisation from both internal and external perspectives, and continues to employ very innovative ways of addressing challenges – with which handling the COVID-19 pandemic has not been different.
“It is relevant to recognise excellence in the industry, especially during a period like this when the role of HR is even more important; when HR people has to strive to show a human face to employees, show that people matter and also show that people can be productive under difficult situations like we are seeing now.
“At MTN the people-management perspective is key, thus being able to deliver what people want. If you have structural initiatives and strategies which appeal to people, you tend to have the results that you want. I am glad MTN is not just winning HR awards but we are actually showing the productivity as well as also delivering to our customer base,” she said.
Touching on the new normal of doing business and the way forward for HR professionals, she indicated that, fortunately, MTN as an institution started working remotely even before the onset of COVID-19; so, it was a seamless transition for employees to work remotely with flexible hours before, during and after the lockdown – and the company was still able to serve customers effectively and even introduced new products and services.
“MTN is a learning-oriented organisation and has evolved a lot throughout my career with MTN. I have had the opportunity to learn and relearn. This is the culture that has evolved the business to where it is right now, and we believe in continuous improvement,” she concluded.
List of Award Winners
HR Innovation of the Year- Insurance: Old Mutual Limited.
HR Innovation of the Year- Mining: Gold Fields Ghana Ltd.
HR Innovation of the Year- Consumer Goods: Guinness Ghana Breweries.
HR Innovation of the Year- Telecom: MTN GHANA.
HR Innovation of the Year- Public Sector: VRA.
Excellence in Employee Branding: MTN Nigeria.
Excellence in Leadership Development: Gold Fields Ghana.
Excellence in Graduate recruitment & Development- PWC.
Employer of the Year: MTN GHANA.
Excellence in Women Empowerment Strategy: Guinness Ghana Breweries.
Outstanding Employee Retention Policy: MTN GHANA.
HR Team of the Year- Bronze: Guinness Ghana Breweries.
HR Team of the Year- Silver: Gold Fields Ghana Ltd.
HR Team of the Year- Gold: MTN GHANA.
Emerging HR Professional of the Year: Mr. Jehoshaphat T. Abaya, Human Capital
Executive, Old Mutual Limited Ghana.
Emerging HR Professional of the Year: Audrey Achaw, Acting HR Director Guinness Ghana Breweries.
HR Professional of the Year-Private Sector: Mr. Francis Eduku, Vice President & Head of Human Resources of West Africa Region, Gold Fields.
Outstanding contribution to HR Industry: Amma Benneh-Amponsah, HR Executive, MTN GHANA.
HR Professional of the Year: Public Sector Dr. Mrs. I. Stella Agyenim-Boateng, Deputy Chief Executive.
Industry Personality of the Year Dr. Hazel Berrard Amuah, Regional HRD W/A & Ghana FanMilk Ghana.
Most People-Focused CEO of the Year-Private Sector: Gavin Pike, MD Diageo SA.
Most People-Focused CEO of the Year-Public Sector: Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa, Chief Executive.
Africa Top-50 HR Leader: Dr. Hazel Berrard Amuah, Regional HRD W/A & Ghana FanMilk Ghana.
Africa Top-50 HR Leader: Amma Korantema Ansah CEO / Lead Consultant for PEAK Resources Consulting.
Africa Top-50 HR Leader: Dr. (Mrs.) I. Stella Agyenim-Boateng, Deputy Chief Executive, VRA.
Africa Top-50 HR Leader: Amma Benneh- Amponsah, HR Executive, MTN GHANA.
Africa Top-50 HR Leader: Mrs. Judith Ron Oppong-Tawiah, Head, HR & Administration Energy Commission.
Africa Top-50 HR Leader: Theodora Nti-Appiah, Senior Manager, Human capital.
Africa Top-50 HR Leader: Esther Akinnukawe, Group Human Resources Director, MTN Nigeria.
Etc.
