On April 28, Premier Christy Clark announced the Interior and Northern winners of the Premier’s Innovation and Excellence Awards—amongst them a BC HRMA member.

Joanne Hanson, CHRP, of the Ministry of Social Development earned recognition in the Emerging Leader category. Hanson is the first ever Premier’s Award recipient for the Emerging Leader category which was introduced this year.  She has also been chosen as a Provincial finalist for the Provincial Awards to be held May 31, 2011. 

The scope and range of Hanson’s leadership is as broad as the region she oversees. With a keen eye for team building and spotting business and process improvements, Hanson has made a real impact on the service her ministry provides and the way in which it provides this service.

While responsible for a call center and the largest face-to-face office in Prince George, Hanson made changes that improved client service and staff satisfaction. She also championed the revamping of the medical transportation task, addressing the fact that the region has the highest use of client medical travel costs in B.C. Cost-savings were realized within three months.

Hanson promotes and supports a “one team” concept across the region: she produced a regional newsletter, created a SharePoint site, holds a “Java with Joanne” monthly conference call, and designed a Groove site that gives employees a place to share great ideas.

The Premier’s Awards acknowledge outstanding achievement in all areas of public service including innovation, leadership and partnership. This year, five employees from the Interior and northern regions received awards in the Cross-Government Integration, Emerging Leader, Innovation, Leadership and Partnership categories.

“These awards honour those who have achieved great success in their fields,” said Stephanie Cadieux, Minister of Labour, Citizens’ Services and Open Government, whose ministry administers the awards. “Whether responding to emergencies, improving services, improving air quality or creating a mountain biking mecca in the Burns Lake and Smithers area, every accomplishment deserves our applause.”

Premier Clark announced the recipients via streamlining online video presentation. Similar webcasts will honour Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island employees, with the final celebration being a provincial award ceremony in Victoria on May 31, 2011.

Videos of all Premier’s Awards finalists can be viewed online on the BC Public Service YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=5417CA826E651D19.