The trophies have been given out, toasts have been made and the canapés have been eaten. After four fantastic global events recognizing the work of organizations and individuals across the cloud industry, the Digital Revolution Awards 2023 season has come to a close.
Throughout the Digital Revolution Awards 2023 events, we saw many outstanding winners take the stage, receiving a round of applause for making a positive impact on our world through the use of cloud technology.
Now it’s time to shine a spotlight on some of those worthy victors and showcase the fantastic work that made them winners in the Digital Revolution Awards.
In this Meet the Winners blog, we’re getting to know the winner of our Best Microsoft Partner to Work For award, Hitachi Solutions.
When crowning the winner of our Best Microsoft Partner to Work For award, we were on the lookout for the most well-rounded Microsoft partner with a laser-like focus on all elements of the partner’s employee brand.
Our winner would be a Microsoft partner that displayed all the ingredients of a great organization to work for: a dedication to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, impressive CSR and sustainability efforts, a robust employee health and wellbeing program, extensive training and certification options, and an innovative approach to talent attraction and retention in the partner ecosystem.
What’s especially impressive about this year’s champion is how much progress the company has made in just 12 months.
Hitachi Solutions is a Microsoft Partner that has evolved massively on its journey to becoming an exceptional employer. In the past few years, the organization has made long-term investments into its culture, its social contributions, and generally into creating a great place for people to do their best work in the Microsoft ecosystem.
Recently, the company has introduced policies that impact both its workforce and the wider world, including volunteering days, support for charity partners, and a sharpened focus on CSR. Hitachi Solutions has also made significant leaps in its approach to diversity and inclusion, and as a result, 97.9% of employees agree that the people they work with are respectful irrespective of race, gender, religion, national origin, age or ability.
Just a year before Hitachi Solutions was nominated for the Best Microsoft Partner to Work for Award, the firm didn’t have a volunteering policy, an internal CSR lead, or support a nominated charity.
Recognizing that, despite everyone’s best efforts, there were areas of CSR the team didn’t have the resources to focus on, Hitachi Solutions created a brand-new CSR Manager role.
Not long after filling the role, Hitachi Solutions formed its first-ever Charity of the Year partnership which has already raised over £6,000 for Young Lives vs. Cancer, while also working on a pro-bono Dynamics project.
The company has also brought in a new volunteering policy that gives employees up to five days annually to volunteer for causes they care about. Hitachi Solutions has also invested £15,000 into various fundraising and community support programs for 2023.
A CSR Focus Group was also launched to support the firm’s Social Value commitments, alongside a group of internal volunteers dedicated to helping the company better represent a diverse, fair and inclusive workplace community.
Among the group’s first achievements were setting up a DEI Framework, creating a DEI Policy, and leading internal sessions to identify current issues and plan solutions to address them. The result was a mandatory training course for all employees on developing an inclusive mindset.
The company now runs monthly talks around DEI subjects, which see employees and external speakers share their experiences and raise awareness around topics like International Women’s Day, Volunteering to Save Lives, Pride and LGBQTIA+, Islam and Ramadan and Black History Month. So far, these EnLightened events have attracted over 130 attendees every time, with viewers regularly sharing feedback about how inspiring and thought-provoking the talk was.
The result of all this work on the DEI front has been tangible. Staff feedback has improved remarkably with DEI and Pride in the Company now among the top five things that Hitachi Solution’s employees rate positively about their experience with the organization.
We spoke to CSR Manager, Christina Mackay and Senior VP, Sajeel Afza of Hitachi Solutions at the UK ceremony to chat about what the company’s win means to them.
“Our entry was really based around the development of our corporate social responsibility and our diversity and inclusion developments,” said Christina.
“We’re absolutely ecstatic,” said Sajeel. “The number of partners in there, to win is a great achievement for our company and all the employees within it.
“I didn’t expect there to be so many people! There are so many outstanding organizations represented here. It’s just great for diversity and inclusion, and that’s exactly what we’re about.”
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