BCD Travel’s multi-year, global initiative to put its people first with a comprehensive talent management recruitment and retention program is receiving international recognition. Christian Dahl, senior vice president of Strategic Talent Management & Global Human Resources for BCD Travel received a gold award for Human Resources Executive of the Year at the 2017 Stevie® Awards, while Investors in People, a globally recognized workplace ratings firm, has awarded BCD Travel with silver accreditation in people management.
The Stevie Awards for Great Employers recognize the world’s best employers and the human resources professionals, teams, achievements and HR-related products and suppliers who help create and drive great places to work. “I consider this Stevie award as a recognition of our entire global talent management team that has succeeded in making BCD Travel a great place to work,” said Dahl. Dahl became BCD Travel’s top talent executive in 2011.
“Christian’s recognition is not only a great personal and professional achievement, but also reflects the progress BCD Travel has made in talent management under his leadership,” said BCD Travel President and CEO John Snyder. “Building a reputation as a great company to work for helps us attract and keep top talent. And the outstanding service our excellent employees provide wins us recognition from the most important group of all: our customers.”
The recognitions outline the company’s successful development and implementation of BCD’s Confident Self initiative, launched globally in 2014. “The Confident Self is based on an understanding that employees will thrive in an environment where they are empowered to succeed, and that will create success for them personally and for our company,” Dahl explained. Employees say the Confident Self initiative helps them understand what success looks like and how to achieve it—removing the mystery of how to get ahead.
At the same time, Investors in People, a globally recognized workplace ratings firm, has awarded BCD Travel accreditation in people management. BCD Travel is the first travel management company to pursue and receive accreditation from Investors in People. IIP ratings set the standard for what it takes to lead, support and manage people well for sustainable results. In issuing its three-year accreditation of BCD Travel, the ratings firm compared the company’s performance against a proven, 27-scale framework of talent-management success. IIP also measured how well talent management supports BCD’s internal goals for culture, leadership, business growth and workforce development. IIP accreditation goes beyond popular workplace polls by helping companies objectively demonstrate to employees and job candidates that their organization is a great place to build a career.
Dahl noted that other statistics reinforce that demonstration: “In 2016, nearly a quarter of our new hires were referred by existing employees. Our own people are our best ambassadors.” Dahl cited professional development opportunities and on-the-job satisfaction as key drivers of employee pride in BCD. The company’s latest employee survey indicates 83.6% of employees are happy in their jobs—significantly higher than the service industry benchmark. And in 2016, 12,129 of BCD’s 13,000 employees worldwide participated in at least one training program designed to build their skills or improve their industry knowledge.
