Bristol University has won a top international award for its Positive Working Environment (PWE) initiative, which aims to make work life at the University more productive, rewarding, enjoyable and healthy.

At a ceremony in Toronto, Canada, the University has been declared the overall winner in the 2009 Global Human Resource Development Awards from the International Federation of Training and Development Organisations Ltd (IFTDO).

Bristol was selected from 22 entries from nine countries, beating a number of major corporate players with a global profile.

In its citation, IFTDO said of the University’s PWE initiative: “The scope and scale of the project was, and is, highly challenging, especially in this sector. Indeed the external expert judge commented that its success is all the more impressive because of the difficult and demanding nature of this type of organisation.”

The citation added that the University “sets a benchmark for other organisations, whether private or public, to reach”. It described the PWE initiative as “an example of outstanding leadership and vision combined with excellent practice resulting in improved motivation and performance”. 

IFTDO, an organisation supporting a network of 500,000 human resource professionals in 50 countries, recognises outstanding practice in human resources at an international level.

As well as taking the overall award, Bristol’s PWE initiative scooped the award for performance management.

Professor Eric Thomas, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said: “The University is honoured to have won this major international award. It’s a tribute to a great deal of sustained hard work by many committed colleagues.

“We aim to foster a collegial culture at Bristol, based on a clear set of values including excellence, transparency and equity. Our PWE initiative has aided progess towards this goal, but we recognise that there will always be scope for improvement and that the work will never be complete.”

The PWE initiative also won the Outstanding Human Resource Initiative Award at the 2009 Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards.

In addition, the University holds the Employer of the Year award given by local training providers for its commitment to apprentice development. This is part of a wider commitment to the training and development of all staff as part of the PWE initiative.