George Petitpas Award

WFPMA Award Criteria

  1. The WFPMA Award shall be made to an individual, or to a team of two or more individuals, whose work, in the opinion of the WFPMA Board, constitutes an outstanding contribution to the profession and practice of human resource management and development at an international level.
  2. An 'outstanding contribution' will be one that is readily recognised by HR professionals all over the world for its intrinsic excellence, and which can be shown to have had a significant impact on the fortunes of one or more employing organisations, to have advanced the international state of knowledge and understanding of people management and development and/or to have influenced the profession and its practice internationally.
  3. The award may be made in respect of research, teaching, writing or organizational practice which has gained international reach and recognition.
  4. The award may be made in respect of a single activity, piece of work or program (but taking account of paragraph 2 above) or in respect of a series of initiatives or body of work over a period.
  5. The award may relate to a contribution to a single organization, provided that knowledge and information about the activity or program is subsequently disseminated widely and recognised internationally.
  6. In selecting recipients for the award, the Board shall keep in mind the desirability of recognising people who provide role models for the profession, who demonstrate personal and professional leadership, who set standards for others and for the profession, and whose professional expertise is applied and recognised both within and beyond their local or national communities.
  7. The award may be made once in any period of two years, but the WFPMA may decide not to make an award if no suitable recipients come to light.
  8. No officer of the WFPMA, member of the Board or affiliate representative is eligible for nomination while holding such a position.

Selecting recipients

  1. The responsibility for recommending that an individual, or group of individuals, should receive the WFPMA Award is delegated by the WFPMA Board to a selection panel.
  2. The selection panel is made up of the Immediate Past President of the WFPMA and the Presidents of the regional federations which are members of the WFPMA, so long as they hold these offices.
  3. The selection panel shall decide for itself how to operate. It will not normally meet, but may do so if its members are gathered for some other purpose. It will not normally interview candidates for the award if this involves significant expenditure for travel and accommodation.
  4. The WFPMA Board shall provide sufficient resources for publicising the award, and for calling for nominations and suggestions of possible recipients, and shall provide the selection panel with appropriate secretarial assistance.
  5. It is expected that the selection panel will use "search" techniques to identify and gather information about possible recipients of the award. In this activity, they may seek advice or assistance from regional or national associations.
  6. It is expected that the selection panel will seek evidence to support nominations: in the case of practitioners and consultants - from the organization(s) in question, whether employer or client, and from other countries or overseas organiZations which have benefited from the nominee's work; in the case of academics, teachers and writers - from companies which have benefited from the work in question, and preferably organizations from more than one country.
  7. The deliberations and decision processes of the selection panel, and the names and identities of any candidates who are considered but not selected for recommendation for the award, shall remain confidential to the members of the selection panel. Potential recipients will not normally be aware that they are being considered for the award.
  8. The selection panel may recommend not more than one recipient or group of recipients of the award in any two-year period. The recommendation may be made at any time, but not later than six months before the date of the next WFPMA World Congress on Personnel Management.
  9. The recommendation of the selection panel shall be accompanied by sufficient information to provide the basis for an award citation.
  10. A recommendation made by the selection panel may be accepted or rejected by the WFPMA Board, but the Board may not substitute its own nomination for the recommendation of the panel. If a recommendation of the panel is rejected, the panel may make a further recommendation.

Making the award

  1. When the WFPMA Board has accepted the recommendation of the selection panel, it shall be the responsibility of the WFPMA President to communicate this decision to the proposed recipient and seek his, her or their acceptance. The winner(s) will also be required to attend the conference to accept the award or, failing that, to participate in a video of the award presentation.
  2. The decision shall not be made public until the award is presented at the next WFPMA World Congress.
  3. The award recipient, or if the award goes to a group then a representative of that group, shall be a guest of the WFPMA for the World Congress. The host organization shall provide a full complimentary congress registration for the recipient, and the WFPMA shall provide an economy class return air fare (between the recipient's home port and the Congress venue) and meet actual and reasonable accommodation expenses.
  4. The award takes the form of a sculpture which is provided by the WFPMA. There is no monetary award.

For further details contact the WFPMA Secretariat WFPMA.Secretariat@shrm.org.