Insurance company RSA scooped the top prize as well the award for employee engagement at last night’s CIPD People Management Awards.

The organisation picked up the award for employee engagement after using an impressive array of tactics to boost staff engagement, as well as taking home the award for overall winner of the night.

The judges were impressed by RSA’s shift from low staff morale, disappointing financial returns and talent recruitment struggles just five years ago, to feel able to claim to be “the world’s most engaged insurance company”.

The firm reported significantly improved engagement ratings (mean scores rose from 3.80 in 2008 to 4.34 in 2011, using Gallup’s Q12 methodology) and was able to demonstrate the impact this has on the business.

This ability to highlight a positive correlation between a team’s engagement levels and customer satisfaction, as well as new business growth, proved the value of its employee engagement programme.

RSA’s turnaround hinged on recognising the capability of its own leaders, the judges heard.

The employer was among 14 winners recognised for HR excellence in categories including building HR capability, which was won by Fujitsu Services Limited, change management, scooped by Sunderland City Council, and performance and reward, which was won by Cornwall Council (see full list of winners below).

Peter Cheese, chief executive at the CIPD and member of the final judging panel, said: “At a time when an average of less than four in 10 employees reports being engaged at work, RSA provides a positive example of how and why employee engagement levels should be a focus of improvement for employers.

"We know that strong employee engagement drives higher productivity and better business outcomes and it was great to see this demonstrated via RSA’s work.”

Winners in the categories for organisational best practice, including new awards for corporate responsibility and managing HR across boundaries, were:

Building HR capability – Fujitsu Services Limited
Change management – Sunderland City Council
Corporate responsibility – Marks & Spencer
Employee engagement – RSA
Health and wellbeing – Merlin Homes Ltd
HR innovation through technology – Royal Bank of Scotland Group – UK Retail
Managing HR across boundaries – Welsh Government
Organisational learning – Scottish Water
Performance and reward – Cornwall Council
SME HR initiative of the year – Rocco Forte Brown’s Hotel
Talent attraction and management – Barclays Bank Plc

The Michael Kelly Outstanding Student Award (extended this year to include all levels of qualifications, intermediate and foundation level) winners were:

Michael Kelly Outstanding Student Award, Intermediate and Foundation level - Becky Shailer, Kent County Council
Michael Kelly Outstanding Student Award, Postgraduate level - Amy Selway, Transport for London

The first CIPD Special Achievement Award went to the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) for mobilising more than 200,000 staff, volunteers and contractors to deliver a spectacular event.