Celebrating HR excellence as a primary part of its HR Conference + Tradeshow 2019, the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources of British Columbia and Yukon (CPHR BC & Yukon), today announced the winner of its annual award, the 2019 Rising Star Award, which was presented to Miranda Birkbeck, CPHR candidate, HR advisor for First Western Credit Union.
The Rising Star Award, sponsored by LoganHR, was created to recognize and publicly honour a CPHR BC & Yukon member who is “lighting the HR community on fire,” and celebrates young HR trailblazers who hold the future of the HR profession in their hands.
Miranda Birkbeck, CPHR candidate walked into her first day on the job at First West Credit Union in Kelowna in 2016 with all parties already aware of her “Rising Star” potential. Highly active in the HR field long before graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration with Honours, HR Management, Birkbeck had served as an HR technology intern with First West for seven months earlier that year, contributed to some key projects and proven herself a quick study in the process. She had also already competed twice in the HRC West competition, completed an honours degree through a recruitment project and volunteered as a student administrator on the CPHR BC & Yukon’s Southern Interior Advisory Council.
With passion proven and path set, Birkbeck went to work learning the business from the ground up, before emerging with a proposal that led to the creation of First West’s first harmonized employee referral program. As adaptable as able, Birkbeck then went to work on existing infrastructure, playing a fundamental role in the implementation of First West’s new application tracking system, while learning to configure the system to automate offer letters and parts of the pre-boarding process. She then set her sites on their HR service centre, a busy virtual hub serving 1,750 employees in 90 locations across B.C. and is credited with applying myriad technical touches to enhance the user experience.
A champion in her own right, Birkbeck is keen to champion the success of others and has also been working to enhance First West’s awards and scholarship programs, while leading the development of a new employee value proposition.
With much of the above is highly-technical, Birkbeck is credited with a passion for the minute details and big picture alike, sourcing technology solutions which work for the wider team. As such, she has not only earned the respect of her HR peers, but is credited with elevating the HR delivery model to employees—and now exemplifying it within the HR profession as CPHR BC & Yukon’s Rising Star 2019.
Testament to the acknowledge impact of the HR profession, the awards were showcased at a special ceremony during the HR Conference + Tradeshow 2019—attended by over 1,000 HR professionals and people leaders from across West Coast and Canada. For a full roster of finalists and expanded winner profiles, visit
cprhbc.ca/awards.
CPHR BC & Yukon is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the HR profession through advocacy, awareness and professional development opportunities. Established in 1942, the association provides leadership to more than 6,000 members, and is both a founding member of the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources of Canada (CPHR Canada) and the exclusive grantor of the Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation in British Columbia and the Yukon.
www.cphrbc.ca
For interview or photography contact:
Ian Esplen,
communications specialist, CPHR BC & Yukon
604-694-6930
iesplen@cphrbc.ca
