As employers in nearly all sectors face enormous challenges attracting the best talent, this category rewards employers that have developed a seamless and positive candidate experience, regardless of whether applicants are successful. Engaging talent attraction, candidate selection, interview processes, together with clear and timely communication about a candidate’s progress will be paramount in the judges’ minds. A well-managed onboarding process for new hires will also be welcomed by our judging panel. Entrants should provide clear evidence of the positive candidate experience and strong recruitment outcomes.

Entries open to employers and suppliers working with them

Entrants will need to demonstrate that they have undertaken a successful change programme resulting in clear improvements to the business. Judges will look for examples of HR’s role in managing and embedding change, which might, for example, focus on creating or modifying major structures and processes in the organisation, or on the integration of another business. Entries will need to explain actions taken to ensure the programme was successful, how you worked with others to help overcome any resistance and the benefits to the business.

Entries open to employers and suppliers working with them.

This category recognises those employers that are excelling in recruiting people early in their careers, whether through apprenticeships, graduate programmes, or other routes to the benefit of the organisation. Entries should demonstrate how their organisation’s early careers offering is attracting talent that may have otherwise gone untapped and that the training is fulfilling a clear business need. They should evidence the commitment the employer gives to this new generation of staff, and the benefits the apprenticeship and/or graduate schemes bring. Judges will be looking for employers who optimise their early careers recruitment programmes to attract and nurture a diverse talent pool in the most innovative and effective way. Successful entrants will be able to demonstrate how their attraction and selection process recruits the most suitable candidates; how their trainees learn and develop through focused learning and placements.

Entries open to employers and suppliers working with them.

This award aims to attract entries from high-performing organisations that are unlocking discretionary effort from staff through effective employee engagement. Judges will be looking for evidence of respected leadership, exceptional levels of communication, and a strong sense of community that centres on shared values. Include measurement data, (e.g. employee opinion survey results, staff turnover rates, absence levels) to prove the value of your organisation’s high levels of staff motivation and outline of the employee’s experience from “hire to retirement”.

Entries open to employers and suppliers working with them.

This award recognises the important work that employment law teams can do for their HR clients. Judges will be looking for examples of performance and innovative thinking and details of how client service sets the firm apart from others. Entries could include testimonials from HR clients about the law firm’s work and the firm ability to deliver value for money. Judges will also consider proactive advice provided for clients as well as its ability to handle live disputes.

Entries open to law firms with a specialist employment team.

This award is about demonstrating the value and business benefits of a diverse and inclusive workforce and the measures taken to achieve it. Judges will expect to see initiatives that have delivered positive results in terms of equality, staff engagement, recruitment, and retention. For example, a positive action campaign that encouraged applications from under-represented groups, a flexible working scheme targeting new mums, or a strategy to improve inequalities. Entries can relate to a specific offering or project, or an organisation’s holistic approach.

Entries open to employers and suppliers working with them

This award specifically recognises people management programmes that have made a positive and measurable impact in organisations that deliver public services. Judges will be looking for examples where HR has transformed the business to deliver stronger performance; has transformed itself; the innovative use of HR to tackle a specific business challenge; developed the workforce; increased productivity or improved the delivery of public services. Entries should give demonstrable and measurable examples of business impact, and can relate to the whole organisation or a specific division or HR function.

Entries open to employers and suppliers working with them

Gender pay gap reporting and equal pay scandals have shone a light on employers’ ability to treat people fairly, no less so than in the support they can offer staff who are starting a family or who are caring for loved ones. Employers that have progressive policies around maternity, paternity and shared parental leave and pay, that have a positive and inclusive approach to flexible working, and who proactively help staff with caring responsibilities should enter this award. Judges will be looking at the family related benefits that employers offer as well as evidence of a healthy and pragmatic approach to improving work-life balance. Judges will also be looking at the evidence entrants can provide around the impact its policies are having on talent attraction and retention.

Entries open to employers and suppliers working with them.

This award is for organisations who can demonstrate how specific employee health, fitness or wellbeing initiatives are making a positive impact on performance. Judges will be looking for evidence of the organisation’s commitment to staff welfare and the benefits enjoyed by both the employees and the organisation. This may be in terms of a positive impact on staff satisfaction, motivation, or productivity. Depending on entry volumes, this category may be divided into public/private sector or by employer size.

Entries open to employers and suppliers working with them.

This coveted award is for an individual HR or OD director who can demonstrate outstanding leadership. Entries should explain the contribution the HR director has made both to their own team and to the organisation as a whole. Candidates must demonstrate that they have developed an effective HR team and present evidence of their contribution to the business. Past winners have submitted testimonials from across the organisation and their customers to back up their entries.

Entries open to HR individuals at director level, from employers only.

This award recognises an HR professional or team that has added value to their organisation through an innovative, clever or determined solution. The winning intervention should show HR at its most creative and flexible. Entries should provide evidence of: speed of reaction, innovative thinking, clear communication, an understanding of the business drivers, and measurement of the benefits. Entrants could include testimonials from people who have benefited from the intervention.

Entries open to employers and suppliers working with them.

This award is aimed at HR teams that can demonstrate genuine strategic status within their organisations. Entries should explain the business strategy and the contribution of the team to meeting objectives. Judges will look at the team’s own strategy, how this was devised and implemented, the involvement of senior staff, relationships with other functions and what results have been achieved. Entries should explain how the team identified priorities and how HR has measured the benefits.

Entries open to any HR team, from employers only.

This award recognises the important work that suppliers of HR technology do for their employer clients. Judges will be looking for examples of innovation, details of how client service sets the supplier apart from others, and evidence of the impact the tech intervention has had on employers and their people. Entries can range from focused projects on one aspect of HR management, or a holistic technology suite that manages all aspects of HR. Entries could include testimonials from employers about the technology provider’s work and their ability to deliver value for money.

Entries open to HR technology suppliers.

After the pandemic meant many staff were compelled to work remotely, many businesses have maintained a flexible approach to where their people work. This award recognises the strategies employed by businesses to maximise the benefits of this flexibility while minimising the downsides. Our judges are looking for hybrid working arrangements which are fair and equitable, that maintain a strong working culture where employees feel connected, and for evidence that productivity is improving. They will also be interested in understanding how different cohorts of employees are catered for. These groups may include staff at the start of their careers who crave development opportunities, staff with caring responsibilities, and those staff whose jobs mean they are unable to work from home. Judges will reward employers who can demonstrate a deep understanding of their hybrid working arrangements, the impact it is having on staff and the business, and insights and strategies that demonstrate long-term thinking.

Entries open to employers and suppliers working with them.

This award recognises effective approaches to the targeting, selection and recruitment of talent at all levels from school leavers and graduate to senior positions. The judges will look for successful examples of innovative ways of attracting talent to the organisation. Relevant to this category are new methods of talent attraction and acquisition, including those around social media; and the measuring and assessing capability and performance of candidates.

Entries open to employers and suppliers working with them

This award recognises the important work that training providers, learning technology suppliers and L&D consultants do for their employer clients. Judges will be looking for examples of performance and innovative thinking and details of how client service sets the supplier apart from others. Entries could include testimonials from employers about the L&D supplier’s work and their ability to deliver value for money.

Entries open to L&D suppliers.

This award looks for learning and development interventions that have significantly benefited the organisation, particularly if the professionals involved have developed new approaches. The judges will want to see evidence of improved performance and gains in employee skills and capabilities. Entrants should show how training has boosted motivation and helped focus staff on key organisational objectives. The judges will look for well-designed, innovative and well-delivered learning and development programmes. Depending on entry volumes, this category may be divided into public/private sector or by employer size.

Entries open to HR teams within and suppliers working with an organisation

Entrants into this category will demonstrate how they use reward, recognition and benefits in a strategic way, aligned to their organisational objectives in an effort to attract and retain staff. They will show how their benefits offering relates to specific market and competitive pressures, how they maximise staff appreciation of the package, and how they measure its impact. Judges will be looking for entries demonstrating innovation, ROI, flexibility, clear communications and evidence that reward is making a positive difference to organisation performance, talent attraction and retention. Entries can relate to a specific offering or project, or an organisation’s holistic approach.

Entries open to employers and suppliers working with them

This award recognises the important work that recruitment consultancies, talent acquisition specialists, recruitment advertising agencies and resourcing technology providers do for their employer clients. Judges will be looking for examples of innovation, details of how client service sets the supplier apart from others, and evidence of the impact the supplier has had on employers’ ability to attract the right talent. Entries could include testimonials from employers about the supplier’s initiatives and their ability to deliver value for money.

Entries open to all recruitment-related suppliers.

This award recognises organisations that have adopted a proactive approach to talent management and succession planning. Entries from employers will demonstrate creativity in order to attract, retain and develop their talent. The judges will look for imaginative organisational talent reviews by the HR team working in conjunction with others in the business. Entries should explain what action has been taken to identify and develop key employees and how this has benefited the organisation.

Entries open to employers and suppliers working with them.

This award recognises employers that have nurtured a strong workplace culture or are making great strides in improving it. Entries will demonstrate that a morale is strong, employee voice and equity is evident, the leadership is respected and communicative, and employee wellbeing is valued and encouraged. Judges will be looking for evidence that employees’ opinions are heard and acted on, that freedom of expression is encouraged, and that there is a strong sense of community that centres on shared values. A workplace that can be shown to have purpose, sustainability and accountability will recognised as excelling in this category. Measures such as productivity, retention and innovation may all be submitted as evidence.

Entries open to employers and suppliers working with them.