Entries are officially open for the fourth Wales HR Awards, to be held on 27 March 2020 at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff and hosted by Sian Lloyd.
The awards celebrate the hard work and commitment of Wales’ best in-house teams, consultants and HR industry experts for their outstanding contribution to the sector, and will embrace a roaring twenties theme to mark the year 2020.
Created by leading specialist recruiter Acorn and commercial law firm Darwin Gray, the Wales HR Awards is the annual flagship event of the Wales HR Network; the country’s leading networking platform for human resources professionals to meet and share best practice about topical industry issues.
The 2020 awards will introduce an external panel of guest judges for the first time, to include Admiral’s People Services Manager Ceri Asiratti, Head of People and Development at ACT Training, Rebecca Cooper and Sony’s Director of Professional Services, Gerald Kelly.
13 winners will be announced at the glittering award ceremony, including the new for 2020 HR Consultancy and Inspiring Great Leadership awards. The HR Team of the Year category has also been divided this year to recognise the achievements of both public and private sector HR teams. One winner will be awarded the coveted HR Star award to recognise their outstanding contribution to HR.
Previous winners include Gower College, Companies House, First Source Solutions, Calbee, International Baccalaureate, Conduit Global, Monmouthshire Building Society and Liberty Marketing, among others.
- Best HR Initiative
- HR Director of the Year – sponsored by Human Resourcing
- HR Team of the Year – Private Sector
- HR Team of the Year – Public Sector
- Inspiring Great Leadership – sponsored by the Institute of Leadership & Management
- HR Consultancy of the Year
- HR Apprentice / Assistant / Trainee of the year – sponsored by Clear Tech Live
- Best use of the Welsh Language in HR
- Best HR Professional – Public/Third Sector – sponsored by Quantum Advisory
- Best HR Professional – Digital/IT
- Best HR Professional – Manufacturing/Engineering
- Best HR Professional – Financial/Professional Services – sponsored by Sweetmans & Partners
- Best HR Professional – Transport – sponsored by Transport for Wales
Acorn’s Director of Operations Marc Jones said:
“The Wales HR Awards has been a phenomenal success since the first awards four years ago, becoming a diary marker for Welsh businesses in recent years. Its growth demonstrates how vital it is to celebrate the contribution of HR professionals across Wales.
“The event recognises those working tirelessly behind the scenes to support businesses and organisations of all sizes, and as a recruitment partner of choice for HR teams across Wales and throughout the UK, we’re proud to see the event evolve with our involvement.”
Fflur Jones, head of Darwin Gray’s employment law and HR team added:
“We’re already looking forward to what has become a greatly anticipated annual event.
“We are delighted to introduce our panel of external judges for 2020 and the wealth of expertise and experience that they will be bringing to the judging process. We’re also proud to introduce the new Inspiring Great Leadership category to acknowledge the inspirational work that goes beyond the day-to-day activities that people associate with HR. We are looking forward to celebrating Wales’ HR teams and professionals at what’s set to be our most glamourous ceremony yet.”
The deadline for submitting nominations is 9 December 2019. More information on the category criteria and nomination process can be found at waleshrawards.cymru.
