There was much drama in the air at Personnel Today's Best Places to Work in HR event last week (partly due, no doubt, to the fact that our second annual awards ceremony was held at Shakespeare's historic Globe Theatre).
So who would take centre stage as the overall winner? That was the question.
The focus was on great performances of the management kind rather than the acting kind. And HR fellows looked on in anticipation as the drama unfolded and Motability Operations was crowned overall winner of the Best Places to Work in HR 2008.
Last year's winner was a hard act to follow, but this year's event, in association with Courtenay HR, exceeded expectations and provided a much-needed, fantastic feel-good atmosphere, with a buzz of excitement running through the crowd.
It was time to forget about the economic doom and gloom and celebrate, as HR teams were rewarded and recognised by Personnel Today for being great at their jobs.
These awards are unique in that it is the employees in each HR department who decide the winners. They are the only awards to focus specifically on HR teams rather than employers as a whole, and to be judged exclusively by the people who work in them.
The results overall revealed some interesting insights into how HR departments are managed, and a full report will be published in the coming weeks so that you can benchmark yourselves against one another.
Those organisations that reached the Best Places to Work shortlist - and especially the winners - should be proud of what they have achieved. Huge congratulations to you all. If you missed out this year, don't worry, there's always 2009.
You can check out the winning teams in our photo gallery on HR Space, our new community website.
