Almost 900 HR professionals gathered in London last night to celebrate the 11th annual Personnel Today Awards.
Gavin and Stacey star Rob Brydon wowed HR teams from some of the UK’s top employers including Tesco, the BBC and the Met Police, while Britain’s Got Talent dance troop MD Productions performed to a medley of Michael Jackson hits.
The Bank of Cyprus was named overall winner on the night after having scooped the prize for reward and recognition.
After receiving the award Tony Leahy, head of HR and communications at the bank, said: “Wow, that was a complete shock! Pensions are clearly a big issue at the moment, and have attracted a lot of bad press. A lot of companies have closed their final salary schemes, including us, and we wanted to create an alternative that would be really good for our people.
“I suppose the reason we won the overall award was our approach was just a bit different.”
Meanwhile Jayne Mee, HR director of Barratt Developments, was named HR director of the year, and Asda won the award for innovation in recruitment and retention.
Mee said: “This is fantastic, I can hardly believe it, it’s a dream come true. We have achieved so much against a backdrop of tough trading conditions in our sector, by working in partnership with the business, which has been very supportive. We have always wanted to win a Personnel Today Award – it will mean so much to everyone in the office.”
And the Personnel Today Awards 2009 winners are…
Award for Innovation in Recruitment & Retention, sponsored by Hays
Winner: Asda
Award for Managing Change, sponsored by XpertHR
Winner: TUI UK & Ireland
Award for Talent Management, sponsored by RBI jobs sites
Winner: Gate Gourmet UK & Ireland
Award for Diversity in the Workplace, sponsored by Pinsent Masons
Winner: BBC Academy
Award for Excellence in HR Through Technology, sponsored by Skillstream
Winner: Ladbrokes Betting & Gaming
Employee Engagement Award, sponsored by HR Directors Club
Winner: Birmingham City Council
Award for Health at Work, sponsored by Occupational Health
Winner: Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education
Award for Excellence in Learning & Development, sponsored by learn HR
Winner: Tesco Customer Service Centre
Award for Reward & Recognition, sponsored by XpertHR job pricing
Winner: Bank of Cyprus UK
Employer Branding Award, sponsored by RBI Recruitment Media
Winner: Kellogg’s
Award for Best HR Strategy in line with Business, sponsored by NorthgateArinso
Winner: The Learning Trust
HR Impact Award, sponsored by Personnel Today Jobs
Winner: Lancashire County Council
HR Director of the Year Award, sponsored by Green Park Interim & Executive Resourcing
Winner: Jayne Mee, Barratt Developments
Overall Winner, sponsored by BPP Business School
Winner: Bank of Cyprus UK
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for video footage of the event.
Pictures from the night will soon be appearing on HR Space
