The awards will be taking place on Friday 27 March 2020 at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff and will celebrate the hard work and commitment of Wales’ best HR teams, consultants and industry experts for their contribution to the sector.

Created by commercial law firm Darwin Gray and leading specialist recruiter Acorn, the Wales HR Awards is the annual flagship event of the Wales HR Network; the country’s leading networking platform for human resources professionals.

The 2020 awards will introduce an external panel of guest judges for the first time, to include Director of Organisational Development at USW, Catherine Thomas, Head of People and Development at ACT Training, Rebecca Cooper and Director of Professional Services at Sony, Gerald Kelly.

Why enter?

Benefits include free marketing (as a finalist or winner), increased credibility and reputation as well as a great opportunity to attract new talent / customers.

“My business has grown by 65% since winning the award! The publicity in the local paper in Ceredigion made local business owners aware of my consultancy. Introducing myself as Independent HR Consultant of the Year has been amazing.” - Julie Grabham, 2019 winner

“HR Star has given me a raised profile externally and I have had a few invitations to step into the public speaking arena to tell my story and share the successes we have had... This has been a great opportunity not only for me personally but also for the organisation to share and celebrate its success.” – Kelly Mordecai, 2018 winner

Thirteen winners will be announced at the glittering award ceremony, including the new for 2020 HR Consultancy and Inspiring Great Leadership awards. One winner will be awarded the coveted HR Star award to recognise their outstanding contribution to HR.

The award categories:

1. Best HR Initiative
2. HR Director of the Year – sponsored by Human Resourcing
3. HR Team of the Year – Private Sector
4. HR Team of the Year – Public Sector
5. Inspiring Great Leadership – sponsored by the Institute of Leadership & Management
6. HR Consultancy of the Year
7. HR Apprentice / Assistant / Trainee of the year – sponsored by ClearTech Live
8. Best use of the Welsh Language in HR
9. Best HR Professional – Public/Third Sector – sponsored by Quantum Advisory
10. Best HR Professional – Digital/IT
11. Best HR Professional – Manufacturing/Engineering
12. Best HR Professional – Financial/Professional Services – sponsored by Sweetmans & Partners
13. Best HR Professional – Transport – sponsored by Transport for Wales

The deadline for entries is Monday 9 December 2019. More information on the category criteria and entry process can be found at waleshrawards.cymru

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