Warm welcomes

It was 20 years ago when HRH, or the HCPTA as the association was then called, held the very first HR in Hospitality Awards at the Savoy Hotel in London.

To celebrate this milestone, the president of the association, Jane Sunley (CEO, Purple Cubed), opened the awards and reflected on the last 20 years since the first awards were held at the very same hotel in 1995. Comperes for the night were Esther O’Halloran, Chair of HR in Hospitality and Sam Coulstock, Vice Chair.

The evening was sponsored by DLA Piper LLP, Davidson Asset Management, Caterer.com, Fourth, Core Recruitment, ZFL Training limited Umbrella Training & Employment Solutions Ltd and Caterer.com. The event was also supported by the CIPD, Springboard UK Charity and Hospitality Action charity.

Over £4,300 was raised on the night for the HR in Hospitality’s chosen charities of Hospitality Action and Springboard UK – two charities that work tirelessly for the industry and its people.

There were 10 awards on the night given to individuals and teams in recognition of the excellent work they do. Amongst the Judges for the awards were; Dr Jill Miller (CIPD), Ian Burke (Totaljobs), Emma Jayne (HRD Savoy), Krishnan Doyle (Core Recruitment), Carl Smith (Sodexo), and Manda Crowder (AndSoMe).

It was a truly inspirational evening to celebrate 20 years of recognising excellence in HR in the hospitality industry. With a year on year 32% increase in entries, the awards continue to go from strength to strength.

The HR in Hospitality committee would like to extend its congratulations to all its worthy winners, highly commended and shortlisted organisations, thanks to everyone who attended the evening and a huge gratitude of thanks too, to all its sponsors and supporters.

If you require further information about HRH or the awards, please contact Esther O’Halloran on 07957 313477 or email esther@eohbusinesssolutions.com.

The awards for the evening went as follows:

HR Rising Star — Natasha Wiggins (Training and HR Officer, Red Carnation Hotels)

Kerry Richards (Recruitment Manager, Delaware North) was Highly Commended

Special Recognition Award — Stephen Moss (Chairman, Springboard)

HR Team of the Year — Jumeirah

St Pancras Renaissance Hotel London was Highly Commended

Employee Engagement — Central Working

Building Capability — Park Plaza Hotel Group

Promoting Careers in Industry — Premier Inn

Tom Crowley Award — Leanne Findley (Account Manager, Sodexo Prestige)

There were also three new awards introduced:

Innovative Recruitment — The Dorchester Collection

London Edition Hotel was Highly Commended

Embedding Company Culture — Jumeirah

Sodexo was Highly Commended

Corporate Social Responsibility — Firmdale Hotels

About the author

Jerome Langford

Jerome is a graduate in Philosophy from St Andrews, who alternately spends time writing about HR and staring wistfully out of windows, thinking about life’s bigger questions: Why are we here? How much lunch is too much lunch? What do you mean exactly by ‘final warning’?