In tough times even the most progressive companies can become blinkered. All too often they seek the quickest and easiest ways of 'improving efficiency', which by and large means knee-jerk job cuts and pulling back investment in learning and development.

Yet survey after survey shows it is the business that continues to invest in people, the one that looks to the needs of the future and makes people decisions based on those needs, that emerges strongest from recession.

In both bad and good economic times, it is people that determine an organisation's competitive advantage. So I am particularly pleased to see some outstanding examples that show how investment in people is paying off and helping companies through difficult times. As always, demonstrable business benefits were central to our judges' decisions.

It is no surprise that an underlying trend this year is change. How to change culture to deliver more agility and accountability. How to change leadership behaviours. How to communicate change. And how to engage employees through change.

Congratulations to all mentioned in these pages. You are all driving HR practice forward. And to anyone who has yet to be convinced of HR's importance, just look at the winner of our first CEO award. Good HR makes good business.