They received the awards for services to employee engagement and business.
Five years ago Clarke and MacLeod were asked by the Labour Government to produce a research paper on the importance of employee engagement to the UK economy. Their influential work, Engaging for Success, was published in 2009.
The report led to the creation of the taskforce Engage for Success, backed by prime minister, David Cameron and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which is spearheading the movement.
This movement brings together the experience of leading practitioners, the ideas and research of leading academics, and the findings of think-tanks, to share learning, ideas and practical guidance on employee engagement.
Earlier this year in an interview with HR magazine, MacLeod said HR "needs to be an expert" in employee engagement. "They need to orchestrate how to find engagement in a transformational way," he said. "HR's role is to make sure the line is managing people in a completely engaging way. Right now, engagement is patchy. There's a lot of talk about it, but it's at two levels.
"One is the transactional conversation - doing the research and improving communications. To benefit takes a much more profound sense of commitment and understanding. It's that transformational engagement which helps organisations power ahead."
He added: "This is HR's opportunity to be at the top table, to help the CEO and top team ensure people are behind their strategy."
Since the launch of the movement, more than 1,000 people from hundreds of organisations have got involved, so far contributing more than £1 million in time, expertise and resources.
