Already written your entry for the HR Excellence Awards? Enter now here.
Q. When is the awards ceremony?
The ceremony will be held on The HR Excellence Awards will take place on Tuesday 6 December 2022 at The Brewery in London. Book your table now if you’d like to secure a spot.
Q. What is the deadline to submit an entry into the HR Excellence Awards?
Deadline to submit the entries is Friday, 29 July at 5pm.
Q. What is the entry document?
Your entry document consists of a 2,000-word essay outlining your entry. Check out the entry requirements for your category here. You can also find some helpful tips for writing your entry here.
Q. How much does it cost to enter?
For private companies, it costs £390.
For public and not-for-profit companies, it costs £200. For private companies entering more than one award, each subsequent entry costs £200.
Entries to HR Director of the Year, Future Leader and Best People-Focused CEO of the Year are free.
Q. How many entries can I submit?
There is no limit on the number of entries you may submit. However, you should avoid duplicating entries across multiple categories, tailoring the entry specifically to the criteria of the category you are entering.
Q. May I submit on behalf of a client?
Yes, although their permission must be obtained and evidence of this shown. You will be asked to provide contact details of a senior person at the organisation. We may or may not contact this person.
Entries which do well are ones which get to the heart of the story and demonstrate the impact the strategy has had. If you are a supplier and entering on behalf of a client, please ensure that the entry is written from the perspective of the HR team of the client and get as much involvement from them as possible.
Q. Can I enter if I am an international company?
International companies can enter the Best HR Strategy from Overseas category. If you are a multinational organisation with a presence in the UK you are not eligible to enter Best HR Strategy from Overseas, but you are welcome to enter any of the other categories.
Q. Can UK based companies enter Best HR Strategy from Overseas?
No. UK based companies can enter any other category.
Q. Can I enter the HR Director of the Year?
You cannot self-nominate for this category – nominations are welcomed from the CEO, peers, and colleagues. This award is judged by HR magazine’s editorial team and is free to enter.
Q. Can I enter the Best People-Focused CEO?
The Best People-focused CEO category is open to the chief executives of UK based organisations.
You cannot self-nominate for this category – nominations are welcomed from the HR director, peers and colleagues.
This award is judged by HR magazine’s editorial team and is free to enter.
Q. What is the difference between the entry document and supporting material?
The main component of your entry is the entry document. All key information listed in the criteria for the category needs to be in the entry document and not in the supporting material.
Supporting material is optional and may be submitted in addition to the entry document. It should be used to illustrate/demonstrate what is in the entry document. Supporting material may include, but is not limited to: photographs, testimonials, graphs/data, videos (please include a link or send via WeTransfer/similar), hard copies of any printed material (e.g. brochures). Whilst supporting material is important and helpful to the judges, we ask that you keep these documents to a reasonable amount.
Q. What is your cancellation policy?
In terms of entries, once your entry is submitted, you may withdraw it until the closing date. Your entry fee will not be refunded.
In terms of table and seat bookings at the awards ceremony, written cancellations received within six weeks prior to the event will be accepted and a refund of 90% of the booking charge will be made. After this date, no refunds can be given. Please click here to read our terms and conditions in full.
Q. What happens after I have submitted my entries?
Once you have submitted your entries they will be processed by the awards team, ready for judging. Judging takes place at the end of September and the shortlist will be announced after the judging has been completed.
Q. When are the winners announced?
The winners are announced at the ceremony on Tuesday 6 December 2022 at The Brewery. Please keep this date free in your diary.
Q. Who are the judges?
The HR Excellence Awards 2022 will be judged by a panel of judges made up of some of the UK’s top HR directors working in leading organisations.
Q. How do you prevent bias in the judging process?
The judges all must sign an NDA. A lot of work goes in to making sure there is no conflict of interest, with each judge sending in their scores individually, meaning they do not know the winner until the night of the awards.
Q. I have an initiative that I could enter into Best CSR strategy, but it could fit another category too, what should I do?
For the Best CSR Strategy award, judges are looking for work that not only has a positive impact on an organisation’s wider community, but also delivers strongly on an organisation’s HR and commercial or strategic aims. Therefore, it’s likely your strategy should be entered into the CSR category (but you might want to enter it elsewhere too). Please do contact us if you would like further advice on this.
Q. Will there be an in-person ceremony this year?
Yes. The ceremony will be held at The Brewery in London on Tuesday 6th December 2022.
Q. I work for a company outside the UK, can I enter the awards?
We have a category specifically for overseas entrants. Alternatively, if you are entering on behalf of a company based in the UK or work directly with a company based in the UK, then your entry will be accepted.
Q. What are the main characteristics you see in a winning entry?
A breakdown of each category criteria will be available on the categories page. You will also find links to previous winners on the HR Excellence Awards website.
Q. Are there any new categories this year?
There is one new category for 2022: Best Early Careers Strategy
Q. My project could fit into two categories, how do I decide which to enter it into?
The criteria on the categories page specifies and advises which category to enter. However, you can enter both categories if you feel your entry is relevant to both.
Q. Why is there a cost associated with entering the awards?
The HR Excellence Awards are the one of most well-regarded and prestigious events in the sector. For this reason, we expect a high calibre of entries and have chosen a price point which matches this. There are charity rates and discounts for multiple entries. We are able to offer this reduced fee thanks to our sponsors.
Q. Which supporting evidence will best support my submission?
Data and metrics are preferable to case studies and anecdotes, yet all add to the quality of the entry.
