Williams is the HR director at plastic moulding company Talis and said winning last year’s accolade gave the whole HR team a much-needed boost after a difficult year.
She told HR magazine: “Winning the award took me by surprise, especially seeing the competition. I felt honoured, and it feels great to be recognised by my colleagues and peers and by the industry.
“It meant a lot to me personally but winning was also great recognition for the HR function with Talis.
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Williams said the award provided the people team with the recognition they deserved for all their hard work.
She said: “We are small team that work in close partnership, so winning the award was a great boost to morale and we all shared in the success.
“After all it was everyone’s contributions that led to the award and to have our work validated and recognised, not only within the company itself, but also to receive the external recognition has made us all proud of what we have achieved.”
Williams said the team will celebrate the win properly when the pandemic restrictions are eased.
“It’s been great to celebrate success together and we are looking forward to having a proper celebration as a team soon,” she said.
Winning the HRD of the year award reinforced to her the value of the hard work carried out by HR teams, said Williams.
She added: “It’s an opportunity to showcase your hard work and contributions and an opportunity to pause and celebrate success.
“In general, HR people don’t praise themselves for their great work, and the HR Excellence Awards were a real highlight in a very difficult year.”
The 2021 HR Excellence Awards at the London Hilton on 1 December, with this year’s theme celebrating the magic of HR.
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