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2025 AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED!Ā
š Celebrating Excellence: Recap of the Excellence in People Management Awards 2025 š
Thank you to everyone who joined us at The Midland Hotel on Thursday, April 10th, for an unforgettable evening filled with celebration, camaraderie, and recognition. The People Management Awards 2025 was a spectacular event, honouring excellence in the field of people management and showcasing the outstanding achievements of our industry peers.
With this years theme of Gold! to celebrate PPMAs 50th Anniversary, guests were treated to an evening of glitz and glamour. Hosted by the wildly talented Shazia Mirza, the evening promised thrills, laughter, and plenty of surprises.
For highlights from the evening, including interviews with some of the award winners, watch the video belowā¦
To check out all of the photos from the evening, just click on the image below…
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the winners and highly commended entries of the People Management Awards 2025. Each recipient demonstrated exemplary dedication, innovation, and leadership in the realm of people management, contributing to the advancement of our industry.
For those eager to delve deeper into the winning entries and discover the judgesā insights, we invite you to download our exclusive Winners Brochure. Packed with detailed information and expert commentary, this brochure offers a comprehensive look at the outstanding achievements recognised during the awards ceremony.
You can view the full list of shortlisted entries and winners for each category below:
Sponsored by The MJ
This award recognises the most effective and creative concept for a recruitment campaign that achieved a successful outcome. Campaigns could include print, digital, events, or a combination of formats, but must represent a cohesive campaign with supporting evidence.
WINNER:
Penna with The Metropolitan Police
.
HIGHLY COMMENDED:
Caraffi
.
SHORTLISTED:
West Midlands Employers (supported by TMP Worldwide)
NEREO (in partnership with LGA and Solace)
Sponsored by my money matters
This award recognises the importance and impact of an innovative and inclusive approach toĀ recruitment and selection for candidates and the organisation.Ā This could relate to a specific recruitment campaign or reflect the overall approach used by the organisation.
WINNER:
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
.
HIGHLY COMMENDED:
West Midlands Combined Authority supported by the WMTalent Acquisition Service
.
SHORTLISTED:
London Borough of Harrow
North Yorkshire Council
Sponsored by MHR
This award recognises the importance and impact of employer branding for an organisation.Ā Ā Employer branding is not just aboutĀ skill shortages and organisationsĀ having to compete for scarce skills and talented individuals. Entries will need to demonstrate how they have used an employer brand to help them compete effectively in the labour market, and drive employee loyalty through effective recruitment, engagement and retention practices.
WINNER:
North Yorkshire Council
.
HIGHLY COMMENDED:
Penna with Government Finance Function
.
SHORTLISTED:
Buckinghamshire council
Durham County council
Manchester city council
Sponsored by Tribepad
This award recognises the public sector HR & OD team that has gone above and beyond the day to day work of HR & OD colleagues.Ā This team will be seen as a role model for excellent practice nationally.
WINNER:
North Yorkshire Council
.
HIGHLY COMMENDED:
London Borough of Sutton and Royal Borough of Kingston shared services
.
SHORTLISTED:
Cambridge City Council
London Borough of Newham
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
Sponsored by Penna
This award provides an opportunity for public service organisations to share an OD programme which demonstrates improved services for customers and communities through a continuous cycle of improvement – from strategy, through to implementation, outcomes, evaluation and further change.
WINNER:Ā
Manchester City Council
.
SHORTLISTED:Ā
Bury Council
Newcastle Under Lyme Borough Council
Sponsored by Matrix
This award provides and opportunity for public service organisations to showcase how they
have used data or technology to improve service delivery and/or workforce performance.
This could be from implementation of a new IT system or technology, or from use of data to help drive service / workforce improvement.
WINNER:
London Councils
.
SHORTLISTED:Ā
Leicester City Council
Sponsored by indeed
This award provides an excellent opportunity for public service organisations to shine a light on their achievements and demonstrate howĀ they have engaged and managed their workforces through major service transformation and delivered unique and improved services for customers and local communities, whilst at the same time providing a richer work experience for employees.
WINNER:
London Borough of Hounslow
.
HIGHLY COMMENDED:
London Borough of Sutton
.
SHORTLISTED:
Leicester City Council
Telford Council in partnership with Opus People Solutions and West Midlands EmployersĀ
Sponsored by Real World Group
Entrants in this award will be able to show evidence of a health, safety and/or wellbeing initiative that has significantly impacted the engagement, commitment, health and wellbeing of the workforce through the adoption of creative and innovative interventions.
WINNER:
East of England Ambulance Service Trust
.
HIGHLY COMMENDED:
Wigan Council
.
SHORTLISTED:
Colchester City Council
Leicester City Council
London Borough of Harrow
London Borough of Sutton
Sponsored by Oracle
This award recognises the importance of effective and respectful partnerships with trade unions and employee groups across the public sector. It provides an opportunity to demonstrate how such meaningful partnerships can achieve sustained improvements for the workforce, the organisation and the communities we serve.
WINNER:
Kingston Council
.
SHORTLISTED:
Bury Council
Sponsored by Commercial Services Group
This award recognises the importance of learning and development and the contribution itĀ can make toĀ service delivery as well as enhancing the skills, experience and approach of individuals, teams and the wider workforce.
WINNER:
Sheffield City Council
.
SHORTLISTED:Ā
Leicester City Council
North Yorkshire Council
Sponsored by cornerstone
Skills shortages have been identified as a concern by all parts of the public sector as well as at the highest level of government, and theĀ exit from the EU means that more than ever before, organisations need to identify and develop their talent, enhancing internal mobility and capability.
This award recognises employers who are seeking to address this challenge by implementing a future-fit, evidence based and ethical talent management strategies to address current and future needs of their organisation.
WINNER:
Solace
.
HIGHLY COMMENDED:
Durham County Council
.
SHORTLISTED:
London Borough of Newham
Malvern Hills and Wychavon District Council and Rambutan Ltd
Sponsored by GatenbySanderson
This award is open to an organisation or a partnership presenting evidence of a diverse and inclusive culture that permeates the workforce and/or the broader local area.
The submission could demonstrate the organisationās attempts to foster a more diverse and inclusive workplace for all employees, and members, and describe how this is helping to attract and retain talent.
It could include internal initiatives to promote a wide range of careers on the organisation to appeal to different people. The entry could alternatively focus more on the broader local area, highlighting initiatives to foster diversity and help facilitate inclusion across the local community.
It may include how your organisation has worked with other businesses and other organisations to improve opportunity or participation. It could look at engagement.
WINNER:
London Borough of Sutton
.
SHORTLISTED:
Buckinghamshire Council
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Leicester City Council
Sponsored by Tile Hill
This award is open to two or more public sector or public / private sector bodies working together. As public services seek to provide more seamless, efficient and integrated service and systemic leadership they are increasingly working with other public sector bodies across traditional organisational boundaries. This award is open to partnerships centred around either the joint work of two or more public / private sector or around the joint work of several organisations collaborating together.
WINNER:
NEREO with LGA and Solace
.
HIGHLY COMMENDED:
Durham County Council with Indeed
.
SHORTLISTED:
Brentwood Borough and Rochford District Council
North Yorkshire Council
West Midlands Employers in partnership with Pembrokeshire National Park Authority
Awarded to the best overall winner, the winner of this award will be selected from all of the categories winners and will be announced at the awards evening on 25th April.
GOLD WINNER:
North Yorkshire Council
.
SILVER:
East of England Ambulance Service Trust
.
BRONZE:Ā
London Councils
Charity Raffle for SHiFT:
This year, our president chose SHiFT as the beneficiary of our charity raffle. SHiFT is on a mission to break the destructive cycle for children and young people caught up in, or at risk of, crime. By transforming both policy and practice, they aim to redefine how young people in these circumstances are seen and supported.
SHiFT utilises the Breaking Cycles approach, pioneered by Co-Founder Sophie Humphreys OBE, to scale high-impact Practices across the UK. These Practices are dynamic, evidence-based methods dedicated to enabling change.
Focused on the children and young people who keep professionals awake at nightāthose caught up in or at risk of cycles of crimeāSHiFT Practices are designed to make a real impact. Unconstrained by age, geography, or professional boundaries, SHiFT starts with an unwavering belief in all young people. Our commitment involves intense, long-term support aimed at guiding them toward a path of success, ensuring that their situations improve significantlyĀ www.shiftuk.org
Thank you:
A special thank you goes out to those who generously donated raffle prizes, which added an extra element of excitement to the evening. Your support and generosity are deeply appreciated.
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