Wednesday - 19 November 2008
RecruiterAwards 

Sitting in judgement

Published: 14 May 2008  Author: Colin Cottell  

The process of choosing the winners for Recruiter’s 2008 Awards proved once again to be a tough day out for the judges. Colin Cottell reports

Judges for the 2008 Recruiter Awards for Excellence, supported by Thomas International, met at the Millennium Hotel in London in February to choose this year's winners. As the number of awards this year increased from 19 to 27 this year, the 21 judges were split into four groups to sift through the entries. From the winning categories, each of the groups then had to put forward their favourite for the Gold Award. A blind vote was then taken to decide the overall winner from the four groups.

Christopher Clark, corporate finance director at accountants BDO Stoy Hayward, was complimentary about the overall standard of entries. "There are some very professional entries that people have spent time on and thought about what they are doing. The standard is definitely higher than last year," said Clark.

Martin Holden, a partner with accountancy firm Saffery Champness, agreed that the quality of entries was high. "There were some very strong entries, and some with real depth."

Charles Macleod, director of UK resourcing and people engagement at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said that a number of entries stood out as "out of the ordinary".

Steve Huxham, chairman of the Recruitment Society, was particularly impressed by the way one recruiter looked after its staff. "In a sales driven industry they care for their people," he commented.

Winners and losers

With nearly 300 recruiters striving to win the industry's most prestigious awards this year's competition was tougher than ever. So what separated the best from the rest?

Huxham said that two things separated the winners from the rest. "It comes down to two words: excellence and innovation," said Huxham.

If recruiters really want to stand out, he said, they need to show they are different. "It's about understanding what they are about and having initiatives that reflect that. It's about going the extra mile."

For Sally Milne, former head of resourcing and diversity at ITV, who now runs her own consultancy focusing on diversity, the question was: "Is the company just doing its job or is it really exceptional?"

While praising the overall standard of entries, Clark noted that some recruiters let themselves down by not presenting themselves in the best possible light. He said that one particular recruiter "had more potential but didn't articulate it very well. We were looking for material, rather than them telling us".

For Shaun Tyson, Emeritus professor in HR management at the Cranfield School of Management, the winners stood out because they gave an impression of overall competence. "We probably chose companies who were highly professional and in which we had confidence."

Despite many complimentary comments several judges noted that some entrants let themselves down unnecessarily. Tony Reeves, co-chairman of the Kellan Group, said that some of this year's entrants had addressed the questions better than others.

And he gave some advice for next year's entrants. "If you really want to be a winner next year, the first thing you do is read the questionnaire and make sure you complete it fully."

Sue Dodd, managing director of Agile Intelligence, told Recruiter that in some cases a recruiter's USP (unique selling proposition) was not "necessarily obvious" from its entry. "Some companies have been saying 'this is what we do' rather than 'this is what we are doing that is exceptional'." But, Dodd added: "We have seen some great entries."

Deborah Fernon, organisation and resourcing adviser at the CIPD (the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development), said that she looked for entries "that are a bit more creative".

David James, a director of Henley Management College's School of Growth, Innovation and Enterprise, said he would have liked to have seen more entries with the "wow factor".

David Silver, head of business services practice at Baird, Europe and a founder member of the company's mergers and acquisitions team, said that many of the entries were similar. Silver said that entries with a better chance of winning were those that were "a bit unusual that grabbed the attention".




Studying the form: Ingrid Richardson and Shaun Tyson sift through the entries



Heads down: Sally Milne and Linda Schooley study the shortlist



Discussing the merits: Steve Huxham and Christopher Clark talk things through


   
Tough day’s work: David James, Denise Walker, Nabila Sadiq and David Silver ponder over the competition

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