Glu Recruit, the South Yorkshire-based specialist recruitment consultancy, has revealed its 2020 Office Heroes Awards online event was its ‘biggest and best yet’
The annual awards ceremony celebrating the unsung workplace heroes in the Sheffield City Region was held in a virtual setting in December, and won by Charlotte Swinhoe, fundraiser at Weston Park Cancer Charity
After a record 50 nominations, the judging panel of key figures from the local business community, and local broadcasting legend Harry Gration MBE, decided the final shortlist of ten, along with the overall winner, two highly commended and one special mention award.
Rob Shaw, Glu Recruit MD and founder of Office Heroes said: “We are so happy that not only were we still able to run the awards, but we also managed to make this one the biggest and best yet! Despite the restrictions due to the pandemic, we decided running the event in a virtual setting was better than cancelling and losing the momentum gained since the first awards in 2018.
“After the year we all had in 2020, we felt it was even more important than ever to celebrate those unsung heroes in the workplace. The ethos of the awards has always been to shine the spotlight on individuals who go above and beyond, day after day, to support their teams and their businesses, and in 2020 in particular we were looking out for those stand-out performers, who don’t usually get recognised at traditional ceremonies.
“Every single nomination we received lived up to the criteria, and it’s safe to say they are all Office Heroes within their organisations.”
Harry Gration MBE said:
“It was a great honour to be part of the judging team. We were initially searching for the person that went the extra mile, but quickly realised due to the calibre of nominations that it would have to be the person who went the extra ten miles. We then had to adapt this even further to the person that went the extra 100 miles, because it was the most difficult judging we have all ever had to make!
“My heartfelt congratulations go to Charlotte who is a worthy winner, and one comment I absolutely loved from her nomination was that if she could be bottled, they could sell her and make a fortune – that was a lovely way of describing her, because she is the perfect person to have around the office.”
THE WINNER : CHARLOTTE SWINHOE WESTON PARK CANCER CHARITY
THE 2020 OFFICE HEROES RUNNERS – UP:
Highly Commended: Chloe Staniforth, Pricecheck
Highly Commended: Keeley Woodcock, Future Life Wealth
Special Mention: Lee Perks, Barnsley College
THE 2020 JUDGES:
Harry Gration MBE, Paces Charity Patron
Dame Julie Kenny, Wentworth Woodhouse
Dr Simon Biltcliffe, Webmart
Joada Allen, Visualised it Video Production
Toby Pochron, Freeths
Jay Bhayani, Bhayani HR & Employment Law
Brendan Hall, Hallmark Branding
After pulling in a clean sweep from the judging panel, the top prize was awarded to Charlotte, who has had to adapt to new ways of operating and fundraising this year.
Described by the judges as ‘leading change in a challenged sector, going above, beyond and outside her expected role, and taking her job to the next level’ Charlotte won the coveted Office Hero title, an engraved trophy and £500 of Meadowhall vouchers.
Charlotte said: “I am absolutely thrilled to have won. I was shocked when
it was announced, as I wasn’t expecting to win at all. Hearing what all of the incredible finalists have achieved was amazing, and how everyone has overcome the challenges that 2020 has thrown at us, and been there for their teams – I’m so proud to have been a finalist amongst such a wonderful group of people.
“When COVID-19 hit and the world changed, we had to adapt with it at Weston Park Cancer Charity, so we could keep raising much-needed funds to continue to support cancer patients and their families, and fund vital research.
“Some of the things I introduced included a weekly ‘Cuppa and Catch Up’ and quiz, and got the team joining in with a Weston Park Wiggle (a now famous dance move!). I organised free hot drinks with Cafeology to all staff at Weston Park Cancer Centre, an I’m a Celeb Sweepstake, a virtual breakfast, and we turned around the 2.6 Challenge in two weeks, raising more than £20,000 for people affected by cancer.
“It means a lot to have won, as I didn’t expect to be nominated as I really do see these things as part of the job, and looking back it makes me really proud of what I’ve achieved. You can’t be an Office Hero without an incredible team by your side, and always being there for one another – so thank you to everyone, as we’ve got through this year together.”
Rob Shaw added: “All that is left to say is thank you to everyone who got involved in this year’s awards – to our co-sponsors unLTD Business, Cuckoo Films for pulling together the video for us, everyone who nominated their fantastic colleagues, the judges, finalists, and all the winners – who made the awards one to remember.”
Missed the 2020 Office Heroes event? Or want to re-live it? Watch on Glu’s YouTube channel
