Glu Recruit announces the winner of the 2020 Office Heroes Awards!

Glu Recruit, the South Yorkshire based specialist recruitment consultancy, has announced the winner of their 2020 Office Heroes Awards, the annual awards ceremony that celebrates the unsung heroes of the workplace in the Sheffield City Region.

This year’s event was held in a virtual setting on Friday 4^th December, and was won by Charlotte Swinhoe, Fundraiser at Weston Park Cancer Charity.

After a record 50 nominations, the judging panel comprising of key figures from the local business community, and also featuring Harry Gration MBE of Look North fame, reviewed each application to decide on the final shortlist of ten, along with the overall winner, two highly commended and one special mention award.

Rob Shaw, Managing Director of Glu Recruit and founder of the Office Heroes Awards comments: “We are so happy that not only were we still able to run the Office Heroes Awards this year, but we also managed to make this one the biggest and best yet! We were keen to still run the awards, despite the restrictions we are all facing due to the pandemic, and decided that running the event in a virtual setting was a better option that cancelling it and losing the momentum it has gained since the first awards in 2018.

“After the year we have all had, we felt it was even more important than ever to celebrate those unsung heroes in the workplace who have all played key roles in helping their organisations tackle the new ways of working we have had to undertake.

“The ethos of the Office Heroes 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 awards ceremonies for their hard work and stand out achievements.

“Every single nomination we received lived up to the criteria, and it’s safe to say that they are all Office Heroes within their organisations. It’s an honour to hear about and meet all of these fantastic people”

Harry Gration MBE, comments on behalf of the judging panel: “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 one hundred 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, and that was a lovely way of describing her, because she is the perfect person to have around the office.

“The one thing that characterised everyone on the shortlist this year, was how humble they all were in saying it was their colleagues that helped get them here. Next year, we will have to look for a super man or super woman as that is what you have to be to win this award!”

The winner

After pulling in a clean sweep from the judging panel, the top prize was awarded to Charlotte Swinhoe for her achievements at Weston Park Cancer Charity, who have 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 through the development of a systematic approach in order to provide measurable results’ Charlotte won the coveted title of Office Hero, along with an engraved trophy and £500 of Meadowhall vouchers.

Charlotte Swinhoe, Fundraiser at Weston Park Cancer Charity comments on her award: “I am absolutely thrilled to have won the Glu Recruit Office Heroes Award for 2020. 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 this year 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 hit and the world changed, we had to change and adapt with it at Weston Park Cancer Charity, so we could keep raising much needed funds so that we can continue to support cancer patients and their families, and fund vital research. Not only this, but it was also really important to look after ourselves during this time.

“Some of the things I introduced this year included a weekly ‘Cuppa and Catch Up’ and Quiz, and I’ve 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, so we could let people know about the support still available, and we implemented and turned around the 2.6 Challenge in 2 weeks, which raised over £20,000 for people affected by cancer, and as part of this I did a 26 minute exercise class! We also managed to put on our Golf Day safely and successfully.

“It means a lot to have won this award, as I really 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. I must say, you can’t be an Office Hero without an incredible team by your side; taking part with the Weston Park Wiggles, exercise classes, quizzes, and always being there for one another – so thank you to everyone, as we’ve got through this year together.”

Rob Shaw concludes: “Huge congratulations to Charlotte for being crowned this year’s winner. She really has gone above and beyond in her role, making a huge difference to her employer in these difficult times. We’re thrilled to be able to celebrate someone like Charlotte at the Office Heroes Awards!

“If you didn’t see the event live, or would like to re-live it all again, the video is available to watch on our YouTube channel. All that is left to say is, thank you to everyone who got involved in this year’s awards; to unLTD Business, our co-sponsors, Cuckoo Films for pulling together the video for us, everyone who nominated their fantastic colleagues, the judges, the finalists, and of course all this year’s award winners, who made this years awards one to remember”

 

The 2020 Office Heroes Award winners

• Winner – Charlotte Swinhoe, Weston Park Cancer Charity
• Highly Commended – Chloe Staniforth, Pricecheck
• Highly Commended – Keeley Woodcock, Future Life Wealth Management
• Special Mention – Lee Perks, Barnsley College

 

The 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 Law
• Brendan Hall, Hallmark Branding