Yesterday, we introduced the 2025 Tradition Pioneer Award winners at our annual Management Discussion board in London. Following this in-person reveal, we’re able to share the information far and vast.
Powered by HRZone, the Tradition Pioneer Awards commends those that sustainably form their office tradition to profit each folks and the organisation. In what has been a testing 12 months for a lot of companies, we’re dedicated to recognising the changemakers persevering to construct higher workplaces.
2025 Tradition Pioneer Award winners revealed
Right here, we unveil the champions of our 5 classes for 2025: Inclusion, Studying, Model, Folks Chief and Enterprise Chief. A hearty congratulations to our awardees who confirmed resilience, compassion and spectacular leads to their change journeys.
Inclusion Award Winner
V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum)
This 12 months’s Inclusion winner has proven us that even essentially the most established establishments can reimagine who belongs of their areas. In 2022, the V&A started its EDI journey, with aspirations to recruit younger and ethnically numerous expertise. The museum launched a rigorous EDI technique with a goal to extend its ethnic minority workforce by 5% in three years.
By an intentional concentrate on inclusive recruitment, management and growth – alongside forging robust partnerships with London borough stakeholders – the V&Successful its goal in 2025. And the museum’s impression doesn’t cease there. With improved retention charges, lowered illness charges and HR casework now halved, the V&A’s efforts have gone past variety metrics and achieved real inclusion.
Inclusion Award Extremely Recommended
VizyPay
Cost know-how firm VizyPay demonstrates that after we throw out conventional processes and lead with our values, progressive change occurs. To recruit and retain numerous expertise, our extremely recommended organisation did away with conventional resumes and generic DEI frameworks holding again its mission. As a substitute, VizyPay formed its personal distinctive method of championing inclusion, primarily based on worker suggestions.
As the corporate has scaled, it has crammed new management roles from inside and dramatically lower worker turnover. What stands out is the corporate’s understanding that inclusion isn’t a aspect challenge – it’s woven into the DNA of the way it operates, from the CEO with no workplace to the communities it serves with genuine care.
Inclusion Award Finalists
- Vibrant Horizons UK
- Comedian Reduction
- Tigerbond
Model Award Winner
Vibrant Horizons UK
This 12 months’s winner caught our consideration by daring to problem conference in an business the place recruitment and retention challenges are rife. Early years schooling supplier Vibrant Horizons co-created and launched a brand new worker worth proposition (EVP) to assist entice expertise and increase loyalty amongst present colleagues. With a renewed concentrate on function, belonging and ambition, the organisation embedded values and behaviours that now present up daily throughout its 8,000-strong workforce.
In one other daring transfer, Vibrant Horizons tackled the sector’s outdated practices by introducing day-one versatile working, providing neurodiverse-friendly studying, and launching a number of recognition initiatives. “It genuinely appears like I can carry my entire self to work,” a colleague commented. The crew’s concentrate on making a psychologically protected tradition has paid off – 94% at the moment are proud to work for Vibrant Horizons.
Model Award Extremely Recommended
UK Area Company
In a sector the place danger aversion and forms can gradual change, the UK Area Company launched into a formidable brand-led transformation journey to redefine its mission and every day operations. By embedding refreshed values and EVP, the company is now residing its function: “We increase UK prosperity, perceive the Universe, shield our planet and outer house.” What was as soon as a fragmented, siloed working mannequin is now a flatter, extra agile construction that hurries up decision-making and drives innovation.
To unfold its model mission far and vast, the UK Area Company additionally created an Alumni neighborhood, which now has over 425 years of collective service. This community has turn out to be a necessary useful resource for fostering collaboration, knowledge-sharing and engagement.
With a 6% rise in worker engagement ranges and a 7% rise in management belief, the UK Area Company’s model transformation work has achieved sustainable constructive change.
Model Award Extremely Recommended
Benifex
As an worker advantages supplier, Benifex’s mission is to create outstanding experiences that employees will love – and so they don’t cease on the organisations they serve. What caught our judges’ consideration was how the organisation really ‘walks the speak’, making certain its model mission is mirrored in on a regular basis behaviors.
Embodying the worth ‘Outstanding collectively’, colleagues really feel empowered to recognise one another’s achievements, with over 3,000 peer-led recognitions submitted in 2024. Aligning to the worth ‘We present love’, Benifex affords workers a various vary of versatile, inclusive and sustainable advantages – from menopause assist to tree planting.
Flexibility at Benifex isn’t just about advantages selection; it’s core to how the organisation operates. As a remote-first employer, the organisation helps 100+ completely different working patterns and 70+ part-time workers as a dedication to inclusion.
In its strongest monetary 12 months so far, Benifex has achieved one thing really outstanding.
Model Award Finalists
Studying Award Winner
St Peter’s Hospice
Our Studying Award winner proves that even within the budget-constrained charity sector, a studying tradition might be fostered with just a little creativeness and creativity. With 550 workers and 1,500 volunteers, St. Peter’s Hospice delivers end-of-life care throughout Bristol and its surrounding areas. To equip folks with the talents to supply neighborhood assist, elevate consciousness and have open conversations about dying, the charity has put studying on the coronary heart of its technique.
The hospice launched management growth and training expertise pathways, launched a brand new inclusive L&D coverage, and co-created a 12-week induction programme for retail workers. Because of this, the charity has boosted engagement, lowered workers turnover and seen a 12% enhance in workers agreeing that their job permits them to be taught and develop new expertise.
What actually set the hospice aside was the extension of its L&D dedication into neighborhood partnerships. The charity now affords resilience coaching for NHS workers, management coaching for UWE and shares finest practices with different native hospices.
Studying Award Extremely Recommended
Vibrant Horizons UK
Again in 2020, Vibrant Horizons struggled to domesticate a studying tradition. With inflexible growth pathways and restricted visibility of profession development, workers have been seeking to develop themselves elsewhere.
Tackling this with dedication, Vibrant Horizons fully reimagined its expertise and growth technique, weaving studying into the organisation’s core material. Vibrant Horizons now affords eight bespoke pathways, embeds teaching into every day apply, provides 5,000 apprentices devoted assist, and supplies colleagues with a visible efficiency device to trace their very own growth.
The consequence? A 15% enhance in inner development, a ten% lower in worker turnover and a 75% drop in supervisor vacancies.
Studying Award Finalists
- Apollo Well being and Way of life Restricted
- Designer Contracts Ltd
- Tigerbond
Folks Chief Award Winner
Angie Lewis, Welsh Ambulance Providers College NHS Belief (WAST)
In a high-pressure context, the place folks’s choices can result in life-or-death penalties, Angie Lewis remodeled the tradition to extend security, prioritise studying and construct belief. By role-modelling compassionate management, she has empowered workers to affect coverage, apply and cultural course at WAST, with spectacular outcomes.
Angie’s pioneering method is exemplified by her efforts to enhance sexual security – a broadly unstated danger because of the remoted nature of ambulance work. By creating protected areas for voices to talk on this challenge, Angie challenged WAST to concentrate on lived experiences, embed new safeguards and enhance visibility. Because of this, colleagues really feel safer, extra supported and extra assured to talk up about sexual questions of safety.
Angie can also be passing the baton of progressive management onto the broader senior crew. By growing the ‘Our WAST Means’ management framework, she is upskilling leaders to maneuver away from hierarchical approaches and align their behaviours with values centred on care, connection and valuing everybody.
Folks Chief Award Extremely Recommended
Janine Leightley, Vibrant Horizons UK
Becoming a member of Vibrant Horizons throughout a time of rising workers turnover, post-pandemic fatigue, and recruitment challenges, HR Director Janine Leightley (now COO) had a big job on her arms. Understanding that an organisation’s tradition impacts folks’s on a regular basis lives at work, Janine launched into her change technique by listening to workers through focus teams, surveys and boards. From there, Janine secured management buy-in to construct a roadmap for reinforcing belonging, wellbeing and growth.
What’s significantly spectacular about Janine’s management is her profitable introduction of a number of sector-first initiatives to the early years’ workforce. These included the launch of a Folks’s Constitution to embed shared values and a management framework that addresses the distinctive calls for of early years management.
Janine’s pioneering efforts have seen a constructive impression throughout engagement, L&D and belonging. However essentially the most compelling consequence by far is the boomerang pattern amongst previous workers. With 220 colleagues having lately returned to Vibrant Horizons, many cited its renewed tradition as the explanation.
Folks Chief Award Finalist
James Ferguson, Wurzak Lodge Group
Enterprise Chief Award Winner
James Fleming, The Energy Inside Coaching & Growth Ltd
This 12 months’s Enterprise Chief winner caught our consideration along with his trustworthy account of non-public progress. Managing Director James Fleming didn’t begin out by role-modelling the ‘good’ management behaviours – he confessed to being reactive, overworking and permitting stress to impression his choices. However when a colleague burned out, he acquired the wake-up name he wanted. To attain the tradition he aspired for – rooted in function, belonging and resilience – James began to steer by instance.
Setting the tone, James now leads with vulnerability, asks for suggestions and embeds constructive work rituals. Each week, the crew now dedicates time to step away from duties to strategically mirror and align on what issues most. And, each month, colleagues host unfiltered tradition check-ins that result in tangible change.
To assist wellbeing, steadiness and innovation, the organisation now adopts a four-day working week, affords paid psychological well being days and counselling, and hosts creativity days. Understanding the significance of inclusive management, James additionally launched ‘The Energy Inside HER’ initiative to assist assist over 200 ladies leaders in male-dominated industries. The consequence? Productiveness is up 30%, absenteeism is down 60% and monetary turnover has soared.
Enterprise Chief Award Extremely Recommended
Ann Ellis, Mauve Group
This 12 months’s extremely recommended enterprise chief has demonstrated a three-decade dedication to office inclusion. Ann Ellis, founder and CEO of Mauve Group, pioneered versatile working again in 1996 – lengthy earlier than workers anticipated it. Over time, Ann has helped colleagues (particularly ladies) handle work round household duties. She has persistently supported distant setups and versatile working patterns – and has even supported world relocation when colleagues regarded to maneuver abroad.
Gender fairness is central to Ann’s values. By eradicating frequent career-growth boundaries and supporting inner development, 60% of Mauve’s senior leaders at the moment are ladies (and 70% are managers).
When the worldwide enlargement of the organisation led to various expectations and cultural misunderstandings, Ann made the mandatory investments to handle these painpoints. By appointing a World Folks and Tradition Director, main a worldwide pay transparency framework and rolling out cultural coaching, Mauve has united its world workforce. The corporate’s spectacular workers retention charge and above-average worker tenure are achievements Ann must be pleased with.
Enterprise Chief Award Finalist
Danielle Hunt, Pharmacist Assist
Our 2025 Tradition Pioneers
Congratulations, as soon as once more, to our 2025 Tradition Pioneer Award winners!
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