We are delighted to launch the UHR Awards 2025! As you know, a key goal of UHR is fostering HR innovation, shared learning and professional development. These awards provide an excellent opportunity to celebrate creativity and success, showcasing how people professionals in higher education lead with cutting-edge practices that enhance organisational culture and performance in UK universities. Preparing an entry alone can inspire and motivate your team and winning offers well-deserved recognition for their achievements.
This year, we’re introducing one new award category, Digital and Technological Innovation and Change, and will be awarding the HR Star Award in memory of Paul Boustead, former UHR Chair who sadly passed away at the end of December - read more about Paul. You can download the nomination form below - please note there are two forms; one for the UHR Star Award and one for all other categories. Submit your nominations by Friday 7 March.
Winners will be announced at the UHR Conference 2025. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who makes this event a success, including this year’s Premium Partners, People Insight and Shakespeare Martineau. We look forward to celebrating your achievements!
There are eight UHR Awards – here are the categories and criteria:
1. Organisational transformation, effectiveness and performance: this has driven and demonstrably enhanced organisational performance and competitive advantage, or transformation, demonstrating new ways of working, or the collaborative nature of HR success in working with other functions. This category could encompass how HR has driven sustainable change in challenging financial circumstances, and innovative approaches to activities such as the REF and enhancing academic performance.
2. Culture change and organisational development: this has achieved transformational culture change or greater staff engagement, or involved collaborative work with another organisation, effectively enabling the university to meet future challenges and uncertainty.
3. Equality, diversity and inclusion: this has improved equality, diversity and inclusion in the organisation, and brought demonstrable improvements to performance or engagement.
4. Reward, resourcing and recruitment: this has demonstrably improved the ability of the organisation to recruit, resource or reward staff effectively, particularly in the current challenging climate.
5. Wellbeing: this has enhanced the wellbeing of staff, and through that, improved the workplace and the student and/or staff experience.
6. Digital and technological innovation and change: this has enabled the HR team and the university to provide a better service and/or saved significant resources, with potential for further impact in the future.
7. Exceptional HR: for exceptional achievement by an HR team.
8. HR Star: An award to recognise a member of HR staff who has been a valued member of the team and gone above and beyond their role and made an exceptional difference to the organisation through what they have done, or the way they went about it. For 2025, this will be awarded in memory of the late Paul Boustead, former UHR Chair.
At a recent Awards Showcase event, a panel of distinguished former winners shared their top ten reasons to submit an entry for a UHR Award:
The UHR Awards provide a unique opportunity to celebrate HR excellence, share innovation, and inspire meaningful change across the sector. Don’t miss your chance to participate!
The deadline for entries is Friday 7 March.
Winners will be announced during the UHR Conference 2025.
Winning awards may be presented on campus on 20/21 or 22 May.
Apply Now for the UHR Awards 2025
Take a look at some of our previous winners:
Learn more about the winning projects and teams from the UHR Awards 2024.
Learn more about the winning projects and teams from the UHR Awards 2023.
Our 2022 Award winners included an inspiring set of projects and teams and just as every year there was much for the UHR community to learn.
The winners of the UHR Awards for Excellence in HR 2021 were announced at UHR’s 2021 Conference, themed ‘Refreshing HR’, on Wednesday 12 May 2021.
Older awards information
