City of Bristol College are delighted to announce that we’ve been crowned the winner of the ‘Change Management Initiative of the Year’ at the British HR Awards 2025.
The awards are part of an annual campaign that sets out to discover and celebrate the teams and individuals who are truly passionate about delivering a world-class ‘people experience’.
This year, over 350 entries were received from organisations across the UK, and the competition to be named a winner proved to be fierce. Firms taking part ranged from start-up innovators to public sector heroes, tech superstars, global titans and everything in between.
Winners were recently revealed at a celebratory event in Covent Garden, hosted by comedian Fiona Allen.
A range of categories were awarded, including ‘Culture Initiative of the Year’, ‘Employee Wellness Initiative of the Year’ and ‘Leader of the Year’.
The event featured a keynote delivered by Emma Djemil and Toby Kheng, entitled ‘Winging It: How to Apply HR Survival Mechanisms to a Keynote’ and a panel discussion titled ‘What’s Next for the Future of Work?’, moderated by Perry Timms. Panellists included Kath Ennis, Leigh Gannon, and Melanie Hetherington.
The British HR Awards 2025 Judges include:
- Louise Benford, Chief People Officer, The AA
- Sharon Benson, HR & OD Director
- Anne Billson-Ross, Group HR Director, Taylor Wimpey
- Kath Ennis, Chief People Officer, Ansor LLP
- Mary Foulkes OBE FCIPD, Director of Equity, Inclusion and Culture, Shelter
- Leigh Gannon, Director People & Organisation, PUMA UKI
- Julie Griggs, Director of People & Partnering, The Open University
- Maria Hawley, Director of People, Fisher German
- Melanie Hetherington, Chief People Officer, NatWest Cushon
- Dr Tracey Leghorn, Chief Business Services Officer, SUEZ recycling and recovery UK
- Janet Roberts, Chief People & Culture Officer, Cycas Hospitality
- Tara Ryan, VP of People Experience, Monzo
- Perry Timms, Chief Energy Officer, People and Transformational HR
- Lucy Tobin, People Director, Frontier Economics
Talking of the college, Hayley Shaw, Director of HR said: “At City of Bristol College, we deliver transformative education in inclusive and dynamic learning environments and for our employees, this is no different.
“One of our key strategic aims is our unrelenting focus on our ‘people first’ culture, ensuring colleagues feel valued, empowered and recognised for their individual contributions and expertise, whether that be in a teaching capacity or a professional services team.”
Nate Harwood, Founder of New Possible and British HR Awards judge said: “The need for an engaged and agile workforce is more urgent than ever, and it’s the outstanding skill, passion, and hard work of HR professionals who are meeting these challenges head-on.
“The British HR Awards are proud to celebrate these exceptional teams and individuals. Congratulations to all the Winners.”
