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This category is open to individuals or teams working in the back office functions.

The value of staff in corporate roles such as HR, finance and legal and democratic services is often overlooked. These services are essential to a well functioning organisation yet in many councils they have been disproportionately hit by cuts over the past decade.

This award seeks to shine a light on the vital work of these individuals or teams in councils across the country and recognise their contribution to delivering high quality public services. Entries are open to individuals or teams in non-public facing roles who have gone above and beyond to support colleagues. They may have used their professional expertise to support the delivery of innovation or improvement in their own function or another part of the council.
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Judges will be looking for evidence of how the team or individual made a difference and the impacts they had.

Entries should include:

  • How the team or individual has gone above and beyond to support colleagues and/or service users
  • Evidence of their exceptional commitment to the council and its communities
  • Evidence of the impact of their contribution to delivering on the council’s priorities 
  • Evidence of their commitment to innovate and finding better ways of doing things
  • Why they deserve to win this award, including testimony from colleagues

This award is open to a single council or where appropriate a partnership of councils, or a council- owned company. Private sector partners can enter on a council’s behalf, with the permission of the council itself.

Entries should focus on demonstrating how other councils could learn from, replicate or adapt the innovation for their own area and include the voice of staff within the submission.

People’s differences should be valued in the workplace and staff should experience equal treatment and equal opportunity. Diverse and inclusive workforces make for happier staff, better decisions and ensure services are reflective of the needs of the communities they serve.

This award aims to recognise a council or group of councils that has shown continued commitment to the diversity and inclusivity of its workforce. This could include improving opportunities and representation of staff from diverse backgrounds or initiatives to make the council a more inclusive and welcoming place to work.

This category is for those that are actively trying to eliminate discrimination and to ensure equity of opportunity to those with a protected characteristic. It is for those that actively try to support employees, taking into account age, gender, sexual orientation or ethnic background, to reach their potential with equal access to opportunities and progression.

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Entries should include:

  • Evidence of a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion at all levels of the organisation 
  • Details of actions, activities and initiatives designed to deliver on this commitment 
  • Why your diversity and inclusion policies make you an employer of choice, including any evidence it is having an impact on employee engagement and/or recruitment and retention 
  • Data (including from the staff survey where applicable) demonstrating the effectiveness of the action or actions 
  • How the diversity of your workforce compares to the diversity of your community

This award is open to a single council or where appropriate a partnership of councils, or a council- owned company. Private sector partners can enter on a council’s behalf, with the permission of the council itself

With workforce shortages across a range of UK industries, local government is having to fight harder than ever for talent and in a market where candidates do not always recognise the opportunities the sector can offer.

This award seeks to recognise councils or groups of councils that have successfully deployed new approaches or tactics to recruiting staff, either across the organisation or in one specific service area. This could include innovative advertising and marketing campaigns, events or other methods of attracting applicants.
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Judges will be looking for tangible evidence the activities have led to an increase in suitable applicants and an original and creative approach that other councils could learn from, replicate or adapt for their own area.

Entries should focus on demonstrating how other councils could learn from, replicate or adapt the innovation for their own area and include the voice of staff within the submission.

Entries should include:

  • Evidence of actions and activities to create and deliver inclusive recruitment processes.
  • Data and evidence to show how the new approach has improved staff recruitment 
  • Any obstacles to introducing the new approach and how you overcame them 
  • How the new approach sets you apart as an employer 
  • The voice of managers and staff who have gone through the process

This award is open to a single council or where appropriate a partnership of councils, or a council- owned company. Private sector partners can enter on a council’s behalf, with the permission of the council itself.

Entries should focus on demonstrating how other councils could learn from, replicate or adapt the innovation for their own area and include the voice of staff within the submission.

This award is intended to highlight those councils daring to do things differently in the quest to deliver modern, efficient and responsive public services. This could include maximising the opportunities of new technology or redesigning services in partnership with users or adopting an asset based approach. However, introducing new ways of working into teams can be challenging and requires careful management.

This award seeks to recognise teams within councils that have successfully adopted new ways of working that have delivered significant benefits to service users and the workforce alike. It is open to teams within councils and partner organisations who have led innovation in smart working either across the whole organisation or in a specific service area.
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Judges will be looking for evidence of increased efficiency, improved outcomes and a happy workforce. Entries should include details of:

  • Rationale for introducing the new ways of working 
  • Objectives at the outset and whether they have been met or exceeded
  • Any obstacles to introduction and how they were overcome 
  • Benefits of the new approach to staff, service users and the council 
  • How the service was redesigned and what the outcomes were

This award is open to a single council or where appropriate a partnership of councils, or a council- owned company. Private sector partners can enter on a council’s behalf, with the permission of the council itself.

Local government has an ageing workforce which is only set to compound current skills shortages in the sector. Councils needs to attract more millennials and Gen Z to join the workforce. However, many younger people are not aware of the many and varied opportunities the sector offers for a fulfilling career.

This award seeks to recognise councils or groups of councils working to address that through initiatives to recruit and retain people under 30, either across the organisation or in one specific service area. This could include innovative use of the National Graduate Development Programme, apprenticeship schemes, work with local colleges and universities as well as the provision of development opportunities and other support once employed.
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Judges will be looking for evidence of an impact on the workforce demographics as well as an original and creative approach that other councils could learn from, replicate or adapt for their own organisation.

Entries should include:

  • Evidence of actions and activities to recruit and retain younger people 
  • The thinking behind the approach and how it was developed 
  • How the new approach sets you apart as an employer 
  • Data and evidence to show how the new approach has improved recruitment and retention of younger staff 
  • Evidence of positive impact on the wider organisation 
  • Any obstacles to introducing the new approach and how you overcame them • The voice of managers and staff who have gone through the process

This award is open to a single council or where appropriate a partnership of councils, or a council- owned company. Private sector partners can enter on a council’s behalf, with the permission of the council itself.

Retention of staff with deep knowledge and understanding of the place and communities they serve is vital to delivering good council services, yet local government faces stiff competition for talent from both the public and private sector. In some key professions councils cannot compete with the private sector on pay but can offer other benefits that staff find valuable.

This award seeks to recognise councils or groups of councils finding creative ways to retain existing staff in this challenging environment, either across the organisation or in one specific service area. This could include innovative benefits packages, staff recognition or engagement programmes.
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Judges will be looking for impressive staff retention rates as well as an original and creative approach that other councils could learn from, replicate or adapt for their own area.

Entries should include:

  • Data (including from the staff survey where applicable) demonstrating the effectiveness of the retention strategy has worked 
  • Evidence of actions and activities taken to create and deliver inclusive retention processes. 
  • The thinking behind the approach and how it was developed 
  • How the new approach sets you apart as an employer 
  • Evidence of positive impact on the wider organisation
  • Any obstacles to introducing the new approach and how you overcame them

This award is open to a single council or where appropriate a partnership of councils, or a council- owned company. Private sector partners can enter on a council’s behalf, with the permission of the council itself.

Entries should focus on demonstrating how other councils could learn from, replicate or adapt the innovation for their own area and include the voice of staff within the submission.

Staff wellbeing is essential for the happy and productive teams needed to deliver vital council services. Whether managing complex regeneration projects, working directly with some of the most vulnerable members of their communities or collecting the bins jobs in local government can be physically and mentally demanding, and never more so than after more than a decade of funding restraint.

This award is aimed at a council that has demonstrated a commitment to the mental and physical wellbeing of its staff, and that really stands out from the crowd with its offer. In recognition of the diversity of council workforces it could be an initiative aimed across the whole workforce or targeted at one specific service area.
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Judges will want to see how the initiative improved staff wellbeing and how its success was measured. It does not have to be a new initiative, but the outcomes should be specific to the 12 months prior to March 2023.

Entries should include :

  • Evidence of actions and activities delivered that were designed to improve staff wellbeing 
  • Data (including from the staff survey where applicable) demonstrating the effectiveness of the action or actions
  • The thinking behind the approach and how it was developed 
  • How the new approach sets you apart as an employer 
  • Any evidence of positive impact on the wider organisation
  • Any obstacles to introducing the new approach and how you overcame them

This award aims to recognise an exceptional individual in local government who has developed innovative solutions to enable their council and its partners to manage a challenging workforce situation, whether as a result of national or local issues. They will have been instrumental in leading its effective implementation, demonstrating the qualities of resilience, compassion, flexibility, innovation and creativity in the face of adversity.

Anyone working in local government at any level is eligible to apply, whether or not their core role is in HR or similar. This is not a lifetime achievement award – it is a reflection of the individual’s contribution predominantly during the period in question.

The individual needs to still be working in local government at the time of the announcement of the Awards shortlist and have no plans or expectation to not be working in local government at the time of the Awards ceremony.

We welcome entries from candidates themselves or nominations from those who wish to highlight an individual they believe merits this recognition.

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Entries should include: 

  • The individual’s job title, with an explanation of their remit and expected responsibilities; 
  • A description of the exceptional challenges they have faced in the period in question and how they overcame them;
  • An explanation of why their work was out of the ordinary, for instance why what they did was innovative, their ability to work alongside other people including internal and external partners where relevant and the level of dedication and resilience that they displayed; 
  • How they demonstrated leadership in delivering innovation
  • Evidence of the success of their work in terms of goals accomplished and any data confirming this

Award entries will be judged upon

  • The scale of the qualities demonstrated by the individual – such as innovation, resilience, compassion, flexibility and creativity, as well as evidence of the impact it has had;
  • The extent to which their work can inspire and influence the rest of local government;
  • The individual’s ability to network, influence, share knowledge and offer support across the system, potentially including with partner organisations, councillors and at all levels of the council;
  • The extent of their commitment to bring about improvement