The shortlisted entrants for the 5th annual Human Resources Excellence Awards have been announced. The award is organised by Human Resources magazine in conjunction with KPMG Consulting.

The shortlist for the 'Best contribution of HR to overall business strategy’ comprises Glaxo Wellcome UK, Forte Hotel Group and HSBC Holdings plc. Shortlisted entrants in the 'Best use of IT in HR’ category are BT, Norwich Union and Microsoft UK.

"For the 'Best use of IT in HR' award, we were interested in the role that IT played in enabling the HR function to operate more efficiently and to focus predominantly on strategic HR issues," said Mark Spears, Partner at KPMG Consulting.

Other categories include 'Best merger/acquisition strategy’, ’Best recruitment strategy’ and 'Excellence in knowledge management’. Among the shortlisted companies for these categories are BT Cellnet, Granada Group plc, CGU Insurance and the Post Office.

Mark Spears commented on the Awards: "People and culture are two of the key buzzwords in today's digital age. Organisations are realising that, as the pace of change increases - through new technologies and ideas - it is these aspects that are the defining elements of success. As a result, HR departments and employees are increasingly gaining more strategic input into the running of an organisation."

"As businesses become increasingly customer-focused in their approach, it is essential that companies learn to unlock the potential of their employees, if they are to succeed. The shortlisted organisations for these awards have all demonstrated their commitment to achieving this and are successfully working towards giving the HR department the recognition it deserves as a major strategic player in an organisation," continued Mark.

The winners of the HR Excellence Awards will be announced on Thursday.

Anna Lagerkvist