Clitheroe woman 'absolutely delighted' to scoop prestigious national HR award

A diligent Clitheroe-based HR professional has fought off tough competition from across the country to clinch the title of "Support Function of the Year" at the first ever virtual National Care Group annual awards for her hard work.
Lizzie was crowned a winner in the national Support Function of the Year categoryLizzie was crowned a winner in the national Support Function of the Year category
Lizzie was crowned a winner in the national Support Function of the Year category

Almost 1,400 National Care Group colleagues from across England and Wales tuned into a recent online event, which was hosted by radio and television presenter Jo Whiley, and broadcast live - marking the biggest celebratory event the company has ever had.

Lizzie Petty joined the National Care Group in July 2018 as a HR advisor, but quickly progressed to the role of HR Business Partner in 2019. The award recognised that, while the National Care Group is made up of a "team of teams" that pulled together in the face of the pandemic, there are certain support team members – like Lizzie - who the group’s 2,400 colleagues simply couldn’t do without.

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Lizzie, of Clitheroe, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have been given the Support Function of the Year Award. I would like to take the opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone who nominated me and to all the fantastic people at the National Care Group who have excelled in their roles during the pandemic. Over the past year, the individuals we support have needed us more than ever and I couldn’t be prouder of every single person who works in the care sector.”

James Allen, CEO of the National Care Group, said: “Lizzie has been an invaluable asset to us over the past 12 months. At one point, she was the only HR support in the business, but this didn’t affect the quality of her work at all. The nominations we received for her detailed how she was always available and able to support with any query she was approached with, and offered excellent guidance and a supportive ear at a time when many needed it. We’re incredibly proud of everything Lizzie has achieved, she’s a worthy winner of this award.”

Awards were also presented to winners in a number of other categories. There was also a special award given for the National Care Group’s "Pandemic Star of the Year" dedicated to, and in memory of two colleagues who lost their lives to coronavirus, which was awarded following a live poll that took place during the event.

James added: “The theme for this year’s event was ‘unlocking your potential’ and all of our winners have not only done this for themselves but, crucially, have unlocked the potential of the individuals they support as well – and that’s at the heart of everything we do at the National Care Group.

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“We were truly overwhelmed by the volume of nominations we received for this year’s awards, with more than 400 people placing their vote, meaning it was really difficult to choose the winners. We’ve seen some fantastic examples of innovation and ingenuity from so many people and, while it’s a shame we couldn’t celebrate their achievements in person, the fact the awards were virtual meant we were able to have more people join in the celebration than we could have otherwise.

“Everyone who attended the awards ceremony was not only given the opportunity to dress to the nines, but also to share photos of themselves on social media with a prize for ‘best dressed’ being given out. In my eyes, that interactive and all-encompassing element has been the best thing about the whole event and we’re now in a really good place to look forwards as the sector continues to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

To find out more about the National Care Group, please visit: www.nationalcaregroup.com/.