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Strathclyde named Employer of the Year in the cHeRries Awards 2024

Presentation of the cHeRries Employer of the Year Award. L-R:  Nicola Murray of award sponsors Stork; Senior HR Adviser Lesley Storer;  Assistant Director Employee Experience Verity Watson; HR Partner Dawn Watt;  Assistant HR Partner Michelle McVey; BBC presenter and awards ceremony host Jason Mohammad. Photo by DC Thomson

The University of Strathclyde has been named Employer of the Year in the cHeRries Awards 2024 which celebrate excellence in the field of human resources, training and recruitment.

The award was presented to the University at a ceremony in the P&J live events arena in Aberdeen hosted by BBC Radio presenter and TV host Jason Mohammad.

The University scooped the award, created by publisher DC Thomson, for demonstrating that “people are genuinely at the heart of the business and that the business strategy and leadership are inclusive, and that the business values are clearly embedded in the culture of the organisation”.

Motivation and reward

Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Principal & Vice-Chancellor of Strathclyde, said: “This award is testament to our position as a socially progressive, people-oriented, employer and recognises our vision to create an exceptional, Values-based work environment where colleagues feel deeply connected with the University’s strategic plan Strathclyde 2030 and have the skills, motivation and reward for delivering it.

“This is evidenced, for example, through our commitment to paying the Voluntary Living Wage, our support for staff with caring responsibilities, and our focus on employee health and wellbeing with policies on topics such as menstruation and menopause. 

I’d like to offer my congratulations to all of our colleagues at Strathclyde involved in helping us to secure this award by putting our people-oriented values into practice every day.

Press & Journal and Evening Express editor Craig Walker said: “As we traverse the difficulties that life in 2024 throws at us all, a knowledgeable, understanding and supportive people team is exactly what leaders are looking for.”

The day before the cHeRries Awards it was announced that the University had retained its EU HR Excellence in Research Award following a 12-year review, having implemented the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers (‘Researcher Development Concordat’) and demonstrated our long-term commitment to the career development of researchers.

The UK panel was particularly impressed by the dedication of the University’s Researcher Development team and also noted that: “The institutional investment in careers support for researchers is good to see and that the focus of those career professionals is not just on academic careers.”

Since August 2023, research staff have access to a professional Career Development Advisor within the Organisational & Staff Development Unit (OSDU) who offers support through one-on-one consultations and other careers resources.