Access head of HR named Rising Star at the HR Excellence Awards

Colchester, UK - 30 June 2011 - Access UK's head of human resources (HR) has been recognised at a top industry awards ceremony. Jo Sims was named 'Rising Star' at the HR Excellence Awards at a glitzy ceremony held at the Park Lane Hilton in London Monday night. The award recognises the achievements and progress Jo has made in her short time in a human resources role. The judges said, "While not having a traditional background in HR management, Jo Sims has imprinted her personality and enthusiasm on the role, single-handedly creating an HR department within her company and aligning it to the vision of the business."

Jo has been working in HR with Access since 2007 and during that times she's been involved with; implementing the current HR function including an HR software system, major restructuring of the organisation, promoting staff engagement and being the HR lead on the recent management buyout. "I'm absolutely thrilled to have won this award. It's an award for everybody at Access and all the people I work with; together we make Access a great place to work, and their commitment enables me to do my job to a high standard.

"We were in the room with companies like, Mercedes-Benz, Travis Perkins, Aviva, American Express, McDonalds and Virgin Trains; to be recognised amongst such distinguished company is such an achievement," said Jo.

Looking to the future Jo wants to maintain the same pace as the last two years where Access has introduced numerous schemes for staff benefits and employee engagement, has seen the workforce become more efficient, has continued to hit growth targets and has been listed in The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For. "I want to further enhance Access' reputation as an employer of choice by improving our position in The Sunday Times and the star accreditation with Best Companies, and by continuing our successful employee engagement schemes," concluded Jo.

The HR Excellence Awards are the leading awards for the human resources industry and recognise outstanding achievement in the sector with the judges looking for a clearly defined vision and goals, combined with a creative approach, originality and differentiation.

For more information on Access contact Matt Newman on 0845 345 3300 or visit .

Access 300611 TC HRXL