Barkers win magnificent seven at PPMA awards

Proof that Barkersí relationship with the public sector is as strong as ever was firmly established at the 2009 PPMA (Public Sector People Managers' Association) Recruitment Awards.

The event, held at Manchester's Midland Hotel on Thursday 30th April, saw the agency win a magnificent seven category awards for six different clients, having been nominated twelve times.

In what was the biggest haul of the evening, Barkers won on behalf of the London Boroughs of Havering (adult social care), Hounslow (sustainability/regeneration/environment) and Sutton (London borough council). Their teams also triumphed with Slough Borough Council (district/borough council) and Redbridge Homes (housing and senior management).

To top it all off, Barkers won the award for best recruitment website with Nuclear Decommissioning Authority – further underlining that digital is at the heart of their strategy.

For a full list of nominations and category winners, along with copies of Barkersí award winning work, please visit www.barkers.co.uk/themagnificentseven.htm

While this unprecedented result delighted the Barkers team, theyíre keen that both their clients and competitors know that they have already moved on. Right now, they believe their work is shaping the future of candidate attraction and acquisition in local government, giving clients the competitive edge.

ìI am absolutely thrilled by these wins and want to congratulate both our clients and the Barkers teams that worked so hard on their behalfî, says a delighted John Tarrant, CEO at Barkers.î It further underlines that our strategy is the right one. Whilst hiring less, employers in every sector including local government continue to face recruitment and resourcing challenges, despite the prevailing economy, and itís clear that Barkers can meet those needs. By developing bespoke, branded solutions and utilising the full breadth of digital applications we can help our clients recruit faster and better, give them more measurability, and significantly reduce costsî.

Dean Shoesmith, Joint Executive Head of Human Resources at the London Boroughs of Sutton and Merton, Vice President of the PPMA and Project Sponsor at the London Boroughsí Recruitment Partnership agrees. ìIn the context of this unique partnership (the largest of its kind in the country) the awards mark the culmination of many yearsí work – the original concept for the London Boroughsí Recruitment Partnership started in 2005 – led by the London Borough of Sutton. We know the partnership provides good value for money to Council tax payers as the economy of scale produces efficiency and highly cost-effective recruitment advertising services. These awards, through Barkersí hard work, also mark high-quality work. The partnership and collaboration between Barkers and the London Boroughs has therefore produced high quality work at the best possible valueî.