The headline category, open to any Irish SME. This is for businesses that have built a genuinely great place to work – where culture, communication, and day-to-day experience add up to somewhere people actually want to be. Entrants should be able to show real evidence of this, not just describe it: employee feedback, retention, initiatives, and the practical steps taken to get there. ENTER HERE
HRLocker People Awards 2026
The HRLocker People Awards recognise the organisations and people getting HR right - backed by evidence, not just enthusiasm. Whether you're an SME building a great place to work, an HR team that's transformed a process, or a founder putting people at the centre of business strategy, there's a category for you. Enter one or enter several. However you tell your story, it's judged on the same simple standard: can you prove it and how was its impact?
HR People
Running HR in an Irish SME is not easy. It is contracts at midnight, a tricky conversation on a Tuesday, a policy that needs updating, and a team that needs looking after, all at the same time, usually with one pair of hands. The HRLocker People Awards exist to recognise the businesses and the people who are doing that work well. Not the biggest companies. Not the ones with the largest HR budgets. The ones getting it right with what they have. We’re building something that grows in profile and meaning year on year, and to set the standard for how SME HR excellence is recognised.
How It Works
You can submit your entries through an online form (per category, found below), and judging is carried out remotely. Shortlists and winners will be contacted in plenty time for preparation and will be announced via a published winners list and an update on the HRLocker website as the awards date draws near. This years ceremony is fully digital and accessible to everyone, wherever you’re based with an aim to possibly become an in-person event in subsequent years.
Closing Date October 12th 2026.
Nominate Your Winners
Best SME to Work for in Ireland
Best in Class HR Operations
For companies that have their HR fundamentals properly sorted. Contracts, compliance, process, and documentation done right, consistently, not just when it matters. This category recognises the unglamorous work that keeps a business legally sound and operationally solid – the groundwork every other HR win is built on. ENTER HERE
Best Use of HR Technology
For SMEs putting technology to work in HR, not just adopting it for its own sake. Entrants should show how tools and systems have cut admin time, reduced compliance risk, or made HR genuinely easier to run – freeing people up to focus on the parts of the job that need a human touch. ENTER HERE
Best Talent Attraction and Retention
For businesses that have cracked the full cycle: attracting good people, bringing them in properly, and keeping them for the long haul. This is about the whole journey – from employer brand and recruitment through onboarding and the everyday reasons people choose to stay. ENTER HERE
Outstanding Business Results Through People
For SMEs where investment in people wasn’t a nice-to-have – it was a business decision that paid off. This category looks for a clear, demonstrable link between people initiatives and measurable growth, performance, or commercial results. ENTER HERE
Best Use of Social Media in HR
For SMEs using social media well as part of their HR and people strategy – whether that’s employer branding, recruitment, culture-building, or employee engagement. Entrants should show a clear, considered approach and results, not just an active account. ENTER HERE.
HR Leader of the Year
For the standout HR professional working within an Irish SME. This award recognises someone who has shaped HR strategy and practice in a way that’s had a genuine, visible impact on their organisation – not just kept the department running, but moved it forward. ENTER HERE
Founder or CEO Champion of People
For a business leader, founder or CEO who has made people a real, active priority rather than an afterthought. This is for leaders whose decisions, time, and investment consistently show that they see their people as central to the business, not just a line on the balance sheet. ENTER HERE
HRLocker Employer of the Year
Awarded to the strongest all-round organisation across every category entered. There’s no separate application – judges select the winner by looking at the full body of submissions, identifying the business that best combines great HR fundamentals, genuine people investment, and results across the board.
