Clermont Hotel Group recognised for its people strategy at HR in Hospitality Awards

Clermont Hotel Group (CHG) has been recognised for its approach to people and culture at the 2026 HR in Hospitality Awards, with Group HR Director Heather Harris taking home the highly coveted HR Leader of the Year Award.

Now in its 30th year, the awards, held at The Chancery Rosewood London on 11 September, brought together more than 400 hospitality and HR leaders to celebrate the sector’s achievements in people and culture, with CHG also winning the Excellence in Employee Wellbeing Award and being highly commended for HR Team of the Year.

The recognition is the result of a refined approach to people and culture at CHG in recent years led by Heather Harris, with a strong focus on understanding what its people need, developing talent from within and using employee insight to shape the way the business operates.

Alongside helping to make CHG take the 8th spot in the UK’s Best Workplaces in the Super Large category this year, the impact of Heather’s work has also been recognised when it comes to employee engagement and retention.

Since 2023, employee engagement has increased from 77% to 85%, while turnover has more than halved, falling from a peak of 66% to 29%. Additionally, in the past 12 months, over 90 employees have been promoted internally, showcasing more opportunities for progression within the Group.

Alongside the recognition for Heather, CHG’s win for Excellence in Employee Wellbeing reflects the wider work taking place across the Group to support its people.

CHG has significantly expanded its mental health support, increasing the number of Mental Health First Aiders from eight to 40, while initiatives including menopause support, wellbeing zones and greater support for work-life balance have been introduced across the business, with the proportion of employees who feel encouraged to balance their work and personal lives having now also increased from 73% to 83%.

Speaking on the wins from the night, Heather Harris, HR Director at Clermont Hotel Group, said:

“We’re incredibly proud to be celebrating such a fantastic result at this year’s HR in Hospitality Awards. Walking away with two wins and a highly commended is a brilliant reflection of the work happening across our People & Culture team and throughout Clermont Hotel Group.

“Winning HR Leader of the Year is a huge honour, but these awards mean a great deal to me and the team because they recognise the work that sits behind the everyday experience across our hotels, from how we support wellbeing to how we develop our people and create a culture where every individual can thrive.

“We’re incredibly proud of what the team has achieved and very excited to see what we can achieve together next.”