HR consultancy, Impact HR Consulting Limited, has been named a finalist in the SME of the Year category at the prestigious British HR Awards 2026.

Now in its fifth year, the British HR Awards celebrate organisations and individuals who are passionate about delivering a world-class people experience. This year saw a record 474 entries come in from organisations across the UK, making the competition particularly strong.

The SME of the Year category celebrates small to medium-sized companies that ‘demonstrate exceptional passion for improving the employee experience and building a better working world’.

As a people-first HR consultancy, Impact HR has been recognised for its two-fold approach to improving employee experience and building a better working world. Not only has the business invested heavily in enhancing the experience of its own people during a period of rapid growth, but it also delivers this expertise to SMEs across the UK, helping them to build stronger, more people-centric organisations.

Over the past 12 months, Impact HR has focused on creating a more engaged, supported and inclusive workplace internally, following a series of acquisitions and new appointments. By implementing a real-time employee insight platform, the business has been able to better understand employee sentiment across areas such as wellbeing, culture and inclusion, enabling faster, data-driven improvements and strengthening trust across the organisation.

This has been complemented by an enhanced Employee Assistance Programme, providing 24/7 confidential mental health support and contributing to improved attendance and wellbeing among employees.

Crucially, Impact HR has extended these initiatives beyond its own business. As a consultancy, it actively supports its clients to improve their own employee experience by delivering HR strategy, training, compliance and wellbeing initiatives that help SMEs to grow while putting their people first.

Now, by also introducing the employee insight tools and wellbeing support it has found to be successful in-house to its clients, Impact HR is also enabling their businesses to reduce absenteeism, boost productivity and create healthier, more engaged workplaces too.

Greg Guilford, Group CEO of Impact HR, commented: “We’re absolutely delighted to be recognised as a finalist for SME of the Year at the British HR Awards. This achievement is a testament to the passion, expertise and dedication of our team, and to the incredible clients we partner with every day.

“At Impact HR, we practice what we preach. We’re committed to helping organisations build people-first cultures that drive performance, growth and long-term success, and it’s fantastic to see that work recognised on a national stage.”

Nate Harwood, Founder of New Possible and the British HR Awards, said: “As the world changes at pace, organisations are increasingly having to learn, adapt and innovate. The British HR Awards celebrates the people teams and leaders who make that possible. Congratulations to all the finalists.”

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony taking place in Covent Garden, London on Wednesday 22nd April.

Impact HR has offices across the UK, including Essex, Leicester, Leeds and London. To find out more, visit https://impacthr.co.uk.