REC's 2007 Individual Membership Recruitment Awards

Exclusively available to Recruitment and Employment Confederation Individual Members, the inaugural awards celebrate the créme of professional recruiters in the UK. The response was fantastic and the judges' job was very difficult.

In an REC press release Anita Holbrow, the REC's Marketing Director, said: "This is truly a landmark time. We are delighted to have had so many high quality entries which made the judging itself difficult".

Kent Top Temps General Manager, Helen Lock was awarded finalist status for Business Manager of the Year, just narrowly missing out as a winner.

The REC's Professional Individual Membership is a mark of excellence within a complex and competitive industry and the REC established these awards to celebrate and highlight to the UK as a whole the professional excellence that exists behind its badge.

Director Laurence Faulkner said of Helen in support of her nomination, "As Helen's line manager, I whole heartedly supported the nomination of Helen as Business Manager of the Year. Helen has supported and led the development of KTT with vision to develop the business from a small local authority based unit of three persons in 2003 to the transfer into a limited company in 2005 and the continuous growth in the private sector to encompassing six different strands today and some 17 people.

The hard work that Helen has demonstrated beyond the call of duty is not the only catalyst for this tremendous achievement. Helen enthuses a visionary outlook to maintain business development, excellent customer care skills and team building / bonding skills to which most managers aspire, whilst maintaining the respect of her colleagues. All of this is supplemented by her desire to better herself through continuous professional and personal development, undertaking much course work at home, as well as offering home comforts as a mum and partner that the family appreciate.

Another important ingredient to a successful business manager is the ability to take decisions. Helen takes both strategic and tactical decisions in her stride, the growth of KTT in four years is proof of this statement, whilst maintaining constant updates to the directors of KTT. The move of KTT from the public to the private sector posed challenges that required a high degree of flexibility ensuring the budgets and business plan were in place and met in the new domain.

KTT has been highlighted on many occasions in Central Government and official publications as a leading example of transferring a business into the private sector. This is testament to Helen's (and her teams) drive and business acumen to be part of a successful but meaningful business."