We Won!
Inc Consulting named Best Recruitment or HR Business of the Year at the UNLTD Business Awards 2025!
The unLTD Awards this year had everything you’d expect from a Sheffield do - hosted at Peddler in Kelham Island, full of Steel City camaraderie, and the kind of cheering you only get when businesses genuinely want each other to do well.
We were proud to be celebrating alongside other brilliant winners, including our pals at Gravitate Accounting, 1101, and so many other purpose-led and innovative businesses doing genuinely great work across the region.
Why This Award Means So Much
Recruitment - like many other industries - was hit hard in 2025. It’s been a tough year, with difficult decisions and moments where simply keeping your head above water felt like an achievement.
Through all of that, we stayed true to our values. We kept showing up, kept supporting our clients and candidates properly, and kept both our standards and heads held high - even when it would have been easier to cut corners or chase short-term wins.
We suspect many business owners will relate to the feeling of constantly moving forward, without ever pausing to recognise the highs along the way. Being recognised now feels like a rare moment to stop, look back, and actually acknowledge what’s been achieved.
2025: Laying the Right Foundations
For us, resilience hasn’t meant pretending everything was fine or pushing through at all costs.
True resilience is about recognising when something isn’t working, being honest, and taking action - even when it’s challenging. It’s about understanding that real improvements take time to embed and results don’t show up overnight.
This year, we focused on laying the foundations properly. We reshaped the business to reflect the market, invested in better systems, and made decisions that would protect the long-term health of the business rather than papering over cracks.
We refreshed our branding, created a new marketing strategy, upgraded our systems, refined internal processes, and developed a new accessible website designed to attract talent from all backgrounds.
One thing we’re incredibly proud of is that 92% of our work this year came from repeat clients - proof that trust, relationships and doing things the right way pay dividends.
People First - Internally and Beyond
Internally, we’ve stayed focused on creating a culture where people are supported, trusted, and able to grow.
From our 9-day fortnight to coaching, mentoring and leadership development, we’ve continued to invest in our team - not just their output, but their wellbeing too. This year also marked a big milestone with Becki becoming Partner, reflecting our commitment to developing people from within and building leadership based on shared values.
We’ve welcomed Anna back from maternity leave, introducing a flexible working pattern that allows her to balance work and family without compromising her contribution or progression. It’s a small example, but an important one - fairness, flexibility, and trust aren’t just policies for us, they’re the values we live and breathe.
We’ve also been open about the realities of running a business - burnout, parenting, neurodiversity, and the emotional side of leadership included. No pretending it’s all perfect - just honesty and transparency.
Giving Back to the Region We Love
Even while rebuilding, supporting others has remained central to what we do.
From our Opening Doors Pledge, neurodiversity workshops, mentoring with Sheffield College and Rotherham College, workforce roundtables, to delivering pro-bono recruitment and coaching for professionals navigating redundancy or career changes - we’ve continued to give back where we can.
We’ve also immersed ourselves more deeply in the Sheffield small business community - finding real value in collaboration, shared learning and support, even when there’s no commercial agenda (shout out to SBR!).
And a special mention to Emma, who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro this year and helped raise over £100,000 for Weston Park Cancer Charity - a reminder that resilience comes in many forms.
Raising the Bar Together
One of the highlights of the evening was standing alongside the other finalists in our category - all female business owners and all setting the bar incredibly high for our field.
We were honoured to be nominated alongside Becca Morris, who launched her Pathways business this year and qualified as a Solution Focused Practitioner, delivering impactful coaching, training, and therapy.
And Chloe Wallace of OneSource HR, whose generalist HR consultancy is underpinned by deep expertise in preventing workplace sexual harassment - vital work, done with real commitment.
Being recognised alongside businesses like these says a lot about the strength and integrity of our industry in South Yorkshire.
A Huge Thank You
Huge thanks to Jill White of 3D Connect for her time and care as Head Judge, and to Phil Turner and the entire unLTD team for putting on such a brilliant event and continuing to champion the small business community in Sheffield. Shout out Ross Jarman for capturing the night on film and our host, the wonderful teams at Peddler and Factory Floor, for keeping us fed and watered, and to Chris Arnold, for keeping us all entertained.
A special thank you to Hannah Duraid, whose honest and powerful speech cut through the room. Her words in support of Weston Park Cancer Charity’s See It. Treat It. appeal - raising £1.85 million to purchase and install a new MRI cancer treatment planning machine - reminded us all of the very real impact behind the cause, and why support like this matters so much.
Most of all, thank you to our team, our clients, our candidates, and everyone who chooses to work with us. We don’t take it for granted - and we never will.
We’re proud, we’re anchored, and we’re so excited about what comes next.
Thank you so much,
Team Inc x
