Channel Awards 2024: Trustmarque champions citizens, communities and colleagues

Trustmarque has once again been recognised in two categories for the final of the CRN Channel awards.

The 2024 nominations showcase the progress and talent across Trustmarque, bringing together phenomenal impact from our public sector division for the Partner of the Year category, and celebrating the launch of Encircle within the ‘Best DEI initiative' category. Interwoven in these areas, is our desire to improve the lives of our colleagues, and externally the citizens and communities we serve.

Citizens and communities

Our public sector work over the last four decades has had a lasting powerful impact, changing the way services work for the better. With the arrival of head of public sector, Chris Jones in February, followed by the most successful month (June 2024) in our history, there's been a significant step change.

As Jones told CRN last month, "disrupting that marketplace is what we are achieving. My mission is to make sure that we are delivering work which benefits the people in the UK. That's our number one objective."

Trustmarque currently works with 80 per cent of the NHS Trusts, but also with 38 local authorities, and 350 schools and universities.

Earlier this year, our ground-breaking work hit the headlines as the ‘world's first' IVF research dashboard using 33 years of UK data, across 665,000 NHS and private patients.

In partnership with the regulator Human Fertility and Embryology Authority (HFEA), we launched a new national data platform for IVF results, demystifying some of the IVF complexities and to support couples in their journey of becoming parents.

Jones' public sector division is to continue to turbo-charge services across the UK, from Scottish local authorities to the health service. In Wales, Trustmarque is the Microsoft partner for Digital Health and Care Wales providing technology solutions that support healthcare innovation. In England, we work with 80 per cent of NHS Trusts, major police forces and councils, as well as Northern Ireland.

DEI in action at Trustmarque

As the Trustmarque Group drives ahead with ambitions plans, internally we have also been growing our collective awareness and understanding around DEI. Nine months after launching Encircle, our Trustmarque Group DEI committee, has been recognised in the Best DEI initiative category for the CRN Channel Awards 2024.

Supported by chief people officer, Marsha Waugh-Lewis and chief operating officer, Stuart Daley, and co-chaired by sales leaders Viv Williamson and Giorgia Litwin, our first colleague DEI committee, Encircle, was born in February 2024.

Since then, Williamson, has made a huge impact as the first Encircle co-chair, "many colleagues have shared deeply personal situations and knowing that by hearing "someone like them" has made them feel more accepted, or by telling their story they feel "more heard" has made it so worthwhile."

Made for colleagues, by colleagues, Encircle's mission is to embrace differences while recognising the strength that they bring to our organisation. But DEI equality cannot be achieved in a vacuum. The network is underpinned by dynamic community and a vibrant calendar of activation events.

This year alone, Encircle has increased our understanding around Mental Health Awareness week, as well as highlighting gender inequality for International Women's Day.

Client director and Encircle co-chair, Giorgia Litwin has high hopes for the next phase of the initiative: "This is only the start of the journey, and we're all excited to do, learn and achieve more. Promoting DEI can be transformative to both individuals and businesses, and playing a role in that for Trustmarque is something we are really proud of."

As well as launching enhanced menopause and life changes policies, Encircle has been the springboard in launching our first women's mentoring scheme, Elevate, with the purpose of raising the profile of a cohort of women across the group.