This year's CIPD People Management Award has gone to Vertex, the Manchester-based specialists in customer management outsourcing. The award - a joint venture between CIPD and People magazine - is the UK's premier accolade in people management and development.

Vertex broke new ground by building an innovative relationship with UNISON to open new channels for industrial relations. These included a joint working group, a voluntary ballot for union representation, and increased company support for collective trade union representation.

The judges higlighted the company's imaginative approach to management and their willingness to look beyond established positions and prior experience.

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