Winning the IHF Quality Employer Award was a proud moment for all of us at Trigon. This award matters because it recognises how we work, not just what we achieve. It reflects a commitment to creating an environment where people feel supported, understood and able to do their best work without compromising their health, identity or life outside of work. For me personally, that is the only kind of success that really lasts.
I have always believed HR should be a true partner in the business, not just a support function. That means listening to our people, using what we learn to make better decisions, and creating ways of working that help everyone thrive while the business succeeds.
Why the Role of HR Has Changed
Over the past few years, it has become clear that the traditional employer-employee contract has changed. People are asking more of their workplaces, and rightly so. Flexibility, inclusion, wellbeing and psychological safety are no longer “progressive ideas”, they are expectations.
At Trigon, we didn’t want to respond to these changes with surface-level solutions or generic policies. We wanted to understand our team, who they are, what they need and how those needs differ across life stages, roles and circumstances.
One Size Does Not Fit All
I have always believed that one size does not fit all when it comes to people. What supports one team member might not work for another, and pretending otherwise can leave people feeling unseen or excluded. That belief has shaped our entire HR approach.
Using Data to Understand Our People
A key part of our strategy has been using workforce data to truly understand our team and listen more intelligently. We analyse engagement surveys, absence trends, turnover data, demographic insights and feedback patterns to identify what is really happening beneath the surface. That data helps us spot where support is needed, where policies might be falling short, and where different groups are experiencing work in different ways.
Turning Insight into Action
For example, data highlighted specific pressure points for team members at certain life stages, whether that was menopause, fertility treatment, caring responsibilities or workload sustainability. Instead of applying blanket solutions, we adapted our approach to meet those needs more thoughtfully. Data gives us insight, but it is the conversations that bring it to life. We use both together to shape policies and practices that are flexible, responsive and human centred.
What the Quality Employer Award Recognised
The Quality Employer Award recognises a number of initiatives we have implemented, but what matters most is how they work together. We introduced enhanced support around menopause, fertility and gender balance, ensuring these policies are practical, accessible and stigma-free. They exist because our data, and our team told us they were needed.
Embedding Wellbeing into Everyday Work
Rather than treating wellbeing as a standalone programme, we have embedded it into workload planning, flexibility and leadership behaviours. This includes encouraging open conversations, realistic expectations and early support not just reacting when someone is already struggling.
Making DE&I Part of How We Operate
DE&I at Trigon isn’t a tick-box exercise. It is reflected in how we recruit, develop talent and create opportunities for progression. We continue to review our data to ensure fairness and representation, and we are honest about where we still need to improve.
The Critical Role of Managers
Managers play a huge role in shaping employee experience. We have invested in training that helps them lead with empathy, confidence and consistency, especially when supporting our team members through complex or sensitive situations.
What This Looks Like in Real Life
The most rewarding part of this work is seeing it in action. We have had team members openly share their experiences and feel supported rather than uncomfortable. We have supported team members through a number of significant life changes without fear of judgement or career impact and still thrive professionally.
One colleague said something very simple that stayed with me:
“I feel like Trigon listens, and then does something about it. I feel heard.”
That’s what we aim for. Not perfection, but genuine responsiveness.
Key Learnings Along the Way
One of the biggest lessons has been that policies don’t create culture, behaviour does. You can have the best frameworks in place, but if leaders don’t role-model them, they won’t land. We have also learned that being data-informed doesn’t mean being impersonal. In fact, it allows us to be more human. When you understand patterns and differences across your workforce, you are better equipped to support individuals rather than forcing everyone into the same mould.
Another learning is that progress is not always linear. Some initiatives take time to embed, and feedback doesn’t always come wrapped in praise. But listening, especially when it’s uncomfortable is essential.
Advice for Other HR Leaders
For other HR leaders, my advice would be, use data to ask better questions, not to jump to conclusions. Design flexibility into your policies from the start. Equip managers, they make or break employee experience. Remember that inclusion is an ongoing practice, not a finished project.
Why This Is Not the End of the Journey
Winning the Quality Employer Award isn’t the end of the journey, it’s motivation to keep going. Looking ahead, we will continue to evolve our approach to employee experience. We are paying close attention to how different groups within our workforce experience work and how we can adapt further to support them. We are also focused on sustainable performance, helping people do great work without burnout, and ensuring success doesn’t come at the expense of wellbeing. The world of work will keep changing. Our role is to keep listening, learning and adapting.
Culture Is a Shared Responsibility
HR may help set the direction, you could say we are the bus drivers, but a journey like this only works when people choose to get on board. Our colleagues have engaged with new ways of working, shared honest feedback and trusted us enough to tell us when we needed to do better. That openness is what turns policies into lived experiences and ideas into culture.
What the Award Really Represents
For me, the real success behind the Quality Employer Award is what it represents, a shared commitment across Trigon to building a workplace that recognises individual needs, different life stages and diverse experiences. Because when it comes to people, one size does not fit all.
HR can help steer the bus, but it is the people on it, and the team driving change every day, that make the journey meaningful.
By Kathleen Linehan | Group Strategic Director Of Human Resources Trigon Hotels
