Karen Buchan, Senior People Services Advisor at Balhousie Care Group, came out on top at the cHeRries Awards 2018, winning the Fantastic HR Advisor category.

Karen, educated at Abertay University in Dundee, picked up the award on Friday at the AECC in Aberdeen in front of her industry peers at the prestigious event organised by The Press and Journal.

Karen has been an integral part of the repositioning of Balhousie Care Group’s human resources team – now called the people services team – and a cultural shift across the company. This shift has brought with it a focus on recognising every staff member’s skills, and involving residents and family members in care decisions.

This is the latest in a growing list of accolades for the care group, which has 25 care homes across the north-east of Scotland.

In May, finance director Mike Reid was named Finance Director of the Year at the FDs’ Excellence Awards. Last November, Operations Director Louise Barnett took the title of Operations Manager of the Year at the National Care Awards. In April, dementia nurse consultant Yvonne Manson was named as a finalist in the RCNI Nurse Awards, which celebrates excellence in nursing care U.K.-wide. Yvonne will hear if she has won in July.

This recognition has been topped off with two of the group’s care homes achieving the highest Care Inspectorate rank in the last 12 months.

Steve White, CEO at Balhousie Care Group, said:

“We are delighted to see the amazing work Karen has carried out be recognised at the cHeRries Awards. Karen has played a crucial role in the new, fresh direction which Balhousie Care Group has been following for the last two years, particularly in reviewing how we deliver our human resources services.”