New Possible’s British HR Awards sets out to discover and celebrate the organisations that are truly passionate about delivering a world-class people experience.
Continuing with our Sharing Success series, we interview British HR Awards 2025 Winners to shine a light on the inspiring projects that are improving workplaces across the UK and beyond. In this article we chat with Josh Price from Away Resorts, winners of the 'Hospitality & Leisure Company of the Year' and ‘People Team of the Year (1,001 – 5,000 employees)’ categories.
Introducing Josh Price:
Josh started his career in operations, where he found his love for consumer-facing businesses. Josh said: "Being at the sharp end of an organisation teaches you quickly just how important people are in delivering great customer experiences and driving commercial success. That insight naturally led me into the world of HR, and I’ve developed a genuine obsession with all things People ever since. At Away Resorts, my role is fairly broad. Along with the rest of the People team, my main job is to make sure that we are recruiting, developing and engaging colleagues that are passionate about creating unforgettable experiences for our guests and holiday homeowners. More technically, I work with the business to build a people plan that helps deliver both immediate and long-term priorities."
About Away Resorts:
Away Resorts is a holiday business with 27 locations spanning across the UK. Their diverse portfolio includes seaside resorts, forest retreats and boutique hotels. Founded in 2008, the organisation has an ambition to shake up the holiday park sector.
Launching a Brand-New EVP
Over the past year, Away Resorts has been working hard to develop its colleague proposition, blending personalisation, inclusivity, and commercial alignment through a bold, people-centric strategy. At the heart of this transformation is the launch of a refreshed EVP - “Join for a season, stay for a reason”, supported by a series of innovative initiatives designed to attract, engage, and retain talent across a multigenerational workforce.
‘Core, More, Your’ Benefits
Recognising the diverse needs of its workforce, Away Resorts introduced a flexible, tiered benefits package - 'Core, More, Your' - empowering employees to tailor their benefits package to their personal needs, from essential ‘Core’ offerings to customisable ‘Your’ options. The new system, supported by a new provider, has seen benefits utilisation increase by 284% and delivered annual savings of £75,000.
Flexibility Through ‘Get Away Your Way’
Inspired by feedback from the company’s growing DEI Steering Group, Away Resorts launched 'Get Away Your Way' - a flexible holiday initiative that lets employees take religious bank holidays at a time that suits them, and purchase up to five additional holiday days annually. This commitment aims to reinforce Away Resorts strategic objective of ‘Embracing Everyone’.
The DEI Steering Group itself saw 120% growth in membership - this expansion has led to meaningful change through campaigns like ‘No Need to Blush’, which raised awareness of menopause support and equipped managers with the skills to manage colleagues going through challenging times.
When asked why DEI is important to Away Resorts, Josh mentioned: “DEI is fundamental to who we are at Away Resorts. We’re in the business of building communities, not just for our guests and holiday home owners, but for our teams too. At the heart of our DEI agenda is a growing community of individuals who feel confident being themselves and are empowered to help the business reach its full potential."
"Our core values ‘Attentive, Amazing, Lovers’ have organically created a culture of inclusion. We believe high-performing teams are built when people feel safe, heard, and valued—so for us, DEI isn’t optional, it’s essential.”
Josh also voiced his opinion on how important DEI will become in the hospitality industry: "Looking ahead, I think DEI will only become more important across hospitality. As an industry that is know for welcoming and celebrating people from all walks of life, we have a responsibility to keep leading the way. The social landscape is becoming ever more turbulent, and while the challenges are growing, so is the opportunity to make a real difference."
When asked which benefits have been most popular at Away Resorts, Josh said: “One of the biggest challenges right now is building a people proposition that works for such a diverse multigenerational workforce – all of which bring different expectations – so we’ve tried to create a benefits offering that supports people through different life stages."
"Our new benefits framework - ‘Core, More & Your Benefits’, gives colleagues greater flexibility and choice in how and when they use their benefits. It’s early days, but we’re already seeing positive signs, especially as colleagues begin to personalise their experience."
"More specifically, our Family Leave Policy has had a big impact on colleagues starting or growing their families. As well as enhancing financial support during leave, we offer a fully funded first family holiday - something that’s gone down incredibly well, especially at a time when finances can be tight. It’s helped support wellbeing and increased the number of colleagues returning to work after extended leave."
Driving Commercial Success
To help bridge the gap between people strategy and commercial aspirations, Away Resorts introduced the ‘Winning Summer’ campaign, which immediately recognised and rewarded teams who either achieved business gains or showcased company values. The campaign increased internal engagement on its communication platforms by 60% and saw a strong uplift in employee sentiment, with eNPS scores rising by +14 in central support and +11 in regional teams.
As the people team continue to improve ways of working and drive for efficiency, they have also worked with the business to enhance organisational structures. Most recent work delivered by the people team has contributed a significant in-year cost reduction while maintaining customer and colleague satisfaction metrics.
Overall, judge said they 'loved' the ‘approach to rewards’. They also praised ‘tangible benefits’ and 'impact'.
When asked what challenges Away Resorts faced during rollout, and how they overcame them, Josh commented: "Like with most rollouts, one of the biggest challenges was communication at scale. As a growing business with locations spread across the country and a workforce that spans generations, making sure our messages landed consistently was tricky. There’s often a lot of focus on the big launch moment but, in fact, the hard work starts once the initial excitement fades. That’s when it becomes about embedding the message into the colleague journey—making sure people are reminded of what’s available, why it matters, and how it supports them.
"Another challenge that we face into is the challenge of building a people offering that’s appropriate for several populations. We have front line team members, colleagues that work in our Central Support function, we have team members that join us during the summer season, and permanent colleagues that are with us all year round. Each group has distinct needs and expectations, which makes a one-size-fits-all approach unrealistic. While there’s rarely a perfect solution, we also first look to find the common ground, those points of convergence across groups, and build our strategy from there."
What advice would Josh give to other organisations looking to do something similar?
"Be prepared to pivot. Not everything will land exactly as you imagined - and that’s okay. Even with the best data in hand, some initiatives just won’t stick. The key is to stay open-minded: try again, try differently, and don’t be afraid to learn as you go.It’s always a balancing act, but anchoring your approach in the wider business strategy is essential. From there, it’s about actively listening to your people and staying curious. That curiosity means that you’ll not only be engaging colleagues but also designing solutions that genuinely move the business forward."
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