UK Sponsorship Awards launches Agency Wellbeing Award for 2026

The UK Sponsorship Awards team is delighted to announce a new award for agencies. Dubbed the ‘Agency Wellbeing Award’, it will be presented to the agency that is judged to do the most for its staff in terms of career progression, work-life balance, job satisfaction and safeguarding. The new award will also take account of how well agencies perform in terms of championing representation and inclusion.

The new award comes in addition to the existing agency-focused awards on offer. These vary each year depending on the cohort of entries but typically include Large Agency of the Year and Medium-to-Small Agency of the Year. At their discretion, the judges can also award Challenger, Breakthrough and Innovation-led agencies.

“Our new Agency Wellbeing Award is recognition that there is much more to running an agency than the bottom line and new business wins,” said UKSA managing director Rosemary Sarginson. “The most successful agencies realise that the key to running a profitable and sustainable business is hiring the right people, retaining them and creating the conditions for them to be productive. More than ever, all of these factors are connected to how firms support wellbeing in the workplace.”

There is no additional charge to participate in this category. All agencies need to do is enter the agency category as usual – with details available on the UKSA website. But instead of submitting 1200 words, they should submit 1500 words, making sure they provide an insight into how they support the wellbeing of their staff.

Areas to spotlight include perks and benefits – for example private health cover, voucher schemes or free EV charging on site. Evidence of mentoring, robust bullying/whistleblowing guidelines, varied training opportunities or proof of advancement paths could also be factors. Some agencies may prefer to point to shared experiences, such as summer parties, Christmas lunches, the celebration of key religious festivals and company away days as proof of their attentiveness. Flexible working practices, time off for volunteering, cost of living bonuses and stress management workshops are also the kind of policies that could win your agency the new UKSA Wellbeing Award.

See here for more details on how to enter.