The red carpets were rolled out and the flashbulbs lit up the night when Skandia International recently staged their own unique Oscars ceremony at the Villa Marina.
More than 270 staff arrived for the company's second staging of the Skandia 'Oscars', where staff were honoured for the year's achievements and treated to a banquet dinner - with tables named after movie icons such as Marilyn Monroe, James Stewart and Al Pacino.
The winners were chosen in a variety of categories, each voted for by fellow staff members, with the management team making the final choice of the winner of the overall top award - Top Achiever - which was claimed by Andrew Jones, who works in the company's Investments department.
General manager Mark Halewood said that the awards ceremony was important for Skandia International because it gave the company an opportunity to show just how much the individual and team efforts of all members of staff were appreciated, especially during the last 12 months of upheaval in the world's economy.
"This has not been an easy year for anyone," he said.
"There has been a lot of extra work for every member of staff and lots of new issues to deal with, both as individuals and in teams. We have had record levels of dealing and many members of staff saw major changes to their working practices, and through necessity many people were moved to new areas where they may never have been involved before which itself was a massive learning curve.
"The Skandia Oscars recognises the achievements of not just the winners but everyone in the company. In my eyes, everyone has been a winner this last twelve months and we should all be proud of our achievements.
We have a reputation of being great on customer service and even through these enormously difficult times, we have still managed to remain focused and provide our customers with exceptional service and shown the real strength and depth of Skandia."
Each award featured a shortlist of nominees. In true Hollywood style, the winner's names were revealed with the opening of a golden envelope, while a fanfare sounded as they received their award and a replica golden Oscar.
The ceremony ended with the presentation of a special award to a member of staff whose skills and dedication had resulted in savings to the company.
Chris Franklin, who works in the Claims department, was described by Mark Halewood as having carried out "exceptional" work.
The various award winners on the night were:
Leader of the Year: Andrew Jones
Best International Southampton-based: Gordon Andrews
Outstanding Customer Service: Amanda Cox
Best in Support: Andrew Holton
Best in International Regions and Sales Support: Sarah McNulty (Dubai)
Best in Skandia Ireland: Anna Nilsson
Best in Investments: Andrew Jones
Star of the Future: Catherine Clarke
Best in Administration: Catherine Russell
Employee of Choice: Nikki McCann
Best Support to Regional Offices: Steph Whybrew and Rob Hall
Top Achiever: Andrew Jones
Team of the Year: Personnel
Special Award: Chris Franklin.
Pictured: General Manager Mark Halewood presenting the Top Achiever 'Oscar' to Andrew Jones.
