Compass Associates is able to share the great news that we have been recognised as winners of Recruiter of the Year at the 2026 HealthInvestor Awards, having been part of parent company Compass Recruitment Solutions’ nomination.
The HealthInvestor Awards is roundly viewed as the leading awards ceremony of the year for the health, care, and specialist education markets, bringing together investors, operators, intermediaries, suppliers, and leaders in the sector for an evening of celebration. CRS’s recognition, which incorporated supporting evidence from all sister brands in the group alongside Compass Associates, demonstrates the brand’s dedication and success in efforts to provide an outstanding level of service to all our customers.
Some of the judges feedback on why Compass won the award included:
“Judges were impressed by the scale and volume of senior placements across the sector, with an impressive track record and focus on diversity. Congratulations to the whole team.”
Group Managing Director for Compass Recruitment Solutions, Sam Leighton-Smith said:
“This award belongs to our brilliant teams across all our brands who continuously go above and beyond to deliver value to our client partners. We are incredibly proud to work with so many health, care and life science businesses that contribute to making people’s lives better and are genuinely excited for the future as we grow our international footprint.”
This award marks a strong twelve months for the Compass Associates team. Across the last year, the elderly care division has supported seven separate sub-sectors with placements spanning registered manager, regional, area, and operational management hires – including nearly 100 Home Managers placed alone. The healthcare division has delivered more than 200 placements across Primary Care, Consumer Healthcare, and Private Acute markets. In the specialist care teams – divided into Adult Care, and Children’s Care & Education nearly 60 Registered Managers have been placed into new jobs collectively contributing to nearly 250 clients benefiting from the services of Compass Associates this year.
Head of Compass Associates UK, Stuart Cousins has commented:
“This is an achievement which belongs to every single member of staff across the group. We’ve navigated a challenging market, continued to grow within the sector, and delivered our highest NPS and Google review scores to date – driven by both our marketing team and head of customer excellence.
2026 is shaping up to be our best year yet, which I think is in part because we’ve stayed human in a world which increasingly feels less so.
While AI-generated posts and emails flood feeds and inboxes, we’ve met more than 1,100 health, care and specialist education leaders in person across since January alone, with our key vision of being that we want our 55 consultants to be the most knowledgeable, and best networked consultants in each of their specialist niche areas of focus. Thanks to every member of Compass Associates for buying into this vision.
Our team wouldn’t be where it is without our support function, which has transformed our training program for new graduates and ensured all of our enhanced service offerings such as candidate packs, proposals and additional services are genuinely market leading.”
To find out more about other Compass Associates news, including further awards nominations and industry insights, follow this link.
If you’re interested in finding out more about our services – whether you might be interested in hearing how we can help you recruit talented managers to companies you’re part of, or perhaps are considering a change of job at the moment, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
Compass Associates is an award-winning healthcare, social care, and children’s services recruitment consultancy with offices in Portsmouth, Manchester, and London. Supporting clients and candidates across the independent healthcare and care sector, we have a proven track record in delivering high-volume recruitment projects, strategic hires, team mobilisations, and sensitive organisational transitions. To learn more about how our specialist consultants can support your organisation, get in touch with our team.