We entered the APSCo Awards and it was a gamechanger

In 2024, Cornerstone Medical Recruitment took home two APSCo Australia Awards for Excellence - one for Best Brand, and another for their standout Learning & Development program.

While they won’t be entering in 2025, their success story offers valuable inspiration for those thinking about nominating this year.

We sat down with the Cornerstone team to reflect on what the wins meant for their business, how they approached the process, and why entering the APSCo Awards was a game-changer.

1. Congratulations on Cornerstone’s incredible success in the 2024 APSCo Awards for Excellence! Let’s start with your Best Brand win — what does brand mean to your business, and what do you think set your entry apart?

Brand, for us, is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. It’s how your community feels about you and that emotional connection matters, especially in healthcare.

We’ve always believed that our brand needs to reflect not just our passion for what we do, but also the vital, life-changing work our community does every day. It’s not easy building a brand that resonates across three very different audiences our internal team of local recruiters, our clients, and a national healthcare workforce.

But we’re intentional with every move we make. From our employer brand to our marketing, podcast, and charity work, we’ve never taken our reputation for granted We’ve always invested in it because we know a strong, authentic brand is how you build trust, grow community, and ultimately make a bigger impact.

2. Your Learning & Development award highlighted a strong commitment to nurturing talent — what inspired the approach you took, and how has it impacted team performance or engagement?

L&D has been part of our foundation since day one. Way back in 2012 when we launched cmr, we could not attract experienced recruiters because we didn’t have the reputation (or the money!)

We had to find great people who had transferrable skills that we could nurture and develop and help to grow their career in recruitment. Our first ever hire is still with us today!

3. Many businesses shy away from entering awards, but you clearly embraced the opportunity. What motivated Cornerstone to put forward these entries in 2024?

Our Brand and L&D have been key focus areas for us in recent years. We were very proud of the improvements we had made, and the awards were a great opportunity for us to get some feedback and recognise the hard work and dedication of the team. We also put forward these entries as they celebrated traditional back office teams, being marketing and L&D. Two teams we have always been super passionate about and feel are critical to the success of any agency.

4. What advice would you give to other recruitment businesses considering entering the 2025 APSCo Awards for Excellence for the first time?

Do it. It’s such a valuable process (even if you don’t win!). We have learnt more from the awards we did not win You’ll spot gaps you didn’t know were there and uncover opportunities to do things better. The feedback from the judges is invaluable. Best of all, it gives your team a real moment to come together, reflect, and be proud of what you’ve achieved (even if you don’t win!)

5. Although Cornerstone won’t be entering again this year, how has the recognition from your 2024 wins continued to benefit your brand and your people?

The recognition from last year is so valuable. I truly believe it helps to open more doors- bringing in new clients and candidates and of course attracting and retaining our internal team. Ultimately this means we get to help more people and make a bigger impact in the healthcare space. And that’s what we’re all about.

6. If you had to sum up your APSCo Awards experience in one word — what would it be?

Valuable! I love the APSCO Awards experience! You get good feedback. The award submission process is easy and the questions are well considered. It’s a great awards night which has a great vibe and is a fantastic way to celebrate your people, and your progress.