Double Award Success for Four Talent

In April 2026, we were delighted to win two awards at the SME Northamptonshire Business Awards, winning Gold for Service Excellence and Silver for Best Enterprising Business.

Since then, the celebrations have continued, as we’ve also been shortlisted for the SME National Business Awards. We’ll be heading to the national finals in London in November, where we’ll be competing against businesses from across the UK.

The recognition follows an exciting period of growth and evolution for Four Talent as we’ve expanded our services beyond recruitment to offer broader people-focused support, including leadership development, team workshops and strategic HR projects.

Growing beyond recruitment

When we founded Four Talent in 2022, recruitment was at the heart of our business. It remains a key part of what we do, but our clients increasingly asked us to help them retain, develop and get the best from the talented people already within their organisations.

In response, we’ve developed a more rounded range of people services, supporting SMEs across Northamptonshire and beyond with areas including leadership capability, team performance, communication and wider HR projects.

Louise Keightley, Co-Director of Four Talent, said:

“We’re incredibly proud to receive this recognition because, over the past year, we’ve really evolved beyond hiring. We’re now supporting our clients to develop their people and build stronger, more effective teams.

“People development and wider HR are areas where both Lucy and I have years of experience across a range of organisations and sectors, so being able to bring that expertise into Four Talent and round out our offering has been fantastic.”

Service excellence remains at our heart

Winning Gold for Service Excellence was particularly meaningful to us, as it marked our second win in this category and a fantastic endorsement of the service we provide and the relationships we’ve built with our clients.

Service excellence was one of the driving forces behind the creation of Four Talent. We wanted to build a people consultancy that offered honest advice, a personal approach and support genuinely tailored to each organisation.

That commitment has helped us achieve a client retention rate of more than 95%, with many of our clients now choosing to work with us across several different services.

Lucy Wright, Co-Director of Four Talent, said:

“Service excellence has always been at the heart of what we do. It’s the reason we set up the business, and it continues to be our focus every day.

“For us, great service means taking the time to understand our clients, being honest about what they need and working alongside them to make things happen. To be recognised for that again makes us incredibly proud.”

Making a difference beyond business

Supporting people and our local community is also an important part of who we are.

Alongside our work with clients, we’ve continued to support local charities through fundraising initiatives. These have included climbing Mount Toubkal and raising £1,600 for Northampton Saints Foundation, as well as raising more than £3,000 for the Hope Centre in Northampton.

Looking ahead

As Four Talent continues to grow, our focus remains firmly on helping SMEs find, develop and retain great people.

We’ll continue to strengthen our training, leadership development and HR services while delivering the friendly, honest and highly personal support our clients have come to expect from us.

We’re incredibly excited to represent Northamptonshire at the SME National Business Awards in London this November and look forward to celebrating alongside so many brilliant businesses from across the country.

A huge thank you goes to our clients, associates, partners and everyone who has supported Four Talent. These achievements reflect the relationships we’ve built and the trust you place in us—and we couldn’t have reached this point without you.

Image: Lucy Wright (left) and Louise Keightley of Four Talent celebrating their SME Northamptonshire Business Awards success. Credit: Lou Morris Photography.