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NRL wins global recruitment award for exceptional overseas operations

NRL’s International team have been recognised as the Best UK Overseas Operation at the Global Recruiter Industry Awards 2026. 

Reaching the final amongst a competitive shortlist, judges were impressed with how the business has grown its international operations in recent years, including demonstrating exceptional service across borders, whilst truly understanding their market and people. 

Within the award submission, NRL highlighted their bespoke workforce solutions approach, devising tailored employment and global mobilisation services that meet in-country challenges and allow organisations to engage staff in countries they do not have legal entities. This includes a steadfast focus on compliance to manage local labour laws, regulatory requirements and travel barriers. 

Continued global growth across NRL’s overseas territories has also allowed the business to recruit more colleagues to expand their recruitment, operational and financial departments, with a significant focus on creating a multilingual team, who combined speak 12 languages. This approach has allowed colleagues to bridge language gaps with candidates and contractors, and share lived experiences from their own time working overseas. 

Evidencing NRL’s continued overseas expansion to secure the award, the business reported a 45% growth in international workers over 2 years, as a result of establishing new entities in Spain, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Poland and Germany, supporting existing operations in Norway, Egypt and the UAE. This scaling of global capability saw international turnover exceed £55 million for the first time in the organisation’s history. 

Reflecting on the award win, NRL’s International Development Director Will Fossey said; 

It’s fantastic to see the accumulation of our strategic growth plans recognised for leading the way amongst our industry peers. A significant programme of international expansion has been underway in recent years, and thanks to the expertise of our team, our unrivalled reputation for compliance and high service standards, we’re pleased to see these plans are delivering tangible results. 
A huge thank you to the judges for recognising our ability to combine global expansion and local compliance knowledge, with people-focused solutions which take a personal approach to assisting businesses with their international workforce challenges.”