THE winner of this year's Trowbridge Employee of the Year competition will be named on Wednesday during a live final at Trowbridge Civic Hall.

The tension is mounting for the six finalists, picked from over 30 entries to face a panel of judges and be interviewed by BBC Radio Wiltshire's Heather Skull and TV weatherman Richard Angwin.

The finalists must prove to the judges their work fulfils the five tenets of the employee's charter set out by the Chamber of Commerce.

Mark Ledbury, manager of Davies & Davies Estate Agents, said buying or selling a house can be stressful so attention to detail and a conscientious attitude eases the situation.

For him, the charter tenet requiring employees to be welcoming, friendly, helpful and informative are qualities that should not be overlooked.

Finalist Helen Carter, Homeward team leader with Nutricia, was nominated by her boss. Her team provides food for patients with special requirements.

She said: "Each phone call I make brings a different situation which needs to be responded to accordingly.

"Each person needs to be treated with courtesy and respect as they are often in a very stressful situation.

"I am able to empathise with each customer as I believe this plays a great part in understanding and helping them with their dealings with Homeward."

Hilary Cadwgan is an occupational therapist based at Trowbridge Hospital.

She was stunned to be nominated because she is not used to being the centre of attention in her job. Her work involves all five tenets in the charter and she often has to direct patients to other organisations she thinks can help them.

Emer Worth, office manager at Alzheimer's Support in Bridge House said treating customers with respect was important because many families were coming to terms with the disease.

She said: "I enjoy my job so it's an honour to be commended for doing something I love."

For car salesman Ben Austin, treating people with respect is vital.

He said: "I have to be willing to go out of my way

for customers regardless of how much money they are spending.

"Things such as opening a door for someone or making them a cup of tea or coffee come naturally to me."

Hilary Henley, shop assistant at HB Pitt Ltd gets a lot of satisfaction from her work decorating and designing cakes and often helps customers to come up with their own designs.

She said: "Giving information and advice is very satisfying when they come back to you to let you know they have mastered something they were struggling with."