Awards Categories
Grand Award of the Year
The Grand Award of the Year will be granted to the organisation that meets the following requirements*:
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Submission of the highest number of entries within Organisational Category – Grand Awards
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The organisation that obtains the highest average score across the above entries
This award highlights the entry that serves as the most outstanding example of best practice in action, inspiring Hong Kong HR practitioners with innovative strategies to help them excel in their profession. In arriving at their decision, the Judging Panel will look for projects that have achieved outstanding results with a far-reaching impact and meaningful contribution to the HR community.
The winning organisation should demonstrate a strong commitment to developing and implementing outstanding people strategies that drive business success.
*The Judging Panel has the right to make the final decision.

Excellent Employer of the Year
[Free Entry for organisations meeting the criteria]
It will be granted to organisations that meet the following criteria:
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Submitting a minimum of 1 entry in the Organisational Category - Grand Awards and receiving at least 1 Elite Award or higher; and
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Submitting a minimum of 2 entries in the Organisational Category - Sub-Category Awards and receiving at least 2 Elite Awards or higher.
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*Organisations meeting all of the above criteria will automatically be eligible for this award. The results will be communicated in Q4 2025.
Three-year Recognition Award
[Free Entry for organisations meeting the criteria]
Recognising organisations that have achieved Excellence/Elite/Merit across any category for three consecutive years from 2023/24 edition onwards.
*Organisations meeting all of the above criteria will automatically be eligible for this award. The results will be communicated in Q4 2025.
Organisational Sub Category Awards
Age-Friendly Workplace Award
This award recognises an organisation that promotes age diversity and inclusion in the workplace and implements policies and practices such as flexible working arrangements, learning opportunities, career paths, benefits and wellness initiatives which support older workers and create an age-friendly
workplace to value the contribution of older workers.
Entries should demonstrate the positive influence made by applying age-friendly initiatives to strengthen the impact of diversity & inclusion within the organisation.
Best Workplace Award
This award recognises an organisation that establishes an excellent workplace environment and culture to foster employee engagement, satisfaction and well-being. This is achieved through the implementation of a wide range of HR policies and practices, effective leadership, attractive employee benefits, and ample professional development opportunities.
Community Caring Award
This award recognises the organisation that makes a significant contribution to the well-being of the community and achieves excellence in promoting social responsibility and ethical business practices. The scope of the entry can include volunteerism, community involvement through advocacy, educational or outreach programmes, and compassionate leadership that demonstrates empathy, kindness and respect towards stakeholders.
Corporate Governance Award
This award recognises the organisation that makes a significant contribution to the well-being of the community and achieves excellence in promoting social responsibility and ethical business practices.
The scope of the entry can include volunteerism, community involvement through advocacy, educational or outreach programmes, and compassionate leadership that demonstrates empathy, kindness and respect towards stakeholders.
Disability-Friendly Employment Award
This award recognises an organisation that promotes disabilityfriendly
employment and implements policies and practices such as flexible working arrangements, learning opportunities, career paths, benefits and wellness initiatives, aiming to support employees with disability and create a disability-friendly workplace that values their contributions.
Entries should demonstrate the positive influence made by applying the disability-friendly initiatives to strengthen the impact of diversity & inclusion within the organisation.
Employee Benefits Award
This award recognises an organisation that goes above and beyond in providing employees with a comprehensive benefits package, such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, special leaves or wellness programmes, aiming to motivate employees to perform at their best and attract and retain talent for the organisation. Entries should provide quantifiable evidence of these achievements.
Employee Happiness Award
This award recognises an organisation that implements a purposeful approach to foster a positive and happy workplace culture where employees feel valued and find their work meaningful within the organisation.
Entries should demonstrate the positive influence of these approaches in strengthening employee happiness and provide quantifiable evidence of these achievements.
Employer Branding Award
This award recognises an organisation that creates a value proposition and executed a branding campaign with proven success in differentiating its identity and adding value to the organisation.
Entries should demonstrate a strong employer brand strategy in attracting, engaging, and retaining employees and show evidence of implementing the branding campaign successfully.
Family-Friendly Practices Award
This award recognises an organisation that excels in assisting employees in balancing work and family obligations through a wide range of HR policies and practices, such as flexible working arrangements, daycare facilities, elderly care support, adoption and reproductive assistance, breastfeeding support, paid personal and earned days off programmes, as well as academic bursaries for employees’ children.
Gen Z Attraction Award
This award recognises an organisation that develops outstanding and effective strategies, programmes, and policies to enhance the employer branding, recruitment processes, and retention initiatives that attract, engage, develop, and retain quality Gen Z talent.
Entries should demonstrate excellence in formulating effective strategies and commitment to understanding and engaging with Gen Z, with tangible impact achieved by implementing these strategies.
Green Achievement Award
Green Achievement Award This award recognises an organisation that makes significant efforts to promote environmental sustainability and foster a green culture that motivates employees to take action to protect the environment. Entries should demonstrate the positive influence made by applying the green initiatives /projects to deepen sustainability with quantifiable impact on the environment.
HR Analytics Award
This award recognises an organisation that demonstrates exceptional use of data analytics to analyse and manage human resources data, thereby driving better efficiency, productivity and decision-making of an organisation.
The scope of entry can include the implementation of HR analytics systems, HR software, people analytics strategies, etc.
Learning Technology Award
This award recognises excellence in implementing and utilising technology to enhance employee learning opportunities and experience, thereby strengthening skills, knowledge, mindset, and culture across all levels of the organisation.
The scope of entry can include the implementation of strategic plans or programmes, digital solutions, software, online training, etc.
Learning & Development Award
This award recognises excellence in the design, creation, and implementation of a unique learning and development strategy that enhances the skills, knowledge, and attitude across all levels of the organisation.
The scope of the entry can include a strategic plan or programme, individual courses or other deliverables that enhance performance and encourage learning and development within the organisation.
Management Trainee Programme Award
This award recognises an organisation that successfully formulates and delivers a management trainee recruitment programme which attracts, engages and grooms graduates to become future leaders of the organisation.
The scope of entry should demonstrate a strategic and structured programme that provides training, learning initiatives, networking opportunities and an aspirational career path for the trainees.
Talent Acquisition Award
This award recognises an organisation’s talent attraction strategy that effectively aligns with the overall business strategies and employer branding.
Entries should demonstrate excellence in job design, manpower planning and deployment, recruitment and selection strategies, as well as internal mobility strategies and programmes that seek to achieve effective utilisation and acquisition of talent to meet business needs.
HR Service Provider Category
ESG Provider Award
This award recognises the excellence of a service provider in assisting its client in planning a comprehensive ESG approach, including Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, and integrating it into the overall HR strategy.
Entries should demonstrate the positive influence made by applying the ESG service / project to strengthen the sustainability and ethical impact of the client in the areas of ESG.
Executive Development Programme Provider Award
This award recognises exceptional leadership development programmes that have clearly enhanced the skills, competencies, and strategic acumen of senior executives within an organisation. Entries should excel in cultivating executive talents and preparing senior leaders to effectively manage and lead in an ever evolving and complex business environment.
Furthermore, entries should showcase innovative content and demonstrate the impact on participants, supported by quantifiable achievements that highlight the effectiveness of the programme.
Innovation Provider Award
This award recognises the excellence of a service provider in implementing an HR concept into practice for its client through innovative initiatives that create synergies, deliver insights, increase efficiency, enhance family, community and/or social values while addressing workforce and/or organisational
challenges.
Innovative initiatives can include creating or adopting a new technologies or digital solutions, as well as implementing creative strategic HR-related programmes for its client, implementation of HR software, analytic systems, or online training, etc.
Learning & Development Provider Award
This award recognises a service provider that demonstrates excellence in the designing, creating, and implementing of a unique learning and development strategy for its client, enhancing skills, knowledge, and attitude across all levels of the organisation.
The scope of an entry can include a strategic plan or programme, individual courses or other deliverables that improve performance and encourage learning and development within the client’s organisation.
Mobility Provider Award
This award recognises a service provider that demonstrates excellence in the designing, creating, and implementing mobility strategies that enable its client to successfully adopt a Remote Workforce (WFH), Internet of Things (IoT), or Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) culture in their organisations.
Entries should demonstrate excellence in driving better efficiency, productivity and performance of the HR department and the organisation.
Payroll Provider Award
This award recognises a service provider for offering exceptional payroll services to its clients, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of their payroll operations.
Entries should demonstrate excellence in customer service, payroll calculations and accuracy, timeliness, payroll reporting and innovation in their payroll services.
Talent Acquisition Provider Award
This award recognises the excellence of a service provider in delivering a talent attraction strategy that effectively aligns with the overall business strategies and employer branding of the client’s organisation.
Entries should demonstrate excellence in job design, manpower planning and deployment, recruitment and selection strategies, internal mobility strategies and programmes that aim to achieve effective utilisation and acquisition of talent to meet client’s business needs.
The Most Popular Recruitment Platform Award
This award recognises the best local online platforms for job seekers and employers in Hong Kong. The platform must have a large and active Hong Kong user base, high engagement and satisfaction rates, innovative and user-friendly features for job search and hiring, and a positive impact on the Hong Kong labour market, such as creating more job opportunities, improving skills development, etc. Entries should be able to quantify the achievements.
Wellness Provider Award
Organisational Category
Grand Award of Diversity & Inclusion
This award recognises an organisation that supports diversity and inclusion initiatives at the heart of its business and realises such values through active practices. Entries should demonstrate best practices in diversity and inclusion being put in the place in their HR policies, practices, and procedures with regular reviews to tackle and remove any unfair bias.
Grand Award of Employee Experience
This award recognises an organisation that has successfully aligned its employee experience strategy with broader business objectives.
Entries should demonstrate specific and innovative employee-centric initiatives that have significantly improved employee working experience, enhanced satisfaction and commitment, strengthened engagement, and fostered a positive work environment. Entries should provide quantifiable evidence of
these achievements.
Grand Award of Employee Wellness
This award recognises an organisation that provides compelling evidence of their strategy to protect and enhance the health and well-being of employees.
Entries should include specific initiatives that offer mental, physical, social, and/or emotional support to employees, resulting in improved health and well-being for employees and enhanced organisational performance.
Grand Award of ESG Initiatives
This award recognises an organisation that incorporates a comprehensive ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) approach into its overall HR strategy, including Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.
Entries should demonstrate the positive influence of applying the ESG initiatives and/or projects to strengthen the sustainability and ethical impact of the organisation in the areas of ESG.
Grand Award of HR Digitalisation
This award recognises an organisation that embraces technologies, data analytics / informatics or digital solutions to drive better efficiency, productivity, and performance of the HR department and the organisation.
The scope of the entry can include the implementation of HR software, analytic systems, online learning and development tools, etc.
Grand Award of Talent Management
This award recognises an organisation that develops outstanding and effective strategies, programmes and policies for talent identification, classification, management, and retention, as well as workforce mobilisation such as job rotation and assignment planning to enable leadership succession.
Grand Award of Change Management
This award recognises excellence in an organisation’s ability to set a compelling vision and plan, implement, and manage changes in the people aspect of a major organisational
programme.
Entries should demonstrate HR’s contribution through all stages of the change process and how the programme brings positive impacts to employees and organisational performance and/or clearly minimises potential negative impacts.
Grand Award of Innovation
This award recognises the successful implementation of an overhaul of an HR concept through innovative initiatives that create synergies, deliver insights, increase efficiency, enhance family, community and/or social values while addressing workforce and/or organisational challenges.
Innovative initiatives can include the creation or adoption of new technologies or digital solutions, or creative strategic HR-related programmes.
This award recognises a service provider for offering exceptional wellness solutions or family-friendly practices to its client.
Entries should demonstrate excellence in providing health and well-being programmes and services that enhancephysical, mental, financial and social well-being of employees or providing family-friendly services that help employees in balancing work and family obligations, resulting in improved employee engagement and retention.
Community Caring Award
This award recognises the organisation that makes a significant contribution to the well-being of the community and achieves excellence in promoting social responsibility and ethical business practices.
The scope of the entry can include volunteerism, community involvement through advocacy, educational or outreach programmes, compassionate leadership that demonstrates empathy, kindness and respect towards stakeholders.
Corporate Governance Award
This award recognises an organisation that effectively promotes transparency and accountability, pursues integrity in business operations and embraces diversity in the processes to attract, appoint, promote, and ensure accountability among the senior leaders.
The scope of entry can include the corporate’s purpose, the role and composition of the board of directors and management committees, the interests of shareholders and stakeholders, and the measurement of the corporate’s performance, etc.
Green Achievement Award
This award recognises an organisation that makes significant efforts to promote environmental sustainability and foster a green culture that motivate employees to take actions for protecting the environment.
Entries should demonstrate the positive influence of applying
the green initiatives and/or projects to strengthen the
sustainability, providing quantifiable impact to the environment.