Note: Take our Awards Activation Readiness Quiz to discover your score, plus unlock valuable strategic insights to help you get more out of your award wins.
Winning a company award is exciting and should be celebrated and promoted. It’s a great way to honor the hard work of the employees who made the award possible and acknowledge that the company is best in class.
Awards are also important to job seekers. iHire found that workplace awards were considered important by 25.3% of respondents when evaluating a job opportunity. This is why it’s important to ensure that awards are shown prominently across key places a job seeker will be researching.
Fifty-two percent of recent job seekers use four or more resources when conducting a job search, according to Zippia. In 2024, job seekers will be more informed than at any other time. With the aid of AI tools and new features such as Glassdoor's company bowls, researching potential employers has become effortlessly transparent, aiding applicants in making well-informed decisions before applying. Not only are job seekers researching, but they are also reflecting on what they want.
This period has been coined by Gartner as the Great Reflection, highlighting a trend where individuals are taking a step back to assess their career trajectories and evaluate what they truly want from their work experiences. By leveraging multiple resources and engaging in introspection, job seekers are positioning themselves for success in finding opportunities that align with their aspirations and values.
There are many benefits a company can reap from winning an award. Below are four to consider: free exposure, brand elevation, applicant quality, and driving retention.
Seventy percent of candidates worldwide are considered passive, with only 30% actively seeking new opportunities. It's crucial to capture the attention of passive candidates – and incentives can play a pivotal role. Recruitment professionals must prioritize keeping their employer brand at the forefront of the minds of both active job seekers and potential future candidates. This approach can significantly contribute to achieving success in recruitment KPIs.
In an era where companies are tasked with achieving more with fewer resources, establishing top-of-funnel awareness requires significant financial investment. The great news is – when a company wins an award, it usually comes with lots of free publicity. The grantor of the award usually has a strong PR plan in place to ensure media outlets are picking up the award winners, which can give a company great exposure. Comparably, as an example, touts pick-ups on their site from reputable sites like Forbes, Fast Company, and Inc.
The next benefit that awards can help with is brand elevation. A company’s brand matters to job seekers. In fact, according to G2, companies with strong employer brands experience 28% less turnover and spend 50% less per hire.
Nearly 20% of job seekers in Career Plug’s 2024 candidate survey said brand and reputation had the most influence on their decision to apply. The same survey also found that 45% of job seekers said they wanted to learn about the culture of the company, which awards can help articulate, either before they apply or before their first interview.
One way awards can help establish or elevate a brand or culture is by enhancing credibility. This can be especially useful for smaller companies that are less well-known. Being on a list like Great Place To Work can show a job seeker that they can take the company’s job posting seriously and may encourage them to research further to find out more about the company.
Tip: Applying for awards that job seekers in the industry care about can position a company as an expert and aid in standing out.
Not only do awards help elevate a company’s brand, but they can also positively impact recruitment KPIs, like applicant quality. Awards can showcase what a company is committed to, like sustainability. They can also show what a company stands for, like diversity. Additionally, awards can give more insight into a company's corporate direction. Awards recognizing the fastest-growing or most innovative companies are prime examples that illustrate this insight.
Beyond that, awards may also help job seekers understand if the company values the same things they do. Value alignment is critical for today’s job seekers, especially Gen Z, 77% say working for a company whose values align with theirs is vital. A hire with a good value alignment may be more likely to be retained longer.
Ultimately, showcasing all of these awards can lead to a more informed candidate. A more informed candidate could translate into a higher-quality candidate because they have the chance to opt-out after learning more if the opportunity is not a good fit.
In addition to promoting value alignment for retention, winning an award can also demonstrate to employees that the company provides stability. This can be especially important during times of economic uncertainty. In 2024, employee confidence and outlook are at an all-time low. As an example, Glassdoor reported that as of February 2024, employee confidence had fallen to the lowest level seen since 2016.
During these times of uncertainty, anxiety and fear among employees can rise – which ultimately doesn’t bode well for mental health. This can lead to challenges like lost productivity or increased absenteeism. Anything a company can do to provide reassurance to an employee that their company is stable and showcase how it’s a great place to work could help strengthen morale, which in turn can drive up retention.
After all, who doesn’t want to be a part of an award-winning team?
Once a company has won an award, it's time to promote it. Earned media through press pickups is possible – but that is only one piece of the promotional pie. By strategically planning and executing a multi-channel promotion strategy, hiring professionals can ensure that the award receives the attention and recognition it deserves, ultimately enhancing its reputation and credibility in the industry.
To learn more about how to build a comprehensive plan for promotion, answer five short questions and download our free playbook today! Also, reach out to the team at Recruitics to find out how we can become an extension of your talent acquisition team.
