Optimas Award

About Learning Elite

Since 1991, the Optimas Awards have been a source of ideas, direction and inspiration for human resources professionals. The Optimas Awards celebrate HR’s success at solving some of the biggest business challenges of our time. Each year, the Optimas Awards are given by Workforce magazine to recognize human resources and workforce management initiatives that achieve business results for the organization.

Awards

Nominations for the 2020 Optimas Awards are scheduled to be open from Friday, April 17 to Friday, May 22.

Go to Nomination Portal Download Nomination Worksheet

Click here for more details on how to apply.

Nominations for the 2020 Optimas Awards are scheduled to be open from Friday, April 17 to Friday, May 22.

Go to Nomination Portal Download Nomination Worksheet

Click here for more details on how to apply.

About Learning Elite

The Optimas Awards are recognition awards across a range of categories, recognizing workforce management initiatives at organizations worldwide.

General Excellence

Benefits

Business Impact

Corporate Citizenship

Awards

Nomination FAQs

Who is eligible for nomination?

Our organization has more than one program we would like to nominate; can we submit more than one nomination?

Can my organization nominate more than one program in the same submission form?

I completed the application template; can I mail in my submission?

How do I apply for the awards?

To be considered for judging, nominators must submit a completed nomination form via the online submission portal. Nominations must be submitted before 11:59 p.m. CST on the closing date. Nominators can download the nomination template, which includes instructions and applications, in advance. Completed applications must be submitted via the online submission portal.

Nomination Form Template>>

Online Submission Portal>>

Are there any fees to submit a nomination and what does it cover?

When is the nomination period?

What should my award nomination include?

Award Basics

What are the Optimas Awards?

Workforce magazine’s Optimas Awards were developed to recognize human resources and workforce management initiatives that achieve business results for the organization. Awards are given annually across 10 categories. There’s also the General Excellence award, selected by the judges, which is given to the organization whose workforce management initiatives met the standards established for at least six of the 10 categories.

How are Optimas Award nominees identified?

Workforce management professionals nominate their own workforce management initiatives. While many of the initiatives begin with the leaders in human resources, eligible entries can begin elsewhere in the company provided that they involve significant participation by the organization’s workforce management leadership. Workforce editors also collect information to identify organizations that have the potential to be winners.

Who do I contact if I have questions about the awards, selection or nomination form?

What’s new this year?

Judging FAQs

Who are the judges?

What is the judging process and criteria?

Judges look for organizations whose initiatives have a strong human resources component and an emphasis on bottom-line business results. Winners achieve tangible business results.
A panel of judges has been established for each category of awards to ensure the submission can be judged consistently and fairly. Winners will be determined by averaging scores assigned by judges to each entry. In the event of a tie, a select group of judges will review competing entries to determine winners.

What are the criteria for evaluating an Optimas Award nomination?

The nominations will be judged upon the following criteria:

Is there a clearly identified business issue?
Are there quantifiable data that help clarify this business issue?
Is there a strong HR component to the solution of the business issue?
What is the HR program and how does it address the business issue?
What are the quantifiable business results of the HR program?
What are the nonmeasurable results that have a payoff to the organization?
Does this initiative serve as a model for other organizations?
Does this program demonstrate how HR has an impact on the business results of the organization?
How long has the program been in place?

How are the nominations scored?

The scoring has been set up to be consistent across the award categories and judges will provide numerical scores for each of the following criteria. Each of the nine award criteria is judged on a scale of 1 -7:

7 (Breakthrough and/or Role Model): Initiatives considered “breakthroughs” and/or “role models” for human resources and workforce management initiatives that achieve business results for the organization.

4-6 (Outstanding): Initiatives that did an outstanding job, met or exceeded all of the criteria as described and accomplished all goals. The complexity was significant and significantly impacted business results.

2-3 (Meets the criteria): Initiatives that met the criteria, but did not or could not provide clear of reliable evidence to identify initiatives as breakthrough or outstanding.

0-1 (Does not meet the criteria): Did not meet the criteria established or failed to document how the criteria were met.

Winner FAQs

Who is an Optimas winner?

Optimas winners demonstrate business results. Optimas Award winners have helped open new markets around the world, reinvented city government, slashed bureaucracy in the federal government, established Mexico’s first HMO, taken health care to rural America, revitalized failing business units and improved the acquisition process. Not surprisingly, Optimas Award winners have pushed their organizations to record profits, greater market share, higher stock value and better corporate reputations. In short, they have produced tangible, measurable business results. The Optimas Award winners prove that HR at its best can be practiced anywhere: in family businesses and the public sector, in the Fortune 500 and in small organizations, in big cities and on the farm, in industries of every sort.

When will the finalists and winners be announced?

What do award winners receive?

What happens if our nomination is a winner?

Can I order additional copies of the award for our organization?

Are there logo usage guidelines?

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Nomination FAQs

Award Basics

Judging FAQs

Winner FAQs