The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the Stevie® Awards for Great Employers, announced today that the final entry deadline for the eleventh annual competition has been extended to Wednesday, July 1. The Stevie Awards for Great Employers honor the world's best companies to work for and the HR teams and professionals, HR achievements, new products and services, and suppliers that help to create and drive great workplaces.
"Each year, we hear from organizations that are doing remarkable work but need a little more time to prepare their nominations," said Stevie Awards President Maggie Miller. "By extending the deadline, we're ensuring that more organizations have the opportunity to share their achievements. Entries submitted during the extension period will not incur late fees and will be judged alongside all other nominations under the same criteria."
All organizations now have two more weeks to prepare and submit their entries. All individuals and organizations worldwide - public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small - may submit nominations to the Stevie Awards for Great Employers. The 2026 awards will honor achievements since the beginning of 2024. Entry details are available at http://HR.StevieAwards.com.
The 2026 competition introduces a variety of new categories, including a new group of 12 AI categories designed to honor individuals, teams, organizations, and solutions advancing artificial intelligence.
New HR Team categories include Leadership Development Team of the Year and Workplace Health and Wellbeing Team of the Year.
New Solutions and Implementations categories include Employee Wellbeing and Mental Health Solution Implementation - Implementation, Employee Wellbeing and Mental Health Solution Implementation - New or New-Version.
AI and People Analytics Provider of the Year is a new Solution Provider category.
AI Training for HR Professionals is a new Training Program or Media category.
20 of the 24 HR Individual categories do not require payment of entry fees, including Human Resources Executive of the Year, HR Rising Star of the Year, Employee Relations Professional of the Year, Onboarding Professional of the Year, Recruiting or Talent Acquisition Professional of the Year, and others.
Winners in the 42 industry-specific Employer of the Year categories will be determined by a unique blending of public votes and professional ratings. Public voting will take place from June 11 to July 9.
The Stevie Awards for Great Employers recognize achievement in many facets of the workplace. Categories include:
- AI Achievement Categories (New for 2026)
- Curated Training Platform of the Year Categories
- Employer of the Year Categories
- HR Achievement Categories
- HR Individual Categories
- HR Team Categories
- Solutions & Implementations Categories
- Solution Provider Categories
- Training Programs or Media Categories
- Thought Leadership Categories
More than 100 professionals worldwide, working on several juries, will determine the Stevie Award winners. Winners in the 2026 Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards will be announced on July 16 and celebrated during a gala banquet in conjunction with the Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence, The International Business Awards®, and the German Stevie Awards ceremony on October 28 in Paris, France.
About the Stevie® Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in nine programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and the newest Stevie Awards program, the Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence. Stevie Awards competitions receive over 12,000 entries annually from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performance in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.
