
RECOGNITION
Each category winner will receive:
An elegant trophy: Display this shiny trophy for all to see. Go ahead, you've earned it.
Editorial & Social Media Coverage: You’ll be featured on Ragan’s web sites Ragan.com and PRDaily.com, on our social platforms and in our eletters, reaching more than 250,000 communicators and marketers.
Marketing & PR: Leverage your win in your marketing materials, press releases and other messaging.
Digital Badge: Add the Winners badge to your email signature and your web site.
Press release: We’ll provide you with a quote for your press release plus we’ll post your organization’s award release on our site to boost recognition.
Employees are the lifeblood of your organization.
When they’re informed and engaged—and their diverse backgrounds and viewpoints are heard and championed—organizations flourish, and talented employees grow within your organization.
Ragan’s Employee Communications Awards is the premier awards program for internal communications. Our program recognizes the best internal communicators, teams, programs, campaigns, intranets and events that excelled in engaging and informing employees, boosting collaboration, fostering innovative and accepting workplace cultures, and so much more. This is your opportunity to showcase your incredible organization and its dedication to offering an amazing employee experience.
Work life also looks a little different than it did a few months ago. So, this year, we’ve also added categories dedicated to showcasing the remote communications, events, campaigns and projects that have helped you stay connected with employees, even when so many are working from home.
Categories in our Employee Communications Awards cover content and communications, employee experience, intranets, publications, remote culture and video. Our Grand Prize categories will recognize the best in remote work experience, use of technology, employee communications campaigns, employee communications teams and intranet.
Enter more than one category to increase your chances of winning—and save on multiple submissions of the same campaign or project.
New this Year: Top Places to Work. Is your organization a top place to work, whether it's in-office or remote? If your company culture is something to write home about, and if your organization is true to its mission and vision, then yours is most likely a Top Place to Work and you should enter it into this program. Ragan's Top Places to Work competition will shine a spotlight on the workplaces that shine a light on their employees and that walk the talk. Share with the judges in 500 words or less what makes your company an extraordinary workplace.
Check out last year’s winners to see what award-worthy work looks like.
CATEGORIES
TOP PLACES TO WORK
Small Organization (<100 employees)
Mid-Size Organization (100-1,000 employees)
Large Organization (>1,000 employees)
REMOTE CULTURE
Virtual Employee Engagement
Virtual Employee Recognition
Virtual Events/Celebrations
Virtual Executive Communication
Virtual Onboarding
Virtual Team Meetings
Virtual Town Hall
Virtual Wellbeing Programs
Other
CONTENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
Benefits Communication
Change Communication
Community Relations
COVID-19 Communication
Crisis Response
Data-Driven Communication
Digital Signage Communication
Email Communication
Executive/Leadership Communication
Manager Communication
Newsletter/Feature Section
Personalized Communication
Podcast
Rebranding Campaign
Recruitment Campaign
Reputation Management
Return to Workplace Communication
Use of Social Media
Social Justice Communication
Speechwriting
EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
Amazing Workplace Culture
Brand Ambassador Program
Burnout Busters
Corporate Social Responsibility/ESG Initiatives
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commitment
Employee Education/Training Program
Employee Engagement
Employee Resource Groups
Internal Event Strategy
Return to Workplace Office Redesign
Wellness Program
PUBLICATIONS (ELECTRONIC AND PRINT)
Annual Report
Article Series
Blog
CEO Letter
CSR/ESG Report
Design of Newsletter or Magazine (Print) (Digital)
Internal Email Campaign
Feature Article (Print) (Digital)
Interview or Profile
Magazine (Print) (Digital)
Newsletter (Print) (Digital)
VIDEO
Humorous Video
Informational Video
Inspirational Video
Leadership Video
Training or Orientation Video
Recruitment Video
INTRANET COLLABORATION & INNOVATION
Employee Engagement
Employee Recognition
Gamification
Internal Social Network
Launch or Relaunch
Mobile Integration
Partnership with Human Resources
Value to Employees
INTRANET CONTENT
Best Feature/Section
Instructional or Educational Content
Interactive Content
Video
Visual Storytelling
INTRANET DESIGN
Best Intranet Design
Intranet Usability
Personalized Experience
TECH
Best Employee App
Best Digital Collaboration Tool
Wellness Tool/Service
GRAND PRIZE
Best Overall Intranet
Best Remote Work Experience/Culture
Best Use of Technology
Employee Communication Campaign of the Year
Employee Communications Team of the Year
HOW TO ENTER
On the entry form, be sure to include a thorough synopsis explaining the purpose and scope of your project. We ask that the synopsis be a maximum of 1,250 words (Top Places to Work entries must be 500 words or less) and include the following sub-headings (when applicable):
- Goals
- Strategy and tactics
- Execution
- Evaluation: success, results or ROI
Be sure to follow the guidelines laid out in the category descriptions, as the judges will look for those elements when they select the winners.
You will be able to upload additional documents, links, videos and URLs to your submission. We encourage you to include press releases, design concepts, videos, analytics, testimonials and anything else you feel will give us a better sense of your project. Proprietary or internal information can also be attached and will not be shared with the public.
Supporting documents that can’t be uploaded to the system should be mailed to:
Brendan Gannon
Ragan Communications
10 S. LaSalle St., Suite 310
Chicago, IL 60603
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
These awards are open to in-house, agency and independent communication practitioners, and vendors, in the private, corporate, nonprofit and government sectors. Enter your work, the work of your organization or submit entries on behalf of your client.
Companies from around the world are welcome to enter as long as the entry is submitted in English.
Contact Brendan Gannon to find the perfect category for your campaign or project. You can reach him at 312-960-4407 or brendang@ragan.com
This year’s program is open to any work executed between Aug. 1, 2019, and Oct. 23, 2020, inclusive.
ENTRY FEES
The fee for this program is $425 per entry.
Entry fee for Grand Prize categories is $475.
A late fee of $199 per entry will be added to all entries after 11:59 p.m. Central time, Oct. 23, 2020.
Do you have a campaign or project you'd like to enter into multiple categories? Pay the original entry fee, and then only $199 for each additional category!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should you apply?
Our award programs help you measure the success of your work and prove the value of your contributions to your organization. You can set yourself apart in the industry as an expert, which will open doors throughout your career. As a winner, you’ll earn publicity for your brand across our websites and social media audiences, a custom write-up about your campaign and a trophy.Who can enter?
Entries may be submitted by organizations worldwide. The only requirement is that entries be submitted in English. The program is open to in-house, agency, independent communication practitioners and vendors in the private, corporate, nonprofit and government sectors.What does it take to be a winner?
We look for top-quality work that shows clear, bold and creative ideas that benefit your business or client. Please provide metrics or media coverage that back up your claims, and share creative collateral such as videos, visual design or websites that were a part of your project. Please look at our past award winners to see what gets recognized and rewarded. We encourage you to submit the same campaign to multiple categories, if you feel they are relevant. Doing so increases your chances of winning. You'll also save on multiple submissions of the same campaign or project.Why are some deadlines extended?
We extend deadlines based on applicant needs and upcoming promotional opportunities.When will I find out results?
We try to announce a list of finalists about eight weeks after the close of the program. The announcement of the winners comes about four weeks after the announcement of the finalists. Each announcement will be made with a headline on our website, in our daily email newsletter and on our social media platforms. Emails notify entrants of these announcements. As deadlines are extended, so are expected announcement dates.Additional Questions
If you have any questions about the program or problems submitting your entry, please call Brendan Gannon at 312-960-4407 or email brendang@ragan.com.
Sponsorship Opportunities
If you are interested in sponsoring one of Ragan Communications’ award programs, please contact Hannah Lavelle at 312-960-4628 or email hannahl@ragan.com.
Ragan Communications is not responsible for international shipping fees related to trophies or certificates.