You may submit your nominee for consideration in any of the applicable four categories. However, they must submit a separate nomination for each category, and each submission must be unique to the specific category.
Submitters may nominate individuals and/or companies that work within the benefits ecosystem, spanning brokerage, consultants, advisors, carriers, retirement advisors, financial planners, TPA services, HR, plan sponsors, etc.
Industry Impact
Open to professionals who lead industry and community-focused efforts, serve as role models of excellence, lead the way in transparency, and push to bring more diversity into the industry. Ideal candidates have put into practice innovative approaches and partnerships that produce meaningful philanthropic impacts. These individuals achieve demonstrable and replicable results and they strive to further their efforts through specific policies, programs, educational offerings, informative activities and diversity practices. Influential and supportive to many, these nominees relentlessly pursue gender and racial equality to cultivate change. Their efforts incorporate benefits skills, knowledge and strengths within their respective local communities; demonstrate giving back in areas related to benefits and health care; and/or advance DEI within the benefits industry and the broader community that it serves.
Open to firms that lead industry and community-focused efforts, serve as role models of excellence, lead the way in transparency, and push to bring more diversity into the industry. Ideal candidates implement innovative approaches and partnerships that produce meaningful philanthropic impacts. These organizations achieve demonstrable and replicable results and they further their efforts through specific policies, programs, educational offerings, informative activities and diversity practices. As influential and supportive companies, these nominees relentlessly pursue gender and racial equality to cultivate change. Their efforts incorporate benefits skills, knowledge and strengths within their respective local communities; demonstrate giving back in areas related to benefits and health care; and/or advance DEI within the benefits industry and the broader community that it serves.
Education & Communication
This category will honor those working to better understand, shape and improve industry practices and education, as well as those who strive to educate employers, employees and industry professionals in timely and informative ways. It is open to professionals conducting valuable research and leading educational and communication efforts for benefits professionals, employers and employees across a variety of platforms -- social media, online apps, videos, podcasts, white papers, etc. These nominees relentlessly support the industry’s efforts to educate advisors, benefits professionals, employers and employees in ways that improve benefits knowledge, transparency, financial literacy and related efforts.
Open to firms making outstanding efforts to better understand and train advisors, HR professionals, employers and employees. We also will honor companies at the forefront of areas like technology, transparency, cost control and other innovative topics, as well as those producing independent research and tools to help the industry better connect with employers and health care consumers. These efforts should include (but are not limited to) valuable research, new approaches and educational outreach that encompass social media, online apps, videos, podcasts, white papers, etc., that seek to improve benefits and health care knowledge or have other broad impacts.
Leadership
Economic, regulatory, technological and other issues are influencing the industry landscape as never before, making leadership and its responsiveness more critical than ever. This category acknowledges those leading and guiding key decisions, including strategy, product development, hiring, the use of technology and more, in successful and dynamic ways. It will recognize those making the decisions that matter most in this fast-changing environment and those who support bold strategies that produce both quantitative and qualitative results for their practices, teams, brokerages and the broader benefits community.
Open to organizations that can demonstrate they are truly changing the industry in innovative and dynamic ways through their growth strategies, product development efforts, hiring, use of technology and other steps. These firms are taking impressive and unique steps that produce quantitative and qualitative results for their practices, teams, organizations and the broader benefits community.
Humanizing Benefits
This category recognizes benefits advisors, HR professionals and other individuals who bring a personal touch to the benefits and health care space. In an industry where it’s easy to feel like just another number, these individuals take after-hours phone calls from employees, go the extra mile to help navigate and explain the complexities of the health care system, and ensure the industry remains a place that still values people.
This category highlights organizations that are making significant and measurable efforts to support benefits professionals, employers and employees by making the employee benefits and health insurance landscape a better place. Through tools such as technology, concierge services, communication and information, they work to provide personalized and timely support and information that makes working in and navigating through the industry a more personable and human experience.