With nominations open until June 19, judges and a multiple-award winner reveal their takes what makes a memorable submission
The Canadian HR Awards are quickly approaching. Have you submitted your nomination? And will it stand out from the rest?
Every year, HR teams across Canada put thoughtful effort into nominations for the Canadian HR Awards – only to wonder whether their submission truly landed. With the 2026 awards gala set for Oct. 1 at Rebel Toronto and nominations open until June 19, the consensus from three judges and a multiple-award winning organization is this: a good nomination describes what an organization did. An outstanding one proves why it mattered – and how things changed as a result.
The before-and-after story
The single most common gap judges see is a nomination that leads with results but skips the starting point.
“If somebody puts in that their engagement score is 80 per cent, I don't have an understanding of whether there was a shift – was it 80 per cent last year? Was it 80 per cent for the last five years?” says Tanya Sinclair, Chief People Officer for Canada at Save the Children, who is a judge for this year’s awards and also submitted nominations herself in the past. “But if you're telling me a before-and-after, it helps me to realize, ‘Wow, this probably did help.”
Sinclair says supplementary documents – a brief PowerPoint deck, a visual summary of the initiative, or an end-product showcase – can also help judges form a clearer picture when the submission form has character limits.
Fellow 2026 judge Ashlee Langlois, CEO and Registrar of CPHR Saskatchewan, echoes the importance of context. She says she wants nominators to define the business problem clearly: what organizational challenge existed, why it mattered, what risks or opportunities were at stake, and why HR led the solution.
“The more clarity that can be provided around contextualizing the business problem is really important,” says Langlois. “Connecting it not only to HR strategy, but to organizational goals — workforce strategy, growth, retention, productivity – and then supporting that with business outcomes and results.”
As an example, Langlois suggests that where a wellness initiative was launched, she wants to see “hard-hitting data points” such as if it affected absenteeism, psychological safety scores, or turnover. “All of those metrics that HR leaders are looking at, those key and critical KPIs that really prove the return on investment,” she says.
Humanize the data
Metrics matter — but they rarely carry a submission on their own, according to Thanuja Thananayagam, Senior Manager of People and Culture at the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion. She’s also a judge in this year’s competition, and she brings both a practitioner and academic lens to her judging – she’s also an instructor and lecturer at two Ontario universities. Thananayagam says she looks specifically for evidence that people actually experienced work differently because of what an HR team did.
“The most compelling submissions connect quantitative outcomes to human impact,” she says. “For example, did employees feel safe speaking up because of a psychological safety initiative? Did managers become more capable of navigating difficult conversations? Did employees from equity-deserving groups report a greater sense of belonging and trust?”
She points to storytelling as the differentiator that moves a submission from competent to memorable. “The strongest nominations include specific examples of people's stories — not just ‘the employee experience,’ but illustrating how these initiatives influenced the day-to-day working lives of employees,” she says. “The most memorable nominations humanize the data.”
She also warns against a common writing trap: leaning on buzzwords instead of evidence. "I cringe when I read things like ‘fostering an inclusive culture’ or ‘driving engagement,’” she says. “It sounds like ChatGPT language to me – explain what behaviours changed, what systems changed, and what employees experienced differently than before.”
Don't underestimate a small team's advantage
Many HR professionals at smaller or less-resourced organizations may feel hesitant to submit, assuming they can't compete with nominations from larger, better-funded, and more well-known teams. All three judges push back on that assumption.
“Smaller organizations should never underestimate the power of authenticity, clarity, and measurable impact,” says Thananayagam. “In most cases, small organizations stand out because they feel deeply connected to their employees and the community they serve – a focused initiative with a strong outcome can be more compelling than a broad strategy filled with generalized language.”
Langlois agrees, noting that innovation and creative problem-solving within tight constraints is itself a differentiator. “If I read something and I'm like, ‘Wow, I've never heard of that being done before’ — and that organization did something really unique and cool within their contextual environment — that strategic-level, outside-the-box thinking really stands apart, particularly in smaller organizations because you have limited resources,” she says.
Sinclair's advice is to tell the judges who you are. “Say that you’re a very small organization or if you had zero budget, because we don't know — and when we're looking at so many submissions, if it's not made clear, it's hard for us to remember that what might not seem as impressive was actually accomplished with no resources,” she says. “It just helps the judges to put it in context that this would have been quite an achievement for a one-person HR show or a team of two people.”
What a winner learned
Jennifer Maki, National Manager of Human Resources at Hyundai Auto Canada, has navigated the nomination process from the winner's side. The company took home the 2025 Canadian HR Team of the Year (fewer than 500 employees), the 2023 CCDI Award for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion, and the 2023 Best Workplace Culture award.
Maki suggests keeping a nomination submission focused. Choose the initiatives that connect most authentically to your organization's values and culture – and that can demonstrate sustained impact, not just a one-time lift, she says.
“Rather than just rattling off a bunch of HR initiatives, be more thoughtful about the ones that had an impact – initiatives that you've continuously improved over time, invested in, and that have had tangible results,” says Maki. “Share the particular initiatives that aren’t one-offs and aren’t just pilot initiatives for awards season.”
She also underscores the craft of writing the nomination itself. “Even your initiatives that are great can lose their impact if they're not communicated well,” says Maki. “Think about sentence structure, clarity of outline, and take the time to reread it and make sure that it's putting your best foot forward — because you get one shot at it.”
The current moment matters — but name it precisely
With organizations navigating economic pressure, shifting workforce expectations, and complex social dynamics, the judges say the strongest nominations reflect those realities — without retreating into vague language.
“The strongest nominations move beyond polished language or buzzwords and demonstrate how organizations supported people through uncertainty in a practical, measurable way,” says Thananayagam. “It could include how they maintained psychological safety during change, how they approached equity in decision making, or how they balanced organizational pressure with employee well-being.”
Sinclair says she pays particular attention to nominations where inclusion is woven into the initiative — not positioned as a separate program, but as an intentional consideration throughout. "I like when I'm hearing that people are continuing efforts to be inclusive and not deviating away from sharing that it was an intentional consideration woven into whatever they’re doing,” she says. “That to me shows the work isn’t performative — they're really looking at belonging and inclusion.”
And if a submission truly stands out and wins an award, it will have an effect well beyond the gala, according to Maki. “I think it gave credibility to all of the programs and initiatives we've built over time,” she says. “The executive team shared that pride — and it reflects on them too, not just HR.”
Nominations for the 2026 Canadian HR Awards are open now and close June 19. The gala takes place October 1 at Rebel Toronto.
