The winners of the Employer Brand Management Awards 2023 have been announced, following a dazzling ceremony at the London Park Plaza Riverbank hotel.

The Employer Brand Management Awards has been setting the benchmark for brilliance in employer branding for eight years. This year’s winners list exemplifies the extent of the innovation currently taking place in the sector, captured by the breadth of the programme’s categorisation and the diversity in submissions received. 

After being pored over by our expert panel of judges, the entries demonstrating the highest creativity, innovation and commitment to employer branding were finally chosen. Examples such as London-based brand agency, Tonic, taking key position as winners across several categories, including the evening’s Grand Prix, illustrate the powerful presence of creativity, passion and versatility throughout the entire class of submissions.

Special recognition was also given to EY, which received the 'Best creative execution of the employer brand award'. But, with over 20 categories, the Employer Brand Management Awards celebrated excellence from every angle across communications, strategies and specific sectors.

“This year’s winners have exemplified the transformative power of a proactive, strategic and creative approach to employer branding. From travel companies emerging from the pandemic through to consultancy firms competing for the Gen Z demographic, this year’s entrants have undoubtedly faced daunting challenges,” says Andrew Thomas, founder of the Employer Brand Management Awards and publisher of Communicate magazine.

“And yet the winners of the employer brand management awards have again raised the bar for wider stakeholder communications, emphasising the importance of employer branding to overall business growth and setting the benchmark for our future programmes. A well-deserved congratulations to all of this year’s winners!”

The full list of the Employer Brand Management Awards 2023 winners is as follows:

COMMUNICATION

Best alignment of the employer value proposition with corporate brand values
Gold - Barnsley Premier Leisure and WPA Pinfold
Silver - BBC and Wiser
Bronze - NatWest Group and Ph.Creative
Bronze - Total Fitness and Yonder Consulting
Highly commended - Ello Group and MuddyWellies
Highly commended - Experian and McCann Synergy

Best communication of the employer brand to the external audience
Gold - Newton and Tonic
Silver - Circle K
Silver - Sky and Symphony Talent
Bronze - NatWest Group and Ph.Creative
Bronze - Tesco and Stafford Long
Highly commended - Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Highly commended - N Family Club and Creed Communications

Best communication of the employer brand to the internal audience
Gold - TUI and MSL UK
Silver - Pepco and MJCC
Silver - Thales UK and LEAP Create
Bronze - BT and Ph.Creative
Bronze - ValueLights and MuddyWellies
Highly commended - EQRX and Ph.Creative

Best short-term or one-off employer brand campaign
Gold - Accenture and ThirtyThree
Silver - BT and Ph.Creative
Silver - Newton and Tonic
Bronze - B&Q and ThirtyThree
Bronze – EY and Radancy
Highly commended - GKN Aerospace and Dawson Walker

Best use of digital
Gold - Met Police and Tonic
Silver - TUI and MSL UK
Bronze - N Family Club and Creed Communications
Bronze - Sky and Symphony Talent
Bronze - White & Case
Highly commended - DLA Piper

Best social media strategy
Gold - Knight Frank and Wiser
Silver - Circle K
Bronze – EY
Bronze - Sage Group and Genius Group
Highly commended - Blizzard Entertainment

Best integration of the employer brand in communication strategy
Gold - Mitie Group plc
Silver - Currys and Tonic

Best employer brand innovation
Gold – EY and Radancy
Silver - Accenture and ThirtyThree
Bronze - Activision Blizzard
Bronze - Keyloop

Best use of data
Gold - Church & Dwight and Ph.Creative
Bronze - Lidl International

EMPLOYER BRAND POSITIONING

Best diversity and inclusion strategy
Gold - B&Q and ThirtyThree
Gold - Deloitte Polska
Bronze - Circle K
Bronze - Historic England and BrandPointZero
Highly commended - Bloomberg

Best management of the employer brand following a change of mission, positioning, or management
Gold - Sanofi and Symphony Talent
Silver - Jaguar Land Rover and Creed Communications
Silver - Marston’s and Tonic
Bronze – Mitgo Group

Best localisation programme
Silver - Bloomberg
Bronze - SAP

EMPLOYEE JOURNEY

Best employee experience
Gold - Elsevier
Silver - DLA Piper
Silver - Thales UK and LEAP Create
Bronze - DSM and Symphony Talent
Bronze - Keyloop
Highly commended - Worten

Best employer brand management event
Gold - Sky and Symphony Talent
Silver - King
Bronze - Mitie Group plc
Highly commended - Turkish Aerospace

Best brand ambassador programme
Gold - ABK and Wiser
Silver - Pepco and MJCC
Bronze - BT and Ph.Creative
Bronze - Polski Holding Hotelowy
Bronze - SAP

Best onboarding and/or reboarding programme
Silver – Worten
Bronze - Renewi and Wardour

Best employee wellbeing initiative
Gold - Innovecs
Silver - Product Madness
Bronze - Mowi Poland

SECTOR

Best employer brand management from the education sector
Gold - N Family Club and Creed Communications

Best employer brand management from the energy and utilities sector
Gold - Statkraft and Symphony Talent

Best employer brand management from the engineering and manufacturing sector
Gold - Turkish Aerospace - Future talents program
Bronze - Turkish Aerospace - Women inspiring the sky

Best employer brand management from the financial services sector
Gold - AND-E and BrandPointZero
Bronze - Toyota Financial Services and BrandPointZero

Best employer brand management from the FMCG sector
Silver - Haier Europe and Creed Communications

Best employer brand management from the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector
Gold - Sanofi and Symphony Talent
Silver - HCA Healthcare UK and Blackbridge Communications
Bronze - DSM and Symphony Talent

Best employer brand management from the professional services sector
Gold - Mitie Group plc
Silver - EY
Bronze - Newton and Tonic

Best employer brand management from the property, construction and facilities management sector
Silver - iQ Student Accommodation and BrandPointZero

Best employer brand management from the public sector
Gold - Met Police and Tonic

Best employer brand management from the retail sector
Gold - Pepco and MJCC
Silver - Currys and Tonic
Bronze - Lidl International

Best employer brand management from the technology, media and telecommunications sector
Gold - SAP
Bronze - Kyndryl

GRAND ACCOLADE

Best creative execution of the employer brand
EY

Grand prix
Newton and Tonic