Inspiring Workplaces Awards
Judges & Judging Criteria

The Inspiring Workplaces Awards are judged by an independent panel of workplace, HR and business leaders from around the world.

This page explains how entries are assessed, the criteria used across all regions and the expertise of our global judging panel.

The Inspiring Workplaces Awards recognise organisations across multiple regions and are regarded as one of the most people-focused workplace and HR awards programmes globally

Judges use a consistent and thoughtful scoring framework. Each submission is reviewed in full and scored across six key elements that we believe define an Inspiring Workplace:

• Purpose & Culture
• Leadership
• Wellbeing
• Employee Voice
• Employee Experience
• Inclusion & Belonging

These six key elements help us understand how your organisation supports, empowers and engages its people in practical and meaningful ways. Judges will look for clear evidence, real-world examples and measurable impact. Not just intentions, but outcomes.

To ensure fairness and transparency:

• We designed a single entry form that ensures all submissions are scored using the same structure.
• Judges provide constructive feedback for each entry, celebrating strengths and offering ideas for improvement.
• Glassdoor and engagement scores may be used as tie-breakers only and are reviewed separately by our team.

Full judging details, scoring breakdowns and entry tips are available in the downloadable Judge’s Guide below.

Why PeopleFirst Matters. Insights from our Judges