Competitive Advantage: The organization has developed a program to help forge or maintain a winning edge over the organization’s competitors.

Past winners include: Cendant Mobility, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, WellPoint Health Networks

Financial Impact: The organization has designed a program to effect a change that results in cost savings or increased revenue.

Past winners include: Alegent Health, National City Corp., NCCI Holdings Inc., IBM

Global Outlook: HR has created a program or strategy to help the organization succeed in the world marketplace.

Past winners include: Mattel Inc., Novo Nordisk, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, ArcelorMittal

Innovation: The organization has developed an innovative workforce management strategy that addresses a fundamental business issue. The innovation marks a departure for the winning company and often for the field of workforce management.

Past winners include: Baptist Health South Florida, SRA International, Province of New Brunswick, HCL

Managing Change: The organization has successfully developed a program in response to the changing business environment.

Past winners include: Union Pacific Railroad Co., Designer Blinds, National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture

Partnership: The workforce management leadership has developed or implemented a program in partnership with another constituency, either within the organization or outside of it.

Past winners: The Global Workplace Collaboration (including the Washtenaw County Book Manufacturers, Washtenaw Literacy and the Washtenaw Development Council), Blue Valley School District, Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York

Ethical Practice: This is a newer category, beginning in the 2004 Optimas Awards. The organization has developed well-defined ethical practices that are deeply ingrained in the culture and are clearly visible in the organization’s day-to-day behavior.

Past winners: Lockheed Martin Corp., Kaiser Permanente

Service: Workforce management leaders have developed a program to help another constituency within the organization meet its business goals.

Past winners include: Wachovia Corp., SunTrust Banks Inc., Sodexo

Vision: The organization has anticipated internal and/or external trends that will affect the organization and it has responded proactively.

Past winners include: Monical Pizza Corp., Electronic Arts, Linn State Technical College

General Excellence: The General Excellence award is given to the organization whose workforce management initiatives have met the standards established for at least six of the other nine categories.

Past winners include: Google, Sysco Corp., Crouse Hospital

Applications will be accepted beginning March 30, 2010. The application deadline is July 15, 2010.

More Information:

How Winners Are Chosen

More Award-Winning Companies

Questions? Contact Carroll Lachnit, executive editor, at carroll@workforce.com.