NOMINATION CRITERIA, TIMELINE & SELECTION PROCESS

In 2014, HRO Today introduced the CHRO Awards, honoring those CHROs with the capabilities to adapt to a competitive business environment in order to deliver the insight needed for HR transformation. Our CHRO of the Year award and Lifetime Achievement award recognize CHROs who help drive workforce initiatives through innovation with measurable excellence in employee engagement and retention to prove it. These CHROs are responsible for providing leadership to ensure talent acquisition and retention, business growth, and a culture that can lead in a global workforce.

To guide you, please see the information below on the nomination process, the judging criteria, and timeline of events leading up to HRO Today Forums and the CHRO of the Year Awards Galas.

HRO Today Award Evaluation Criteria:

Nominees will be evaluated across three dimensions:

• The scope of the nominee’s impact on his/her organization/community. Please describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s). Please provide specific quantitative information about the impact, such as the size of the organization/community directly impacted, the relative population, the percentage impact on profits, cost savings, etc. These are only examples; any quantitative information is helpful in our deliberations.
• The extent to which the nominee drove this initiative. Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very little, and 10 is virtually completely. Also, please describe how the nominee drove the initiative.
• The individual reputational or professional risk taken by the nominee. Please rate the individual reputational or professional risk the nominee took for this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is virtually none and 10 is astronomical. Also, please describe that risk.

Nomination Pointers:

• Nominees must be available to attend the CHRO of the Year Awards Dinner and Gala on May 7, 2026 in order to become a finalist.
• Providers who wish to nominate a client should work with their team and have them submit the nomination form.
• Focus on the CHRO and the leadership they provided since this program recognizes individuals, not teams or products.
• Do not nominate a CHRO who simply did their job. The judges will look for evidence that the nominee went above and beyond what was expected of them, taking personal risk to move a workforce initiative forward. Show how the nominee brought about a real outcome.
• Focus on the effect. Explain how a nominee’s work made a significant difference, either in the organization or the community at large. Describe that effect in concrete terms that can be understood by people unfamiliar with the person or his or her expertise.
• Focus on this past year. Other than the lifetime achievement award, these awards recognize work largely done, or culminating, over the past year.
• Remember, this is not a popularity contest; the key is impact. An individual’s effect might be significant but potentially divisive. That is not necessarily an obstacle to winning an award.
• Look for the unsung heroes. Some people are in a better position than others to make a difference due to their resources or visibility, but don’t forget the individuals behind the scenes who make a difference largely because of their creativity, energy and sheer tenacity.

For more information about award submissions, past winners, and deadline extensions, contact Matthew Moorhead, Senior Marketing Manager at SharedXpertise Media LLC.

2026 CHRO of the Year Process & Timeline:

2026 EMEA CHRO of the Year Process & Timeline: