HISTORY OF THE AWARDS
15 Years of
Recognising the Best
The first edition of EBEA took place in Warsaw in 2012 – at a time when employer branding was only beginning to gain recognition and few believed it deserved a dedicated awards programme.
Over the course of 15 editions, the competition has grown from a handful of categories to 21, while the number of submissions continues to break records year after year.
This is the strongest proof that the employer branding industry has matured – and the standards that EBEA helped shape, now set the direction for the entire market.
2012
First Awards for Employer Branding Pioneers
in Poland.
2014
Expansion of Categories. The competition opens to both external and internal employer branding campaigns.
2016
More Than 50 Entries in a this edition. Employer branding enters the HR mainstream.
2018
Introduction of the EB Innovation Category as a response to the growing role of technology in employer branding.
2020
First Hybrid EBEA Gala. The competition adapts to the realities of the pandemic.
2022
The record number of entries – more than 100 projects submitted in this edition.
2023
New Category: Employee Advocacy – reflecting emerging trends in the EB market.
2025
Another Record-Breaking Year – nine competition categories and the highest number of submissions to date.
2026
15th Anniversary Edition. New categories. New perspective. A new chapter for EBEA – it becomes multinational.
Key dates
15th Anniversary Edition – 2026
June 2026
Opening of
Competition Entries
3 SEPTEMBER 2026
Submission Deadline Final
deadline for competition entries
SEPTEMBER 2026
Jury Deliberations Evaluation and assessment of submitted projects
OCTOBER 2026
Announcement of
Finalists and Winners
16 OCTOBER 2026
EBEA 2026 Gala
Awards Ceremony
june 2026
Opening of
Competition Entries
3 SEPTEMBER 2026
Submission Deadline Final
deadline for competition entries
SEPTEMBER 2026
Jury Deliberations Evaluation and
assessment of submitted projects
OCTOBER 2026
Announcement of
Finalists and Winners
16 OCTOBER 2026
EBEA 2026 Gala
Awards Ceremony
What Do EBEA
Winners Say?
Winning an EBEA Award confirmed that our employer branding strategy was not only something we believed in internally, but also a solution recognised by industry experts as a benchmark of excellence.
For the entire team, it has been a tremendous source of motivation and encouragement to keep on working.
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What do
winners and commended participants receive?
The winner in each category receives the Archer statuette and an EBEA Certificate.
Commended participants receive a diploma and an EBEA Certificate.
The EBEA statuette is one of a kind – each piece is handcrafted by Polish stained glass artists. A glass shield with an archer relief, mounted on a steel pin and steel base, brings together artistic craft and symbolism: the archer stands for precision, purpose, and the moment before action – exactly what sets the best employer branding apart. The statuette is not mass-produced. Each one goes to a single winner.
The EBEA Certificate is a personalised document confirming the award – issued to both winners and commended participants. It can be used in recruitment communications, on your careers page, and in internal materials.