Published before entries open
How every entry is judged
The expert panel scores every entry out of 100: 80 points from a blind, two-assessor evidence checklist and 20 points from at least three conflict-free jurors. That panel score carries 50% of the final score, combined with an independent AI assessment against the same rubric (30%) and People’s Choice votes (20%). Sponsorship never counts.
80 Objective Evidence20 Jury Verification
Before scoring — pass/fail checks
- Registered and operating in Bangladesh
- Practices: 6+ months of results · Tools: 5+ paying customers
- At least two before/after metrics with sources
- Demo video of 3 minutes or less
- Independent verifier confirms the results
- No personal employee data uploaded
Stream 1
HR Practices — evidence checklist
Measurable results carry the most weight and are the first tie-breaker. Open any criterion to see what each band looks like.
01Problem clarity & baselineClear definition of the workplace problem, affected employee group, and quantified historical baseline prior to intervention.10 pts
Band 0No baseline or vague problem statement.
Band 1Anecdotal problem description without baseline metrics.
Band 2Baseline provided for at least 1 metric with partial context.
Band 3Clear problem root-cause and dated baseline across core metrics.
Band 4Rigorous, multi-period baseline with segmented workforce diagnostic.
02Measurable results (before/after)Quantified before-and-after impact over >=6 months with clear data sources and sustained trajectory.25 pts
Band 0No measurable results submitted.
Band 1Activity counts only (e.g. sessions held) without outcome deltas.
Band 2Modest before/after improvement on 1 metric with limited attribution.
Band 3Strong before/after improvement across >=2 metrics sustained >=6 months.
Band 4Exceptional, verified before/after gains across multiple KPIs with control context.
03Employee benefit & inclusionDirect benefit to employees across grades, genders, and frontline/office roles.15 pts
Band 0Employer-only cost cut with negative or zero employee benefit.
Band 1Benefit claimed without employee feedback or coverage data.
Band 2Reaches a narrow segment with positive survey feedback.
Band 3Broad workforce participation with measured employee satisfaction gains.
Band 4Deep, equitable benefit across gender/grade tiers backed by aggregated pulse data.
04Fair governance & ethics/complianceAlignment with Bangladesh Labour Act, employee privacy protection, and transparent governance.10 pts
Band 0Compliance gaps or privacy concerns present.
Band 1Minimal mention of governance or ethics.
Band 2Basic policy compliance stated.
Band 3Documented governance charter, grievance safeguard, and privacy controls.
Band 4Exemplary ethical governance with independent internal audit/worker representation.
05Sustainability & scalabilityInstitutionalised SOPs, budget continuity, and adaptability for other Bangladeshi organisations.10 pts
Band 0One-off campaign with no continuation plan.
Band 1Ad-hoc continuation dependent on a single champion.
Band 2Embedded in annual HR calendar.
Band 3Institutionalised into SOPs with multi-year budget and KPI tracking.
Band 4Proven multi-site rollout and blueprint ready for industry-wide replication.
06Evidence quality & verifier confirmationClarity of aggregated evidence artefacts, <=3-min video demonstration, and independent verifier sign-off.10 pts
Band 0Missing evidence or disputed by verifier.
Band 1Incomplete artefacts or promotional video.
Band 2Adequate aggregated charts and verifier confirmation.
Band 3High-clarity dashboard exports, walkthrough video, and detailed verifier endorsement.
Band 4Audit-grade aggregated evidence, captioned demo video, and comprehensive verifier attestation.
Points per criterion = (band ÷ 4) × weight80 pts
Stream 2
HR Tools & Software — evidence checklist
Time saved, reliability and verified customer outcomes matter most. A live product walkthrough is required — slide decks score zero.
01Measured time/cost savedQuantified reduction in HR cycle time, manual errors, or operational cost across live deployments.20 pts
Band 0Unsubstantiated marketing claims only.
Band 1Internal lab estimates without customer telemetry.
Band 2Measured time savings from 1 customer deployment.
Band 3Before/after cycle-time reduction across multiple BD client cohorts.
Band 4Audited, multi-client telemetry proving substantial time and error reduction.
02Reliability (uptime, incidents, SLA)Production uptime logs, mean time to recovery (MTTR), and transparent incident SLA performance.15 pts
Band 0No uptime or incident records provided.
Band 1Self-reported uptime without monitoring logs.
Band 2>=99.0% uptime with basic ticketing logs.
Band 3>=99.5% verified uptime with documented incident response SLAs.
Band 4>=99.9% monitored uptime, automated failover, and zero unmitigated P1 breaches.
03Verified customer outcomesIndependent confirmation from 2–3 reference customers in Bangladesh acting as verifiers.15 pts
Band 0No reference verifiers responded.
Band 1Single customer testimonial without metrics.
Band 22 confirmed reference customers with moderate adoption.
Band 32–3 confirmed BD enterprise/SME verifiers reporting high active usage.
Band 43+ independent reference verifiers confirming transformative business outcomes.
04Security, data privacy, BD labour-law complianceEncryption at rest/transit, role-based access, PII protection, and Bangladesh statutory compliance.10 pts
Band 0Major security or statutory compliance gaps.
Band 1Basic password auth only; partial BD rules.
Band 2HTTPS, RBAC, and standard BD payroll/leave rules.
Band 3VAPT/pen-test evidence, 2FA, audit logs, and full BD Labour Act rules.
Band 4ISO 27001/SOC2-grade controls, tenant isolation, and configurable BD statutory engine.
05Usability & accessibilityIntuitive UX Demonstrated in <=3-min live product video, mobile responsiveness, and Bangla support.10 pts
Band 0Slide deck video instead of live software walkthrough.
Band 1Cluttered UI with high training overhead.
Band 2Clean desktop workflow demonstrated in live video.
Band 3Responsive web/mobile UI with low onboarding time.
Band 4Accessible, bilingual-capable (EN/BN) interface with exceptional frontline usability.
06Local support & scalabilityBangladesh-based implementation/support team, onboarding SLA, and multi-thousand employee scalability.10 pts
Band 0No local support presence.
Band 1Email-only support with >48h response.
Band 2Dedicated BD support desk during business hours.
Band 3Strong local implementation team, training docs, and <4h SLA.
Band 4Proven local engineering & support excellence scaling from SMEs to 10,000+ headcount.
Points per criterion = (band ÷ 4) × weight80 pts
Both streams
Jury verification — 20 points
At least three jurors with no conflict of interest. With five or more jurors, the highest and lowest totals are dropped before averaging.
01Authenticity of Evidence & ClaimsDo the before/after numbers, video walkthrough, and verifier attestation ring true without exaggeration?7 pts
Band 0Claims appear inflated or contradicted by evidence.
Band 1Heavy marketing spin with weak operational grounding.
Band 2Credible claims with minor attribution ambiguity.
Band 3Authentic, candid presentation including honest challenges overcome.
Band 4Unmistakably genuine, transparent, and rigorously corroborated.
02Practicality & Replicability in BangladeshCan other HR leaders in Bangladesh practically learn from and adapt this approach in their workplace?7 pts
Band 0Impractical or unsuited to local workplace realities.
Band 1High-cost or niche setup with low transferability.
Band 2Moderately practical for similar-sized organisations.
Band 3Highly practical with clear steps other BD organisations can adopt.
Band 4Benchmark blueprint for Bangladesh HR community with immediate takeaway value.
03Genuine Employee or Customer BenefitDoes this initiative meaningfully improve working lives, fairness, or HR practitioner effectiveness?6 pts
Band 0Superficial vanity metric with no real human benefit.
Band 1Marginal convenience only.
Band 2Noticeable operational relief for HR or staff.
Band 3Significant, lasting improvement in employee experience or HR capability.
Band 4Transformative, dignified impact on people and workplace culture.
Points per criterion = (band ÷ 4) × weight20 pts
2026–2027 Cycle edition
How the final score is calculated
Each part is scored independently and out of 100, then combined using the weights below. Award tiers apply to the final score.
50%
Expert panel
Evidence checklist (80) + jury verification (20), scored by people with no conflict of interest.
30%
Independent AI assessment
An AI model scores the same published rubric, blind to the organisation’s name and to the panel’s scores. Panel members never see the AI score. It picks a band per criterion; points use the same formula as human scorers.
20%
People’s Choice
Verified public votes. The most-voted entry in each category scores 100; others score in proportion.
01
Fair scoring
Assessors score blind. If two assessors differ by more than one band on any criterion, a third assessor scores and the median is used.
02
Ties
Broken by (1) the measurable results score, then (2) the jury score, then (3) a recorded Award Committee vote.
03
Scorecards & appeals
Every applicant receives a private per-criterion scorecard and has 5 days to raise one factual-error appeal, reviewed by someone who did not score the entry.
Disqualification: fabricated metrics, a verifier dispute, plagiarism, contacting jurors, or refusing to remove personal employee data.
