Inclusive Employer Excellence Awards Rules & Regulations

Nominating an Employer

The nomination form is designed to allow the nominator to provide information about the nominees’ inclusive hiring practices and advocacy for persons with diverse abilities in Abbotsford. 

Before nominating a person or employer, please consider the following: 

• All nominees are required to be connected to and/or to be conducting business in the City of Abbotsford.
• Nominees are eligible to win one award in a given year.
• Award recipients may not be nominated in a subsequent year.
• Nominees are required to complete a form indicating they accept their nomination and briefly respond as to how they meet the criteria for their award nomination.
• Partners of the Inclusive Employer Excellence Awards Committee are not eligible to receive an award.
• The committee’s award decision will remain confidential until the Inclusive Employer Excellence Awards on Wednesday, October 11, 2023.

Nomination Categories

Outstanding Commitment to Inclusive Hiring

Exemplified by an inclusive employer who:

• Demonstrates creativity and solutions-based strategies to accommodate persons with diverse abilities throughout the interview, hiring, training, and on-boarding process
• Provides ongoing support and commitment to helping employees be successful in their roles and cared for as a person
• Compensates employees with diverse abilities fairly and equally
• Demonstrates commitment to hiring inclusively repeatedly over time

Creative Workplace Accommodations

Exemplified by an inclusive employer who:

• Provides options for a tailored or customized work environment
• Invests time or capital to adapt to the needs of their employee(s)
• Demonstrates flexibility and creativity through a willingness to adjust hours, work locations, job descriptions, processes, job sharing-options, or other components of an employee’s work arrangement

Community Champion for Inclusive Employment

Exemplified by an inclusive employer/advocate who personally:

• Demonstrates exceptional commitment to hiring and supporting employees with diverse abilities
• Leads and advocates for inclusive hiring practices within their own organization or business
• Promotes the values of an inclusive workplace amongst the local community through sharing their knowledge of best practice, providing peer mentorship to others in the business community, and championing the rights of people with diverse abilities

Emergent Inclusive Employer

Exemplified by an inclusive employer who within the last year:

• Worked with local agencies to develop an inclusive hiring and support strategy
• Hired inclusively and maintained support for employee(s)
• Promoted an inclusive workplace culture within own organization or business
• Showed a desire to continue seeking information and support in implementing inclusive hiring practices

Inclusive Employer of the Year

The recipient of this award will be chosen by the IEEA committee from all nominees across the categories.

Exemplified by an inclusive employer who:

• Fosters a workplace culture that promotes diversity, educates staff about equity-deserving groups, and creates a supportive and welcoming environment for all people
• Demonstrates creativity and solutions-based strategies to accommodate persons with diverse abilities throughout the interview, hiring, training, and on-boarding process
• Provides ongoing support and commitment to helping employees be successful in their roles and cared for as a person
• Compensates employees with diverse abilities fairly and equally
• Pursues opportunities to train, mentor, and promote within the organization
• Demonstrates a commitment to hiring inclusively repeatedly over time
• Promotes inclusive hiring and best practice amongst the local business community

Judging Process

Award recipients are selected out of the pool of eligible nominees by the IEEA Award Selection Committee. This is a sub-committee of the IEEA Awards Committee which includes one representative from each of the partner organizations.