Frequently Asked Questions

This award recognizes excellence in workplace culture, leadership, social responsibility, and customer opinion. BestCompaniesAZ partners with AZ Business Magazine for this annual award and event.

To identify and promote Arizona’s Most Admired Companies based on leadership contribution and employee, customer and community opinions. This is the most comprehensive and most prestigious award program in Arizona, for it recognizes the contributions and impact these “Most Admired” companies bring to the state.

Employers are asked to complete a nomination form that requires company demographic information and five open-ended questions related to:

  1. Leadership Excellence.This includes all aspects of leadership (trust-building, visionary, strategic, tactical, ethical, mentoring/developing, emotional intelligence, flexibility). Include senior leaders as well as other leaders in the organization. Include information on the credibility and impact of leadership in the community as well as within the organization. (up to 500 words)
  2. Workplace Culture.Describe what is unique about your HR/Culture programs – don’t list just standard policy.  Highlight any credible workplace awards received such as Fortune 100 Best, Best for LGBTQ, Best for Diversity, etc.    What makes your programs stand out from all others in the areas of diversity, career development, employer branding, veteran initiatives, female programs, health and wellness, perks, etc? Weight will be given to applications that can support the effectiveness of their programs through credible employee surveys or other systems designed to assess workplace culture and engagement. (up to 500 words)
  3. Corporate & Social Responsibility.How are you bettering our community in terms of corporate giving, volunteerism, donations of time and money, serving on boards and environmental efforts? How do you align your company goals with nonprofit groups and employees interests and passions? What are you doing that is unique and different from other companies in your industry? Include information on both formal and informal programs you have in place. (up to 500 words)
  4. Customer Opinion.Applications should include both quantitative and qualitative data on customer experience. Weight will be given to applications that include credible customer survey data and/or third-party service awards.  (up to 500 words)
  5. Innovation.In this section, we are looking for fresh new ideas (something new, original or improved) that create value for your company. Specifically, what innovative idea(s), or new program, product, process, service, policy, perquisite, etc. makes your company unique. If innovation examples are noted above in any of the category sections, please reference the innovation in this section. (up to 500 words)
  6. NOTE: For 2021 New Category added on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion –  What has your company done to enhance its diversity, equity and inclusion programs? (up to 500 words)
  • Benefits for the state: This project will contribute to the continued growth and economic prosperity of the state by positively impacting the image of Arizona, thereby allowing the state to attract and retain more businesses and jobs.
  • Benefits for program partners: This state program has been designed to increase awareness of all of the state’s member based organizations (city, state and national chapters), with the goal of increasing membership and participation in award programs.
  • Benefits for participating companies: All participants will receive many benefits from participating in the process such as best practice ideas and benchmark data. Honorees will receive increased market and brand awareness on a state and national level. The list provides positive public recognition for winning companies increasing their visibility, public profile and financial performance. Quality candidates, both active and passive, search out winning companies, and employee retention rates are improved.
  1. All Arizona companies are eligible to submit an application. This includes employers in all cities including metro Phoenix, metro Tucson, northern Arizona, southern Arizona and western Arizona cities.
  2. These companies can be for-profit, non-profit, private, public, subsidiaries or business units, government or state agencies, or charitable organizations.
  3. All companies should have full-time or part-time employees working in Arizona, not including seasonal, temporary, or contract staff.
  4. Company should meet at least one of the following criteria:
  • Has received a state and/or national workplace award within the past 12-24 months, including a survey validating favorable employee opinion
  • Has conducted an internal survey within the past 12-24 months, with favorable employee opinion scores
  • Has programs in place that solicit employee feedback on a regular basis through employee focus groups or other mechanism validating a favorable workplace.

Additional information may be requested for committee discussion and validation purposes.

Companies will be listed in alphabetical order so all will receive equal exposure as one of Arizona’s Most Admired Companies. Spotlight awards will also be announced at the event based on the five categories: Leadership Excellence, Workplace Culture, Social Responsibility, Customer Excellence and Innovation.

The nomination process is free.

Companies that participate but do not make the list will not be disclosed. We do not reveal whether or not a company submitted a nomination. Feedback on your nomination compared to list winners is available upon request.

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