Know an exceptional HR leader or adviser? Nominate them for our Excellence in Benefits Awards!

EXCELLENCE IN BENEFITS AWARDS: For our third annual Excellence in Benefits Awards, we're changing things up a bit — and finding bigger and better ways to spotlight the incredible work driving change in the HR and?benefits worlds .?

We're opening our nominations up early this year (tell us who deserves to be celebrated here! ), and expanding our class of honorees, too. And for the first time ever, the winners of 2023's Excellence in Benefits Awards will be recognized live and in person this fall, with a dedicated honoree luncheon celebrating their accomplishments, held at EBN's new?Benefits at Work conference, Sept. 27-29 in San Diego .?

Read: Nominations are open: Celebrate industry leaders with EBN's 2023 Excellence in Benefits Awards

HR STRATEGIES: As the new CHRO of HUB International , an insurance brokerage firm with more than 16,000 employees worldwide, Amy Halliburton has a lot on her to-do list.?Halliburton says her priorities will be focused on the continued?challenges of recruiting ?and scaling HUB's workforce, as well as streamlining communications among disparate HR teams across the company. Both of those areas have gotten more challenging post-pandemic, but are also open to change and growth.?

"It's just a huge opportunity to make sure we're all seeing things the same way and are focused on all the right things for the company," she says. "Over time, it will get to the point where we have more connection points between the various leaders that report to me and make sure we can create a community."???

Read: HUB's new CHRO reveals her game plan for recruiting

CULTURE: When a list of benefits stands alone on a job posting, it can sound like standard issue workplace jargon. That's why more employers are advertising their?company culture ?as a way to set themselves apart. By intertwining the two, companies can create a more compelling presentation and entice talent.?

"We typically think about benefits as a very tactical thing — health insurance, 401(k), they're very tangible. But employers are increasingly articulating the merits of their culture as a way to attract and retain talent," ?says Alex X Frommeyer , CEO of healthcare company Beam Benefits . "They can dribble the physical products and programs they offer in front of their employees all day long, but it will never matter unless they can connect them back to their values."

Read: What do your benefits say about your company's culture?