Sherry,

There are a few prominent national awards, and your choice of which one(s) to apply for may depend on your objectives in applying and how the goals of your program match the criteria of the award.

The one I have most experience with is the National Business Group on Health’s “Best Employer for Healthy Lifestyles” award. It’s visionary in its recognition of multidimensional wellbeing strategies, rather than focusing solely on physical health or return-on-investment. Having served as a judge, I know their process to be fair and rigorous. And it has the best “publicity machine” behind it, meaning winners are more likely to get some media attention compared to other awards. The NBGH award is best-suited for large employers. Info at: https://tinyurl.com/ybueojs3 .

The C. Everett Koop Award (http://thehealthproject.com/) has been viewed as prestigious in the past. In recent years, it’s received public criticism. Regardless of whether one views the negativity as fair or not, it could deter companies from applying. I advise potential Koop applicants to do some research on the award and proceed with caution.

The WELCOA awards (https://www.welcoa.org/well-workplace-award-winners/) have a long history. The organization has announced a new application process for the current calendar year, so I don’t yet know the direction the award is moving in. In the past, the WELCOA award has been a popular choice for small and medium-sized employers, as well as a few larger companies.

I encourage employers interested in mental health and psychological wellbeing to consider the American Psychological Association’s “Psychologically Healthy Workplace” award. Info: https://www.apaexcellence.org/awards/ .

I hope this helps!

Bob Merberg