Recognising excellence in the early careers industry

AGRIAs Categories

The AGRIAs categories have grown and developed over the years as our industry has evolved (see the Winners pages over the years to see how the categories have changed).

Every year we conduct a review of the AGRIAs to improve and develop the categories as well as the process for selecting the finalists and eventual winners.

Our general approach is to use the opinions and perspectives of employers, graduates, interns, candidates or delegates to determine the Finalists and Winners in each category. In many cases, we collect votes or ratings for awards via one of the AAGE's annual surveys. This enables us to seek input from a large group of diverse people for each award.

2024 AGRIA Categories

1. Will Spensley Memorial Award for Innovation

Innovation is the process of creating, developing and implementing new ideas, methods, processes, products or other new concepts that that have a significant positive impact and value. It is about identifying and addressing unmet needs or challenges by thinking creatively and departing from established practices.

The aim of this Award is to recognise the employers that have been the most innovative in the graduate market. The innovative measure must be new to the organisation and early careers industry - therefore something that already exists in the graduate market cannot be 'innovative' for the purposes of this award (further clarification of this is provided below). Key aspects of innovation include originality, practicality and impact.

The innovative idea can be anything to do with the attraction, recruitment & selection, induction & development of graduates or interns.

This award relates to innovations by employers - therefore innovations by suppliers, universities, professional associations etc. are not eligible for this award. Employers must include a written synopsis (700 word limit in Word format) in order to be considered for this Award which introduces their innovation and addresses the judging criteria.

You can include a logo, or image or chart as part of your submission but any words used within these documents will count towards the 700 word limit.

Each submission can also include one relevant link to a website, social media post or video. Please note, it must be made clear in your synopsis how this link supports your submission and the criteria being assessed.

The Finalists for this Award will be selected by a judging panel based on the following criteria:

Is the submission innovative?
Objective setting – what was the challenge or problem your innovation was going to address or the goal you were trying to achieve?
Creativity and originality of the innovation
What was the impact? Who benefited and how was this measured?

Please consider the following when determining if your submission meets the criteria of innovation:

A practice or process generally employed in the early careers market but now being introduced in your organisation for the first time does not meet the criteria for innovation e.g. "we have introduced virtual assessment centres to reach regional candidates" is not an innovation.
The re-engineering of an existing practice or process in the early careers market may meet the criteria but the change and impact would need to be significant and clearly articulated. The use of a product or service provided by a supplier, university or professional association is NOT innovative for the purposes of this award. e.g. "we used Supplier X's online aptitude testing for the first time" is not an innovation.

If you are unclear if your planned submission meets the criteria for innovation you can submit a synopsis of your planned submission (up to 250 words) via email by Thursday 18th July 2024 and the AGRIAs subcommittee will review and advise before you complete the full submission for the award.

Who was Will Spensley?

Will was a talented, driven and intelligent man with a passionate interest in graduate recruitment and innovation. Will pioneered and continuously contributed to many initiatives in the recruitment industry. He was co-founder of Acendre (originally NGA.NET), which in 1998 delivered the first web-based searchable resume database in Australia.

Together with Elizabeth O’Leary in May 2001, Will created Pinpoint HRM (originally Catch22, later named Talent Zone). Despite the name changes, the business has remained true to Will’s original vision – to be a specialist corporate advisory firm raising the awareness of (and assisting employers to adopt) the latest developments in recruitment.

Will partnered closely with the AAGE for a number of years, as the AAGE vision aligned with Will’s belief in developing and improving the graduate industry through innovation. He worked closely with Katrina Harrington to develop the inaugural Australasian Graduate Recruitment Benchmarking Survey, which was released in February 2003.

Now known as the Employer Survey, this study makes up part of a full suite of innovative reports provided by the AAGE. Tragically in September 2003, at age 34, Will passed away from conditions associated with a rare illness. Will is constantly missed by all who knew him.

In 2004, the AAGE decided to celebrate Will’s life, passion and commitment to the recruitment industry by dedicating an award as part of the AGRIAs. The Will Spensley Memorial Award for Innovation celebrates originality, creativity and impact…just like Will.

2. Outstanding Integrated Marketing Campaign

This Award is designed to recognise employers that have displayed excellence across their whole marketing campaign. This can include, but is not limited to, brochures, adverts, websites, social media and videos.

Employers must provide a written synopsis (700 word limit), in order to be considered for this Award that outlines their integrated marketing campaign and include examples from their marketing campaign.

The Finalists for this Award will be selected by a judging panel based on the following criteria:

The alignment of the marketing collateral with the stated campaign objectives
Originality of content
Evidence of outcomes to the organisation – what was the impact or ROI?

3. Outstanding Careers Service

This Award is designed to recognise Career Services and excellence and innovation in the delivery of their resources, tools and employer engagement during the past twelve months.

The careers service must provide a written synopsis (700 word limit) in order to be considered for this Award that outlines a key or new service, an innovation, or employer partnership that they have delivered in the past twelve months.

The Finalists for this Award will be selected by a judging panel based on the following criteria:

Objective setting – what was the challenge or problem your service / product / partnership was going to address or the goal you were trying to reach?
Does the submission demonstrate creativity and innovation and advances the products and services available to the early careers industry?
Accessibility of the service / product / partnership – for example use of technology, inclusivity, adaptability to other employers or industries?
What was the impact? Who benefited and how was this measured?

4. Outstanding Industry Partner

This Award is designed to recognise Industry Association and Supplier Partner excellence and innovation in the delivery of their services and employer engagement during the past twelve months.

The industry partner must provide a written synopsis (700 word limit in Word format), in order to be considered for this Award that outlines a significant or new product, service, or employer partnership that they have delivered in the past twelve months.

The Finalists for this Award will be selected by a judging panel based on the following criteria:

Objective setting – what was the challenge or problem your service / product / partnership was going to address or the goal you were trying to reach?
Does the submission demonstrate creativity and innovation and advances the products and services available to the early careers industry?
Accessibility of the service product/ service / partnership – for example use of technology, inclusivity, adaptability to other employers or industries?
What was the impact? Who benefited and how was this measured?

5 & 6. Outstanding Graduate Program (Graduate intakes under 50 & Graduate intakes over 50)

The aim of these awards is to recognise the employers that provide their graduates with the best overall experience during their first 12 months of employment.

There is no requirement to enter this Award Category.

The Finalists are determined from responses to the AAGE's annual Graduate Survey. This survey summarises the views and experiences of up to 3,000 graduates who have been in employment for around 12 months. Graduates are given a series of questions where they can rate the quality of their experiences during their first year of employment.

The Finalists for Outstanding Graduate Program are the organisations who received the highest average ratings from their graduates.

7 & 8. Outstanding Intern Program (Intern intakes under 50 & Intern intakes over 50)

The aim of this award is to recognise the employers that provide their interns with the best overall experience during their internship program. An internship program refers to a period of work experience offered by an employer to an undergraduate student during their degree. We use "Internship" as a generic description for a range of work experience programs such as clerkships, vacation work, summer placements, industry based learning etc.

There is no requirement to enter this Award Category.

The Finalists are determined from responses to the AAGE's annual Intern Survey. This survey summarises the views and experiences of up to 1,600 interns who have taken part in an internship program with an employer. Interns are given a series of questions where they can rate the quality of their experiences during their internship program.

The Finalists for Outstanding Internship Program are the organisations who received the highest average ratings from their interns.

9, 10 & 11. Most Popular Graduate Recruiter (Large, Medium & Small Programs)

The aim of this award is to recognise the work of individual graduate recruitment staff who carry out the recruitment process on behalf of their employer.

There is no requirement to enter this Award Category.

The Finalists are determined from responses to the AAGE's annual Candidate Survey. This survey summarises the views of up to 3,000 candidates who have participated in selection processes and have been offered graduate employment with at least one employer. As part of the survey, candidates are asked the following question:

"Please name the one representative, and the company they belong to, who made the most positive impression on you during your job search"

Candidates are then given a free text box so that they could name anybody they wished - they do not necessarily have to name somebody from the organisation they are joining.

The responses to this question typically nominate over 600 different recruiters from around 200 different organisations.

The Finalists for Most Popular Graduate Recruiter are the people who received the most votes in response to this question.

12. Most Popular Exhibitor

This award is designed to recognise the exhibitors who exhibit at the AAGE Annual Conference.

There is no requirement to enter this Award Category.

The Finalists for this Award are the exhibitors at the AAGE Annual Conference who received the most votes from delegates.

Terms and Conditions of Entry

Before confirming your entry, please ensure you read and agree to our Terms & Conditions below. Please ensure you read and consider each point carefully, as some terms may change from year to year.

(1) Entry to these Awards is restricted to current financial Members of the Australian Association of Graduate Employers.

(2) Only ONE entry per organisation in each award category will be accepted.

(3) Organisations cannot submit the same entry for subsequent years.

(4) All entries must be submitted in their entirety by the closing date. No entries will be accepted after the closing date.

(5) All of these submissions will be reviewed by a judging panel and assessed based on criteria rather than a popular vote. All members are invited to nominate to participate in an AGRIAs judging panel.

(6) Your submission may also be shown at the AAGE Annual Conference which takes place from Wednesday 30 October to Friday 1 November 2024 in Melbourne.

(7) If your organisation is selected as a finalist for this Award, then a representative from your organisation MUST attend the AAGE Gala Dinner in Melbourne to potentially accept the trophy. The Gala Dinner takes place from 6.30pm to 12am, Thursday 31st October, 2024. (Registration can be made via the AAGE Conference web page at www.aageconference.com.au)

(8) If your organisation is selected as a finalist for this Award, then a representative from your organisation MAY be invited to deliver a presentation on the material provided in your submission at an AAGE event between November 4th, 2024 and September 30th, 2025. This will allow AAGE members to hear from the organisations who have been selected as finalists in this award category.

(9) Full details of the Award categories, definitions, eligibility, criteria, entry and decision process are shown on the AGRIAs webpage at www.aage.com.au/agrias.

(10) The Awards decisions are final. No correspondence will be entered into. No feedback will be provided for unsuccessful entries.

Email: info@aage.com.au
Phone: +61 3 9352 5062
Address:
PO Box 1217
Camberwell VIC 3124 Australia