SHERIDAN, WYOMING - April 14, 2026 - Brandon Hall Group, a research and advisory firm specializing in human capital management, will open entries for its Excellence in Technology and Education Technology award programs on April 20, 2026 - six days from today. The two tracks are part of a four-program annual awards cycle that also includes the HCM Excellence Awards, which launched in January, and the newly introduced Excellence in Action Awards, scheduled to open in May 2026. The sequential launch structure reflects a deliberate calendar of benchmarking and competitive recognition activity designed to serve both enterprise HR functions and HCM solution providers throughout the year.
Business Impact
The Excellence in Technology program recognizes HCM technology solutions that have produced measurable improvements in HR and learning outcomes. Both solution providers and corporate clients are eligible to enter, either jointly or separately. The parallel Education Technology track introduces a dedicated stream for the edtech sector, targeting K-12 institutions, colleges and universities, executive business schools, and edtech companies. Brandon Hall Group states that all entries are evaluated by an international panel of senior industry experts, analysts, and practitioners, using criteria that include innovation, design, functionality, and documented results. For vendors and solution providers active in the HCM technology market, the entry window functions simultaneously as a benchmarking mechanism and a market positioning tool, given that half of award winners publish detailed case studies within the firm's research library.
2026 HCM Framework
Brandon Hall Group's broader 2026 research positioning is organized around what it terms the "Year of Progression" - an HR Outlook framing that characterizes the primary competitive variable in enterprise workforce strategy as no longer technology access itself, but the organizational capacity to align human potential with AI-embedded systems. The firm publishes three pieces of HCM research content daily across formats that include analyst reports, frameworks, case studies, and podcast episodes from its "Excellence at Work" series. Its Institute offers four membership tiers - individual, enterprise, executive, and solution provider - each with differentiated access to research, advisory support, certifications, and community engagement. Six professional designations are available, covering talent acquisition, leadership development, talent management, human resources, diversity and inclusion, and learning strategy.
Awards Cycle and Submission Context
The Excellence in Action Awards, the newest of the four programs, differ structurally from the technology-focused tracks. They recognize organizations of any size for converting employee feedback into measurable performance and engagement outcomes, with an emphasis on people-first culture metrics. The HCM Excellence Awards - the flagship program - target both enterprises and their solution partners, focusing on HR, talent, and learning strategies with demonstrated workforce impact. With the April 20 launch date imminent, organizations in enterprise HR technology and workforce learning markets that are evaluating competitive positioning or seeking third-party validation of solution outcomes have a narrow pre-launch window for submission preparation.
Key facts:
- Excellence in Technology and Education Technology award programs open for entries April 20, 2026
- Excellence in Action Awards, the newest program in the lineup, launch in May 2026
- HCM Excellence Awards launched January 5, 2026
- Entries evaluated on innovation, design, functionality, and measurable results by an international expert panel
- Brandon Hall Group offers six professional certification designations through its Institute