Important Dates and FAQs

Important Dates


Nominations Open: Thursday 8th January 206: 9am

Nominations Close:  Friday 13th March 2026: Midnight

Judging Commences:  Monday 23rd March 2026

Shortlist Announced: Wednesday 22nd April 2026

Final Round Judging:  Thursday 30th April 2026

Awards Night: Thursday 4th June 2026







On The Night Timings

Thursday 4th June


6.30pm  Drinks Reception

7.30pm Dinner

9.00pm Awards Ceremony

1am Carriages

Timings subject to change




Entering FAQs

The Talent Labs Awards celebrate the very best of in-house talent excellence, innovation and best practice. They act as an inspiration to fellow members of The Talent Labs setting the standard for in-house talent professionals and provide an opportunity for our members to recognise the achievements of their peers in a prestigious and inspiring environment.

Entry into The Talent Labs Awards is open to any company, agency, or individual producing work specifically to recruit, manage and develop in-house and talent. Entries from outside the UK are welcome, but please ensure a representative from you organisation can attend the awards ceremony in London, UK.

Early Bird Entries Fee received before 13th February 2026  £120+ Vat 

Standard Entry Fee - £150 + VAT

Once you have uploaded your entry online you can opt to pay by credit card or by invoice. Invoices and receipted invoices will be automatically sent to the email address of the user that is logged in to the website at the point of submission.

It is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure that payment of entry invoices is received before the closing date.

No entry will go forward for judging unless full payment of the fee is received.

Each category undergoes two stages of judging, the first is online judging and each entry is assessed by at least three judges.

The next stage is a live final round judging day that takes place in May and all shortlisted entries are reviewed and judges scores calibrated.

No judge is permitted to assess any categories that they have entered and a judges' company is not permitted to enter more than five categories otherwise this is deemed a conflict of interest and they are forced to withdraw from judging.

All entries will be judged against the criteria indicated for each category.

Decisions of the judges will be final.

Entries can be paid for by credit card or invoice at the time of submission.

Credit cards:

You will be redirected to Stripe payment page hosted by Evessio. Once completed you will receive a receipt from The Talent Labs If you do not receive this, please email events@thetalentlabs.com

We do not accept American Express

Invoices:

Once you have selected the invoice option you will have the opportunity to input a Purchase Order Number if you have one. If you have a purchase order number at a later date please email this to events@thetalentlabs.com who will assign this to your invoice and re-issue. Invoices will be issued within 5 working days after point of submission and emailed to the address assigned to the login credentials.

It is the entrants responsibility to ensure that this is forwarded to their accounts team for payment.

Invoice terms are 30 days.

If you have not received the invoice from events@thetalentlabs.com, please check your junk mail and spam filters

Entries typically follow this structure which you will see outlined in the online entry form

• Context/ Rationale for Change

• Strategy and Development

• Obstacles overcome

• Impact and results

Where part of the criteria requires them, statistics and/or specific data must be provided.

Supporting Info
You are welcome to attach files supporting your entry. Files should contain concise information and may be marked down if overly long. Please limit to 5MB maximum file size.

You may also provide a link to a video clip of relevance to your entry. Both are entirely optional, and you will not be marked down for not providing such materials.

 Some entry fields will have a word count of 500 words.

Yes, as long as it is before the final entry deadline of 23:59 on 13th March 2026.

If you log back in your entry will be held under the Awards > Nominations section.

You will then be able to select the “edit” button and make necessary changes.

Please be sure to press save.

After 23:59 on 13th March 2026 no further changes can be made.

Yes, multiple Entries can be submitted from a single organisation, brand or individual.

If you enter multiple times on different occasions, you will be invoiced separately per nomination.

Yes, submitting the same entry into more than one category is allowed.

However each entry must be tailored to the category’s specific criteria, uploaded and paid for.

All shortlisted entries will be notified by email.

Yes, please press the “Save for Later” button which will then move your incomplete entry into your “Nominations”. When you are ready to submit you can log back in, go to your saved items tab to make any necessary changes before selecting the “Move to Basket” button which will allow you to complete your transaction.

We recommend writing your submission offline first in a separate document and then adding this to evessio when you are happy with it.

Entries from outside the UK are welcome.

Any submissions in languages other than English must be accompanied by an English translation.

It is encouraged that, if shortlisted, international companies attend the award ceremony in London

Friday 13th March 2026 23:59

Entry into The Talent Labs Awards is open to any company, agency, or individual producing work specifically to recruit, retain and develop talent in the period from 1st January 2025 to 31st Dec 2025.

Attending FAQs

Be inspired by work that really matters

The Talent Labs Awards shine a light on talent work shaped by real challenges, real people, and real outcomes. You’ll hear the stories behind the strategies. The thinking behind the decisions. And the impact teams have delivered in complex, fast-moving environments. You’ll leave with ideas you can genuinely take back into your own organisation.

Connect with your peers

This is a room full of people who understand the reality of talent work today. Senior leaders, practitioners, partners, and teams who care deeply about doing things well. The Awards bring the community together in one place, creating space for meaningful conversations, shared learning, and connections that last beyond the night itself.

Be part of something special

The Talent Labs Awards are peer-to-peer judged by talent experts, which makes them different. The people in the room are the people shaping the profession. If you’re proud of the work you do, or inspired by others raising the bar, this is where you belong.

Celebrate together

The Awards are a chance to pause and recognise progress. To thank your team. To celebrate partners. To enjoy an evening that feels considered, welcoming, and uplifting. Expect great food, a brilliant atmosphere, and plenty of moments that remind you why the work you do matters. A night to celebrate talent, together.

The dress code is black tie and cocktail/evening dresses.

Yes, e-tickets will be sent out 4 weeks prior to the awards ceremony.

Entries can be paid for by credit card or invoice at the time of submission.

Credit cards:

You will be redirected to Stripe payment page hosted by Evessio. Once completed you will receive a receipt from The Talent Labs If you do not receive this, please email events@thetalentlabs.com

We do not accept American Express

Invoices:

Once you have selected the invoice option you will have the opportunity to input a Purchase Order Number if you have one. If you have a purchase order number at a later date please email this to events@thetalentlabs.com who will assign this to your invoice and re-issue. Invoices will be issued within 5 working days after point of submission and emailed to the address assigned to the login credentials.

It is the entrants responsibility to ensure that this is forwarded to their accounts team for payment.

Invoice terms are 30 days.

If you have not received the invoice from events@thetalentlabs.com, please check your junk mail and spam filters

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