The HR Technology Innovation Award
This category is about the working life of the people a system touches, not only the efficiency of the HR function. It covers hiring and assessment, workforce management, employee experience, HR automation, and the skilling and mobility systems that decide who gets a chance.
- Independent jury
- 250
- Innovations evaluated
- 4,500+
- Star rating
- 1–5
- Running since
- 2010
Academics, scientists, officials, investors
Across seventeen editions
Every nominee earns an AGBA Innovation Star
India’s longest-running innovation award
Three categories sit close to data. This is the one about method and evidence.
Most nominations that fail here fail because they were in the wrong category. Read across before you write anything.
Innovation in HR
Hiring, workforce management, employee experience and the automation reshaping how work is organised.
This category
Innovation in Learning & Development
Training, capability building and the systems that move people up rather than out.
Innovation in Digital Transformation
Enterprise-wide change where process, platform and people move together.
Who should enter
- Hiring and assessment technology with evidence on the quality and fairness of outcomes
- Workforce management for large distributed, shift-based or frontline teams
- Employee experience and productivity platforms with real adoption data
- HR automation and shared services with cycle-time and accuracy outcomes
- Skilling, internal mobility and talent-marketplace systems that opened routes people did not have
What this award recognises is a change in someone’s working life — time returned to a manager, a fairer shot at a role, a shift filled without a scramble. A module nobody logs into does not qualify.
If the innovation is in the training content or capability building itself, enter Innovation in Learning & Development. If it is an enterprise-wide change programme, enter Innovation in Digital Transformation.
What the jury looks for
- Problem definition & market opportunityWhether the innovation solves a real problem, backed by evidence and a measurable impact on its target audience.
- InnovativenessNovelty and uniqueness — new technology, functionality or business model — measured against what already exists, including IP.
- Market potential & impactSize and growth of the addressable market, competitive landscape, and scalability across geographies.
- Social impact & sustainabilityContribution to society and the environment, including social responsibility and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
These are the same four criteria — problem definition, innovativeness, market impact and social/sustainability impact — used to assess every category. In this category the jury also weighs methodological rigour — including what you did to avoid fooling yourselves — the decision that changed as a result and what it was worth, the reproducibility and honesty of the evaluation, and the engineering quality of the data foundation underneath. Read the full evaluation criteria.
Who judges this category
Nominations are assessed by an independent jury, not by the organisers. Jurors are matched to the categories where their expertise lies. These are among those who read HR and people-technology entries.
Mr. Neelmani SinghGroup Head of Learning, Aditya Birla Group; Head, Gyanodaya
Dr. Abhijit GangopadhyayDean, Aegis School of Data Science & Cyber Security
Mr Ravi KyranChief Human Resource Officer, Bajaj Group
Ms. Anju Sharma, IASPrincipal Secretary, Labour, Employment and Skill Department, Government of Gujarat
Mr Arvind BaliCEO, Telecom Sector Skill Council
Mr Shrikant SinhaCEO, Telangana Academy for Skills & Knowledge (TASK)
Prof. Rajat AgrawalHead, Department of Management Studies, IIT Roorkee
Prof. Sankarshan BasuDean, Amrut Mody School of Management, Ahmedabad University
Prof. Saurabh KumarAssistant Professor, Information Systems, IIM Indore
Mr. Nikunj SanghiFormer Chairman, Automotive Skills Development CouncilTen of roughly 250. The full panel spans the IITs, the IIMs, the IIITs, the Indian School of Business, national and state skill councils, the Department of Science & Technology, MeitY and CERT-In. See the full jury panel.
People technology on the podium
HRTech became a category of its own at the 16th edition. These are the recognitions closest to it, photographed at the ceremony in New Delhi.
Previous winners
HRTech was separated into a category of its own at the 16th edition. Before that, people technology was recognised under enterprise and skilling categories. The complete edition by edition record for every category sits in the winners archive.
Category names have changed across editions as the field has moved; the rows above are the closest equivalents in the published record. See the winners archive for the full 1st–16th edition history.
What happens after you submit
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Stage one · nowNomination registration
Register your company and category through the nomination process, then complete the detailed nomination form and processing fee.
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Stage twoJury presentation
Present the innovation to the jury and take questions. Jurors score each entry against the four evaluation criteria and rank it within its category.
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Stage threeStar Certification
Nominees are also assessed for AGBA Innovation Star Certification, an independent maturity rating alongside the category judging.
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Stage fourFinalists announced
Once every category has been evaluated, finalists are announced on the website ahead of the ceremony.
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Stage fiveAward ceremony
Winners are honoured on 18 February 2027 at Hotel Ashoka, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.
Before you write your nomination
Is an internal HR programme eligible without a product?
Yes. Internal people-technology programmes are welcome and are judged on the same criteria as commercial products.
How is algorithmic hiring assessed?
Closely. Nominations involving automated assessment or ranking should describe their bias testing and the human oversight in the loop.
Is this the category for training platforms?
Training and capability building belong in Innovation in Learning & Development. Enter here when the innovation is in hiring, workforce management, employee experience or HR operations.
How do I submit a nomination?
Nominations are submitted through the nomination process, which sets out the stages, the supporting material required and the current edition’s dates.
Put your people technology in front of the panel
Nominations for the HR Technology Innovation Award are read by an independent jury of practitioners, academics and skilling leaders. Bring the outcome for the people who use it, not only the rollout.