16th May 2025 5 MIN READ
On 15 May 2025, we held our Annual Innovate Awards as part of Talos Innovate, our Talent Tech and Recruitment Insights Summit, bringing together senior HR professionals, across multiple industries together to discuss the future of talent, share expert insights and celebrate success.
Our Innovate Awards celebrate those who have demonstrated excellent innovation, maximised their ATS’ potential, and made the most out of their innovative Talent Technology to ensure hiring success.
We were joined by over 100 senior Talent & HR professionals across multiple industries to discuss the latest hiring insights, the future of talent tech and AI and of course, award our Innovators of the Year.
- Best Careers Page: Forge Holiday Group
- Best Candidate Journey: Watkin Jones & Fresh
- Best Onboarding: The Old Station Nursery
- Best Employer Brand: wagamama
- Innovator of the Year: Stonegate
Our award winners were presented with their trophy on the day, and Janette Martin, Talos360’s CEO, was waiting on stage, ready to congratulate them on their successes over the last 12 months.
Best Career Page
Our Best Career Page Award celebrates those who have truly maximised their employer brand, provided an excellent candidate experience from the get-go, and showcased everything their business has to offer in one career site.
From showcasing job opportunities and company culture to highlighting benefits and career development, the best pages combine thoughtful design, easy navigation, engaging content, and impactful use of multimedia to create an experience that is both informative and inspiring for potential candidates.
Our winner: Forge Holiday Group
Forge Holiday Group have raised the bar when it comes to creating a standout careers page, making use of the careers page builder in their ATS, they’ve crafted a set of engaging branded pages for each of their divisions, with each one tailored, engaging, and aligned with their wider employer brand.
What really sets Forge Holiday Group apart is how they thoughtfully structure their content using varied layouts, the information flows naturally and keeps candidates engaged from the moment they land on the page. It’s clear that their careers site has been designed with their candidates in mind.
Best Candidate Journey
Our Best Candidate Journey Award recognises businesses that have delivered an outstanding experience for candidates, from the very first application through to onboarding.
It celebrates organisations that have designed a journey marked by clarity, efficiency, and care. Whether through streamlined application processes, tailored forms, personalised communication, timely feedback, or seamless interview scheduling, this award highlights those who go the extra mile to ensure every applicant feels valued and respected, regardless of the outcome.
Our winner: Watkin Jones & Fresh
Watkin Jones & Fresh has delivered a truly seamless and well-communicated candidate journey from start to finish. They’ve made excellent use of the new interview scheduler to keep candidates informed and engaged throughout the application and interview process.
Their commitment continues post-offer, with a strong onboarding experience using the onboarding microsite to welcome new starters and a smooth integration into their HR system with the creation of employee records in Cascade, facilitated by Talos ATS. It’s a brilliant example of how great communication and smart use of tools can create a standout candidate-to-employee experience.
Best Onboarding
This award recognises businesses that have truly excelled at welcoming and integrating new employees into their organisation. It celebrates a commitment to thoughtful, engaging onboarding experiences that ensure new starters feel valued, supported, and ready to thrive from day one.
Whether through onboarding microsites, digital pre-employment checks, or innovative initiatives like mentorship schemes, buddy programmes, structured training, or early involvement in meaningful work, our Best Onboarding Award highlights those who make the first steps of the employee journey genuinely exceptional.
Our winner: The old station nursery
The Old Station Nursery Group has truly embraced the onboarding experience, using it as an opportunity to engage, inform, and support new hires from the moment they accept an offer.
They’ve built a brilliant onboarding microsite packed with helpful content, clearly explaining what candidates can expect, what checks need to be completed, and how the process will unfold.
It’s informative, transparent, and helps candidates feel confident and prepared every step of the way. Within Talos, they’ve gone even further, making full use of the onboarding tools available, including the reference checking module, DBS checks, and digital right-to-work checks, creating a smooth and fully compliant process.
Best Employer Brand
This award celebrates businesses that have built a strong and authentic employer brand – one that truly resonates with both current and prospective employees.
It recognises those who effectively communicate their values, culture, and unique offerings through job adverts, careers pages, and beyond. Whether through cohesive branding, compelling storytelling, employee testimonials, or meaningful engagement on social media, this award honours organisations that successfully showcase their identity and Employer Value Proposition, regardless of size or public profile.
Our winner: wagamama
wagamama has truly set the standard when it comes to maintaining a strong, cohesive employer brand across every touchpoint.
As a well-known name in the hospitality sector, they’ve managed to keep their branding consistent and engaging, not just in their customer-facing materials but also throughout their recruitment efforts.
From their job advertisements to every communication with candidates, wagamama ensures that their brand message is clear, memorable, and authentically reflects their values and culture. It’s a perfect example of how a strong employer brand can attract the right talent and set an organisation apart.
Innovator of the Year
Our prestigious Innovator of the Year Award recognises businesses that have demonstrated exceptional innovation in recruitment, driving faster, smarter, and more efficient hiring outcomes.
It’s a celebration of those who have harnessed technology to reshape their HR practices and lead the way in modern recruitment.
To be eligible, nominees must have undertaken a significant digital transformation by implementing Talos ATS. They’ve redefined their recruitment strategy, enhancing efficiency, accessibility, and overall effectiveness.
Our winner: Stonegate Group
Stonegate Group have used Talos ATS reporting to analyse job board ROI, cutting costs by reducing reliance on external boards while maintaining visibility through Talos tools.
They have empowered Hiring Managers by streamlining the “above pay rate” approval process, giving managers more control over recruitment.
Stonegate Group have automated their compliance by integrating Talos with TrustID for seamless right-to-work checks and DocuSign to create a fully digital onboarding process, saving time and improving efficiency. By using Talos and Google Analytics, they have optimised their career page performance and increased traffic by 121%.
With 1.4 million applications and 89 applicants per vacancy YTD, their visibility and reach have skyrocketed.
About Talos360
Thanks to their award-winning applicant tracking system (ATS), Talos360 has helped in-house recruiters attract, manage, onboard, engage and retain top talent since 2009.
Behind Talos360’s innovative hiring solutions and its continued success are its people. Thanks to Talos360’s key values, succeed, simplify, collaboration and creativity, its people have made Talos360 what it is today: A Great Place to Work.
