UniFirst Wins Stevie Award for Recruitment Initiative of the Year
UniFirst Corp., Wilmington, MA, recently won a Bronze Stevie® Award for its LEAP (Leadership, Education and Performance) management-development program in a new category for 2019—Sales Recruitment Initiative of the Year. The award was presented at the 13th annual Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service held in February at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. More than 700 executives from the U.S. and several other nations attended, according to a news release.
UniFirst developed the LEAP program to attract, hire and retain talented high-potential employee team partners at the managerial level who exemplify leadership and critical thinking abilities, and place them on a fast-track career path in the company. The program includes 18 months of hands-on training, rotating between different UniFirst locations and departments throughout North America, and builds a strong foundation for a results-driven leadership career. Five leadership competencies make up the program’s learning tracks (Critical Thinking, People Development, Business Management, Emotional Intelligence and Ethical Leadership), all offered through a blend of operational knowledge and experience in the industrial laundry and services business with strategic thinking, sound leadership skills, and personal/professional growth.
“We’re so honored to be recognized with this award for our LEAP program and management-recruiting efforts,” said Elita Nicholson, UniFirst talent acquisition specialist. “This is a new way of hiring at the managerial level, prompted by the need to fill these important roles with qualified internal applicants who have the right skills and a comprehensive understanding of our business. It’s gratifying to see how each of our first LEAP recruits has developed from their first day until today (midway through the 18-month training program), and how they’re already making a positive impact on our company and culture.”
The program has been so successful to date that UniFirst is continuing it throughout 2019 and beyond. The company has also recently begun to recruit for the second cohort of LEAP participants.
The Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service are considered the world’s top honors for customer service, contact center, business development and sales professionals. More than 2,700 nominations from organizations in 45 nations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year’s competition. Winners were determined by the average scores of more than 150 professionals worldwide in seven specialized judging committees.
“All the Stevie Award winners should be very proud of their achievements,” said Stevie Awards President and founder, Michael Gallagher. “Independent professionals around the world have agreed that their accomplishments are worthy of public recognition.”
Details about the Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service, as well as the list of Stevie winners in all categories, are available at stevieawards.com/sales. For more information about UniFirst’s LEAP program, or for information on how to apply, visit jobs.unifirst.com/LEAP.