Celebrating Excellence in Candidate Experience: The 2026 Global CandE Award Winners

Recognizing Excellence in Candidate Experience

It's that time of year again when Survale, alongside the CandE Benchmark Research and Awards Program, shines a spotlight on companies that go above and beyond in treating their job candidates with respect and transparency. This year, the 2026 Global Candidate Experience Awards recognized 43 companies from across the globe for their commitment to providing exceptional candidate experiences. It's a significant accolade for these organizations, particularly given that over 77,000 job candidates' thoughts and experiences were collected for this year's program.

For those who might not be familiar with the CandE Benchmark Research Program, it's the largest study of its kind, evaluating responses from over 2,000 global employers and more than 1.9 million job seekers since its inception in 2011. The goal? To assess and reward companies that excel in candidate experience, a crucial aspect of talent acquisition that often gets overlooked.

The Rigorous Evaluation Process

To determine the winners, each participating company had to meet a statistically significant candidate response minimum. This means they had to ensure a substantial number of responses came from candidates who were not hired, offering a more comprehensive view of the overall candidate experience. The evaluation process included four key rating questions that significantly impacted the final CandE Score:

• How candidates ranked their overall experience
• The likelihood of candidates reapplying to the organization
• Whether candidates would refer others to the organization
• How the experience would affect candidates' future business relationship with the organization

This thorough analysis led to 66 organizations being recognized in different regions, with 56 CandE Awards distributed among them. These awards spanned multiple industries and regions, including North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA), Asia-Pacific (APAC), and Latin America.

Celebrating the 2026 CandE Award Winners

The list of winners is impressive, featuring companies like 7-Eleven, BASF Corporation, KeyBank, and Microsoft, among others. These organizations have demonstrated a commendable commitment to improving their recruitment processes and fostering positive candidate experiences. You can check out the complete list of winners on the Survale CandE Winner page.

Kevin Grossman, VP of Benchmark Research at Survale, commented on the current economic climate and the challenges faced by talent acquisition teams. He emphasized the importance of empathy and transparency in recruitment, noting that "candidates today too often feel alienated by quick application rejections, sparse communications, and post-interview ghosting." These awards highlight companies that prioritize human connection and sustainable business outcomes, even amidst modern recruiting challenges.

For those interested in learning more about how these organizations achieved such high standards, the CandE program offers case study questions to the winning companies. This information will be used for research reports and to identify the Most Innovative Candidate Experience Improvement Awards, which will be given out at the virtual CandE Awards ceremony on October 15. The event is open to all recruiting leaders and their teams, providing a valuable opportunity to learn from the best in the business.

Survale's dedication to improving candidate experiences is evident in their work and the recognition they give to organizations that share this commitment. As we look ahead, it's clear that a focus on candidate experience isn't just a nice-to-have—it's a vital component of successful talent acquisition strategies. For more information on Survale and their initiatives, visit survale.com.