H2O+ Beauty has been named a Gold medal winner in the first annual Stevie Awards for Great Employers’ “Employer of the Year.”

Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word meaning “crowned,” the awards were presented to winners at a gala ceremony at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on Friday, September 30.

The award recognizes the merits of H2O+ Beauty’s newly evolved workplace culture that focuses on supporting employees and teamwork. One of its new traditions is a “Winedown” every Friday, in which everyone can enjoy a glass of wine in a casual discussion space that fosters brainstorming and creativity.

Employees at all levels are also encouraged to voice concerns and share ideas freely, so that everyone understands how the business operates and how it stands up against its benchmarks.

Joy Chen, CEO of H2O+ Beauty, said, “The team’s wholehearted adoption of this new culture is helping the entire company realize its incredible potential. Now that everyone knows their voice is heard and their thoughts are respected, we’ve been able to develop some of our best ideas yet.” 

Over 250 nominations from organizations around the world were submitted for consideration, and more than 50 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year’s winners.

Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards, added, “The judges were extremely impressed with the quality of entries we received in the first Stevie Award for Great Employers. The dedication these Stevie-winning organizations have to making great workplaces for employees was evident in every nomination.”