The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) has awarded the 2013 Gold Quill Award to RSW in the category of Employee Engagement. With entries from more than 20 countries, the award recognizes the best in global business communication.

The winning entry spotlighted an employee recognition program that RSW developed for Hilton Worldwide. The seasonal campaign, “Catch Me at My Best®,” allows guests and peers to recognize hotel employees by filling out a program-specific comment card.

RSW added a unique digital twist to build excitement and encourage friendly competition: An online scoreboard was developed, allowing hotels to enter, view, and print hotel-specific tallies, as well as share results with other hotels.

The results: Over 100,000 employees in 75 countries were recognized more than 1,000,000 times during the three-month program.

“Recognition is a key factor in employee engagement,” says Brad Wines, president of RSW. “An engaged employee is more productive and less likely to leave their job. The business benefits are numerous.”

The IABC is a global network of business communication professionals committed to improving organizational effectiveness through strategic communications.

“The Gold Quill Award is unique in that it’s the only program that celebrates excellence in communication on a global scale,” said Dave Meyer, past chair of the Gold Quill awards.

The entry process was rigorous. A comprehensive work plan and sample were submitted by RSW, then evaluated by expert judges from the marketing communications field. The winning entry beat out hundreds of other submissions from across the globe.

In June, RSW will be formally recognized at the Gold Quill Awards Gala in New York City.