The Award That Was Seen Millions of Times: Universum and Employer of Choice

TL;DR: Universum surveys hundreds of thousands of students and professionals every year to find the employers they most want to work for. The winners used to receive a PDF. Universum now issues digital diplomas through TRUE that live on a branded page, can be verified by anyone, and are shared by the companies that won them. Tens of thousands of awards have been issued this way, and they have been viewed millions of times.

What is Universum selling?

Credibility, on someone else's behalf. For more than thirty years Universum has helped companies build their employer brand, and the centre of that work is a ranking: which employers do students and professionals most want to work for.

Each year the survey covers hundreds of thousands of respondents across dozens of markets. The result is the Employer of Choice rankings, and a place on one is worth something precisely because the company did not award it to itself.

“It is important to us that the companies we award can show that recognition in a way that feels prestigious, modern and trustworthy.”

What happens to an award that arrives as an attachment?

Nothing, mostly. It lands in an inbox at the exact moment the winner most wants to tell people, and then it stays there.

There is a second problem underneath. A company that wins an Employer of Choice ranking will repeat that claim for a year, in job adverts, on career pages, in investor material. Anyone who wants to confirm it has nothing to check against except the company's own word, which is the opposite of what an independent ranking is for.

What did Universum change?

The award became a page rather than a file. Each winner receives a digital diploma in Universum's own design, hosted at its own address, verifiable by anyone in seconds.

Jonas Barck, Universum’s Global CMO, describes what that looked like in practice.

“The digital diplomas are interactive, they look the part, and they live on a page carrying our design where anyone can verify them.”

One click sends it to LinkedIn, embeds it on a website, or puts it into an internal channel. The winner does not have to do anything clever with it.

What did that do to the reach?

Tens of thousands of awards have been issued through TRUE, and they have been viewed millions of times.

Universum's customers use the diplomas in their work to attract talent, in social campaigns, and in material for investors. Every one of those uses carries Universum's name into a room Universum was not in. An award that sits in an inbox reaches one person. An award with an address reaches that person's whole network, and then their network.

Why does the proof have to hold?

Because the award is a statement about a company made by someone independent, and that is its entire value. The moment it cannot be checked it becomes indistinguishable from a company saying nice things about itself.

Each certificate is verifiable in real time and secured with blockchain, which matters more as forged documents get easier to produce.

Where to read more

Universum describes its research and rankings at universumglobal.com. Another organisation whose product is a credible award: Great Place To Work. On what happens to a document once the recipient shares it, see the certificate as a marketing channel.

Frequently asked questions

What does Universum do?

Universum works with employer branding. Every year it surveys hundreds of thousands of students and professionals across dozens of markets to find the employers they most want to work for, and the results become its Employer of Choice rankings.

What is wrong with sending an award as a PDF?

It arrives at the one moment the winner most wants to tell people, and then it sits in an inbox. It also cannot be checked, which matters for a claim a company will repeat in recruitment material for a year.

What does a company receive from Universum now?

A digital diploma in Universum's own design, on its own address, verifiable by anyone. It can be shared on LinkedIn, embedded on a website or used in internal and external channels with one click.

How many times have Universum's awards been viewed?

Tens of thousands of awards have been issued through TRUE, and they have been viewed millions of times.

Why does an award need to be verifiable at all?

Because an award is a claim about a company made by someone else. If nobody can confirm who issued it, the reader has only the company's word for it, which is the opposite of what an independent ranking is for.