WHY APPLY?

Find out what drives your organization's top performers.

The NorthCoast 99 award doesn’t just recognize great Northeast Ohio workplaces. It recognizes great places to work for top talent — people that drive results, provide competitive advantages, and allow businesses to innovate and grow. Winning companies are determined based on how their policies and practices align with criteria that increases the probability of attracting and retaining top-performers.

Benchmark your HR policies and practices with local companies.

Every Northeast Ohio organization that applies receives a complimentary Company Results Report, featuring their application responses and how they compare to other NorthCoast 99 organizations. This report also provides a blueprint for possible workplace initiatives and validates current organizational practices.

Be branded as a great Northeast Ohio employer.

Being a NorthCoast 99 winner showcases your organization as a great Northeast Ohio workplace. It also helps drive top talent your way. Winners proudly display their badge on marketing collateral, and in advertising and recruiting material to promote their organization as a top employer. In addition, NorthCoast 99 winners are promoted throughout the year by ERC.

Attend the best business event of the year.

The annual NorthCoast 99 awards event gathers nearly 1,000 of the region's top business professionals for a fun and lively night of networking unlike any other in the Cleveland area. In addition to honoring our winners, the annual event features internationally-known keynote speakers and entertainment from some of the most unique acts around!

How are winners selected?

Applicant organizations are evaluated based on their responses to questions about policies and practices for attracting and retaining top performers. Also considered are the responses from employees who complete surveys about their workplace, including a survey that measures the preferences of top-performing individuals.

Applicants are judged on:

  • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • Employee Engagement & Talent Development
  • Employee Well-Being
  • Organizational Strategy, Policies & Benefits
  • Talent Attraction, Acquisition & Onboarding 
  • Total Rewards

Each organization that submits a completed application receives an overall score. Overall scores are ranked in order from highest to lowest, and the top 99 organizations are designated as the NorthCoast 99 winners. ERC does not publish a ranked listing of winners.

The NorthCoast 99 application will help you discover what drives top performers and how you can attract and retain them within your organization.

Meet 2024 Award Winners

About NorthCoast 99

WHAT CAN APPLICANTS RECEIVE?

Learn about the data applicants can receive when they apply for NorthCoast 99!

Access Reports

who is eligible?

To be eligible for the award, your organization must have been in existence for a minimum of three years and have at least 15 full-time equivalent (W-2) employees in Northeast Ohio.

Only employers located in Northeast Ohio are eligible for the award. For the purpose of this award, Northeast Ohio is defined as the 22-county region including:

  • Ashland
  • Ashtabula
  • Carroll
  • Columbiana
  • Crawford
  • Cuyahoga
  • Erie
  • Geauga
  • Harrison
  • Holmes
  • Huron
  • Lake
  • Lorain
  • Mahoning
  • Medina
  • Portage
  • Richland
  • Stark
  • Summit
  • Trumbull
  • Tuscarawas
  • Wayne