[Once again, placing the value of 'working people' at the center of the company.] Official site opens and entries begin for 'Workers First Award 2026', one of Japan's largest awards focusing on corporate 'job satisfaction'

Miidas Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Kiyoshi Goto; hereinafter 'our company') of the PERSOL Group, which holds the vision 'Work, and Smile', will open the official website for the 'Workers First Award 2026', one of Japan's largest* awards focusing on corporate 'job satisfaction', which marks its 4th year this year, on Monday, June 1, 2026. At the same time, entries will also begin. * Number of participating companies in public offering type awards targeting companies and organizations (according to Miidas research) Related release: Record high of 2,777 applications and 5,843 endorsements! 3rd 'Workers First Award 2025' award ceremony held Image of 'Workers First Award 2026' sponsored by Miidas Once again, placing the value of 'working people' at the center of the company. As issues such as the decline in the working population, mismatches in recruitment, and stagnation in productivity become more serious, companies are required not only to 'secure human resources' but also to 'manage to maximize the value of each individual'. Furthermore, while the evolution of AI is advancing operational efficiency, we are shifting to an era where ultimate value creation depends on human creativity and decision-making. Under these circumstances, this award is being held with the aim of visualizing and disseminating the initiatives of companies that draw out the power of each employee and lead them to success. 'Job satisfaction' is the starting point for articulating the company's appeal The appeal of a company is not something that can be talked about only in terms of systems and conditions. The essential value lies in the 'internal reality' of how the people who actually work at the company feel, how they are involved, and how they demonstrate their abilities. On the other hand, this 'job satisfaction' is hard to see, and in many cases, companies have had to rely on intuition and rules of thumb in recruitment and organization building. As a result, there are many cases where the company's strengths and appeal are not fully articulated, and the true value is not fully conveyed in recruitment and retention. In fact, among past award-winning companies, there are many cases where 'initiatives that have been continued as a matter of course' or 'measures implemented in response to employee voices' were recognized for the first time as major strengths when compared with other companies. In this award, visualizing such hard-to-see value and providing an opportunity to reorganize the company's appeal and strengths is an important element. Therefore, upon entry, this award provides an engagement survey* free of charge to objectively grasp the company's 'job satisfaction'. The process of re-examining the company's condition from a fixed point and articulating its value is positioned as an important element of this award. * What is an engagement survey/organizational survey: An internal survey conducted by a company to visualize the current state of the organization. A questionnaire survey that answers employee satisfaction such as compensation, welfare benefits, working environment, and human relations, as well as empathy with the company's philosophy and vision, understanding of goals and strategies, and willingness to contribute to the organization. The official website for the 'Workers First Award 2026' is below Official website / Entry Overview of 'Workers First Award 2026' Application period: June 1 to October 16, 2026 How to participate: For this award, you can choose between '① Endorse' and '② Apply' ① Endorse the 'Workers First Declaration' How to endorse: Step 1: Endorse the 'Workers First Declaration' from the participation application form Step 2: Endorsement complete What is the 'Workers First Declaration' - Companies that respect or will respect the diverse job satisfaction of working people - Companies that provide or will provide opportunities to listen to the voices of working people - Companies that strive or will strive for improvement based on the voices of working people A 'Workers First Declaration' badge will be presented. It can be used on websites and job postings as a company endorsing the 'Workers First Award'. ② Apply for the 'Workers First Award 2026' How to apply: Step 1: Endorse the 'Workers First Declaration' Step 2: Apply to participate in the 'Workers First Award' Step 3: Utilize the 'Job Satisfaction Survey' Step 4: Application complete - Appearance at the award ceremony (held annually in Tokyo from February to March) - Appearance at seminars sponsored by Miidas - Award results and examples of 'Workers First' initiatives by award-winning companies posted on a special page Recommended for these companies! - Companies that want to practice 'Workers First' and disseminate it internally and externally - Companies that want to increase organizational value starting from employee voices - Companies that want to spread their initiatives to society - Companies that want to improve recruitment capabilities but have not articulated their strengths - Companies that feel challenges in improving the number of applicants and retention rates - Companies that want to differentiate themselves from others with 'job satisfaction' as a strength This award is an initiative to visualize these practices and spread them to society as a future standard. Please use this as a step to re-examine your company's 'job satisfaction' and connect it to your next growth. About the mid-career recruitment service 'Miidas' If recruitment changes, the company changes. Recruitment strengthening branding realized by 4M2K born from Miidas' unique perspective 'Miidas' is the world's first*1 recruitment and job change service that supports success after joining the company while reducing mismatches in recruitment and job changes. As talent shortages due to population decline become more serious, we provide support to enhance 'recruitment capabilities', mainly targeting small and medium-sized enterprises. The 'recruitment capability' we define is not just the streamlining of recruitment activities, but the power to enhance the company's appeal. And we are promoting [Recruitment Strengthening Branding] to increase corporate value centered on this 'recruitment capability'. Therefore, based on the '4M2K' framework*2 born from our unique perspective, 'Miidas' provides functions that clarify issues from talent acquisition to retention and support their resolution. Support ①: Efficient recruitment activity support utilizing unique data analysis and AI In recruitment, through unique data analysis, we objectively grasp the differences from competitors and the company's appeal, and efficiently support everything from designing job postings that make job seekers 'want to apply' to promoting applications, utilizing AI and other technologies. Based on 'Possibility Diagnosis' data of about 600,000 people (as of June 2025), we create encounters with talent that could not be reached before and the optimal talent sought by companies. Support ②: Support for creating a 'company of choice' In the post-recruitment phase, we provide mechanisms for corporate HR personnel to support the creation of a work environment where employees can work with peace of mind. Through a survey function that visualizes organizational engagement and the analysis of employee voices collected through this, it is possible to grasp issues and points for improvement. By backing data-driven organizational improvement and aiming to improve employee satisfaction, we support companies to grow into a 'company of choice' for job seekers as well. *1: As a free smartphone app diagnostic service that enables the recruitment, placement, and training of human resources using the 'Bias Diagnosis Game' (a test that measures cognitive bias) and 'Miidas Competency Diagnosis (Characteristic Diagnosis)' (May 2023 / according to Future Trend Research Institute) *2: The '4M2K' framework refers to a unique recruitment service that fully supports four actions that specialize in recruitment and guide the corporate brand: 'Find/Scout', 'Attract', 'Guide', and 'Assess', and two elements that realize the actions: 'Easy to use' and 'Low price'. Related 'Miidas' services - 'Organizational Survey' that visualizes the condition of employees and teams by category just by conducting a simple monthly questionnaire, useful for improving performance and preventing turnover - 'Active Learning', a wide variety of over 200 online education and training courses that can manage employee attendance history and conduct comprehension tests - A service that supports the acquisition of certification as a 'Health and Productivity Management Outstanding Organization', which is difficult to obtain on one's own because it requires stress checks and training - A rich lineup of products useful for daily life. A 'Welfare' service where employees can purchase at bargain prices - 'Scout Plus' service that efficiently reaches many job seekers and introduces the company's appeal through specialized operators. By simply pre-setting the required skills and experience, scouts can be automatically sent to applicable candidates, enhancing recruitment capabilities - 'Miidas Corporate Housing' service that switches the rental property where the employee currently resides to a corporate lease agreement and deducts part of the rent from the salary, realizing an increase in the employee's take-home pay and a reduction in the company's SG&A expenses (personnel expenses) while utilizing the tax and social insurance systems - Competency Utilization Course: https://corp.miidas.jp/landing/competency_training_courses - Bias Diagnosis Game Training Course: https://corp.miidas.jp/landing/bias_training_courses ▶︎ For recruitment using 'Miidas Competency Diagnosis (Characteristic Diagnosis)', you can [download materials from here]. About Miidas Co., Ltd. Miidas Co., Ltd. was established in December 2018 to lead the promotion of innovation in the HR domain of the entire PERSOL Group and to further contribute to the talent needs of companies. The assessment recruiting platform 'Miidas' operated by Miidas Co., Ltd. started providing services in July 2015. Starting with winning the Grand Prize in the 'Professional Talent Recruitment and Employment Category' of the Japan HR Department HR Award 2019, it won the Excellence Award in the 'HR System Service Category' of the 8th HR Technology Awards in 2023. It has a track record of many awards, such as being selected in the TOP 100 of 'ITreview Best Software in Japan 2025' in 2025, winning the highest rank 'Leader' in 6 categories at the 'ITreview Grid Award 2026 Spring', and being selected as 'Good Service' in the Talent Management System category of the 'BOXIL SaaS AWARD Autumn 2025'. [Company Profile] Company Name: Miidas Co., Ltd. Established: December 28, 2018 Representative Director: Kiyoshi Goto Location: 17th and 18th Floors, Sumitomo Fudosan Osaki Twin Building East, 5-1-18 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0001 Business Content: Planning, development, and operation of the job change and recruitment support service 'Miidas' Official HP: https://corp.miidas.jp [Inquiries regarding this matter] Miidas Co., Ltd. PR Abe E-mail: miidas-pr@miidas.jp