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Gallup Exceptional Workplace Awards

Organizations are either elevating how millions of employees worldwide experience work and life by focusing on engagement and prioritizing the employee experience -- or they aren’t.

Either way, that strategic focus -- or its absence -- affects the employee experience and business outcomes for good or ill.

Overview

We elevate organizations that are committed to developing human potential.

And we designed this award to do just that -- to celebrate clients that put the engagement of their people at the center of their business strategy and weave that commitment into their organizational culture.

These organizations continue to prioritize investing in their people by always listening, measuring and making decisions that lead to the same destination no matter how unique the individual culture -- an exceptional workplace experience.

The winners of the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award (GEWA) weave employee engagement -- an employee’s involvement in and enthusiasm for their work and workplace -- throughout each stage of the employee life cycle. From attracting potential talent to providing a positive exit experience for departing employees and every stage in between, these organizations embed engagement in their very culture.

About the Award

What does it take to become a Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award winner?

For nearly two decades, Gallup has recognized world-class organizations with the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award. This prestigious award is reserved for organizations that meet demanding standards set by the most comprehensive workplace study ever conducted, which includes analysis of more than 2.7 million workers across 100,000+ teams.

So, what makes a workplace exceptional? For the world’s best workplaces, engagement isn’t a check-the-box activity in the form of an annual workplace survey. It’s integrated seamlessly into a workplace culture that is unique to them.

Exceptional workplaces are always working toward their own unique, aspirational culture by being:

Strengths-Based

Engagement-Focused

Performance-Oriented

The application process is designed so that organizations can share their journey -- their story -- with us. From long-form responses in which nominees share tangible examples of how their strategy has made an organizational impact to the potential for video conferences with a panel of judges, the process to apply for the award isn’t a simple, fill-in-the-blank online form. The effort required to apply reflects the magnitude of our winning organizations’ commitment to their people.

Recognizing organizations that make such a strategic investment in their people to achieve organizational change is a task we take great pride in.

Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award

These are world-class organizations that truly make a difference for their employees every day.

Exceptional Workplaces Need Exceptional Managers

Managers matter. And their talent in the role (or lack thereof) directly affects how employees experience the workplace. Gallup data find that managers account for up to 70% of the variation in employee engagement scores.

Gallup created the Manager of the Year Award to honor managers' importance -- for the workplace at large and for the people they manage. Organizations invited to apply for the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award are asked to nominate one manager who consistently affects the overall employee experience and achieves high performance levels, retention and team engagement.

2023 Winner Stats

Current Winners by the Numbers

72%average engagement level

18-to-1average ratio of engaged to actively disengaged employees

10xaverage GEWA winner ratio of engaged to actively disengaged employees vs. the U.S. average

16xaverage GEWA winner ratio of engaged to actively disengaged employees vs. the global average

Frequently Asked Questions

There are no fees associated with our awards. Client organizations that meet the criteria for the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award will be invited to apply at no cost. The other exceptional workplace awards are nominated by Gallup client teams, again at no cost to the organizations.

Yes, only Gallup clients are eligible for our awards. Contact us to learn more about how we can partner with you to improve employee engagement, transform culture and achieve extraordinary outcomes.

The Gallup Great Workplace Award was renamed the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award in 2020. After reviewing the caliber of our winners, we realized "great" just wasn't good enough. These organizations achieve extraordinary outcomes and create cultures of engagement far surpassing global and U.S. averages.

No, it is the same award, just named differently. If an organization won the Gallup Great Workplace Award four times and the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award one time, they would be a five-time winner.

Organizations that satisfy the minimum criteria are invited to apply for the award by submitting detailed evidence of their culture of performance excellence. A panel of Gallup judges reviews and scores all applications.

Gallup selects the judging panel from our leading workplace scientists and experts.

Yes, organizations eligible to apply for the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award are given the opportunity to nominate one manager from their organization as part of the overall application process. Of the managers nominated, the Gallup judging panel will select 10 finalists and will honor one manager as the Manager of the Year. View the criteria.

Have a different question? Contact us for more information about our client recognition or to learn how we can partner with you to create an award-winning workplace.

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