Kadan Homecare, HotelPlanner, and several other organizations have earned the 2026 USA TODAY Top Workplaces award, a national recognition based entirely on confidential employee feedback collected earlier this year.
The USA TODAY Top Workplaces award highlights a critical trend in the modern workplace: employee experience and a people-first culture are increasingly valued as key drivers of organizational success. For recognized companies, the award provides data-backed validation of their internal culture, offering a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining talent. This recognition is uniquely based on direct employee sentiment, not company applications, ensuring an authentic measure of workplace health.
What We Know So Far
- Several companies, including Kadan Homecare, HotelPlanner, MoneyGram, and Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), have been announced as winners of the 2026 USA TODAY Top Workplaces award.
- The award's results are based exclusively on confidential employee feedback gathered through a survey administered by Energage, a workplace research and technology firm.
- According to Energage, more than 42,000 organizations with 150 or more employees were invited to participate in the national program for 2026.
- The program honors organizations that have cultivated exceptional, people-first workplace environments that prioritize employee listening and engagement.
- For some companies, this marks a consistent pattern of recognition. MoneyGram, for instance, won the award for the fifth consecutive year, according to a company press release.
How Companies Earn Top Workplaces Recognition
The USA TODAY Top Workplaces award employs a distinct methodology that sets it apart from many other corporate honors. Its selection process is grounded in quantitative employee feedback, specifically designed to remove the influence of company-submitted marketing materials or external nominations. This data-driven approach aims to identify organizations that are genuinely succeeding from the inside out, based on their employees' perspectives.
Energage manages the award process, building on its workplace research conducted since 2006. The firm invites organizations with at least 150 employees to participate. For the 2026 awards, over 42,000 organizations were invited to have their employees complete the confidential survey. This extensive pool of potential participants underscores the rigor of the selection process.
The employee survey is specifically designed to measure the core elements of a healthy workplace culture. It comprehensively assesses factors such as employee engagement, organizational health, and overall satisfaction. The questions delve into a range of topics including alignment, execution, and connection, providing a holistic view of the entire employee experience. Winners are determined solely by the feedback captured in these confidential surveys, ensuring the award directly reflects the workforce's sentiment.
"Earning a USA TODAY Top Workplaces award is a testament to an organization's credibility and commitment to a people-first culture," stated Eric Rubino, CEO of Energage. This recognition functions as a crucial external validator for internal cultural strength. In an era where prospective employees increasingly scrutinize company culture as much as compensation, such a credential becomes a powerful tool in recruitment and employer branding efforts.
Kadan Homecare and Others Highlight Culture as a Competitive Edge
Kadan Homecare, a home healthcare provider, was named a 2026 USA TODAY Top Workplaces winner, an achievement the company attributes to its entire team. "This recognition truly belongs to our entire team," said Dina Kadan-White, President of Kadan Homecare, in a press release. The company affirmed that the award reinforces its culture, which is built on employee engagement, trust, and a shared belief in meaningful work.
MoneyGram, a global financial technology company, celebrated its fifth consecutive USA TODAY Top Workplaces win. Company leadership framed this consistent recognition as proof of a successful long-term cultural strategy. "Winning this award five years in a row tells me our people believe in what we're building," stated Anthony Soohoo, MoneyGram Chairman and CEO. MoneyGram's approach includes a remote-first work model and various programs focused on employee well-being and professional growth.
Jillian Slagter, MoneyGram's Chief People Officer, elaborated on this strategy. "When an organization brings together a strong sense of purpose, an energizing culture and true flexibility in how and where work gets done, it creates an environment that attracts and retains great people while empowering them to do their best work," she stated. This perspective aligns with broader trends seen across many of the top HR challenges businesses face, where flexibility and purpose are increasingly non-negotiable for top talent.
The trend extends beyond the corporate sector. Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), an academic institution, also earned the prestigious award. University President Dr. Eric T. Baumgartner attributed the honor to the dedication of the faculty and staff. "This recognition belongs to our remarkable faculty and staff, whose passion, teamwork and commitment make MSOE an exceptional place to work," he said in a statement on the university's website. He added that the award celebrates "the care our employees show for one another and for our students every day."
HotelPlanner, a travel technology company, was also confirmed as a 2026 winner. The inclusion of companies from such diverse industries—ranging from home healthcare and fintech to education and travel tech—clearly indicates that the principles of a strong, people-first culture are universally applicable. These organizations collectively demonstrate that investing in employee trust, providing meaningful work, and fostering a supportive environment are not merely "soft" initiatives, but are indeed central to building a resilient and high-performing organization.
What Happens Next
With the initial announcements made, USA TODAY is reporting on the full list of organizations recognized as the best places to work in 2026. The complete list will provide a comprehensive look at which companies across the nation are leading in employee satisfaction and cultural excellence.
For the winning companies like Kadan Homecare, MoneyGram, and HotelPlanner, the immediate next step involves leveraging this public recognition. The Top Workplaces designation is a valuable asset for employer branding, likely to be featured prominently in recruitment campaigns, on company websites, and in internal communications to reinforce employee pride and morale. In a competitive labor market, this third-party validation can significantly differentiate an employer in the eyes of potential candidates.
The results also provide a benchmark for other organizations. The data gathered by Energage offers insights into what employees value most, creating a roadmap for other companies looking to improve their own workplace environments. The continued prominence of such awards signals a lasting shift in organizational priorities, where culture is no longer a secondary concern but a primary component of business strategy. The open question remains how these recognized workplaces will sustain their cultural momentum and adapt to the ever-evolving expectations of the American workforce.
