Great employee experience starts with meaningful connection. The winners of this year’s Employee Experience Excellence Awards show us how modern intranets play a huge role in improving the employee experience. They allow employees to do their best work while being empowered, recognized, and engaged.
Congratulations to the winners of Simpplr’s 2026 Employee Experience Excellence Awards
Congratulations to the winners of Simpplr’s 2026 Employee Experience Excellence Awards
Our panel of judges included Scott Ashen, Senior Consultant, Digital Workplace, Integral; Lisa Colella, Managing Director, Strategic Communications and Leadership, CRA | Admired Leadership; Rachel Tolhurst, Communications Lead, Simpplr; and Sacha Jackman, Account Manager, Vision2Voice Communications Inc.
These employee experience experts reviewed entries from organizations spanning government agencies, financial institutions, healthcare providers, manufacturers, and enterprise technology companies. Companies of all sizes — from regional credit unions to global consulting firms — demonstrated how digital workplaces can help employees feel connected to something larger than their day-to-day work.
Now for the exciting part. Meet the organizations that impressed our judges with their innovative approaches to creating an exceptional employee experience. Each winner found unique ways to turn technology into a catalyst for workplace culture, proving that a modern intranet can be far more than a repository for company announcements.
Digital engagement excellence
Best employee engagement
What makes an intranet truly successful? Active participation. These winners created digital communities where employees don’t just consume content — they contribute to it, shaping workplace culture through impressive participation metrics and genuine involvement.
Winners:
- AAA Mountain West Group
- BNSF
- Credit Acceptance
Best intranet usage
A great launch builds the momentum that sustains long-term intranet adoption. These winners combined effective change management with creative promotion strategies that drove awareness, enthusiasm, and meaningful early engagement from day one.
Winners:
- Cohesity
- DeVry University
- LifeBridge Health
Best improvement metric
The proof is in the numbers. These organizations demonstrated remarkable improvements after transitioning to Simpplr’s modern intranet platform, showing significant gains in adoption rates, employee sentiment, and content readership compared to their legacy systems.
Winners:
- Ashley & Vance Engineering
- BankPlus
- University of Washington
“I was so impressed with the level of thought and creativity behind these intranets I saw. Incorporating storytelling, building the brand from the inside out, and creating experiences that genuinely support how employees work and connect is exactly the kind of thing that we should be doing in this space.”
— Sacha Jackman, Account Manager, Vision2Voice Communications Inc.
Branding and content excellence
Best branding
Successful intranets reflect the organizations they serve. These winning platforms showcase thoughtful design through color palettes, typography, and visual elements that reinforce company identity and strengthen employees’ connection to the company’s mission.
Winners:
- Interface
- Lacy Maxwell Experiential
- ThirdBridge
Best intranet name
Beyond clever wordplay, meaningful names create lasting digital identities. These winners developed intranet names that authentically reflect company culture and showcase the kind of clever, intentional thinking that makes a name stick.
Winners:
- Arden Logistics Parks
- Ascentek
- Nutrition Warehouse
Most unique use of an intranet
The best intranets do more than inform — they surprise and delight. These winners turned their platforms into cultural hubs, using creative video to spark genuine engagement across distributed teams and break down the barriers between employees and leadership.
Winners:
- Agero
- Liliʻuokalani Trust
- Samet Corp
“It has been an absolute pleasure to read all of the applications and an absolute privilege to have a sneak peek inside all of the companies to see what you’ve named your intranets, how you’ve used your intranets, and the fantastic ideas for engaging employees.”
— Rachel Tolhurst, Communications Lead, Simpplr
Innovation and recognition excellence
Best intranet usage
Behind every well-used intranet is a deliberate strategy and dedicated people managers. These winners built digital workplaces with thoughtful governance and intuitive structure. Their programs drove early adoption and kept employees coming back.
Winners:
- Fortune Brands Innovations
- Summit Credit Union
- The Weisiger Group
Most employee experience impact
A thriving workplace takes leadership that keeps people at the center. These winners show what happens when executives champion employee experience as a strategic priority, driving measurable gains in engagement, alignment, and productivity.
- Bond Brand Loyalty
- Cook Media Global
- Texas Mutual Insurance Company
Most effective for recognizing employees
Employee recognition flourishes when employees feel genuinely appreciated for their work. These organizations created digital spaces where appreciation becomes visible, achievements are celebrated openly, and a culture of recognition becomes embedded in daily work life.
Winners:
- Hytrol
- Bay Federal Credit Union
- Medical Solutions Corporate
“What stood out for me was how prominent the human elements were in the work I reviewed amidst this time where AI and modern technologies are accelerating so much. It’s clear that so many of you still think of the people at the end of your communication and use communication to make people and situations better inside your organization.”
— Lisa Colella, Managing Director, Strategic Communications and Leadership, CRA | Admired Leadership
Leadership and collaboration excellence
Best digital visionary
Great technology strategy starts with people who see what’s possible. These leaders transformed their platforms using modern intranet and AI capabilities to make leadership more accessible, information more actionable, and culture more connected.
Winners:
- California Department of Motor Vehicles
- Nutanix
- Renewal by Andersen
- Texas Mutual Insurance Company
Best HR and comms partnership
Breaking down silos yields powerful results. These winners demonstrate what happens when HR and Internal Communication teams collaborate strategically on initiatives from improving retention to increasing intranet engagement by creating cohesive employee experiences.
Winners:
- FIRST Global Brand Experience Agency
- Medical Solutions Corporate
- Pikeville Medical Center
“I just want to say how exciting it was to review and do the judging for this year’s awards. Everybody did a great job. There were some amazing submissions, and I’m very proud and honored to have been able to participate.”
— Scott Ashen, Senior Consultant, Integral
Congratulations to the winners
The true measure of a successful intranet isn’t just the technology itself but also how that technology creates meaningful connections and amplifies company culture. We’re grateful to everyone who submitted entries. Thank you for participating and for your ongoing dedication to creating exceptional employee experiences. You make a difference every day in the lives of your people and the success of your organization.
Keep an eye out for our upcoming blog series, where we’ll dive deeper into why these organizations won and highlight the best practices that demonstrate excellence in each category. We’ll use these award-winning organizations to illustrate how everyone in the employee experience field can learn from their success and apply these insights to their own digital workplace initiatives.
Ready to find out how Simpplr can help you achieve employee experience excellence? Request a demo today.
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