Application Window Extended to October 9, 2026!
2026 Best Culture Awards presented by Kudos
Showcase your organization’s outstanding culture and get the recognition you deserve.
Apply Now
Application Window Extended to October 9, 2026!
Showcase your organization’s outstanding culture and get the recognition you deserve.
Apply Now✨ Applications now open ✨
Past winners can recertify their 2025 Award with a shorter, simplified application.
HR professionals, like you, are working tirelessly to create a great culture and boost employee engagement – and we are impressed.
We’re proud to recognize that hard work with the 6th Annual Best Culture Awards, presented by Kudos.
Winning this award will showcase your unique culture and the amazing people that make up your organization.
The right culture can help employees fulfill their need for meaning and purpose at work, leading to improved workplace happiness, better work, and great retention rates.
Great workplaces also have higher levels of productivity and better financial performance.
Winners will receive:
Up to 5 points for Effort & Impact:
Did your application provide examples of dedicated programs and initiatives to improve employee experience and culture, including examples of how Kudos is used in those initiatives?
Up to 5 points for Leadership & Results:
Did your application provide examples and proof points that the efforts to improve culture through Kudos have benefited organizational results and employee performance?
Check out some examples on how you can measure the impact of culture changes below!
Learn More
People Engagement Business Partner
Oregon Community Credit Union (OCCU)
Russ Kukini is a People Engagement Business Partner at OCCU – a credit union serving Oregon, Washington and parts of Idaho. His work focuses on the elements that shape the employee experience, including engagement, recognition, culture, development and employee listening. A big part of Russ’ role is understanding what employees need, helping leaders act on feedback and finding practical ways to help people feel more connected and valued. He is especially interested in strengths-based development and the everyday moments that support growth, contribution and belonging. OCCU has been using the Kudos platform for employee rewards and recognition since 2021.
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Senior Director, People & Culture
The Crump Group Inc.
Angelyn Varley is the Senior Director – People & Culture at The Crump Group Inc., where she leads HR initiatives across North America through an authentic, inclusive, and values-driven leadership style. Her focus is on balancing employee advocacy with strategic business initiatives and creating intentionally human-centric experiences at all stages of the employee life cycle (initial candidate engagement through post-offboarding). A strong champion of workplace culture, employee engagement, DEIB, and change management, Angelyn is dedicated to building workplaces where people and purpose meet and has recently led her company’s application to its first Canada’s Best Managed Companies win.
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People Operations Partner
Planday
Alyssa Nenstiel is a People Experience Partner at Planday, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. With a generalist background spanning work in local government, wellbeing, and the technology sector across multiple countries, she brings a broad, cross-cultural perspective to people and culture work. Currently working in SaaS, Alyssa sees the rapid pace of AI as an exciting shift for businesses and people teams, but firmly believes that the human elements of work, like culture, belonging, and wellbeing, are now more important than ever.
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HR Manager of Employee Experience
Hope Network
Jessie Exoo is the HR Manager of Employee Experience at Hope Network, where she leads initiatives focused on onboarding, employee engagement, recognition, and workplace culture. Her work centers on elevating employee voices and translating data-informed insights into meaningful workplace experiences that foster connection, belonging, and growth. Jessie is passionate about building collaborative workplace cultures where recognition is authentic, human-centered, and embedded into everyday work. She partners across teams to align strategy with employee needs and helps strengthen engagement through thoughtful, inclusive experiences that support employees from their first day and beyond.
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Are you keeping your best people? Regrettable resignations are when people you did not want to go leave.
Consider all departures. Are you experiencing lower turnover and/or is it trending in a positive direction? Are you hitting your retention goals?
Fewer unplanned sick days taken – an indicator of employee wellness.
Are you see improvements in employee sentiment and/or a more consistent high score in your desired range?
Has the number of employee referrals for new hires increased?
Has your team score in surveys around feeling valued and appreciated improved and trending in the right direction?
Has your company/departments hit more of your goals consistently?
Have people’s reasons for leaving changed? (External vs. Internal reasons)
Have you been recognized as a ‘best place to work’ or leader in your sector? Do you think your culture and commitment to recognition contributed to that?
16 New Organizations Recognized in the 2025 Kudos Best Culture Awards
2026 ApplicationS NOW OPEN
Showcase your organization’s outstanding culture and get the recognition you deserve.
Apply Now
