Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award is a annual recognition recognizing excellence in Human-Resources. Organized by Gallup, it covers the Global region. Established in 2007.
The Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award is the annual workplace-culture honour of Gallup, the US analytics and advisory firm behind the Q12 employee engagement survey; 2026 marked its 20th year (it began as the Gallup Great Workplace Award). It is arguably the most data-grounded award in the employee-engagement field: eligibility rests on an organisation-wide Q12 census meeting Gallup's demanding criteria, including high employee participation, and applications combine long-form written responses with tangible examples plus video conferences with a Gallup review panel. Winners must demonstrate they are strengths-based, engagement-focused and performance-oriented.
The programme has several recognition levels — the main Exceptional Workplace Award, a select group of Winners with Distinction, plus Engagement Winners, Strengths Winners and a Manager of the Year Award for a nominated people manager. Recent cohorts have been compact (93 winners announced in March 2026), and winners span industries and geographies, from Enterprise Mobility and General Dynamics Mission Systems to France's Servier and the California Department of Human Resources. Because the award is anchored in verified engagement data rather than self-nomination alone, it signals genuine culture strength to candidates, boards and analysts.
Practically, this award is only open to organisations that run Gallup's Q12 survey, so the first step is an engagement measurement relationship with Gallup; published criteria have included a census of 50+ employees with 80%+ participation. Applications typically open around November and close in late January (the 2024 cycle ran 1 November 2023 to 26 January 2024), with winners announced in early spring — early March in 2026. Strong applications show engagement woven into business strategy with evidence linking it to performance, accountability, communication and development, and put forward a manager whose team results exemplify the culture.