Top Workplaces celebrates great culture. CultureWise builds it.

A Top Workplaces award is a badge worth being proud of, and many CultureWise companies win it. But the award recognizes your culture once a year. It doesn't build it. CultureWise is the system your team runs every week to create a culture worth celebrating.

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The award recognizes your culture. CultureWise builds it.

Top Workplaces, powered by Energage, celebrates strong cultures through an employee survey, and it's a great way to showcase what you've built. The recognition is real. It just isn't a system for building the culture in the first place.

Top Workplaces: recognition and awards

What you get

  • An employee survey that measures your culture
  • Regional and national Top Workplaces awards
  • A public badge to showcase your culture
  • Benchmarking against other employers
  • A once-a-year snapshot, not a daily system
CultureWise: a culture operating system

What you get

  • 25–40 Fundamentals: the specific behaviors that drive your success
  • One practiced company-wide every week, a rhythm not a report
  • Structured coaching and the Culture by Design methodology
  • Software: weekly lessons, kudos with SBI, reporting
  • Run by the CEO and every manager, not just HR

CultureWise vs Top Workplaces

Top Workplaces celebrates a great culture. CultureWise is how you build one worth celebrating.

CapabilityCultureWiseTop Workplaces
What it's for Building your culture Recognizing it
When it happens Every week, all year Once a year, at survey time
What you're left with A culture your team lives daily An award and a benchmark
How you earn the recognition Build the culture first, with CultureWise Score well on the survey
Do they work together? Build it with CultureWise Celebrate it with Top Workplaces

Comparison reflects publicly available information about Top Workplaces. Product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Practice beats measurement

1/week
One Fundamental practiced company-wide, every week
25–40
Shared standards your team runs, not values on a wall
1,000+
Organizations running the CultureWise system

"Awards recognize culture. They don't build it."

The Culture by Design principle

That's why so many CultureWise companies win Top Workplaces and Best Places to Work: they build the culture first, and the recognition follows.

Proof it sticks

It's not just words on a wall. It's the standard we hold ourselves to every single day.

Jim Derry
Jim DerryCEO, Field Fastener

The Fundamentals have become second nature. I don't have to force it. That tells me this has stuck.

Linda Chadwick
Linda ChadwickCEO, Rita's Italian Ice

We were already successful. But the Fundamentals made us better.

Mark Kramer
Mark KramerPresident, Kramer Beverage

It's made the most significant impact to our culture since our founding almost 40 years ago.

Justin White
Justin WhiteCEO, K&D Landscaping

A strong culture is not only part of the transformation. It drives it.

Richard Kopelman
Richard KopelmanCEO, Aprio

CultureWise turned our values into behaviors. Now people know what good looks like.

Greg Newell
Greg NewellPresident, Nave Newell

Common questions

Is CultureWise a certification like Top Workplaces?

No. Top Workplaces recognizes your culture through a survey and an award. CultureWise is the system your team runs every week to build the culture in the first place.

Can CultureWise help us win a Top Workplaces award?

Yes. Many CultureWise companies win Top Workplaces and Best Places to Work, because they build a strong culture first and the recognition follows.

Does CultureWise measure culture too?

Yes. The platform tracks how the culture is taking hold each week, so you can improve it long before any annual survey.

Do we still need the award?

The award is a great way to showcase your culture to candidates and clients. CultureWise is how you build a culture worth showcasing.

Who runs CultureWise?

Your CEO and managers, inside the meetings you already hold, a few minutes a week.

How fast do we see a change?

Momentum starts on day one and holds through weekly practice.

Good companies have good cultures by chance. World-class companies build them by design.

See how CultureWise builds the culture that earns recognition like Top Workplaces.

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