Ragan honors the 2024 Employee Communications and Top Places to Work Awards in Chicago: list of winners
Winners were celebrated at a special awards luncheon in Chicago on Thursday.
The 2024 Employee Communications and Top Places to Work Awards highlighted an impressive cohort of internal communicators who, during another year where the only constant was change, were once again central to cultivating culture and engaging employees.
We celebrate the campaigns, content, people and teams that helped their organizations tell timely stories, unite their workforce across great distances, navigate change with empathy and always put people first.
Ragan Communications hosted an awards gala on April 18th at Chicago’s Fairmont Hotel, where attendees were excited to gather and celebrate fellow employee comms champions.
“The winners in this year’s Employee Communications and Top Places to Work Awards show that the real work starts from within,” says Diane Schwartz, CEO of Ragan. “Winners demonstrated how communicators can demonstrate results and position themselves as strategic advisors who grow the business, reinforcing trust upping the ante for what’s possible in the role.”
In their acceptance speeches, many of the honorees praised the teams that keep their culture alive, proving that the throughline to successful culture-building is an investment in humanity.
“The people make it an enjoyable place to come into every day to work together in a team spirit,” said Candice Watkins Robinson, svp and director, multicultural marketing and communications at Hager Sharp, in a post-event interview with Ragan. “We’re always trying to help one another and support one another to make sure that we can get the job done.”
Hager Sharp was among Ragan’s 2024 Top Places to Work in Communications, honored for initiatives such as Hager Sharp Day, which includes team building activities and volunteer work.
Ragan congratulates this trailblazing group of communications leaders. Read on to see the full list of honorees.
Grand Prize
Best Overall Intranet
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: The Hub Intranet Redesign
AbbVie: My AbbVie
Amerant Bank: The Insider
Denver Water: Employee Intranet & Mobile App: Inflow
Moderna: myModerna: Company Intranet
Samuel, Son & Co.: A New Era of Employee-Centric Excellence at Samuel, Son & Co.
Southwest Gas Corporation: Southwest Gas Communications Hub
Tarion: MyTarion – A Re-invented Employee Experience
Employee Communication Campaign of the Year
T-Mobile: Magenta Giving 2023
Ahold-Delhaize: 2023 Open Enrollment Communications
Discover Financial Services: Love Wins Culture & Engagement Campaign
Endo: Championing Engagement Excellence: Endo’s Data-Driven Journey
IBM: IBMer watsonx Challenge
Navy Federal Credit Union: Human Capital Management (HCM)
Northrop Grumman: Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider: Unveiling the Future of America’s Defense and Deterrence
RBC: Make It Yours
TransUnion, Inc.: TransUnion Internal Communications Team
Employee Communications Team of the Year
Genesys: Comms Driving Company Strategy
BAE Systems, Electronic Systems: ES TeamComms
CHG Healthcare: Corporate Communications
Delta Dental of California: Executive & Internal Communications Team
Hewlett Packard Enterprise: Team Member, Digital, and Creative, Reimagining the HPE team member experience
IMA Financial Group: IMA Internal Communications Team
Intel: Employee Communications and Employer Brand Team
Navy Federal Credit Union: Human Capital Management (HCM)
ServiceNow: Employee Communications and Engagement
symplr: Internal Communications Team
TE Connectivity: TE Global Internal Communications Team
Communications Campaigns/Initiatives
Alignment with External Communications
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: Communications
Aflac: Aflac Employee Communications
Delta Dental of California: Senior Oral Health
Southern Company Gas: Southern Company Gas and National Excavator Initiative Get Dirty with Mike Rowe Safe Digging Campaign
Annual Report
Providence: Providence Annual Report to Our Communities
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: 2022 AAOS Annual Report: Better Together
Exelixis: Exelixis 2022 Annual Report
Seattle Children’s Hospital: Seattle Children’s 2022 Nursing Annual Report
Article Series
Discover Financial Services: Inclusion Matters
The SEFA Group, LLC: Veteran Spotlight Articles
Benefits Communication
Sonic Automotive, Inc.: Internal Communications for the Launch of Gympass, an Employee Well-being Application
AAA Northeast: For Your Benefit Video Series
ChenMed: ChenMed Benefits Me
Kalamazoo College: K College OE Campaign
Best Remote Work Experience/Culture
Businessolver: Workspace Anywhere
Tealium: Our WOW Culture
The Lifetime Value Company (LTVCo.): Fostering a People-First and Inclusive Remote Work Culture: The Lifetime Value Company’s Journey
Walgreens: W Connect team member app
Blog
Cisco (We Are Cisco): We Are Cisco Blog
Royal Society of Chemistry: Connect
Change Communication
TransUnion, Inc.: TransUnion Internal Communications Team
BAE Systems, Electronic Systems: ES TeamComms
Benesch: Key Tower Office Move
bswift LLC: bswift Transition to Standalone Organization
Cox Enterprises: Flexing Forward: The Cox Atlanta Campus Renovation
MSU Federal Credit Union: Microsoft 365 Launch
STV: Acquisition of AEI
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: Communications
Community Relations
Wray Ward: EmpoWWer Service-Grant Program
ABB: ABB U.S. Community Relations
Royal Canin North America: Royal Canin Celebrates 7,000th Adoption from Missouri Puppies for Parole Program
Stewart Information Services Corporation: Stewart Title Foundation
Syngenta Crop Protection: Syngenta has a heart!
CSR/ESG Report
JK Design: The Children’s Place 2022 Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) Report
Southwest Gas Corporation: Southwest Gas Corporation ESG Report
Email Communication
Seattle Children’s Hospital: Seattle Children’s Email Communications: Evolving Every Day
Franco: Thoughts From the 313
Hackensack Meridian Health: Connecting and Inspiring Team Members Through Email Communication
Employee-Generated Content
International Monetary Fund: Internal Communications Division
Cisco (We Are Cisco): #WeAreCisco
Metropolitan Transportation Authority: Rolling Stock
Seattle Children’s Hospital: Workforce Members Share Their Stories as Patients
TE Connectivity: Orange Day
Employer Branding
Orbia: One Orbia – Where Purpose Comes To Life
Children’s Health: The Children’s Health Difference
Sonic Automotive, Inc.: Amplifying the Sonic Automotive Employer Brand through LinkedIn
Executive/Leadership Communication
Corvias: Leadership Development Program Launch
Aflac: Aflac Corporate Communications
Delta Dental of California: Brushing Up with Our SVPs
e.l.f. Beauty: Tarang Amin, e.l.f. Beauty
Hagerty: Culture & Caffeine
NeoGenomics: Chris’ Corner CEO V-Blog
Ozinga: Ozinga Townhalls
Reddit, Inc.: Clarity Through Communicative Leadership
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: Communications
UC Davis Health: CEO David Lubarsky’s TEDx Folsom talk on January 21, 2023
Feature Article
Brooks Running: BrooksLife Feature Story
Horizon Therapeutics, now a part of Amgen: Feature Article
HR Communication
The Kroger Co.: 2023 Open Enrollment Campaign
Corvias: Leadership Development Program Launch
Innovation in Internal Communications
3M: 3M Forward Virtual Fairs
Discover Financial Services: Discover Day
Endo: Championing Engagement Excellence: Endo’s Data-Driven Journey
International Monetary Fund: Internal Communications Division
Mastercard LAC: The Passion Challenge in LAC
Model N: Ignite 2023: Employee Kick-Off Event
Peraton: Enterprise Communications Team Innovation
Royal Canin North America: The Game Plan for Growth: Leadership Summit
Royal Society of Chemistry: Connect
Viettel Group: Innovative-me
Internal Email
Campbell’s: What the Tech? Email Campaign
Aflac: Aflac Employee Communications
Bon Secours Mercy Health: BSMH Associate Communications Evolved Email Strategy
Magazine
Dennis Group: Bread & Butter Magazine
Northrop Grumman: One Magazine
Pacific Dental Services: PDS Life Magazine
Texas Department of Transportation: TN Magazine
Manager Communication
Delta Dental of California: Upleveling Our Leaders
Retail Business Services: Manager Minute
Measurement and Data
Hilton: Global Internal Communications
Cisco Global Communications: Cisco Employee Communications
Endo: Championing Engagement Excellence: Endo’s Data-Driven Journey
U.S. Postal Service: Mapping Social Media Increases Happiness
Mission and Values Communication
CBRE: Serving Up Ethics with Creativity, Innovation & Espresso
Bekaert: Introducing a Bold New Bekaert
Bucketlist Rewards: Bucketlist Goal Getters
Park National Bank: Tailgate Tuesday
Newsletter
Prologis: The Weekly – Building a Culture of Communications
AARP Foundation: AARP Foundation Insider Newsletter
American Institutes for Research: AIRWeekly Newsletter
Appspace: This Week at Appspace
Citi: Information overload: How a 210 -year-old bank is using technology and tenacity to revolutionize the corporate newsletter
Inovalon: Internal Newsletter
Metropolitan Transportation Authority: ‘Going Places’ Newsletter
Syner-G: Inspiring News Newsletter
Partnership with Human Resources
CBRE: Effective Allies in Engaging, Supporting and Inspiring Employees
Navy Federal Credit Union: Human Capital Management (HCM)
SAP: I’m In for SAP
Sonepar: Sonepar 2023 Communications Awards
Podcast
Optus: Internal leadership podcast
ConnectiveRx: CRx Voices: Using the Power of Podcasts for Sales Training
Horizon Therapeutics, now a part of Amgen: The Horizone Podcast
UPMC Health Plan: Inspire Employee Podcast
Pulse Survey
Honeywell PMT: Tag Your Voice
Xperi: Xperi Internal Communications Engagement Survey
Recruitment
Payoneer: Recruitment Video Feed
Lincoln Financial Group: Comeback Campaign
Social Media
Cisco (We Are Cisco): 2023 #LoveWhereYouWork Contest
United States Postal Service: Promote, Don’t Punish: USPS’ Social Media Ambassador Program
Storytelling
Children’s Hospital Colorado: DifferenceMakers Storytelling Campaign
American Medical Association: Together we Thrive
UC Davis Health: Patient Painter
Visual Storytelling
Honeywell Process Solutions: Weekly #SafetyMoment
Campbell’s: What the Tech? Workplace Group
ConnectiveRx: Countdown to Launch
Employee Experience Campaigns/Initiatives
Amazing Workplace Culture
Hewlett Packard Enterprise: Grilling Around the Globe Video Series
Amgen: Women Find Purpose – and Support – at Amgen
N-able
Nissan: Great Place to Work employee pride campaign
Brand Ambassador Program
Nissan: Nissan INSIDERS
Cisco (We Are Cisco): 2023 #LoveWhereYouWork Contest
Noblis: Ignite the Spark
DEI & ESG Commitments
Infineon Americas: Diversity & Inclusion Commitment
AAA Northeast: 10-Day Racial Equity Challenge
Alkermes: A Culture Built on Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
ConnectiveRx: ConnectiveRx DEI – Empowering Teammates with ConnectiveRx Employee Resource Groups
Honeywell PMT: PMT Sustainability Month
Horizon Therapeutics, now a part of Amgen: National Minority Health Month
N-able
SCAN Health Plan: SCAN Health Plan, DEIB Internal Communications Campaigns
symplr IQ: uniquely symplr
Employee Education/Training Program
Mastercard LAC: Decrypted Series in LAC
Campbell’s: QuickHelp Education Platform
Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health: Devereux ASCEND
J&J MedTech: MT TranSCend
Employee Engagement
Northrop Grumman: Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider: Unveiling the Future of America’s Defense and Deterrence
University of Miami: Powered by You, University/UHealth Marketing and Communications Team
Ares Management: Ares in Motion – Employee Engagement and Volunteer Program
Cox Enterprises: 2023 Come As You Are: ERG Membership Drive
Endo: Championing Engagement Excellence: Endo’s Data-Driven Journey
Hackensack Meridian Health: Hackensack Meridian Health Engages with Team Members through StandOut
International Monetary Fund: Internal Communications Division
Mastercard LAC: The Passion Challenge in LAC
Navy Federal Credit Union: Navy Federal Serves
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises: 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup & 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup at Telemundo
Orbia: Orbia – Where Purpose Comes To Life
Royal Society of Chemistry: Connect
Employee Recognition or Reward Program
PepsiCo Beverages North America: ‘She Is PepsiCo’ National Campaign Spotlights Women on the Frontline and Illustrates Why Representation and Recognition Matters
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.: Konica Minolta Recognition and Rewards Program
Pacific Dental Services: You Make Us Smile
Power Design: CRUSHED IT Program
Sandia National Laboratories: 2023 Employee Recognition Awards
Employee Resource Groups
Syngenta: Syngenta for FFA: Supporting the next generation in agriculture
ConnectiveRx: ConnectiveRx DEI – Empowering Teammates with ConnectiveRx Employee Resource Groups
ServiceNow: Cultural Moments
Employee Volunteer Program
Ares Management: Ares in Motion – Employee Engagement and Volunteer Program
Noridian: Vitalizing Employee Paid Time off to Volunteer
Employee Well-Being Program
Telemundo: Health & Wellness: Tu Bienestar
Atrium Health: Mental Health Awareness
Cox Enterprises: Five Pillars of Wellness
Gallagher: LiveWell @ Prisma Health
Mower: Fierce Friends Move for Mental Health
Pacific Dental Services: You Make Us Smile
Hybrid Workplace Strategy
Providence: Co-Caring Nursing Model
American Medical Association: Together we Thrive
BAE Systems, Electronic Systems: ES TeamComms
Campbell’s: QuickHelp Education Platform
Cox Enterprises: Flexing Forward: The Cox Atlanta Campus Renovation
SAP: I’m In for SAP
Internal Event Strategy
ServiceNow: ServiceNow Live and Employee Kickoff
AbbVie: 2023 All-Employee Meeting
BVI Medical: New Manufacturing Building Inauguration
IDB Invest: KW23
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.: FY23 Kickoff Event
LeasePlan: 60 Years of LeasePlan
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: Internal Communications
U.S. Department of Labor/OCIO: Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022
Leadership Development Program
Corvias: Leadership Development Program Launch
Power Design: Licensed to Lead Program
UKG: Lead Forward: 2023 UKG Leadership Immersion & Development Program
Intranet Campaigns/Initiatives
Employee Engagement
CBRE: Connecting Our Employees, Wherever They Work
Andersen Corporation: Access for Everyone through Andersen’s Circle Intranet & Mobile App
Campbell’s: What the Tech? Workplace Group
Launch or Relaunch
Andersen Corporation: Access for Everyone through Andersen’s Circle Intranet & Mobile App
Horizon Therapeutics, now a part of Amgen: The Pulse
Tarion: MyTarion – A Re-invented Employee Experience
Zebra Technologies: zConnect Modernization Project
Intranet Content
QI Group: QI Quiet Heroes: Unveiling the Unsung Heroes of the QI Group
Cox Enterprises: Flexing Forward: The Cox Atlanta Campus Renovation
Organon and Ruder Finn: Connection to Mission Campaign: Understanding Our Impact
Intranet Design/Redesign
symplr: Internal Communications Team
Amerant Bank: The Insider
Link Logistics: The Link
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: The Hub Intranet Redesign
Remote Culture Campaigns/Initiatives
Virtual Employee Engagement
Hagerty: Leader Livestream
Samuel, Son & Co: A New Era of Employee-Centric Excellence at Samuel, Son & Co.
Syner-G BioPharma Group: Morning Brew
Virtual Events/Celebrations
U.S. Department of Labor/OCIO: Federal Tech Day 2023
Retail Business Services: Remote Culture – Virtual Events – RBS Friendsgiving
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: Internal Communications
Virtual Onboarding
Foundation Medicine: A new era of onboarding
Royal Canin North America: New Associate Orientation Exceeds in Engaging through a Virtual Setting
Virtual Town Hall
Orbia: Where Purpose Comes To Life – Virtual Town Hall
Appspace: Appspace Town Hall & All Hands
Capital Insurance Group: Live with Leadership
Prologis: Virtual Town Hall
Reddit, Inc.: All Hands & Hearts
Xperi: Xperi Virtual Global Town Halls
Tech
Best Employee App
Ontario Northland: ON Dispatch App
Ryman Hospitality Properties: Adopting a Mobile-First Employee Communication Strategy
Southwire: Southwire Circuit Launch
Walgreens: W Connect team member app
Video Campaigns/Initiatives
Humorous Video
Salesforce: Marketing Cloud Edge TV
SAS: SAS campus but make it a Wes Anderson film
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: Internal Communications
Informational Video
Mastercard LAC: Decrypted Series in LAC
Gallagher: Video Series: Highlighting the key features of Anywhere Real Estate’s well-being program
Lincoln Financial Group: Education Series on Lincoln’s Enterprise Strategic Objectives
Organon and Ruder Finn: Connection to Mission Campaign: Understanding Our Impact
Sonepar USA: 2023 Safety Month
Inspirational Video
Hewlett Packard Enterprise: Grilling Around the Globe Video Series
Baptist Health South Florida: Baptist Health Everyday Heroes
Bethany Children’s Health Center: PK graduates after life-altering vehicle collision
TE Connectivity: Employee Appreciation Day Video
Interview Video
Retail Business Services: We are RBS
Hewlett Packard Enterprise: My Story Video Series
Perituza Software Solutions: Perituza’s Early Careers Program Spotlight | Dharani Rajasinghe, SharePoint Administrator
Leadership Video
CarMax: Under the Hood
Corvias: Leadership Development Program Launch
Infineon Americas: An Introduction to President Maher Matta
Infineon Americas: Rainer Hoehler’s Engagement Pulse Check Video
ServiceNow: Keeping it Real
Outstanding Video Communications
ServiceNow: Top 10 Training
Amgen: A Passion for Science; A Love of Culture
Caliber: Artisans of Caliber
Payoneer: One Payoneer. Endless Stories
Seattle Children’s Hospital: Seattle Children’s Connecting to Mission Recruitment Videos
ServiceNow: Our World Our Work
Employee Communications Professionals of the Year
Kakie Atwell: IMA Financial Group
Desiree Elsharif: ServiceNow
Alejandra Fehrmann: Nissan
Giselle Heraux: AutoNation
Reed Horanburg: TE Connectivity
Meghan Keating: 3M
Wes Milligan: St Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Alice Nagle: Genesys
Jennifer Nelson: Prologis
Janisse Cuevas: University of Miami
Janet Rivera Hernandez: Mastercard LAC
Brigitta Witt: T-Mobile
2024 Top Places to Work
5WPR
Aadi Bioscience
Aspectus Group
Bell
Boden PR
Cincinnati Children’s
Corporate Ink
Coyne PR
Hager Sharp
Henry Schein, Inc.
Horizon Therapeutics
Hotwire
HUNTER
Identity
iQ 360 Inc.
Kaplow Communications
KCSA Strategic Communication
Marathon Strategies
McCownGordon Construction
Merz Aesthetics
Meteorite
Mower
Next PR
Pace Public Relations
Peppercomm, a Ruder Finn company
PwC
Red Hat
Sachs Media
Sage Communications
Schmidt Public Affairs LLC
Seattle Children’s Hospital
Sharp Think
SourceCode Communications
The Kroger Co.
The Levinson Group
Vault Communications
Vested
Zeta Global
For more information on our winners, check out the Employee Communications Awards profiles and Top Places to Work in Communications profiles.
