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.

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