Awards
Best Places to Work
Best Places to Work 2026
Now in its sixth year, the best places to work feature highlights organizations that know what it takes to have a productive work environment while keeping employees happy.
Are You Ready to Prove Your Workplace is One of the Best?
How It Works
Powered by Best Companies Group’s proprietary model and platform, Biz 417 offers the exclusive and most respected workplace survey, unparalleled data and benchmarking, and industry-leading research and insights, all supported by a wealth of resources and a thriving community.
Winners are based entirely on a data-driven, anonymous survey from employees. Their feedback demonstrates the importance of employee ownership and emphasizes the impact effective corporate leadership has on achieving successful business performance, employee engagement and customer retention.
Eligibility
Small Employer: 10–50 employees
A Small Employer is considered any organization that has 10–50 employees. These companies are ranked based on exemplary company culture, productivity and being trailblazers in our community.
Medium Employer: 51–149 employees
A Medium Employer is considered any organization that has 51–149 employees. These companies are ranked based on exemplary company culture, productivity and being trailblazers in our community.
Large Employer: More than 150 employees
A Large Employer is considered any organization that has 150 or more employees. These companies are ranked based on exemplary company culture, productivity and being trailblazers in our community.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for consideration, organization must:
- Be a publicly or privately held business
- Be a for-profit, not-for-profit business or government entity/municipality
- Have a facility in the 417 Region
- Have a minimum of 15 full-time or part-time employees working in the Southwest Missouri region
- Must be in business a minimum of one year
If your company meets the criteria and you are ready to apply, click here to begin your application.
Methodology
Biz 417’s Best Places to Work is a celebration of elite employers that have proved that they know what it takes to create environments where people love to come to work. Identifying and recognizing these outstanding workplaces was a joint effort of Biz 417 and Best Companies Group. The Best Places to Work program was open to all publicly or privately held organizations in the 417 region. To be eligible for consideration, organizations must have at least 10 employees in the region; being headquartered in the region was not a requirement. The Best Places to Work survey process was managed by Best Companies Group (BCG). BCG, an independent workplace-excellence research firm, managed the registration process, conducted the two-part survey process, evaluated the data and ultimately chose the employers that made the list. To go through the assessment process, employers needed to register before February 13, 2026. Part one of the assessment (one quarter of each organization’s score) consisted of the BCG Employer Questionnaire (EQ), used to collect information about each employer’s benefits, policies and practices, as well as other general information. Part two of the assessment (three quarters of each organization’s score) involved the confidential, approximately 77-question Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey (EESS), which was used to evaluate the employees’ workplace experience and culture. The combined data allowed the experts at BCG to conduct an in-depth analysis of the strengths and challenges that exist in each organization. BCG’s workplace-assessment experts determined which companies were good enough to make this year’s list. Participation was free, and each organization had the option to purchase access to the BCG EnGauge Dashboard organizing the employee data collected through the employee survey process. In addition to the employee opinion data, the EnGauge Dashboard also included employee-written comments, as well as benchmarking data from the winning and non-winning organizations. This data will help each company understand their workforce better and equip the company with the information to make improvements. For more info about the methodology, visit bestplacestowork417.com or email support@bestcompaniesgroup.com.