Methodology: Here’s how a company earns Top Workplaces honor

If you want to really know what’s happening at work, ask the people on the front lines.

That’s the foundation of the Top Workplaces award. For the 13th year, employee survey company Energage has partnered with the Union-Tribune to honor the best places to work in San Diego County. 

This award can’t be bought; it has to be earned, based on employee feedback. Winners are chosen through a scientific survey process. Positive employee feedback equals recognition. Workplaces that don’t have strong feedback are excluded from the winners list.

Energage crunches the data based on a 26-question survey that takes just a few minutes to complete. The survey asks employees for their feedback on such factors as pay and benefits, direction, leadership, meaningfulness, and appreciation. Energage scores companies based on the responses.

Organizations do not pay any fees to survey employees or to earn a Top Workplaces designation. If they choose, organizations can purchase the survey data. There is no obligation for winners to purchase any product or service.

For the 2025 winners list, 3,951 organizations were asked to survey their employees, and 127 agreed to do so. Based on the survey feedback, 105 have earned recognition as Top Workplaces in San Diego County.

“Top Workplaces awards are a celebration of good news,” said Eric Rubino, CEO of Energage. “They exemplify the significance of a people-first workplace experience, reminding us that employees are the heart of any thriving organization.”

To qualify for Top Workplaces recognition, employers must have at least 50 workers in San Diego County.  Beginning this year, employers are grouped by the overall size of their organization, and the number of employees invited to survey, which might include employees outside San Diego County. Employers are grouped into similar sizes to best compare similar employee experiences. They are ranked within those groups based on the strength of the survey feedback.

Employers earn Top Workplaces recognition if their aggregated employees feedback score exceeds national benchmarks. Energage has established those benchmarks based on feedback from about 30 million employees over 19 years. 

Survey results are valid only if 35% or more employees respond; employers with fewer than 85 employees have a higher response threshold, requiring responses from at least 30 employees.

Why might a particular employer not be on the list? Perhaps it chose not to participate, or perhaps it did and employee feedback scores were not strong enough. Energage also runs tests on survey feedback and in some cases may disqualify an organization if, for example, a high number of employees said they felt pressured to answer positively.

To participate in the 2026 Top Workplaces awards, or for more information, go to the nomination page at sandiegouniontribune.com/nominate.

Helbig is media partnerships director for Energage, an employee survey company based in suburban Philadelphia.