Efforts to help employees get well, stay well and thrive are more critical – and more sophisticated – than ever before, due to interrelated factors that include rising health care costs, the growing needs of an evolving workforce, and the demonstrated link between health, well-being and business performance.

Recognizing the importance of these efforts, Business Group on Health celebrates organizations making measurable, sustainable impact in the lives of employees through two distinct honors: the Best Employers Award: Excellence in Health & Well-being and the Best Employers Award: Excellence in Health Care Value. The Best Employers Award: Excellence in Health Care Value award honors organizations achieving impressive results in delivering high-value health care, while the Best Employers Award: Excellence in Health and Well-being highlights distinct ways employers are setting new standards in health and well-being.

Stellar employers earning recognition for Best Employers Award: Excellence in Health & Well-being are distinguished by their holistic, innovative approaches to workforce well-being. Through scalable initiatives and the implementation of five core components, these leaders raise the bar for advancing the health and vitality of their employees.

The five foundational elements of any solid well-being strategy:

1.) Well-being Strategy Bolstered by Leadership and Culture

Award-winning employers have committed senior executives who play a hands-on role in shaping, promoting and communicating health and well-being priorities across the entire organization.

These employers create formal accountability structures related to health and well-being outcomes in performance standards, for instance. These companies also have executive sponsors, groups of senior leaders from across the organization that oversee the strategy, champion initiatives and drive organizational alignments on well-being priorities.

In addition, innovative employers embed health and well-being into daily operations through integrated efforts with Human Resources, Facilities, Health and Safety, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) functions. Examples of these integrated efforts include enhancement of air and water quality within facilities as well as the incorporation of well-being into onboarding practices.

2.) Holistic Well-being

Top employers approach well-being holistically, supporting employees’ physical, mental, financial and social well-being. They offer an array of initiatives tailored for their workforce, ranging from digital health applications for chronic condition management, fitness challenges, comprehensive mental health benefits, all the way to culturally inclusive nutrition programs.

In addition, these employers often provide robust parental, caregiver and leave benefits, as well as financial wellness tools that help employees with their day-to-day needs, such as through building emergency savings, tuition assistance to longer-term objectives. Best Employer Award: Excellence in Health & Well-being winners focus on both the physical and digital work environments, with offerings such as ergonomic home setups and onsite improvements such as consultation rooms for mental health and medical appointments.

3.) Engagement and the Employee Experience with Health and Well-being

Winners of the Best Employers Award: Excellence in Health & Well-being often gather employee feedback through routine surveys, focus groups and listening sessions, and use that information to shape offerings. They also measure engagement and redesign incentive strategies by rolling out incentives tailored to individual preferences and usage patterns that evolve over time.

Winners often deliver culturally relevant, accessible communications by using multiple languages, plain language and authentic visuals to guarantee that all employees, regardless of background or ability, can easily navigate available resources.

These winners also foster social connection through well-being champions, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), peer mentorship and recognition programs. All of these efforts drive better engagement and more positive employee experiences.

4.) Health Inclusion and Social Determinants of Health

Leading employers are deeply and sincerely committed to health inclusion. They audit benefits and programs to identify disparities across race, gender, geography and job category, and address social determinants by supporting food access and security, transportation, housing, childcare and education through employer-provided resources, subsidies or partnerships.

In addition, innovative employers offer culturally inclusive medical programs and culturally relevant care, as well as parity in benefits such as leave and parental support. This inclusiveness might include coverage for LGBTQ+ health services, as well as accessible benefits for rural staff, or employees with disabilities.

5.) Metrics and Evaluation

As they execute well-being programs, distinguished employers rely on data to measure progress. They use information – from rigorous employee surveys, real-time utilization rates and dashboards – to translate insights into action. They also explore vendors and internal resources that can unite disparate datasets to draw new conclusions on the impact of well-being initiatives.

These employers leverage predictive analytics to identify at-risk employees who may experience barriers to engagement or are negatively impacted by social determinants of health. They also make strategic decisions about the continuation or discontinuation of programs based on robust financial, clinical and experience-based benchmarks.

It is clear that premier health and well-being programs are comprehensive, deliberate, powered by data, and defined by a willingness to adapt and invest where it most matters. When Business Group on Health’s 2026 Best Employers Award application opens in September, we look forward to seeing how innovative employers have engaged employees to get well, stay well and thrive.

To learn more about both the Best Employers Award: Excellence in Health & Well-being and the Best Employers Award: Excellence in Health Care Value, visit our Best Employers Awards overview.