How to Win Comparably Best Places to Work Awards

Eight years after the launch of Glassdoor in 2007, Comparably was founded in 2015. Comparably set out to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of company culture, fueled by employee ratings and reviews.

While a Glassdoor review allows employees to rate an employer on 9 key metrics and provide 3 text fields, Comparably has 28 rating questions and 7 text field questions.

This in-depth employee review format provides Comparably with more ways to evaluate a company’s culture. Since 2017, Comparably has aggregated employee feedback to create a robust award program with 16 categories. There is no formal application process and no cost associated with participation. Rather, winners are selected completely by employee ratings and reviews. Winning Comparably awards can make a huge impact for your organization.

‍Benefits of Winning Comparably Best Places to Work Awards:

Strengthened Employer Brand 💪
‍Winning a Comparably Best Places to Work award can significantly enhance a company's employer brand and reputation. It signals to job seekers that the company is committed to creating a positive work environment and prioritizes employee satisfaction and well-being. 

‍Increased Employee Engagement 😁
‍Winning a Best Places to Work award can boost employee morale and pride in their workplace. It validates employees' experiences and reinforces their sense of belonging and satisfaction. This, in turn, can lead to increased employee engagement, productivity, and retention.

Validation of Company Culture ✅
‍Winning a Comparably Best Places to Work award serves as external validation of a company's culture and values. It demonstrates to employees, customers, investors, and other stakeholders that the company's commitment to creating a positive work environment is recognized and valued by industry experts. This in turn impacts the behaviors of all of these groups.

Positive Publicity 📢
‍Companies that win Comparably Best Places to Work awards often receive significant national and local media coverage. They partner with large media outlets including USA Today, Forbes, Business Insider, Fast Company, Inc. Magazine and many others for the publication of awards. This media coverage can raise the company's profile, attract positive attention, and generate goodwill among customers, partners, and investors.

Validation of Leadership Practices👍
‍Winning a Best Places to Work award can validate the effectiveness of the company's leadership practices and policies. It demonstrates that the company's leadership is capable of creating and sustaining a positive work environment that fosters employee well-being and success.

‍Schedule of all Comparably awards

Comparably’s 16 award categories are announced on a rotating basis with several published each quarter. Note that Comparably has changed award labels and timing of awards slightly over the years. We’ve summarized the most recent details for you below as of the time of this article being posted.

‍Q1 Awards announced in March of each year:
- Best company outlook
- Best company global culture
- Best companies by department:
           - Sales
           - HR
           - Product & Design
           - Engineering

‍Q2 Awards announced in June of each year:'
- Best leadership teams
- Career growth

‍Q3 Awards announced in September of each year:
- Best company happiest
- Best perks & benefits
- Best work-life balance
- Best compensation

‍Q4 Awards announced in December of each year:
- Best company culture
- Best CEOs
- Best companies for women
- Best companies for diversity

‍How many companies win Comparably Best Places to Work Awards?‍

Each of the 16 award categories feature 100 winners: 50 winners in the large company category (501+ employees) and 50 winners in the small company category (500 or less employees).

That means there are a total of 1,600 awards given by Comparably every single year!

Talk about a lot of opportunity. But realize these aren’t just handed out to any company. There are over 70,000 organizations on Comparably.com so winning truly means you’re in the top percentile for employee satisfaction. So how do you maximize your chances of winning? Let’s talk about it.

How to Qualify for Comparably Best Places to Work Awards

Comparably shares all of their eligibility rules here, but let’s summarize what you really need to know.

❌ There is no formal application process

❌ There is no fee payable to Comparably to be eligible

✅ Award eligibility is determined exclusively by how many employees have shared reviews on your Comparably profile and the average scores from these reviews from the past 12 months.

Here is the minimum criteria your company needs in order to be eligible for Comparably’s 16 different Best Places to Work awards:

1. Quantity of new reviews acquired during the eligibility period:
- 75 reviews Large companies (501+ employees)
- 25 reviews Small/mid-size companies (500 or less employees)

‍Comparably openly states that companies with a higher employee participation percentage have a higher chance of winning. Here’s a quote from their award rules: 

“For fairness and statistical significance, additional weight is given to companies with more participation relative to their company size.” 

That means proactively asking employees for reviews on Comparably directly increases your chances of winning their awards. Don’t believe this? Read pg. 79-84 in my book, The Review Cycle. There, I teach about the principle of “The Law of Self-Selecting Extremes”. When you don’t ask for feedback, those with an extremely negative or positive experience are most likely to share reviews on their own. When you make it easy to share a review, you lower the barrier to participate, unlocking more participation from the “silent majority” that typically have positive things to say.

2. Eligibility period:
‍Since Comparably awards are announced quarterly, they all have slightly different eligibility periods. It’s always based on the most recent 12 month history with a 1 month buffer. For example, 2024 Q4 awards announced in December 2024 are determined by awards received between November 2023 and November 2024.

‍ Since Comparably only looks at the most recent 12 month review history for awards, even companies with a low star-rating have the potential to win if your reviews from the past 12 months are good enough.

3. Award-Specific Eligibility Exceptions:
‍Some of the 16 awards have a slightly different criteria. Those are described on Comparably’s award rules page, and we’ve outlined it here for you:

“Winners are based on ratings from employees of all ages, genders, ethnicities, departments, education levels, experience, and locations (all global feedback is considered, with an emphasis on North America).”

Exceptions:
- Best Companies and CEOs for Women are based solely on ratings from female employees
- Best Companies and CEOs for Diversity are based solely on ratings from employees of color (non-Caucasian)
- Best CEOs is based on approval ratings employees give their chief executives
- Best Global Company Culture is based on companies with a global footprint (ratings must be from both international & North American employees).

‍Comparably is a U.S. based company. They imply that employee reviews from team members in North America impact awards more than employee reviews received from other global locations. With that said, our best practice of always asking all employees for reviews, regardless of location, remains the same. It is important to answer honestly to your team that everyone’s voice matters and you want those insights to inform company culture strategy.

Other helpful resources for Comparably Best Places to Work awards
- All details about Comparably’s awards can be found here. 
- Browse past Comparably award winners here.
- Email Comparably’s award team at: awards@comparably.com