The awards honor practitioners and vendors who exemplify excellence in employee experience strategy and execution.

SAN FRANCISCO — Reworked, the leading employee experience community brought to you by Simpler Media Group (SMG), today announced the full list of 2026 Reworked IMPACT Award recipients across seven categories. The Reworked IMPACT Awards celebrate exceptional work in the fields of employee experience and the digital workplace.

This year, to better recognize the distinct work being done across technology and workplace culture, Reworked split its previous Employee Experience Leader of the Year award into two categories: Workplace Culture Leader of the Year and Workplace Technology Leader of the Year.

Reworked’s 2026 Workplace Culture Leader of the Year is Kathryn (Katie) Turner-Carr, Senior HR Executive, (former) Senior Vice President, HR Strategy and Org Effectiveness.

Judges were impressed with Turner’s strong foundation in process discipline and long-term capability building. One judge noted, “She has successfully transformed HR into a strategic enabler of organizational performance while maintaining a clear focus on culture, employee experience and leadership development.”

Finalists receiving honorable mention in the Workplace Culture Leader of the Year category include Naomi Shammas-King, Internal Communications Lead at Oyster, and Jack Win, Co-founder & Head of Operations at Exverus by Brainlabs.

Reworked’s 2026 Workplace Technology Leader of the Year is Saju Sadasivan, Founder & Managing Director, StrategySphere Consulting, Ex-Roche Knowledge Management Leader.

Judges were impressed with Sadasivan’s contributions to the industry both within and beyond his own organization. One judge said, “Saju Sadasivan's background in multiple areas of digital workplace expertise is impressive and is likely tied directly to the broader vision he has of connecting so many siloed platforms and experiences into one, easy to navigate, space. I was also impressed with his collaborative approach.”

Finalists receiving honorable mention in the Workplace Technology Leader of the Year category include Kelly Wyatt, Chief Digital Officer for GM Financial, and Mithilesh Koyghadi, Digital Head at Teamlease Edtech.

Reworked also announced winners in the Employee Journey Innovation practitioner category, which honors team-based achievements in improving the employee experience. The 2026 winners are:

  • Gold: CVS Health, Digital Workplace Operations & Engineering
  • Silver: TIAA, Workforce Modernization

In addition to the practitioner category, Reworked recognized winners across several vendor categories: Best Innovation in Employee Engagement, Best Use of AI in Employee Experience, Excellence in Intranet & Communications Platforms, Excellence in Knowledge Management & Search, Excellence in Work Management & Project Management and Excellence in Employee Experience & Recognition. These categories honor vendors for the strength of their products, platforms and solutions, as well as the impact delivered for their clients.

The 2026 vendor award winners are:

  • Best Innovation in Employee Engagement (Gold): Sociabble
  • Best Innovation in Employee Engagement (Silver): NICE
  • Best use of AI in Employee Experience (Gold): Perceptyx
  • Best use of AI in Employee Experience (Silver): Betterworks
  • Excellence in Intranet & Communications Platforms (Gold): MangoApps
  • Excellence in Intranet & Communications Platforms (Silver): Omnia Digital Workplace
  • Excellence in Work Management & Project Management (Gold): Time Doctor
  • Excellence in Work Management & Project Management (Silver): ActivTrak

Winners were selected from a pool of qualified nominees, including employee experience leaders, teams and vendors that delivered impactful employee experience initiatives over the past year. Judging was conducted by a panel of practitioners and industry specialists, led by Reworked Editor-in-Chief Siobhan Fagan. Winners selected based on information provided through the nomination process.

Reworked congratulates all winners and finalists of this year’s awards program. To learn more about the Reworked IMPACT Awards and to apply for the 2027 program, which opens in August 2026, visit https://www.simplermedia.com/impact-awards/reworked/.

Contact
Tim Harnett
Awards Director
[email protected]