Centene Corporation [NYSE: CNC], a healthcare giant serving low-income and underserved populations, has been recognized on the inaugural 2025 Forbes America’s Best Employers for Company Culture list. The company ranked in the top third of 600 employers overall and placed within the top 20 in the U.S. insurance sector.
For a healthcare enterprise whose mission revolves around community access, the award signals that Centene is applying the same care inward—investing in culture as a driver of performance and employee engagement.
“Our One CenTeam culture is what sets us apart and drives performance across every part of our business,” said CEO Sarah M. London. “When we build teams grounded in our mission and values, we not only move our business forward, but create meaningful impact for millions of members and communities across the nation.”
How the Ranking Works
The Forbes list is the first of its kind, built on survey responses from more than 200,000 employees at companies with at least 1,000 workers. The methodology combined:
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Personal evaluations from current employees
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Public evaluations from peers and industry insiders
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Cultural KPIs developed by the Forbes Research & Analytics team
This mix was designed to move beyond perks or employer branding campaigns, focusing instead on measurable culture and lived employee experience.
Building a Culture Framework
Centene credits its recognition to its CenTeam values—accountability, courage, curiosity, trust, and service—developed with direct employee input. These principles serve as a framework for how the company operates internally while delivering care externally.
To reinforce those values, Centene launched the Excellence Awards Program earlier this year. Within three weeks, more than 1,900 nominations poured in, spotlighting employees who drive impact by living the company’s values.
The company has also invested in its Culture Ambassador program, which recently convened its second summit. Ambassadors, representing thousands of employees, design best-practice models for embedding Centene’s values in daily work. So far, more than 4,000 team members have been engaged through the initiative.
Why It Matters
Culture is no longer a soft metric. In industries like healthcare and insurance—where burnout and turnover remain high—employee engagement can directly affect service quality, retention, and regulatory outcomes. By earning a spot on Forbes’ first-ever culture ranking, Centene is signaling to talent, investors, and members that its people strategy is core to its growth strategy.
For Centene, that means culture isn’t just an HR talking point—it’s part of the business model.
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