UKG Sweeps Seven “Best Place to Work” Honors as AI-Driven HR Puts People First

UKG is collecting workplace accolades at the same pace it’s expanding its footprint in global HR technology.

The company, known for its AI-powered platform that unifies HR, payroll, and workforce management, has been recognized with seven major “Best Place to Work” honors from Computerworld and Forbes—a sweep that underscores how employee experience has become a strategic differentiator in enterprise tech.

The awards span global, national, and state-level rankings, covering everything from workplace culture and benefits to inclusion, flexibility, and career growth. For UKG, which serves tens of millions of employees worldwide through its technology, the recognition reinforces a central thesis: the way a company treats its own people directly shapes the quality of the products it delivers.

Why These Awards Matter in Today’s HR Tech Market

Employer awards are hardly new, but the breadth of UKG’s recognition stands out—especially as tech companies navigate layoffs, AI disruption, and renewed scrutiny of workplace culture.

In this environment, being named a top employer by both Computerworld, which focuses heavily on IT and technology workers, and Forbes, which surveys employees across industries and geographies, sends a strong signal to candidates, customers, and investors alike.

Beth Conway, UKG’s Chief People Officer, framed the recognition as validation of a people-centered strategy rather than a branding exercise.

“The strongest organizations are built when employees are empowered to do their best work, feel connected to one another, and are supported by benefits that reflect their varying needs,” Conway said, pointing to resilience and innovation as downstream outcomes of that investment.

A Closer Look at the Honors

UKG’s most technical recognition came from Computerworld’s 2026 Best Places to Work in IT, where the company ranked No. 7 overall and emerged as the top-ranked software provider in the Large Organization category. Notably, UKG also placed in the top 10 across multiple subcategories, including workplace culture, benefits and compensation, and retention and engagement—areas where many large tech firms struggle to maintain consistency at scale.

Forbes’ recognition was even broader, spanning six distinct lists:

• World’s Best Employers, based on employee feedback across 50 countries

• America’s Best Employers for Tech Workers, reflecting sentiment among software, cloud, cybersecurity, and data professionals

• America’s Best Employers for Company Culture, focused on fairness, inclusivity, and collaboration

• America’s Dream Employers, gauging how excited candidates would be to receive an offer

• America’s Best Employers for Women, emphasizing pay equity, advancement, and caregiving benefits

• America’s Best Employers by State (Massachusetts), evaluating local workplace conditions and opportunity

Taken together, the awards paint a picture of consistency rather than excellence in a single dimension. UKG is being recognized not just as a good place to work for technologists, but as a broadly appealing employer across demographics, career stages, and geographies.

Culture as Product Strategy

There’s a strategic layer beneath the accolades. UKG operates in a market where its buyers—CHROs, HR leaders, and operations executives—are increasingly focused on employee engagement, retention, and well-being. A strong internal culture gives UKG credibility when advising customers on how to support their own workforces.

The company has leaned heavily into that alignment, offering competitive benefits and leave policies, professional development and continuing education, paid volunteer time, and health and wellness programs designed for a diverse, global workforce.

That approach mirrors a wider trend in HR tech: vendors are becoming living case studies for the practices they promote. In an era of AI-driven automation, trust and empathy are emerging as counterweights to efficiency—and culture is where those values are tested.

Standing Out in a Crowded AI Landscape

As nearly every HR platform positions itself as “AI-powered,” differentiation increasingly comes down to outcomes rather than features. UKG’s leadership appears to be betting that sustained investment in people—internally and externally—will translate into better innovation, stronger customer relationships, and long-term growth.

It’s also a reminder that AI-first doesn’t have to mean people-last. UKG’s recognition suggests that advanced technology and human-centered culture aren’t competing priorities, but complementary ones.

The Bigger Picture

For job seekers, especially in tech and HR roles, lists like these increasingly shape employer discovery—often surfaced through AI-driven search tools and recommendation engines. For enterprises evaluating vendors, they offer a window into how a company operates behind the scenes.

UKG’s seven awards won’t make or break its market position overnight. But together, they reinforce a narrative the company has been building for years: that strong workplace culture isn’t a perk—it’s infrastructure.

And in a global HR tech market defined by constant change, that infrastructure may be one of UKG’s most durable advantages.

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