1. Deadlines: Company nominations are due by April 24, 2026. An Excel spreadsheet of full-time employee names and email addresses is due with each approved nomination. Employee surveys must be completed by May 17, 2026.
  2. Companies must be nominated by an employee to be considered for the competition.
  3. Any current, full-time employee may nominate their company.
  4. Only one nomination per company is necessary although more than one is permissible. Multiple nominations have no bearing on selection process.
  5. The company must be a current PPAI member as of April 24, 2026.
  6. The company must have a minimum of five full-time employees to qualify for consideration (Owners may not be included in this count).
  7. The company must provide PPAI with an Excel list of names and email addresses for all current full-time employees as part of a nomination before April 24, 2026. This list should not include owner or owners. If employees do not have a business email address, personal addresses are acceptable. Each employee listed must have their own email address; no sharing of email addresses between employees. There is no alternative to taking the survey by email. Employees who join the company after the Excel spreadsheet is submitted may not be added later. Employees mistakenly left off of the roster submitted before the survey opens may not be added later. The Excel list should include only four columns: First Name, Last Name, Company and Email Address, in that order. PPAI is not responsible for incorrect or missing email addresses, including typos. Please proof your roster before sending. PPAI will keep this list confidential and will not share it with any third parties. Members must upload their roster when nominating. For questions or to confirm receipt, contact PPAI.
  8. Each nominated company must identify one employee who will be the Primary Content Contact for the competition during the nomination process. It is not required that this be the person creating the nomination.
  9. The designated Primary Contest Contact will be emailed a survey link by PPAI when the survey period opens and is responsible for internal communications to alert employees to take the survey. Each employee listed on the provided company roster will be able to access the survey and must complete and submit it by May 17, 2026.
  10. A minimum percentage of completed surveys must be received from employees to qualify the company for consideration:
    – 60% of employees at companies with 5-25 full-time employees
    – 40% of employees at companies with 26-75 full-time employees
    – 20% of employees at companies with 76 or more full-time employees
  11. PPAI is not responsible for emails that are “bounced” by your security filter or that are otherwise unseen or unopened by the Primary Contest Contact. Please ensure that the Primary Contest Contact is subscribed to PPAI emails.
  12. Companies that do not meet the minimum percentage of survey completions will not be considered for this competition.
  13. Companies will be scored based on employee ratings in four size categories: micro (5-9 employees), small (10-25 full-time employees), medium (26-75 full-time employees), and large (76 or more full-time employees).