2026: A Call for Nominees for Best Places to Work

Is your workplace great? 

We want to know. 

The Business Journal is working on its annual listing of the Best Places to Work in Orange County. 

The list is scheduled to appear in our July 13 edition as part of a Special Report covering employers that make our ranking. It’s among our most-read issues of the year. 

We’re soliciting employers to participate in our selection process, which involves a two-part survey of employers and workers. 

Perks 

Making the list carries many benefits. Your company will be part of a select group of employers recognized for their treatment, recruitment and retention of employees. The list should be a source of pride for employers, helping with employee morale and recruiting. 

Making the list also brings good exposure to clients, customers, bankers, vendors and peers. 

We’re considering just about all types of employers in the county: locally based companies, subsidiaries of companies based elsewhere, professional services firms, banks, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, hospitals and universities. 

Requirements 

Employers must have at least 15 part-time and full-time OC employees and have been in business for at least a year. 

They will be ranked by category: small, 15 to 49 U.S. employees; midsize, 50 to 249; and large, 250 or more. 

Visit www.bestplacestoworkorangecounty. com for details about our list and information on how to enter your company in the ranking. 

There’s no cost to enter. There is a nominal fee for any company that opts to use paper-based surveys instead of electronic surveys. 

Employers are given two surveys as part of the assessment process. 

The employer assessment requires information about organizational policies, practices, benefits and demographics, and is filled out by management. 

The employee survey questions employees about their work experience and engagement. 

Employers will be asked to provide email contact information for employees. All gathered information is confidential and won’t be released to any third parties. 

The Business Journal’s list will include only basic employment and benefits information about employers. 

Select companies will be prominently featured in the issue. 

Specific comments and other details from the employee surveys won’t be made public. Employers that go through the process but don’t make the list of winners won’t be cited in any way. 

Workforce Research Group 

The Business Journal is working with Houston-based Workforce Research Group on the development of our list. 

Peter Burke, founder of Workforce Research, has 22 years of experience managing this program for other business publications and magazines across the country and a track record that meets the Business Journal’s standards. 

Survey results, if desired, are available for purchase from Workforce Research Group. 

We’ll solicit employers to be surveyed through March 27 and employers and employees will be queried in the following weeks. 

A timeline of all 2026 Best Places deadlines is available at www.bestplacestoworkorangecounty.com. 

Contacts 

For more information, contact Research Director, Desmond Celo, at (949) 584-1332 or celo@ocbj.com 

You can also get more details from Peter Burke and Abigail Akers of Workforce Research Group at (717) 805-4253, PBurke@WorkforceRG.com or (281) 214-2660, aakers@workforcerg.com 

—OCBJ Staff