6 reasons to apply to Fast Company’s 2026 Best Workplaces for Innovators

A streamlined application makes it easier than ever to apply to Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators. Here are six reasons why you should apply to our eighth annual BWFI program.

1. Brand exposure. Every ranked company and all those earning honoree status in a category will appear in the fall (September) issue of the magazine and on fastcompany.com.

2. Talent retention. Public recognition as a Best Workplace for Innovators honoree provides powerful third-party validation that enhances your ability to recruit and retain top talent.

3. Editorial access. Fast Company editors will review all applications; the application represents an opportunity to highlight individuals and projects that showcase your company’s innovation prowess. The insight Fast Company editors glean from judging applications informs our ongoing coverage, often leading to stories.

4. Credibility. Fast Company‘s reputation for writing about innovation is unparalleled in business media. Inclusion on the list is a powerful stamp of approval of your company’s efforts.

5. Employee recognition. The program honors an Innovative Team of the Year as well as an Innovative Leader of the Year, along with finalists in each category.

6. A level playing field. Every company is unique, so the Best Workplaces for Innovators application is structured to allow your company to focus on whatever particular initiatives and programs you’ve established to cultivate innovative work across your organization. There are different categories for different size companies, as well as companies from different regions and sectors. 

For more than 15 years, Fast Company has been recognizing outstanding achievement in business innovation with its annual awards programs. In addition to Best Workplaces for Innovators, Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, Innovation by Design, World Changing Ideas, Brands That Matter, and the Next Big Thing in Tech lists have celebrated thousands of organizations transforming industries and shaping society through paradigm-shifting products, insights, or services.

What differentiates Best Workplaces for Innovators from existing best-places-to-work lists is that it goes beyond benefits, competitive compensation, and collegiality (mere table stakes in today’s competitive talent marketplace) to identify which companies are actively creating and sustaining the kinds of innovative cultures that many top employees value even more than money. These are the places where people can do the best work of their careers and improve the lives of hundreds, thousands, even millions of people around the world.

Best Workplaces for Innovators is the most authoritative list of companies cultivating an organization-wide commitment to innovation. We hope you’ll submit your company today.

For more information on applying, see the FAQs.  But don’t delay too long—the final deadline is March 27.