---
title: How is the Winner List Determined?
description: Many programs require two main components to determine winners. Employer score and Employee score as compared to other companies in the ranking. Some programs may only have the Employee score component.
---
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# How is the Winner List Determined?
## Many programs require two main components to determine winners. Employer score and Employee score as compared to other companies in the ranking. Some programs may only have the Employee score component.
Participating organizations must complete a two-part process to be considered for inclusion on the list:
- The first part consists of evaluating each registered company’s workplace policies, practices, and demographics through the Employer Benefits & Policies Questionnaire (EQ). *Some programs may not have this portion. To determine if your program has this portion, visit your website and review the Assessment Process page. Visit [https://bestcompaniesgroup.com/programs/](https://bestcompaniesgroup.com/programs/) to find your specific program.*
- The second part consists of the Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey to measure the employee experience. *For programs that do not have the employer score component, then the employee score will be worth 100% of the total evaluation.*
The combined scores determine the top companies and which companies are included on the list. Best Companies Group (BCG) manages the overall registration and survey process and also analyzes the data and uses our expertise to determine the final rankings.
There are three basic criteria to be considered for the list:
1\. You must complete the Employer Benefits & Policies Questionnaire (EQ), if applicable.
2\. You must meet or exceed the minimum response rate from the survey population on the Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey. Please refer to your program website for the specific response rate needed to be considered for the winner list. You can view this under the FAQ Tab - Eligibility **(What is the minimum response rate required to be considered for the list?)**. You will find the program websites at [https://bestcompaniesgroup.com/programs/united-states/](https://bestcompaniesgroup.com/programs/united-states/)or [https://bestcompaniesgroup.com/programs/programs-by-industry/](https://bestcompaniesgroup.com/programs/programs-by-industry/).
3\. You must also meet Best Companies Group's baseline minimum Average Positive Response to the employee survey across the 8 core focus areas: Leadership and Planning, Corporate Culture and Communications, Role Satisfaction, Work Environment, Relationship with Supervisor, Training, Development and Resources, Pay and Benefits, and Overall Engagement.
Even so, beyond the requirements above, the caliber of the competitors determines who does and does not make the final list. Should the competition be particularly strong, it may take greater than our baseline average positive response to be named on the "best" list.
Our process for creating Best Places to Work rankings is proprietary and is not purely based on a single score, but multiple variables.
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