Rival has been named to The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026 list in the Small Organisations category, following an anonymous employee survey conducted in partnership with workplace engagement platform WorkL. Published annually by The Sunday Times, the programme recognises organisations across the UK for employee engagement, workplace culture and employee experience.
According to WorkL survey data shared by the agency, Rival achieved an overall engagement score of 88%, which the report identified as above category benchmarks.
The agency also received “Excellent” ratings across all six of WorkL’s workplace engagement categories: Reward & Recognition, Information Sharing, Empowerment, Wellbeing, Instilling Pride and Job Satisfaction.
Additional findings from the survey revealed 89% confidence in management among employees, as well as a 0% flight-risk score. Rival also earned an employee Net Promoter Score (or eNPS, which expresses the likelihood of team members to actively recommend their organisation as a good place to work) of 60, a rank well above industry averages.
At a question level, employees reported particularly strong scores around communication, management relationships and workplace culture. More than 90% of employees agreed that information is freely and openly shared, that their views are heard at work, that the organisation cares about employee wellbeing, that they feel proud to work for the organisation, that they are developing in their role, that they have a good relationship with their manager, that they enjoy their job, and that they are treated with respect.
“Our winning employers span sizes and sectors – from tiny charities and specialist law firms, to multinational fast-food chains and utility giants, and everywhere in between,” said Zoe Thomas, editor of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work. “The thread joining them is the belief that a happy workforce is a stepping stone to better performance, faster growth, and bigger profits. More than that, there’s a collective instinct that a contented rank-and-file is a worthwhile business goal in and of itself.”
“Our mission from day one has been to build a home for exceptional talent who want to challenge conventions of how marketing is done and how agencies operate. The work is an output of that, but the foundation and engine for everything we do and aspire to do is our people and culture,” said Co-Founder & CEO Eric Fulwiler. “Thank you to all the exceptional people who have contributed to this mission and give this home (and me) its purpose, meaning, and drive.”
WorkL’s founder, Lord Mark Price, noted that scores are higher than last year and show a greater focus being put on how employees feel. “All our research at WorkL clearly shows that happier workforces drive better commercial performance,” Price said.
