2025 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award Winner

DURANT, Okla. — The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) has received the prestigious Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award (GEWA) for employee engagement, becoming the first Native American tribe to earn the distinction. The award recognizes the most engaged workplace cultures in the world.

Gallup commended CNO for its innovative approaches to engaging and developing employees and setting new benchmarks for workplace excellence, despite significant challenges in a rapidly evolving workplace.

“Congratulations to this year’s Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award winners for setting the standard for a thriving workplace. Your commitment to creating an environment where employees feel valued, heard and empowered to do their best work is truly remarkable,” said Gallup CEO, Jon Clifton. “By prioritizing both people and performance, you are shaping the future of work and proving that exceptional workplaces drive real results,” said Clifton.

CNO has also recently been recognized on the 2025 OnCon Top 10 Human Resources Teams in the World list and Forbes’ list of America’s Best Large Employers for 2025.

“I’m grateful for all that our associates do to make the Choctaw Nation an incredible place to work,” said Chief Gary Batton. “The awards and recognition we’ve received this year reflect well on our workplace and dedication to becoming the area’s employer of choice,  and they highlight the strength and culture of the entire Choctaw Nation. When our associates feel valued, heard, and empowered, it creates a positive ripple effect that benefits our teams and the tribal members, guests, and communities we work to serve every day.”

Gallup’s meta-analysis on team engagement and performance is the most comprehensive workplace study ever conducted, with data on more than 3.3 million employees in 347 organizations across 53 industries and 90 countries. Highly engaged organizations significantly outperform their peers on important business outcomes, including customer ratings, profitability, productivity, turnover, safety incidents, shrinkage, absenteeism, quality, wellbeing and organizational citizenship.

For a complete list of GEWA winners, visit the 2025 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award Winners and learn more about the awards.