GPWSL announces winners of the Category Awards for Sri Lanka’s Best Workplaces 2026

Great Place To Work Sri Lanka has announced the winners of the Category Awards at the Best Workplaces Gala Awards Ceremony 2026, celebrating organisations that set the benchmark for high-trust, high-performance cultures across Sri Lanka. 

The Category Awards are based on the Great Place To Work For All Model, which encourages an environment where every employee, regardless of role, experiences a consistently positive workplace. Winners were selected from the 50 Best Workplaces in Sri Lanka 2026 and celebrated across five award clusters.

Excellence in People Initiatives - Recognising organisations for effectiveness in people practices for building and sustaining a high-trust workplace culture. Winners were evaluated on detailed submissions of Culture Audit people practices (accounting for two-thirds of the score) and aligned Trust Index employee experience scores (one-third of the score).

This year, two of the five elements of the Great Place To Work For All framework were recognised:

• AmSafe Bridport Ltd., received the award for Excellence in Living the Values, which recognises organisations that embed their values into everyday practices, leadership behaviours, and decision-making, creating a strong and distinctive workplace culture.
• Altrium Ltd., received the award for Excellence in Encouraging Opportunities for Innovation, which recognises organisations that empower employees to share ideas, promote innovation through people practices, and translate employee contributions into meaningful business improvements.

Cube Award for Bold Acts of Leadership: Celebrating visionary leaders who drive long-term sustainability and create meaningful community impact while building profitable businesses. Initiatives were assessed on scope, resources invested, measurable results, and stakeholder engagement. AIA Insurance Lanka Ltd., received this prestigious award in 2026.

Category Awards by Organisational Size and Classification: These awards recognise and rank the top-performing workplaces across four employee-strength categories: Micro (20 to 100 employees), Small (101 to 250 employees), Medium (251 to 500 employees), and Large (over 500 employees), with Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners recognised in each category, acknowledging the increasing complexity of maintaining an inclusive and thriving workplace culture as organisations grow.

In total, 20 micro and small organisations and 30 medium and large organisations were recognised.

Additionally, two awards were presented based on organisational classification. In 2026:

• Hilton was recognised as Best MNC.
• Hayleys Plantation was recognised as Best PLC.

Category Awards by Industry; This category recognises the highest-performing organisation within each selected industry. In 2026, 12 organisations were recognised under this category: Hayleys Plantations (Agriculture), DIMO PLC (Diversified), AIA Insurance Lanka Ltd., (Financial Services and Insurance), Hilton (Hospitality - Hotels and Resorts), Altrium Ltd., (Information Technology), Dijital Team (Information Technology Enabled Services), Advantis Express Ltd., (Logistics and Transportation), Amsafe Bridport Ltd., (Manufacturing and Production - Apparel and Textile Sector), AB Mauri Lanka Ltd., (Manufacturing and Production - Food and Beverage Sector), Diamond Cutters Ltd., (Manufacturing and Production - General), Oxford College of Business Ltd., (Professional Services), and Ideal Motors Ltd., (Trading).

Legends Status: Legends Status honours organisations that have demonstrated a sustained commitment to employee engagement and effective people management by earning a place on the Best Workplaces List for five or ten consecutive years.

AmSafe Bridport Ltd., earned a place in the 5-Year Legends Hall of Fame. Honourable mentions went to Advantis Express Ltd., (11 years), Oxford College of Business Ltd., (13 years), AIA Insurance Lanka Ltd., (14 years) and DIMO PLC (14 years) for their achievement of consecutive appearances on the Best Workplaces List as 10+ Year Legends.

The deadline for entries is 30 January 2027.