Katapult, the international guest experience design agency, has been recognised as one of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026. The awards, which are nationwide, honour the best employers in Britain based solely on honest, anonymous employee feedback.
Katapult has won two titles in this year’s awards. In addition to securing The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026 - Small Organisation, the firm was named the overall best workplace in the UK for LGBTQIA+ employees.
The Sunday Times Best Places to Work awards celebrate organisations that motivate, support, and empower their employees. By acknowledging excellence in areas such as culture, wellbeing, diversity, and leadership, these awards showcase the companies creating the benchmarks for workplace achievement.
Unlike traditional commercial awards decided by judging panels, the list is independently powered by the leading employee experience platform WorkL. The survey assesses employees' workplace pride, empowerment, wellbeing, job satisfaction, and leadership quality.
Putting people at the heart
Based on this input, Katapult scored an average engagement score of 94%.
Employees highly value reward and recognition, with a satisfaction rate of 94%. Information sharing is also prioritised, with a rating of 93%. Empowerment among staff stands at 92%, while wellbeing is at 96%. Similarly, instilling pride scored 96%, and job satisfaction is notable at 94%.
Speaking on the double award win, Katapult’s co-founder and CEO, Dawn Foote, says: “At Katapult, our team spends days obsessing over creating memorable experiences for millions of guests around the world. As we approach the company’s 25th birthday, this award win is recognition of always putting our people at the heart of everything we do.
“We strive everyday for a happy, healthy and creative team who continue to bring to life new experiences for clients and their guests. To have our culture validated directly by anonymous feedback from our own people is the ultimate honour.”
For Katapult's Dawn Foote, creating memorable experiences is down to having a happy, healthy and creative team Image courtesy of Katapult
Zoe Thomas, editor of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work, says:
“In an evolving world of work, Britain’s leading employers are helping staff forge careers that count today – and in the future. In turn, the Best Places to Work have the resilience to weather the current economic storms baked in, thanks to engaged workers who go above and beyond with a smile.
"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.
"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.”
Lord Mark Price, founder of WorkL, adds:
“I am delighted that more companies than ever entered this year's Best Places to Work awards and more have been given winner’s medals. The scores are higher than last year, showing a greater focus being put on how employees feel. All our research at WorkL clearly shows that happier workforces drive better commercial performance.”
This recognition for the world’s first B Corp-certified themed attraction design company marks a successful first half of the year for Katapult. Recently, it announced the opening of the new Gladiators Experience at the NEC in Birmingham, UK, and its involvement in industry-leading research on neuroinclusion.
