Emplify has been nominated for the 2026 World AI Awards in the Culture Building category, recognising its contribution to employee engagement technology and the use of workplace data to help organisations understand and improve their internal culture.
The nomination highlights a challenge many businesses know well. Companies regularly ask employees how they feel about work, but collecting feedback is only half the job. Understanding what needs to change, and getting managers to act on it, is considerably harder.
The World AI Awards recognises organisations, individuals, products and technologies contributing to the development and practical application of artificial intelligence across industries.
Emplify’s technology now forms part of 15Five, which acquired the employee engagement software company for $50 million in 2021. The combined platform connects employee feedback, performance management, manager development and AI-powered analytics.
Turning employee feedback into meaningful workplace insights
Emplify built its reputation around helping employers measure employee engagement and understand the factors influencing workplace satisfaction.
Following the acquisition, its engagement measurement capabilities became part of 15Five’s broader employee performance platform.
Today, 15Five’s Engage product uses research-based surveys to examine employee motivation, organisational commitment, leadership effectiveness and workplace relationships.
Its comprehensive engagement survey includes 58 statements covering engagement and its underlying drivers, alongside questions measuring manager effectiveness and employee loyalty.
The goal is to identify more than whether employees feel satisfied. Businesses can examine where communication breaks down, whether workers receive meaningful feedback and which management practices may be affecting team morale.
AI identifies what matters most to employees
One of the more interesting developments is 15Five’s use of machine learning to interpret engagement survey results.
Its Predictive Impact Model analyses employee responses to identify which workplace factors have the strongest relationship with engagement.
Instead of presenting managers with a long collection of survey scores, the system highlights areas where targeted improvements could make the greatest difference.
15Five has also introduced Spark AI, an assistant designed to help HR professionals and managers interpret workplace information.
The company says Spark AI can synthesise thousands of written survey comments, identify recurring themes and suggest practical next steps. It also supports performance reviews and manager preparation for one-on-one meetings.
These tools are designed to assist decision-making rather than independently determine how employees should be managed.
Building stronger managers through workplace data
Culture often depends on everyday management decisions. Employees notice whether their supervisors communicate clearly, recognise good work and provide opportunities for professional development.
15Five addresses those behaviours through its Manager Effectiveness Indicator, which evaluates leadership across eight competencies.
These include goal-setting, productivity, feedback, career development and team building.
The company says its research into manager effectiveness drew on experience involving more than 60,000 managers, alongside academic literature, interviews and surveys.
Organisations can use employee feedback and manager assessments to identify leadership strengths and development needs.
That connection between employee sentiment and management behaviour is particularly relevant to culture building. It gives HR teams a way to move beyond general engagement scores and focus on specific workplace practices.
Why Emplify’s work matters for workplace culture
Artificial intelligence cannot create trust between employees and managers. It cannot replace genuine conversations or repair workplace problems simply by analysing survey responses.
What it can do is make large volumes of employee feedback easier to interpret.
Through 15Five, Emplify’s engagement measurement foundations now support a broader approach that combines surveys, machine learning, manager coaching and performance management.
The opportunity lies in helping organisations recognise emerging workplace concerns earlier and respond with more informed decisions.
Graham Cooke, President of the World AI Awards, said:
“Emplify’s nomination in Culture Building highlights an important opportunity for artificial intelligence in the workplace: helping organisations better understand their employees and turn feedback into meaningful improvements rather than simply collecting more data.
“From measuring employee engagement to identifying workplace concerns and supporting more effective management, Emplify’s contribution to the 15Five platform shows how AI and people analytics can help businesses build stronger working environments. We congratulate Emplify on its 2026 World AI Awards nomination and look forward to following how these capabilities continue to develop.”
Emplify joins organisations, researchers, entrepreneurs and technology developers being recognised through the 2026 World AI Awards.
The programme celebrates contributions to artificial intelligence across industries, including technologies that help organisations improve internal operations, employee experiences and leadership practices.
Emplify’s nomination in Culture Building reflects the growing role of AI in understanding workplace relationships. While its original technology focused on employee engagement measurement, its integration into 15Five has connected those capabilities with AI-assisted analysis and management development.
For businesses, the challenge remains turning information into action. Better surveys and predictive tools can help identify where attention is needed, but lasting cultural improvements still depend on the decisions organisations make afterward.
Learn more about Emplify’s employee engagement technology and its integration into 15Five at https://www.15five.com/.
Discover the World AI Awards 2026, explore the nominees and learn more about the awards at https://www.worldawards.ai/.
