The packaging distributor excels by systematically listening to its workforce and translating that feedback into tangible changes, from CEO-led roundtables to broad-based profit sharing.
Across the 2026 Most Loved Workplaces® Top 100, a clear pattern emerges. The companies that earn the most love from their employees build trust through accessible leadership and systematic listening. They operationalize their culture with co-created values and dedicated manager training. These aren’t just ideals; they are observable business practices that separate the best from the rest.
Veritiv, a leading distributor of packaging and facility solutions ranked #3 in the 2026 list, provides a powerful case study in how to bring these trends to life. The company demonstrates how a commitment to listening, acting on feedback, and sharing success creates a culture where employees feel valued and aligned with the company’s vision. With an 85 overall engagement score and 90% of employees reporting confidence in their culture fit, Veritiv’s strategy is clearly working.
The Accessible, Culture-Setting CEO
One of the most impactful trends among the Top 100 is the CEO who actively models the company’s values through direct, frequent engagement. This practice makes a company’s culture feel authentic, as leadership’s actions align with its words.
How Veritiv does this
Veritiv’s CEO, Salvatore A. Abbate, personalizes this principle through his dedicated "listening tour." He met with over 600 employees in a series of small-group, live-video roundtables to understand what they liked, disliked, and wanted to see changed. This initiative went beyond a simple Q&A; it was a systematic effort to gather unfiltered feedback from every level of the organization. This open, collaborative, and approachable leadership style is further reinforced through regular site visits to Veritiv’s offices and warehouses. The result is a workforce with high confidence in its leadership, with 88% of employees expressing faith in the company’s strategy and leaders.
Systematic Employee Listening & Action
Where Top 100 companies truly differentiate themselves is not just in gathering feedback, but in transparently acting on it. They use a mix of pulse surveys, anonymous digital channels, and executive roundtables to create a "speak-up" culture where employees believe their voice leads to meaningful change.
How Veritiv does this
Veritiv has built a robust system for listening and responding. An impressive 91% of its employees completed the 2023 engagement survey, providing a clear and comprehensive view of the workforce’s sentiment. More importantly, leaders turned that feedback directly into action. Input from the CEO’s roundtables and other surveys led to the implementation of a popular "Dress for Your Day" policy. On a more significant financial level, feedback was the catalyst for extending profit-sharing eligibility to 4,700 employees. The company supplements its major annual survey with regular pulse checks and an internal Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey, ensuring that listening is a continuous process, not a once-a-year event.
Broad-Based Financial Ownership
A key differentiator for the most loved workplaces is the practice of extending financial incentives to the entire workforce, not just senior leaders. This approach gives every employee a direct financial stake in the company’s success, powerfully aligning individual effort with collective performance.
How Veritiv does this
Veritiv has made financial inclusion a cornerstone of its employee value proposition. Following its listening sessions, the company introduced a new profit-sharing plan for 4,700 employees who were not previously eligible for a bonus, ensuring that all employees benefit from the company’s success. This is backed by a generous 401(k) matching program: the company matches 100% of the first 3% of an employee’s contribution and 50% of the next 2%. The entire match is immediately vested, giving employees ownership from day one. These policies demonstrate a deep commitment to sharing rewards across the organization.
Operationalized & Co-Created Values
For the Top 100, values are not just words on a wall; they are a living guide for behavior integrated into the entire employee lifecycle. From hiring and onboarding to performance reviews and recognition, these companies ensure their values are an active part of daily work.
How Veritiv does this
Veritiv’s culture is built on its "CODE of Values": Cultivate Innovation, Own It, Deliver and Delight, and Embrace the Green. These principles are reinforced through tangible, daily operations. For example, the company uses its "BRAVO" online recognition platform to celebrate employees who exemplify the CODE, tying positive reinforcement directly to the company’s core values. This is supported by a "One Team" mindset that is promoted on Vibe, the company’s internal communications platform, and through the work of its five employee resource groups. By embedding its values into its recognition and communication systems, Veritiv ensures they are a constant, visible guide for all employees.