Remote work was supposed to erode company culture. The argument was familiar in the early 2020s: camaraderie needs corridors and loyalty needs a common roof. Risepoint employees, scattered across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia, might have a counterargument.
The education technology company, which partners with more than 100 universities and colleges on online degree programs, won four Comparably Best Places to Work 2026 awards: Best Career Development, Best Leadership Teams, Best Sales Teams, and Best Product and Design Teams. Comparably’s rewards comes entirely from anonymous employee feedback collected over 12 months, in categories that assess leadership, career development, compensation, work environment and team effectiveness.
A workforce that uses what it buildsRisepoint employs more than 1,400 people, and the makeup of that workforce reads like that of the student bodies of the universities it serves. Of this group, 9 in 10 have a college degree and 4 in 10 were the first in their family to attend college. About half worked in education before joining it, and 43% spent a decade or more in higher education.
Perhaps the most telling number is this: 15% of employees have enrolled in the degree programs that Risepoint supports. A significant portion of the workforce sat on the student side of the experience, fitting classes around a full work week, as most students in these programs do. The company encourages overlap: It reimburses tuition for employees who enroll in Risepoint-supported programs.
Chesley Fernandes, a team member who earned a master’s degree in education. in Educational Leadership, described what this looks like in practice. “I graduated from the same university I attend today and I can relate to the students I work with every day,” she said. “Through this connection, I can reassure them, through my own experiences, that they are not alone and that they can succeed in their program.” »
Career growth, measured from withinOf the four awards, Best Career Development may be the hardest for a remote company to win. Advances in distributed organizations can favor those who are most visible. Building career paths without corridors in which to be seen requires deliberate structure: defined development programs and leaders trained to develop people they rarely meet in person. Comparably gives this award to employers whose employees rate their ability to grow, learn and develop professionally as strong, and Ascent point employees place the company in this group.
“These awards are particularly meaningful because they come directly from employee feedback,” said Fernando Bleichmar, CEO of the company. “Our people are at the center of everything we do. We are committed to fostering a culture where employees feel supported in their growth, empowered to make an impact, and connected to a shared mission.”
Confidence that travelsThe award for the best leadership teams depends on how much trust employees have in the leadership team and the direction it has set for the organization. This type of trust is built differently over video calls than over lunch, and it tends to be more fragile. This award adds to Comparably’s previous honors for Best CEO, Best Company Culture, and Best Work-Life Balance, a trend that indicates something more robust than a good survey cycle.
Employee accounts echo rating data. “The work culture is incredible at Risepoint,” said Jazzie Santos-Rogers, senior manager on the Growth Marketing team. “Not only do you have great colleagues to work with on a daily basis, but management is competent and supportive at all levels. »
The two remaining awards, Best Sales Teams and Best Product and Design Teams, recognize the departments that anchor opposite ends of the business: the people who establish academic partnerships and those who build the tools on which those partnerships operate.
The mission belowRisepoint focuses on regional universities, institutions that serve their surrounding communities and train a large part of the local workforce. Its partner institutions span 40 states and five countries, and the programs it supports focus on areas where demand remains strong: health, education, business and public service. Most students in these programs are working adults.
This orientation shapes the culture being assessed. Employees with educational backgrounds, who were the first in their families to complete college or who earned degrees through the programs they now support, have experienced the mission from both sides. When these employees present their employer with four cultural awards in a single year, the verdict is credible that no head office could deliver.
