National construction firm is one of only 2 Louisiana companies — and the only design-build firm in the region — recognized on the 2026 list of 507 honorees nationwide
METAIRIE — RNGD, a national construction services firm headquartered in Metairie, has been named one of Inc.’s Best Workplaces for 2026 — earning the recognition for the second consecutive year.
The Inc. Best Workplaces program is one of the most competitive and credible workplace designations in the country. This year’s list recognizes 507 companies nationwide, selected based on employee survey data collected by Quantum Workplace measuring engagement across management effectiveness, team dynamics, trust in leadership, and overall employee experience. RNGD is one of only 2 Louisiana companies to earn the honor and one of just 10 honorees across Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee — where the firm maintains offices and field operations. Among those 10 regional honorees, RNGD earned the highest Benefits Score on the list.
Inc. recognized RNGD specifically “for encouraging unconventional thinking with a culture playbook, rather than an employee handbook” — a distinction that sets the firm apart not only from its regional peers, but from the construction industry at large. RNGD is the only construction and design-build company among the 10 regional honorees, in a group that otherwise consists primarily of technology, software, and marketing firms.
“This recognition belongs to our people,” said Wes Palmisano, Founder and “Floor Sweeper” of RNGD. “Inc. Best Workplaces is an employee-driven award — the data comes directly from our team. When your people tell the world this is one of the best places to work, back-to-back, that means something. It means the culture we’ve built is real.”
The recognition reflects RNGD’s sustained investment in its workforce, including its Renegade Academy professional development program, a 97% employee retention rate, and an 83 Employee Net Promoter Score. The firm has made workplace culture a strategic priority since its founding, treating it not as a benefit but as a competitive advantage in an industry where talent retention remains one of the defining challenges.
The Inc. Best Workplaces honor adds to a strong run of recognition for RNGD, which has also been named a 2026 USA TODAY Top Workplace (#63 nationally), returned to the ENR Top 400 General Contractors list at #394, and seen multiple team members honored individually — including Will Cotten as a Zweig Group Rising Star, Stephen Abadie as an ENR Texas & Southeast Top Young Professional, and Zakeia Payne as a Construction Dive Construction Champion.
About RNGD
With operations across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee, RNGD is a top-tier national leader in construction services and one of the fastest-growing businesses in the Southeast U.S. Since the company’s founding in 2013, RNGD has challenged the status quo and brought an entrepreneurial mindset to the construction industry. Repeatedly honored by Inc. magazine, Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) and Engineering News-Record (ENR), RNGD continues to innovate with renegade thinking and revolutionary results. To learn more, please visit www.rngd.com.