New North: Goodwill NCW wins 2026 New North Workplace Excellence Award

NEW NORTH, June 9, 2026 – Goodwill North Central Wisconsin (NCW), a regional nonprofit providing employment and financial wellness services funded by retail of donated items, has been named as the winner of the 2026 New North Workplace Excellence Award. It was selected through a multi-phase evaluation process that is independent from the New North organization.

Representatives from Goodwill NCW were presented the award at the New North Summit, held at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

The honor recognizes organizations in the region that are improving their competitive advantage through people practices which lead to successful business outcomes. Award submissions are evaluated on nine criteria, with the primary two being forward-thinking people practices and sustainable impacts to the business and culture. The Workplace Excellence Award is a collaboration between New North Inc. and Keystone Partners.

“Goodwill North Central Wisconsin has set itself apart in the community through its integrated, whole-person approach to workforce support, extending beyond traditional benefits and H.R. practices,” says Patti Habeck, president and CEO of New North Inc. “It recognizes that work stability depends on life stability, and provides layered financial and personal support to ensure that occurs. Goodwill NCW exemplifies the qualities ingrained within the New North Workplace Excellence Award criteria. We congratulate them.”

Goodwill NCW is a nonprofit organization dedicated to “Elevating People by Eliminating Barriers to Employment” across 35 counties. It operates 27-plus retail stores and donation centers, funding job-skills training, vocational services and community programs through the sale of donated goods.

Amid persistent workforce turnover issues across the retail industry, Goodwill NCW faced significant retention challenges in 2021; its overall turnover rate reached 85 percent, while retail store turnover climbed to 91 percent. The high level of attrition not only was unsustainable, it was disruptive to Goodwill NCW’s culture, operations and continuity of the mission-driven work at its core. Choosing not to accept this circumstance as the product of a challenging labor market, it was positioned as an opportunity to examine the team member experience from end to end and to redesign the nonprofit’s people practices with intention and care.

Goodwill NCW first acknowledged the root causes of its employee turnover through team member focus groups and stay interviews, together with a deep dive into onboarding and exit surveys. Contributing factors identified by the organization included inconsistent onboarding practices, varying levels of leader capability and preparedness, pay-range alignment concerns, benefit offerings that were no longer competitive or well-understood, and a lack of structured pathways for ongoing development and career growth.

To address the defined issues causing a high rate of attrition, Goodwill NCW took multiple steps. Among these was a redesign of its onboarding process to ensure that each new team member was welcomed, trained and supported in a consistent, meaningful way. Turnover additionally was tracked consistently to identify trends and root causes; the findings were used to design targeted, evidence-based improvements in people practices.

The organization also focused on strengthening leadership skills by expanding training opportunities, introducing coaching and mentorship models, and created clearer expectations for leadership effectiveness. Its leadership development program has consistently achieved a 100 percent satisfaction rating, along with an 87 percent job retention among participants.

Compensation and benefits additionally were a point of emphasis. After a comprehensive review, Goodwill NCW implemented adjustments to align pay ranges more closely with market data, along with introducing greater pay transparency and improved communication around compensation philosophy. Employee benefits packages also were examined to address affordability, relevance and accessibility.

An organizational culture of continuous development – an environment where growth is expected, supported and embedded into everyday work – was fostered as well.

The cumulative impact of Goodwill NCW’s strategic, people-centered investments was both significant and measurable. Between 2021 and 2025, organizational turnover decreased from 85 percent to 51 percent, while retail turnover showed a similar decrease, to 60.5 percent. Equally important, Goodwill NCW witnessed the emergence of a stronger, healthier workplace culture where team members feel supported, valued and connected to the mission; this was reflected in an engagement survey where 82 percent of team members said they felt engaged.

“This recognition belongs to our team members. At Goodwill NCW, our mission of Elevating People by Eliminating Barriers to Employment doesn’t stop at the people we serve through our programs; it begins with the team members who walk through our doors every day,” says Anna Wilcox, chief administrative officer of Goodwill North Central Wisconsin. “Care for People is one of our core values and it shapes every decision we make about how we onboard, develop, support and grow our workforce. This award affirms what we’ve long believed: people are our mission.”

Many of the changes implemented by Goodwill NCW were forward-focused, combining rigorous strategic planning with proactive trend analysis to anticipate future workforce needs. For instance, recognizing the growing importance of mental health, programs to support team member well-being and resilience were implemented; 58 team members have been certified in Mental Health First Aid over the past two-and-a-half years.

Inclusivity also has been a focus of the organization. It implemented Boost Lingo interpretation services, hired a multilingual case manager and developed English Language Learning modules for Swahili-speaking team members. Company materials, including its employee handbook, job descriptions and training materials, were modified with inclusive language to support equitable hiring and onboarding.

Among the public-facing initiatives of Goodwill NCW is Career EXCELerate Wisconsin, a program for the community launched in 2022 to provide training to those with barriers to employment, offering a variety of career pathways along with wrap-around personalized care to ensure successful completion and employment upon graduation.

Organizations located within the New North region were qualified for the award. Companies did not need to be headquartered in New North for eligibility, but were required to have a division or location within the region.

Recent winners of the New North Workplace Excellence Award include Capital Credit Union (2025); Schreiber Foods (2024); Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry and CLA (2023); J. F. Ahern Co. (2022); Wipfli (2020-21); Integrity Insurance (2019); Schneider (2018); American Transmission Company, Expera Specialty Solutions and Werner Electric (2017); Foth (2016); Oshkosh Corp. (2015); and U.S. Venture, Inc. (2014). Goodwill NCW also won the award in 2009.