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BUHLER, Kan. — Kansas-based internet provider IdeaTek is proving that its most valuable infrastructure isn’t buried underground.
This week, Inc. Magazine named IdeaTek to its prestigious Best Workplaces for 2026 list, ranking the company among the top medium-sized businesses in the nation.
The recognition stems from an independent, anonymous survey of IdeaTek’s workforce administered by Quantum Workplace. Out of a maximum score of 100, IdeaTek earned a 90.42. The survey showed 88% of employees are classified as “highly engaged”—meaning they routinely go above and beyond, advocate for the company, and see their long-term futures here.
When employees were asked to describe the culture in just one word, the overwhelming consensus was clear: Flexible.
A Culture Built
While major tech and telecom companies have spent the last few years enforcing return-to-office mandates, IdeaTek’s hybrid and flexible model allows its team to show up fully both at work and at home. That trust pays off in team loyalty and passion.
“I’ve been here 18 years and don’t want to go anywhere else,” one long-time employee noted in the survey. “The owners are fantastic, and they really care about their employees as people — they don’t make you feel like you’re just a number.”
That sentiment is shared by industry veterans who left the traditional corporate grind behind for IdeaTek’s mission-driven approach.
“Coming to IdeaTek a year and a half ago has been the breath of fresh air I didn’t even know I needed,” wrote a former Fortune 100 leader now on the IdeaTek team. “The company empowers me to make decisions, take calculated risks and always puts the customer and its employees above everything.”
Mission-Driven Growth
For IdeaTek’s leadership, the Inc. recognition is validation of a long-held belief: happy teams build better communities.
That belief shows up in how IdeaTek hires, trains and develops its teams—grounded in its core culture traits of trust, belief, big thinking, connectedness, innovation and a resilient spirit. IdeaTek continually reinforces and builds upon these traits throughout the year.
“Our culture isn’t something we manufactured in a boardroom — it’s something our people built day by day,” said Megan Shearer, Vice President of Talent and Culture. “We believe that when people feel trusted, valued and connected to something bigger than a job description, they do their best work. This recognition reflects that. It also challenges us to keep earning it every day.”
“IdeaTek was founded on the mission to bridge the digital divide for underserved Kansans. You can’t achieve a bold mission like that without a team that truly believes in the cause and feels supported to execute it,” said Jerrod Reimer, IdeaTek’s CEO.
Today, IdeaTek has more than 240 employees across Kansas and continues to expand. As the company expands its fiber network to hubs like Wichita, Emporia and Topeka in 2026, employees remain driven by a shared mission of Internet Freedom—bringing fast and reliable internet to all Kansans.
About the Inc. Best Workplaces Program
Inc.’s Best Workplaces program honors American companies that have created exceptional workplaces and company cultures. This year’s list was compiled from a comprehensive assessment of organizations through research-validated employee surveys measuring topics such as management effectiveness, perks, fostering employee growth and overall company culture.