Bersin & Associates - Learning Leaders Program

The award categories for the Learning Leaders Program encompass all aspects of learning excellence. We have broadened the award categories to include other talent management activities related to learning, such as performance management, leadership development and competency management initiatives and solutions.

You don't have to be a big company with a big budget to be selected as a leader. Each category (with the exception of Vendor Innovation) has three segments – global enterprise (10,000+ worldwide employees), enterprise (10,000+ employees nation-wide), and mid-market (fewer than 10,000). Applicants will be evaluated along with peers in the same segment.

Calling all vendors! The Vendor Innovation in Learning and Talent Management category encompasses learning tools, platforms and content, as well as informal learning solutions such as social networking systems, portals and learning on demand content. In addition, we're looking for tools and solutions that support an integrated talent management strategy.

Leadership Development Strategy Excellence

This category focuses on an organization's overall approach to leadership development. Effective leadership development enables companies to react quickly to change and endure difficult times. The best leadership development strategies have processes in place for maintaining strong executive engagement, defining efforts against leadership competencies tailored to the organization, aligning efforts to business strategy, targeting efforts to leaders at all levels, and integrating leadership development efforts with other talent management processes such as performance management, succession management and career development. Past winners include: Textron, for its leadership program in which participants applied core marketing processes, tools and principles to the product lifecycle to solve real company business challenges; and the United States Air Force, for its competency based development program for officers using distance learning, virtual exercises, custom simulations, automated assessments and mentoring.

NOTE: If you would like to submit a specific program or initiative for review related to leadership development, please do so in the Learning, Leadership, and Talent Initiatives Excellence category.

Download application here.

Learning, Leadership, and Talent Initiative Excellence

In these categories, we look at learning, leadership, and talent initiatives that go beyond operational training programs. These include change management, learning measurement, competency management, career development, performance management, coaching and other non-traditional learning solutions. Learning, Leadership, and Talent Initiative Excellence categories include:

Informal Learning Informal learning recognizes organizations that make the best use of many informal channels and tools now available to organizations to best support the natural flow of organizational knowledge. These include on-demand e-Learning, search, videos, podcasts, books; social channels that include wikis, blogs, social networks as well as coaching and mentoring; and embedded learning vehicles including electronic performance support, rotational assignments, quality circles and development planning. Download application here.
Leadership Development Programs This category focuses on programs and initiatives that provide learning and growth opportunities to build the necessary bench strength to enable the company to maintain and build a competitive market position. These may integrate other talent management initiatives, such as performance management and succession planning, to ensure alignment and impact of the program across the enterprise. Download application here.
Learning and Talent Technology This category encompasses the many ways in which technology is being used to make learning more efficient, relevant and accessible and where technology is instrumental in delivering high-value business solutions. For example, we're looking for cases where technology empowers employees to manage their own training or collaborate with each other for rapid problem solving, or where organizations have created learning portals that integrate the variety of functions needed to support the modern training organization. Download application here.
Operational Training and Development This category focuses on learning programs for the development of workforce skills in a specific area such as sales, customer service, IT or operations. We're looking for programs with a well-defined business driver, such as increased compliance, reduced attrition, or improved customer satisfaction. Programs may be instructor-led, e-learning based, or any combination of media and delivery ranging from coaching, simulation, collaboration, podcasting, or other techniques. Download application here.

Learning Organization and Governance Excellence

This category focuses on adopting the most effective and efficient structures, roles, processes, and technologies to deliver high-impact learning services and programs that enhance or improve performance. We're looking for learning organizations that effectively allocate resources, deliver learning to meet the most urgent business needs, partner with lines of business, measure and report on training, and share best practices across the enterprise. Past winners include: BJC HealthCare, for its Center for LifeLong Learning, which aligns learning efforts with key business initiatives to reduce hospital risk, save budgetary dollars, and increase hiring and development opportunities for its 26,000 employees; and Nationwide Insurance, for its strong organizational structure, governance models, and supporting process improvements, all focused on creating a single approach to managing talent needs from recruiting to development to rewards.

Download application here.

Vendor Innovation in Learning and Talent Management

This category is for solution providers offering new and different ways to improve learning and talent management. It encompasses learning platforms, content, tools, and business solutions. It also includes informal learning solutions that encompass social networking systems, content repositories, portals, collaborative games and learning on demand content. We're also looking for talent management solutions integrated with learning, such as succession management in which leadership development is a key component. Past winners include: Altus, for Altus vSearch, an on-demand learning environment that combines an internal YouTube-like channel with strong search capabilities; and Saba, for Saba Live, an integrated enterprise business networking platform that integrates Web 2.0 social tools with Saba Centra Web Conferencing for real-time collaboration and includes rich personal profiles, competency-driven expertise, Twitter-like feedback, social learning, secure groups and workplace analytics.

These must be products and services already on the market that have delivered business impact for customers. Note: this is the only category in which we will name vendors as Learning Leaders winners. (Vendors may still apply in other categories on behalf of customers.)

Download application here.

Award Categories