At ATD23, both companies and individuals received awards for their commitment to workplace talent development practices.

During its 2023 International Conference & Exposition in San Diego, California, the Association for Talent Development recognized organizations and individuals for their excellence and contributions across the talent development field.

Of the 72 BEST Award winners, seven earned Best of the BEST recognition, meaning they have won a BEST Award 10 or more times. In addition, 28 companies are first-time winners.

Although ATD announced the companies in contention earlier in the year, the ranking remains a mystery until the annual conference. Here are the top 10:

1. BMO Financial Group, Toronto, Canada

2. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

3. Paylocity, Schaumburg, Illinois

4. Florida Blue – GuideWell, Jacksonville, Florida

5. Navy Federal Credit Union, Vienna, Virginia

6. Reliance Retail Limited, Mumbai, India

7. Union Pacific Railroad, Omaha, Nebraska

8. EPAM Systems, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

9. Peach State Truck Centers, Norcross, Georgia

10. Novartis, Basel, Switzerland

The awards ceremony also honored recipients of the Advancing Talent Development Awards:

• One to Watch Award: Christian Furler O’Brien, BMS

• Dissertation Award: Yao Huang, Florida State University

• Talent Development Outstanding Professional Award: Hadiya Nuriddin, Duets Learning

• Talent Development Champion Award: Erica Dhawan, author of Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance

• Talent Development Thought Leader Award: Kevin Oakes, The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp)

• Innovation Award: Turkcell

• TD for Good Award: LeapFrog Investments

• ATD Certification Institute Champion Award: Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC)

In addition, ATD recognized the 2023 Excellence in Practice (EIP) Award winners for results achieved using practices and solutions from across the scope of talent development. The association presented awards to 34 companies for a total of 42 winning practices.

The practice categories are career development, change management, coaching and mentoring, customer service training, diversity and inclusion, integrated talent management, leadership/management development, learning and development, learning technologies, managing the learning function, onboarding, performance improvement/performance consulting, and sales enablement.

To read about the companies and awardees in full, see the official BEST Award ranking, and gain insights into how you might implement their award-winning practices, read the special edition of TD magazine, publishing in June.