Meet This Year's BEST

ATD Blog

Meet This Year's BEST

Tue Oct 25 2016

This year's BEST Award winners are changing the way learning and development is done. What you will see when you read the articles in this section is that being the BEST in talent development is not about creating better training—it's about changing behaviors, improving a company's culture, and moving from training to talent development.

The BEST Awards recognize organizations that demonstrate enterprise-wide success as a result of employee talent development. The winners use learning as a strategic business tool to get results.

"There is huge support for development from our CEO and senior leadership throughout the organization," says Cathy Hendrian, vice president of human resources at Consumers Energy. "As we look at our workforce needs over the next five to 10 years, it is clear that a talent strategy focused on enabling the workforce through development is critical."

The key to success for all winners is investing in their most important asset: their people. For many, that means staying ahead of the technology curve, developing future leaders, onboarding new employees, and revamping employee performance programs.

"Our people are some of the smartest and most highly educated individuals in the world," boasts Cheryl DeMatteis, the Aerospace Corporation Institute's assistant general manager. According to DeMatteis, it's critical that a newly hired engineer with expertise in, say, propulsion, fully understand how her expertise fits into the total picture of satellites and technology.

The following section includes articles about the best organizations in talent development. The companies highlighted understand the value of human capital and the role it plays in their success. Read on to examine how your department compares to these award winners.