ASTD Announces 31 Winners in its Eighth Annual “BEST Awards”

The American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) announces that 31 organizations from India, Singapore, Turkey, and the United States are winners in the 2010 ASTD BEST Awards competition. InterContinental Hotels Group of Atlanta, Georgia holds the first place ranking.

The BEST Awards recognize organizations that demonstrate enterprise-wide success through employee learning and development. "The ASTD BEST Awards are the training industry's most rigorous and coveted recognition," said Tony Bingham, ASTD's president and CEO. "These 31 organizations excel in creating innovative learning cultures that clearly align with strategic business goals. And, they continue to demonstrate their commitment to workplace learning and development even during a challenging economic climate."

The 2010 ASTD BEST Award winners are recognized in a special section of the October issue of T+D, ASTD's monthly magazine, and were honored during a reception on September 30 in Washington, D.C. Many of the winners participated in the "Learn from the BEST" event on October 1 to share best practices during roundtable presentations and networking time.

Through an online application, the 2010 BEST Awards received entries from 104 organizations in nine countries. These organizations submitted quantitative and qualitative information to ASTD about their learning and development practices and programs. Their applications were assessed in a rigorous blind review by members of the BEST Awards advisory committee, a group of experts in the learning and development field.

More information about the 2010 ASTD BEST Award winners may be found in the October 2010 issue of T+D magazine and online: www.astd.org/best. Details about the 2011 program will be available in February 2011.

ASTD would like to thank SkillSoft, Gold Sponsor of the 2010 BEST Awards.

The 2010 ASTD BEST Award winners and rankings:

1. InterContinental Hotels Group, Atlanta, Georgia

2. Datatel, Fairfax, Virginia

3. NIIT Technologies Limited, New Delhi, India

4. University Health System, San Antonio, Texas

5. Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi, A.S., Istanbul, Turkey

6. Barilla America, Inc., Bannockburn, Illinois

7. CaridianBCT, Lakewood, Colorado

8. Farmers Group Inc., Agoura Hills, California

9. ESL Federal Credit Union, Rochester, New York

10. Wipro Technologies, Bangalore, India

11. Memorial Health System, Springfield, Illinois

12. Weichert Co., Morris Plains, New Jersey

13. IBM, Armonk, New York

14. Mike's Carwash, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

15. AnMed Health, Anderson, South Carolina

16. Ryan, Inc., Dallas, Texas

17. Genpact, Gurgaon, India

18. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, New York, New York

19. Grant Thornton LLP, Chicago, Illinois

20. Novo Nordisk Inc., Princeton, New Jersey

21. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Durham, North Carolina

22. Global Bilgi Pazarlama, Danismanlik ve Cagri Hizmetleri A.S., Istanbul, Turkey

23. Kelly Services, Troy, Michigan

24. Suzlon Energy Ltd., Pune, India

25. American Modern Insurance Group, Amelia, Ohio

26. Pierce Transit, Lakewood, Washington

27. ICICI Bank LTD., Mumbai, India

28. United Overseas Bank Limited, Singapore

29. B&W Pantex, Amarillo, Texas

30. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Mumbai, India

31. Wyndham Exchange & Rentals, Parsippany, New Jersey

In addition, eight companies on this list have been ASTD BEST Award winners for three years or more. They are: B&W Pantex, Datatel, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Grant Thornton LLP, IBM, ICICI Bank LTD., Tata Consultancy Services, Ltd., and Wipro Technologies.