Prioritize Employees to Stabilize the Workplace

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. View the entire list of 2025 BEST Award winners.

Companies often look to talent development leaders when changes to internal or external processes affect employees and disrupt workflow. Good change management processes enable smooth transitions and improve functionality; great programs prioritize workers while doing so.

A complete transformation

Engro Polymer and Chemicals Limited, Pakistan's sole manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride resin (a material used in various applications, including construction, healthcare, and packaging), has revolutionized technical TD through its Integrated Capability Model—an end-to-end framework that aligns workforce development with business objectives in safely performing hazardous operations, asset integrity, sustainability, energy and water conservation, and digital transformation.

The TD team launched the model in 2024, transforming the TD approach by integrating safety, manufacturing, and HR processes into a holistic, results-driven learning system. Furthermore, the previous technical training team, which the company restructured to align its capabilities with business needs, became the integrated capability development function, ensuring a structured and competency-driven culture that supports career road maps, skill certification programs, and upskilling initiatives.

To ensure successful implementation and long-term sustainability, EPCL adopted a structured change management approach, focusing on leadership buy-in, digital integration, and cultural transformation. That included key initiatives such as developing the Technical Competency Framework, digital learning integration, and assigning skill pool managers and craft in-charges—which are critical roles that serve as internal subject matter experts and hands-on trainers—as mentors.

Sarim Iqbal, manager of the integrated capability development function, explains that while the Integrated Capability Model defines an engineer's career trajectory, the Technical Competency Framework "outlines the technical proficiencies required at each stage—from graduate trainee engineers to managerial and leadership roles."

EPCL also launched the yearly talent development awards, recognizing excellence in mentorship, training, and competency development. The 2024 awards honored 56 employees as best trainers, mentors, and technical certification achievers, as well as the "best department for TD," which excelled in L&D key performance indicators and achieved maximum compliance in learning activities.

While the program overhaul was a significant challenge, gaining buy-in from workers paid off, as did a focus on health, safety, and environment training. Due to having unstructured programs, the total recordable injury rate rose to 3.81 in 2020 (a perfect score is zero). However, after im­plementing the new safety program, EPCL recorded 25 million safe work hours during 46 months without any lost workday injuries, reducing the total recordable injury rate to 0.10, illustrating improvements in safety and operational performance.

A colossal undertaking

North American bank BMO endeavored to create a more digitally literate workforce. It established a state-of-the-art learning and events center, BMO Academy, which includes a 500-person presentation hall with modern audiovisual equipment, lighting, and design; and classrooms with plug-and-play virtual conferencing technology, audiovisual equipment, ergonomic chairs, and natural light.

The project's governance structure included a project team leading six workstreams to wind down operations of the previous facility, choose a hospitality partner to run the new space, design the learner experience and cost model, and manage the complex project and change plans. Separately, an executive steering committee offered input, alignment, and sponsorship.

Opening the center "was a strategic business decision in response to changes over time in the learning industry and the needs of our business," says Larissa Chaikowsky, chief learning officer and head of talent and culture enablement.

The project entailed implementing more than 100 change tactics in a three-month period, and the change plan addressed 14 stakeholder groups. To ensure the best transition for employees, L&D designed and executed various strategies from celebration events and guided tours to "Ask Me Anything" stakeholder sessions and job aids to videos and news items on the company's intranet.

Due to increased virtual and digital learning options for team members, the new center had to cater to both in-person and hybrid events, especially for a large organization with geographically dispersed employees like BMO. L&D seamlessly integrated Microsoft Teams into every space in the center to ensure maximum collaboration and consistency.

In total, the project was four years in the making before BMO Academy officially opened its doors in June 2024.

A brand-new system

Paylocity's change management practices highlight employee engagement, upskilling, leadership development, and role-based training for clients and employees. The payroll and human capital management software company also implemented a new performance success system, featuring a streamlined, three-scale performance rating (reduced from four) and midyear conversations; and educated people leaders on the Paylocity Holding Corporation pay-for-performance compensation philosophy.

Paylocity shifted to a three-scale performance review system because employee and leader feedback showed it became challenging to differentiate between the top two levels in the previous system. Leadership also gained training and enablement tools to conduct compensation conversations in response to changes in stock-based compensation.

To ease the transition to the new system, the talent management team's communication plan included conducting 100 live sessions, meeting with functional groups to train and prepare them for compensation discussions, and ensuring they felt confident approaching critical conversations. On average, eight to 12 people attended each optional session.

The performance management changes supported the company's strategic goals with a new focus on financial metrics in the latest stage of growth: Chapter 4.

Chapter 4 of Paylocity's journey evolved the strategic focus from exclusively top-line revenue and product innovation to increasing profitability in tandem with adding new revenue streams and acquisitions. For people leaders, that meant learning how day-to-day decisions affect profitability, how to optimize resources, and how to lead their teams through change. Paylocity developed a company-wide Chapter 4 communication and change plan and held executive forums to inform stakeholders.

"People leaders and team members indicated they appreciate the transparency of the executive team on the changes needed to be successful in Chapter 4 of our growth story," explains Colleen Donahue-Bean, vice president of talent management. "We believe the enablement work to communicate our Chapter 4 growth story positively impacted our strong employee engagement scores."

View the entire list of 2025 BEST Award winners.