Chief Learning Officer Unveils Top Companies For Workforce Development

Chief Learning Officer magazine recognized 45 organizations as learning and development leaders Sunday night at the 2012 LearningElite Gala at Loews Miami Beach Hotel. Six organizations were also singled out for their achievement with Editor’s Choice Awards.

Before the LearningElite were honored, Stacey Boyle, vice president of research and advisory services of the magazine’s Human Capital Media Advisory Group, opened with a presentation comparing the LearningElite program to the motion picture “Moneyball.” “Whether you’re building a baseball team or a business team, recruiting and training is a key,” Boyle said. “Even if a competitor has more resources, a business can keep everyone on their toes by looking at their team analytically and working with what they have. By doing this, your organization’s L&D program will work, and then you have a win.”

New to the LearningElite program this year were the capstone evaluations that the top six companies had to complete. General Mills, AT&T, Defense Acquisition University, Accenture, McDonald’s Corp. and UPS brought their L&D strategy to the table, completing a presentation and an executive interview with the capstone evaluation judging panel.

“In the spirit of continuous improvement, this year we decided that we wanted to increase the rigor, specifically at the top, so those that are really the elite of the elite,” Boyle said. “We wanted to verify that we had the best at the top and that they’re really in the right order. This capstone evaluation allowed us to take a closer look; to pull up the magnifying glass and increase the power of the telescope. It gave us more confidence that we have the right organizations and the right ranking in the top six.”

General Mills walked away with top honors, ranking first and earning the Editor’s Choice for Learning Impact after finishing sixth in last year’s LearningElite.

“The LearningElite judging team identified these six organizations as role models in their L&D programs; we were impressed with them and wanted to see more before finalizing the ranking,” Boyle said. “All six companies proved they deserved to be in LearningElite’s top ranks, and General Mills showed exactly how their programs affected their employees and their productivity.”