Category #1: Alignment

Download Alignment Application

For a business to consider its corporate learning function strategic, the corporate learning function must understand how the organization seeks to (1) differentiate itself from competitors, (2) address threats and opportunities in the market place, and (3) evolve and innovate products, services, and capabilities to meet expectations of customers, investors, and society. In other words, alignment measures how well the corporate learning function designs and executes efforts that produce the desired outcomes in the organization’s strategy.

To address this category successfully, applicants are encouraged to

• Indicate specifically how programs and efforts produced results that met the business’s need;
• Demonstrate how corporate learning programs drive the organization’s business strategies, whether playing a role in developing a common culture or creating change to address opportunities or threats;
• Identify the involvement of senior leaders and managers in the decision-making process for learning; and
• Reveal how learning contributes to the capability planning process and other talent management initiatives

Besides an overall evaluation of the award entry on its own merit, judges will also evaluate applications based on their merit in the following six criteria:

1. This award entry reveals the structure, systems, and practices that were used to ensure that learning efforts directly supported the strategic needs of the company (e.g. learning organization structure, governing boards, advisory boards, access to strategic planning processes)
2. This award entry reveals the senior learning leader’s – or Chief Learning Officer’s – role in directing the corporate learning unit’s strategy to achieve business objectives (e.g., through deep knowledge of organization workforce capabilities and understanding of requirements to build new capabilities)
3. This award entry reveals the systems and practices that were used to identify and prioritize internal clients’ learning and performance needs (e.g. client relationship management, performance consulting, needs assessments, access to development plans, analyzing risk and return on the organization’s total investment in learning through a portfolio approach)
4. The award entry reveals how much senior management was involved in the learning process (e.g., as instructor, subject matter expert, advocate for learning, etc.)
5. The award entry reveals the metrics chosen to assess the degree to which the learning function drove strategic change throughout the organization
6. The award entry reveals how effectively the learning practice addressed the organization’s competitive gaps in light of its market/industry needs

Category #2: Alliances

Download Alliances Application 

Applicants must demonstrate how the corporate learning unit has created innovative alliances with external providers – colleges and universities, outsourcing service providers, learning consortiums, trade associations, e-learning vendors, training vendors, and subject matter experts – to support or manage elements of education and training programs. Applications must describe how these alliances solved a critical business challenge and enhanced the corporate learning unit's contribution to the organization as a whole. Alliances may be strategic or tactical relationships, i.e. a component of the learning function may be outsourced such as training administration (tactical) vs. an alliance established with a university to provide core elements of a leadership development program that has been customized to your organizations needs (strategic). Applications must explain the corporate learning unit's practices for managing these alliances and driving their value over time and the metrics that are used to measure the success of the alliance.

Besides an overall evaluation of the award entry on its own merit, judges will also evaluate applications based on their merit in the following six criteria:

1. This award entry reveals the business challenge your organization faced that caused you to explore the alliance
2. This award entry reveals the processes or systems for choosing which learning products or services to outsource and the breadth of services provided by external providers
3. This award entry reveals the criteria and processes (e.g. requests for proposals) used to identify and select partners
4. This award entry describes the resources provided by the external partner to develop the solution and the nature and structure of oversight, coordination and project management activities to achieve the solution, as well as the level of customization required
5. This award entry demonstrates how the alliance helped advance corporate learning strategy (e.g. provide specific courseware, reduce costs, speed delivery and retention rate of content, and/or create a learning culture within the organization)
6. This award entry describes the metrics used to determine the success of the alliance

Category #3: Branding

Download Branding Application

Applicants must describe the efforts that inform stakeholders about the work of the learning organization, including setting expectations (Brand Promise), developing innovative marketing strategies (Brand Marketing), and matching the learning experience to those expectations (Brand Experience). Applicants must also demonstrate how branding and marketing efforts have attracted clients to the corporate learning unit and raised its profile and ability to tackle business challenges in the organization over a sustained period of time.

Besides an overall evaluation of the award entry on its own merit, judges will also evaluate applications based on their merit in the following seven criteria:

1. This award entry reveals how the learning organization established a clear statement (or promise) to the company in the form of a mission and vision and the communication of those elements to employees, stakeholders, suppliers, and customers, as well as prospective employees and investors
2. This award entry reveals the processes used to plan and develop marketing communications about the learning organization and the strategy to deliver appropriate messages to stakeholders
3. This award entry reveals how the learning organization developed its unique brand identity (e.g. slogans, icons, merchandise, newsletter, mascots)
4. This award entry reveals the multiple platforms and media that were used to communicate the learning organization’s brand, offerings, and results
5. This award entry reveals the extent of the involvement of managers and senior leaders in promoting the learning organization (presentations, active participation in learning events, etc.)
6. This award entry reveals the metrics the learning organization selected in order to assess the how well it created learning experiences that deliver on the brand promise of the learning organization
7. This award entry reveals the process for ensuring that the learning brand promise, brand marketing and brand experience by stakeholders are consistent.

Category #4: Launching

Download Launching Application

The Launching award category is for applicants that have recently designed, developed, and launched a major new component of their corporate learning strategy in 2011 or before. The initiative must be significant in that it transforms how your work force or organization learns.  Examples include: a new corporate university with a formal governance structure, a new leadership academy to provide programs to the total pipeline of organization leaders, a new social learning initiative that will extend formal learning through communities and collaboration capabilities.

Besides an overall evaluation of the award entry on its own merit, judges will also evaluate applications based on their merit in the following seven criteria:

1. This award entry reveals the business conditions or drivers that prompted the decision to build a corporate university or new learning initiative
2. This award entry reveals the systems, practices and organization structure that were designed and implemented to support the new learning initiative
3. This award entry reveals how the new initiative addressed business needs within the enterprise learning strategy and supported the development of a common learning culture across the organization
4. This award entry reveals the strategies used to communicate the vision and philosophy of the learning initiative
5. This award entry reveals the change management effort that helped develop senior leader support and employee engagement
6. This award entry reveals the extent to which the new initiative provided a systematic approach to learning, and the specific steps taken to ensure the new initiative is sustainable over the long-term
7. This award entry reveals the measurement strategies developed to determine the success of the launch and the results achieved

Category #5: Leadership Development

Download Leadership Development Application

Applicants must describe how the learning unit prepares current and future leaders to meet challenges facing the organization. Applicants must also demonstrate how the learning organization measures its success in identifying and retaining its leadership talent and keeping the leadership pipeline filled.

Besides an overall evaluation of the award entry on its own merit, judges will also evaluate applications based on their merit in the following seven criteria:

1. This award entry reveals a strategic, organization-wide, systematic approach to leadership development and executive development that supported corporate strategic initiatives and organizational transformation
2. This award entry reveals the processes used to identify organization, industry and marketplace conditions that needed to be addressed through executive and leadership development programs
3. This award entry reveals the processes used to identify and analyze leadership innovations integrated into the curriculum, (i.e., principles of adaptive leadership, engaging customers and partners in the strategic dialogue)
4. This award entry reveals the shaping of leadership development and leadership and executive competencies around the actual challenges leaders were facing
5. This award entry reveals the processes that helped executives and leaders develop external perspectives, looking outside the organization, outside the industry and outside geographic regions
6. This award entry reveals the ways in which senior executives personally involved themselves in the learning and development of direct reports and other managers
7. This award entry reveals the metrics used to evaluate how leadership development was effective and contributed directly to improved organizational performance

Category #6: Learning Technologies

Download Learning Technologies Application

Applicants must describe how the corporate learning unit uses technology to support learning and development. Applicants must also demonstrate ways in which they have created a culture of learning that embraces new technologies and how they used those technologies to meet the needs of their internal clients.

Besides an overall evaluation of the award entry on its own merit, judges will also evaluate applications based on their merit in the following six criteria:

1. This award entry reveals the methods used to create a culture that 1) integrates work and learning, 2) encourages learning "anywhere/anytime", and 3) promotes collaboration and knowledge sharing
2. This award entry reveals the strategies used to educate the organization – from senior executives to employees – on the value and benefits of the new learning model
3. This award entry reveals the quality of the technology systems and tools used to create the new learning experiences
4. This award entry reveals the development of online communities and resources that encouraged and supported “just-in-time” and “just enough” learning opportunities as well as creating informal learning opportunities
5. This award entry reveals the process for blending new learning methods effectively with other learning approaches (e.g., social media and networking tools with online learning)
6. This award entry reveals the benefits from applying these new technologies for learning (e.g. savings, accessibility, global learning) and the extent to which these technologies had measurable benefits (e.g., enhancing the efficiency and capabilities of the learning unit, improving employee and organizational performance)

Category #7: Measurement

Download Measurement Application

Applicants must explain the measurement strategy the corporate learning unit uses to assess its impact on the organization. Applicants must also explain how they use measurement data and feedback to drive continuous improvement within the organization.

Besides an overall evaluation of the award entry on its own merit, judges will also evaluate applications based on their merit in the following seven criteria:

1. This award entry reveals the performance measurement strategies that link learning to the business goals of the organization and to personal outcomes for employees, managers and leaders
2. This award entry reveals how the learning function gained agreement with business customers on metrics to indicate evidence of performance improvement as a result of learning and development
3. This award entry reveals the metrics, systems, and tools used to demonstrate the learning organization's impact on culture change, personal outcomes, and business strategies
4. This award entry reveals the ways in which the corporate learning unit used return on learning investment analyses, balanced scorecard, intellectual/human capital measures, or other innovative approaches to evaluate business and cultural outcomes
5. This award entry offers evidence of improvements in personal outcomes for employees, managers, and leaders
6. This award entry reveals how the organization measured the efficiency and effectiveness of the learning organization through benchmarking and other methods of understanding what constitutes best practices
7. This award entry reveals the use of quantitative and/or qualitative trend data for the learning organization’s evaluation of impact