Zurich manager training wins Brandon Hall Group Excellence Award

Zurich North America, a leading provider of insurance products and services to businesses and individuals, has won a 2022 Brandon Hall Group Silver Award for Excellence in Learning and Development, in recognition of Zurich’s innovative Accelerate learning journey for new managers.  

The Brandon Hall Group Human Capital Management (HCM) Excellence Awards are among the most prestigious honors for work in learning and development, talent management, leadership development, talent acquisition and other HCM functions.

“It’s an honor to receive this recognition of the innovative ways we support, develop and empower new managers at Zurich,” said Laura Rock, Chief Human Resources Officer at Zurich North America. “Good managers don’t happen by accident. We are intentional about providing effective, ongoing training and resources that new managers need so that they, and by extension their team members, flourish.  Managers play an outsized role in the success and satisfaction of every individual at Zurich, and we see in our employee surveys that the Accelerate program works.”

Rather than front-loading training for managers as a single immersive event, Accelerate provides ongoing virtual and face-to-face resources, including peer mentoring and small-group cohorts that stay intact throughout a manager’s first year. The program’s design enables managers to practice skills with one another, offer feedback and coaching, and build mutually beneficial relationships.

The Accelerate program was designed in consultation with 47 leaders representing key areas of the business and 17 new managers who helped identify key themes, needs and possible solutions to achieve the objective of preparing managers within their first year. Several of the 17 managers participated in the initial cohort of the learning journey to provide additional input and ideas for enhancements. The Accelerate team launched the program quickly, even before every learning module was designed, to obtain feedback to adjust and improve along the way.

“The goal was to create transformative learning experiences that cultivate connected and empathetic leaders who balance accountability and results with caring,” said Teri Hart, Head of Talent Development at Zurich North America. “I am proud of our talent team, which not only was innovative in their approach but also brave enough to abandon traditional ways of building learning programs and embrace a nimbler approach that will serve our people and ultimately our customers better.”

Brandon Hall Group Excellence Award entries were evaluated by a panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, Brandon Hall Group analysts and executives. Evaluations were based on these criteria: fitting the need, design of the program, functionality, innovation and overall measurable benefits.

“Excellence Award winners distinguish themselves through their growing understanding that all the functions of HCM are integrated and must work together to move businesses forward,” said Brandon Hall Group Chief Operating Officer Rachel Cooke, leader of the HCM Excellence Awards program. “It is a pleasure to see more organizations collaborating across functions and getting more sophisticated and accomplished at delivering measurable benefit through ground-breaking HCM practices.”

Excellence Award winners will be honored at Brandon Hall Group’s HCM Excellence Conference, Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 of 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Select winners also will serve as presenters in breakout sessions, sharing their leading practices during the conference.

Brandon Hall Group operates the largest and longest running awards program in Human Capital Management. As an independent HCM research and analyst firm, the group conducts benchmark studies to provide organizations strategic insights for executives and practitioners responsible for growth and business results. Brandon Hall Group has also launched professional certifications for business and human capital management professionals to upskill themselves and gain credentials for career advancement.