Previous Awardees
2009
High Performance Culture:
Empowering People to Make a Difference
Astellas’ CEO of the Americas Seigo Kashii says it best when he describes the corporate culture Astellas is creating: “Achieving our goal of finding treatments for patients whose needs are not being met requires a particular type of company culture, one with strong shared values, one totally committed to what Astellas is trying to do and be.” For Kashii and Astellas, such a culture revolves around setting high expectations and developing people.
In 2005, two highly successful firms, Fujisawa and Yamanouchi, blended their talents, resources, and passions to form Astellas Pharma Inc. Astellas Pharma US, Inc., located in Deerfield, Illinois, is the Americas headquarters of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc. Astellas is dedicated to changing tomorrow by improving the health of people around the world through the development of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. Astellas employs around 14,000 people throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas. Astellas Pharma US is a unique enterprise, employing almost 900 associates in Chicagoland. The corporation has a strong commitment, focus, and expertise in select therapeutic areas, including Urology, Transplantation, Dermatology, Cardiology and Infectious Disease. “We want to be as successful as Big Pharma, but we don’t want to be Big Pharma,” said Collette Taylor, Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Corporate Communications. “We look for people who have an entrepreneurial spirit and for people who get excited about making a difference in an organization and in patients’ lives.”
Improving Human Life through Continuous Learning
Any of the 9,000 employees of NorthShore University HealthSystem can tell you that their mission is “to preserve and improve human life.” NorthShore is a large organization, but one that focuses at all levels on a very simple message. “That’s our guiding North Star. That’s our calling,” said Mark Neaman, NorthShore’s CEO for 17 years. “I do believe that all of our staff here are wedded to that high calling.”
The NorthShore organization includes four hospitals (Evanston Hospital, Glenbrook Hospital, Highland Park Hospital, and Skokie Hospital) and in addition to the 9,000 staff, they have 2,000 affiliated physicians, including a multispecialty group practice with more than 75 office locations. Neaman recognizes that a key component to their success is the emphasis they place on how they train, develop, and lead their staff. As a national industry leader in health care technology and electronic medical records (EMR), innovative learning and development is essential to NorthShore.
A Company of Learners
In 1917, Antonio Pasin, had a dream to “bring joy to every boy and every girl” with his classic model of wagons and play toys. Pasin gave flight to the red wagon’s brand Radio Flyer, named after two of the most captivating innovations of the era: radio and airplanes, at the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago, using faith and a bit of financing, with his 45-foot tall “Coaster Boy.” The exhibit of the wagon-riding boy became an icon to the 1933 World’s Fair, and is today a legendary iconic toy around the world.
Ninety-two years later, Robert Pasin, Chief Wagon Officer (CWO) of Radio Flyer in Chicago, is carrying out the dream that his grandfather started. Since 1917, the rapidly increasing buyer demands, industry modernization, and the outsourcing of manufacturing has required Radio Flyer to develop a strategy that was not packaged into the grandfather’s dream.
A few years ago, Radio Flyer created a cafeteria forum to serve as a magnet for workplace thoughts and ideas, introducing the new Little Red Rule: “Every time we touch people’s lives, they’ll feel great about Radio Flyer.” Each of the 103 members of the Radio Flyer team in Chicago and worldwide applies this Little Red Rule with every interaction with customers, retailers, and manufactures—and with each other. Today, Radio Flyer is the leading producer of wagons, tricycles, and spring horses in the United States. This accomplishment could not have been possible without CWO Robert Pasin’s commitment to the learning and development of their workforce. It is his personal commitment to learning and development that is driving much of what the corporation is doing. “The investment we’ve made in learning, development and cultural evolution over the past five years has been one of the key ingredients to our success,” says Pasin.
2008
Our Assets Are Our People
Diamond Management & Technology Consultants (Diamond) is a management and technology consulting firm headquartered in Chicago, with locations in Hartford, New York, Washington D.C., London, and Mumbai. Out of a total 626 employees, 290 work out of the Chicago office. Diamond’s small teams of experts work across functional and organizational boundaries to develop new strategies, improve operations, and deliver results for their clients. Diamond delivers three critical elements to every project: fact-based objectivity, spirited collaboration, and sustainable results.
Diamond is a small, aggressive 14-year old company, with a global business reach. The commitment to Diamond’s powerful core values guides everything they do. These core values are: People First, Trust, Leadership, and Collaboration. Adam Gutstein, Diamond’s President and CEO, discusses the company’s core values with every new hire. These values are also shared throughout the firm through many other vehicles, such as in the employee development and educational programs, the CEO’s weekly blog, the “All-Hands” Meetings for the entire staff, email, and voicemail interactions.
The Best Place to Be
GE Commercial Finance is one of six segments that comprise the General Electric Company. With cash flow- and asset-based lending products, real estate finance, growth capital, and equipment leasing of every kind, GE Commercial Finance plays a key role for client businesses in over 35 countries. GE Commercial Finance services the healthcare, manufacturing, fleet management, communications, construction, energy, aviation, infrastructure and equipment industries, as well as many others. GE Commercial Finance’s businesses include Capital Solutions, Corporate Financial Services, Real Estate, and Healthcare Financial Services.
The Chicago location of GE Commercial Finance contains the second largest concentration of employees, second only to Connecticut. The 2,500 Chicago GE Commercial Finance employees work in a culture of learning and continual growth, with many opportunities for career advancement. GE invests heavily in its new employees, so that by the end of the first few years, capable employees are well on their way to becoming leaders. GE offers a combination of formal and informal learning opportunities, tuition reimbursement, and in-house trainings taught by instructors from some of the best universities.
Working Together to Make a Difference in People’s Lives
TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. (TAP) understands the value of productive partnerships. The company was formed as a partnership between two large pharmaceutical companies: Abbott and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, which partnered in 1977 to form TAP and began commercial operations in 1985. TAP develops strong partnerships and alliances to help discover and develop high-potential pharmaceutical compounds that can enhance the lives of patients. TAP is one of the nation’s leaders in the markets where its products compete, and the company maintains and strengthens that position through its commitment and connection to patient care, physician education, and key business partner relationships.
TAP’s success is directly related to the quality and dedication of the people who work there, which is why even during an economic downturn, TAP continues to invest heavily in one of its biggest assets: its people. TAP provides defined career pathways for its employees, and supports these pathways through many formal and informal learning and development programs. Alan MacKenzie, President of TAP, understands that people want to work where they have many opportunities, so TAP spends a considerable amount of time, money, and energy developing strategies and programs for its employees.
2007
Advancing patient care through learning and development
Advocate Health Care is one of the nation’s largest regional health care systems. Comprised of eight hospitals and over 200 sites of care, Advocate employs over 24,000 associates region-wide with the goal of providing excellent patient care. In order to meet the challenging demands of their industry as well as exceed this goal, Advocate has developed a more holistic approach to learning and development for its employees—one that focused on the ‘whole’ person, not just the technical skills that are required for the job.
Adding to this the strength of their pooled resources and relationships with local higher education institutions, and Advocate has been able to attract and retain a skilled workforce that constantly strives to provide the highest quality of patient care. Accepting the award on behalf of the organization was James Skogsbergh, President and CEO of Advocate Health Care.
Winning the war for talent through mass career customization
Deloitte and Touche USA is an international firm that specializes in providing advice to some of the world’s largest and most successful companies. With over 37,000 employees worldwide, Deloitte understands the value that its people bring to its organization and they take a business-critical approach to building the company’s intellectual capital through employee learning and development. This successful approach has helped Deloitte become a global leader in a variety of constantly evolving practices, such as tax, accounting, consulting, and financial advisory services, among others.
On June 6th, 2007, Deborah DeHaas, Vice Chairman and Regional Managing Partner, accepted the WorkforceChicago2.0 award on behalf of the Deloitte organization.
2006
Developing Professionals Through in Integrated Learning Culture
Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, aligns corporate educational activities with business goals. Through its distinctive training programs and strategic partnership with Accenture Learning, Accenture maximizes the impact of its training programs to rein-force its business strategy, expand the skills and knowledge of its people, and build an Accenture brand of professionalism.
According to Jill Smart, Senior Managing Director of Human Resources, “Learning at Accenture is changing people’s lives; it’s giving them more reason than ever to stay with us and grow both personally and professionally.”
Accenture has proven a generous return on their investment in providing extensive learning and development opportunities.
The information presented here was assembled in 2006. This does not necessarily represent the current status of Accenture.
Continuous Innovation for People Development
IBM is the world’s largest information technology company.
IBM invests three-quarters of a billion dollars annually in employee training and development. The company offers its employees an array of progressive learning opportunities designed to encourage innovation. This commitment to employee training and development represents IBM’s philosophy that educating and training a workforce enhances employee potential and productivity and generates bottom-line results for IBM and its clients.
As a result of its learning practices and shared values, IBM has successfully created a corporate culture that fosters employee development, enhances employee productivity, and generates bottom-line results for IBM and its clients. IBM offers an example of how technology can be maximized and applied in low cost ways to create a culture that breeds excitement about learning and development.
According to President and Chief Executive Officer Samuel Palmisano, “innovation has become a priority for the world today because it creates systemic, sustainable, and meaningful value. At IBM, however, we think the work of innovation is even more than a priority. It is, and has always been, a responsibility.”
The information presented here was assembled in 2006. This does not necessarily represent the current status of IBM.
2005
Cultivating Experts by Providing a Mix of Formal and Informal Training
Satisfied Associates in the Dynamic Organization
2004
Committed to building wealth from within
Best People Strategy = Best Patient Strategy
Investing in education and training to build loyal, long-term employees
Sustaining a culture that values employee development
2002
Blending innovative technological and traditional approaches to education to provide employees with customized learning opportunities.
Transforming its training and education system to streamline operations and provide greater accountability, strategic focus and more effective learning.
Supporting learning at all levels through pay for performance, linking employee and company goals, and integrating learning into work.
Sustaining a culture of employee learning and involvement.
Setting high expectations for employees’ growth and using smart technology to build and sustain learning solutions.
Going beyond specific job training to invest in the whole person to develop and retain the best PR professionals.
Continuing its commitment to employee learning and development through times of transition.
Using training and development to build loyal, long-term employees.
Strategically using training, development opportunities and incentives to move production employees along a career path.
Using learning and development to achieve company business goals and forge a strong corporate identity.
Building effective partnerships with educational institutions to provide employees with comprehensive, accessible and customized learning critical to hospital operation.
