Businesses Recognized Nationally For Training
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSeveral companies with a presence in Indiana are on a professional development industry publication's national list. To determine the Training Top 125, Training magazine considered metrics including financial investment, program scope and how closely efforts connect to company objectives. Companies with an Indiana footprint include:
Indianapolis-based DEFENDER; Navient, which has a large facility in Fishers and BKD LLC, which has offices in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Fort Wayne and Evansville.
Source: Training Magazine
February 11, 2015
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – DEFENDER, the only Authorized Premier Provider for the home security brand ADT, announced that it has ranked number 27 in Training magazine's Training Top 125 rankings for 2015. The annual list was revealed at the Training 2015 Conference & Expo held in Atlanta, Georgia.
This marks the third consecutive year that DEFENDER has been recognized in the annual Training Top 125 rankings, which ranks companies’ excellence in employer-sponsored training and development programs.
DEFENDER’s #27 ranking is the highest of all Indiana-based businesses that placed on the list. DEFENDER placed #30 in 2014 and #101 in 2013, respectively.
“DEFENDER is an amazing company that invests into the growth of its team members and supports their goals and dreams,” said Mike Lantz, Chief Learning Officer for DEFENDER. “We are a company of growth-oriented learners who show up each and every day looking to grow and develop our abilities. This award is an acknowledgement of our commitment that Businesses Don’t Grow, People Do!”
At DEFENDER, more than 2,000 employees nationwide are provided with resources to become the best version of themselves. These resources include world-class programs in the financial, physical, relational, occupational & educational realms as well as partnering with nationally-renowned industry leaders such as Peter Dunn and international charities including Youth with a Mission, Make-A-Wish, and Junior Achievement. Each year this commitment culminates at an annual day of self-improvement in which team members re-focus on working harder on themselves than they do on their jobs. As a result of these training, talent development & HR programs centered on self-improvement, DEFENDER team members excel in the workplace.
The Training Top 125 rankings are determined by assessing a range of qualitative and quantitative factors, including financial investment in employee development, the scope of development programs, and how closely such development efforts are linked to business goals and objectives.
About DEFENDER
Since its inception in 1998, DEFENDER has emerged as the only Authorized Premier Provider for the home security brand ADT. The company also offers Tyco Security Products. As a result of its unprecedented growth, the company has expanded its residential services offerings to include Williams Comfort Air, a Central Indiana heating, cooling and plumbing company. DEFENDER employs more than 2,000 individuals in 48 states with over 120 branch offices -nationwide.
About Training Magazine
Training magazine is the leading business publication for learning and development and HR professionals. It has been the ultimate resource for innovative learning and development—in print, in person, and online—over the last 50 years. Training magazine and Training magazine Events are produced by Lakewood Media Group.
Source: DEFENDER
February 10, 2015
News Release
EXCELSIOR, Minn. – Keller Williams Realty, Inc., moved into No. 1 (up from No. 2 last year) on the 2015 Training Top 125, while Jiffy Lube International drove into the No. 2 spot. Health-care companies dominated the rest of the Top 5, with Capital BlueCross, CHG Healthcare Services, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan notching Nos. 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Some 27 new companies broke into the Top 125 this year. The majority of the companies are in the health/medical services, real estate/insurance, finance/banking, technology, and retail industries.
Training magazine recognized the 2015 Training Top 125 winners with crystal awards and revealed their rankings during the Scarlet Ball held last night during the Training 2015 Conference & Expo at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The black-tie gala was sponsored by Advantexe, Allen Interactions, American Public University, elearning brothers, Franklin Covey, Godiva, Grovo, Herrmann International, ISA, Pelucida, Seiko, the Training Top 10 Hall of Fame, and Turning Technologies. Seiko served as the official timekeeper of the event.
Now in its 15th year, the Training Top 125 is the only report that ranks companies unsurpassed in harnessing human capital. Some applicant statistics of note:
The mean revenue was $4.5 billion U.S. and $6 billion worldwide. The mean training budget was $30.6 million, representing 5.92 percent of payroll. The mean amount of training costs savings was 10 percent.
The mean number of total employees trained per organization (including independent contractors and franchisees) was 38,619, with 19,031 trained in the classroom and 31,915 trained online. A mean of 591 courses were offered as instructor-led sessions; 2,429 were offered as online self-paced modules; and 164 were offered as virtual instructor-led classrooms. Some 98 percent of applicants have a technological infrastructure to support the delivery and management of training.
The average number of full-time and part-time trainers was 117 and 674, respectively.
Some 97 percent of applicants have a tuition reimbursement program. A mean of 8 percent of eligible employees made use of tuition reimbursement programs in the last year. Median spend on tuition reimbursement programs was $462,350.
Some 99 percent of applicants use employee satisfaction surveys, while 97 percent use competency maps and personal/individual development plans. Some 71 percent tie managers’ compensation directly to the development of their direct reports.
On the evaluation side, 74 percent of applicants utilize Return on Value; 82 percent utilize Return on Investment; 76 percent utilize Balanced Scorecards; and 57 percent utilize Six Sigma. The Kirkpatrick Levels of Evaluation are more widely used: Level 1 (98 percent), Levels 2 (96 percent), Level 3 (95 percent) and Level 4 (86 percent).
In addition, yesterday afternoon, Training recognized innovative and successful learning and development programs and practices utilized by the Training Top 125 winners. Best Practice and Outstanding Training Initiative winners received crystal trophies during a ceremony on the Expo Stage. They were:
BEST PRACTICE AWARD WINNERS
Genentech, Inc.
Iron Mountain, Incorporated
Mountain America Credit Union
USAA
Walgreens
OUTSTANDING TRAINING INITIATIVES
Gables Residential
Jiffy Lube International
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
Rent-A-Center
University Hospitals
“In scoring the 2015 applications, the Training Top 125 judges focused relentlessly on how applicants demonstrated the effectiveness of their training through Kirkpatrick Level 3 (behavior) and 4 (results) evaluations,” said Lorri Freifeld, editor-in-chief of Training magazine. “That ratcheted up the level of competition, with the winners demonstrating a commendable commitment to employee training and development that resulted in the achievement of key corporate strategic goals. Congratulations to all the companies named to the 2015 Training Top 125.”
The Top 125 ranking is determined by assessing a range of qualitative and quantitative factors, including financial investment in employee development, the scope of development programs, and how closely such development efforts are linked to business goals and objectives.
Companies that wish to be considered for Top 125 ranking complete a detailed application, which is scored both