Bühler Group, IMD win prestigious Brandon Hall Group Bronze Medal for leadership development
The accolade was gained for the company’s high performance teams programme.
SWITZERLAND – Bühler Group, in collaboration with the IMD International Institute for Management Development, has been awarded the Brandon Hall Group Bronze Medal Excellence Award in Learning and Development, under the category Best Team Development Program.
This accolade celebrates the transformative success of Bühler’s High Performance Teams (HPT) program, a cornerstone of its strategic transformation journey to foster a values-driven, high-performing leadership culture.
The Brandon Hall Group’s Human Capital Management (HCM) Excellence Awards, now in its 32nd year, recognizes global organizations for innovative and impactful approaches to Learning and Development, Leadership Development, and other human capital initiatives.
The rigorous evaluation by industry experts and analysts underscored the HPT program’s exceptional innovation and measurable business impact.
Developed in partnership with IMD, a leading Swiss academic institute, the HPT program was rolled out between 2020 and 2023, targeting Bühler’s top 140 executives and extending high-performance practices to over 1,000 leaders globally.
The initiative embeds Bühler’s core values, Trust, Ownership, and Passion (TOP), into its leadership culture, driving cultural evolution and enhancing organizational performance to meet strategic goals.
A transformative learning journey
The award-winning program featured a multi-phase learning experience, including pre-work, a four-day residential program in Lausanne, individualized coaching, and follow-up seminars.
Built on a research-based four-step model for team effectiveness, the program empowered leaders to foster trust, collaboration, and accountability. A cascading process trained selected individuals to facilitate HPT workshops, scaling the impact across Bühler’s global teams.
“This award is a testament to our commitment to building a values-driven, high-performing culture. Together with IMD, we created a learning journey that not only strengthened team effectiveness but also accelerated our cultural evolution,” said Irene Mark-Eisenring, Chief Human Resources Officer at Bühler.
Measurable impact
Surveys from the TOP Leadership Program revealed that 98% of participants gained practical tools and knowledge relevant to their roles, with an equal percentage feeling equipped to apply their learnings in the workplace. Follow-up surveys on the HPT workshops showed unanimous agreement among respondents that trust within their teams had increased or significantly increased.
“These metrics drive real impact as they are tied to psychological safety, employee satisfaction, shared identity, and employee retention,” noted Elke Thamm, Head of People Development & Talent at Bühler.
On his part, Ina Toegel, IMD’s Professor praised Bühler’s proactive approach, noting that most companies struggle to apply learnings despite their positive intentions. “Bühler not only delivered on its ambition but succeeded in scaling the application.”
The collaboration with IMD has been instrumental in shaping Bühler’s high-performance culture, strengthening leadership alignment, and enhancing team collaboration to navigate today’s dynamic market.
“This Brandon Hall Group award highlights Bühler’s incredible commitment to leadership development and the privilege IMD has in partnering with such a visionary organization,” said Misiek Piskorski, Dean of Executive Education at IMD and Professor of Digital Strategy.
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