Category: News

SweetRush’s custom leadership training programs, created in collaboration with SHRM and AACN, teach new people managers the skills and behaviors they need to succeed in their new roles.

San Francisco, Calif., January 12, 2022 — SweetRush, a leading provider of custom learning solutions, earned eight learning and creative awards for its collaborations with clients on leadership training. These programs were developed with prestigious industry associations that  have outstanding reach in their respective fields.

For its partnership with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) on the SHRM People Manager Qualification (PMQ), SweetRush has won six awards, including four Gold awards from the Brandon Hall Group, the Hermes Creative Awards, the Muse Creative Awards, and the Horizon Interactive Awards.

SHRM’s PMQ is a 10+ hour self-paced learning qualification program for new people managers. The program breaks the mold of traditional eLearning with “binge-worthy” storytelling and compelling, diverse characters in an episodic format, along with gamification elements. Learners work through scenarios that are authentic and relevant to the challenges in their new roles throughout the program, including dynamic behavioral assessments.

For the Fundamentals Skills for Nurse Managers learning program, created in collaboration with the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), SweetRush won two Gold awards from the Brandon Hall Group, including Best Advance in Leadership Development.

This program includes up to 14 hours of interactive, case-based content application, including scenarios featuring live video and a diverse cast of characters. For new nurse managers making the challenging transition from nurse to manager, it helps them during this first year as they develop confidence and learn critical leadership skills, including technical skills such as managing a budget.

“There is a real challenge when the need is to put forth substantive in-depth information in a way that is engaging and motivates learners to completion. It’s a worthy challenge we greatly enjoy and are proud to have collaborated with both SHRM and AACN on these award-winning leadership training programs,” said Arturo Schwartzberg, SweetRush Cofounder and Chairman. 

See all the winners of the Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards, the Hermes Creative Awards, the Horizon Interactive Awards, and the Muse Creative Awards.

ABOUT SWEETRUSH

Dream for a moment that you have the expertise and tools to positively impact the lives of others. You can affect mindsets and behavior. You can help an organization grow, change, prosper, and thrive. The passionate pursuit of this expertise and the development of these tools have been at the heart of the success SweetRush has experienced collaborating with clients who share the same dream.

SweetRush’s focus on team culture and mastery of performance improvement is reflected in loyal clients, a near-zero turnover of teammates, a 20-year track record of success, and a remarkable portfolio. Our work has earned us gold awards and industry accolades and the loyalty from a remarkable portfolio of clients.

Every solution we deliver is infused with creativity. Instructional creativity allows us to discover effective and unique solutions to our clients’ challenges. Artistic creativity spurs us to create visually exciting, engaging user experiences. Technical creativity allows us to embrace new capabilities and platforms as they emerge, such as virtual reality, gamification, and mobile delivery. Cultural creativity empowers our clients to create the conditions that energize and empower their people and unleash the energy in their teams. Our Talent Solutions team builds on its unique knowledge of talent, team building, and learning and development to craft a unique, creative solution for clients who need the best temporary staff to augment their team. We apply the creative lens to all things, from project management to our treatment of our teammates, clients, and the planet. 

We are over 200 people strong and have been in business since 2001. Every day, we give thanks for the trust of our world-class clients. Our deliverables span from analysis and curriculum mapping to the creation of blended training products, including live and virtual classroom training, custom-developed eLearning, and innovative use of emerging technologies.

Dream with us, and together let’s make a positive impact!

SweetRush’s custom employee orientation program provides an authentic and memorable introduction to Mondelēz International’s organizational culture and values.

San Francisco, Calif., January 12, 2022 — SweetRush, a leading provider of custom learning solutions, and its client Mondelēz International were recognized by three different awards organizations for their creative collaboration on a new hire onboarding course.

The “Introduction to Mondelēz International” course earned Platinum awards from the Hermes Creative Awards and the Muse Creative Awards, along with a Silver award from the Horizon Interactive Awards.

The self-paced eLearning course makes employees feel welcome, embraces and celebrates their uniqueness, creates a sense of shared purpose, and encourages them to find and use their own voice. 

To bring those objectives to life, the course features storytelling, humor, and bright and fun 2D characters and animation. A special interactive element, The Character Creator, allows learners to create their own customized companion to take along on their journey.

“New hire onboarding needs to cover the basics, but the real magic happens when new employees are pleasantly surprised to have an experience that validates their decision to join a company,” said Arturo Schwartzberg, SweetRush Cofounder and Chairman. “This award-winning onboarding course accomplishes that culture-centric objective, and we are proud to have partnered with Mondelēz International to bring this new hire training to life.” 

See all the winners of the Hermes Creative Awards, the Horizon Interactive Awards, and the Muse Creative Awards.

ABOUT SWEETRUSH

Dream for a moment that you have the expertise and tools to positively impact the lives of others. You can affect mindsets and behavior. You can help an organization grow, change, prosper, and thrive. The passionate pursuit of this expertise and the development of these tools have been at the heart of the success SweetRush has experienced collaborating with clients who share the same dream.

SweetRush’s focus on team culture and mastery of performance improvement is reflected in loyal clients, a near-zero turnover of teammates, a 20-year track record of success, and a remarkable portfolio. Our work has earned us gold awards and industry accolades and the loyalty from a remarkable portfolio of clients.

Every solution we deliver is infused with creativity. Instructional creativity allows us to discover effective and unique solutions to our clients’ challenges. Artistic creativity spurs us to create visually exciting, engaging user experiences. Technical creativity allows us to embrace new capabilities and platforms as they emerge, such as virtual reality, gamification, and mobile delivery. Cultural creativity empowers our clients to create the conditions that energize and empower their people and unleash the energy in their teams. Our Talent Solutions team builds on its unique knowledge of talent, team building, and learning and development to craft a unique, creative solution for clients who need the best temporary staff to augment their team. We apply the creative lens to all things, from project management to our treatment of our teammates, clients, and the planet. 

We are over 200 people strong and have been in business since 2001. Every day, we give thanks for the trust of our world-class clients. Our deliverables span from analysis and curriculum mapping to the creation of blended training products, including live and virtual classroom training, custom-developed eLearning, and innovative use of emerging technologies.

Dream with us, and together let’s make a positive impact!

SweetRush’s custom learning programs related to social responsibility, created in collaboration with The Estée Lauder Companies and the AIA, help increase awareness and action about issues related to health and sustainability.

San Francisco, Calif., January 12, 2022 — SweetRush, a leading provider of custom learning solutions, was recognized for its client collaborations on training related to social responsibility, including projects for The Estée Lauder Companies and the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA).

The Game You Can’t Win, an opioid prevention program developed for the AIA, earned Gold awards from the Hermes Creative Awards and the Horizon Interactive Awards. 

The self-paced eLearning program designed for youth athletes features an interactive, comic-book style approach. Students follow a story that takes them on a simulated journey through the steps they might encounter after being prescribed medication. This experiential learning helps teach students the warning signs of addiction and the impact it can have.

Partnering with The Estée Lauder Companies, SweetRush helped transform its sustainability report into an interactive learning experience for employees. The Beauty Inspired, Values Driven Interactive Learning Guide: Advancing Citizenship and Sustainability at ELC program took home the Gold award from the Hermes Creative Awards. 

“We love taking on work for good causes and are always ready to step up to these challenges. We thank Estée Lauder and the AIA for trusting us with this important work, and we are proud to have collaborated with them to create these compelling and award-winning learning programs,” said Arturo Schwartzberg, SweetRush Cofounder and Chairman. 

See all the winners of the Hermes Creative Awards and the Horizon Interactive Awards.

ABOUT SWEETRUSH

Dream for a moment that you have the expertise and tools to positively impact the lives of others. You can affect mindsets and behavior. You can help an organization grow, change, prosper, and thrive. The passionate pursuit of this expertise and the development of these tools have been at the heart of the success SweetRush has experienced collaborating with clients who share the same dream.

SweetRush’s focus on team culture and mastery of performance improvement is reflected in loyal clients, a near-zero turnover of teammates, a 20-year track record of success, and a remarkable portfolio. Our work has earned us gold awards and industry accolades and the loyalty from a remarkable portfolio of clients.

Every solution we deliver is infused with creativity. Instructional creativity allows us to discover effective and unique solutions to our clients’ challenges. Artistic creativity spurs us to create visually exciting, engaging user experiences. Technical creativity allows us to embrace new capabilities and platforms as they emerge, such as virtual reality, gamification, and mobile delivery. Cultural creativity empowers our clients to create the conditions that energize and empower their people and unleash the energy in their teams. Our Talent Solutions team builds on its unique knowledge of talent, team building, and learning and development to craft a unique, creative solution for clients who need the best temporary staff to augment their team. We apply the creative lens to all things, from project management to our treatment of our teammates, clients, and the planet. 

We are over 200 people strong and have been in business since 2001. Every day, we give thanks for the trust of our world-class clients. Our deliverables span from analysis and curriculum mapping to the creation of blended training products, including live and virtual classroom training, custom-developed eLearning, and innovative use of emerging technologies.

Dream with us, and together let’s make a positive impact!

At SweetRush, helping people learn new skills is our craft, and it’s also the way we can be of service. It’s how we can do our part to “help the helpers” and support organizations that are doing so much good in the world.

This was the genesis of launching our Good Things service years ago. We’ve now partnered with an ever-growing list of incredible nonprofits and foundations, over 35 to date, helping them create learning programs to support their missions and amplify their voice and impact.

All the dedicated people at the nonprofits we partner with are passionate and doing good, but right now the pandemic is front and center. In this post, we’d like to share some of our recent Good Things work focused on combating COVID-19, along with some internal initiatives that are fostering good things.

If you are in the nonprofit space and interested in learning more about SweetRush’s services, we would love for you to get in touch with us.

Partnering to Provide COVID-19 Vaccine Learning Programs for Healthcare Workers

Since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been fortunate to get connected with organizations providing life-saving information to frontline workers. Our team has been energized by supporting this mission and have adjusted our processes to rapidly produce infographics, eLearning, and even a custom web app.

As part of an ongoing partnership with Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation, Project Hope, DisasterReady.org, and Brown University, SweetRush helped design and develop COVID-19 training courses that have been completed by over 100,000 healthcare workers. The most recent series of courses is designed to combat vaccine hesitancy with evidence-based information and protocols. 

To learn more about this work, we invite you to read this update from Tina Bolding, Director of DisasterReady.org.

La Maestra, SweetRush’s Carbon-Neutral Initiative, Grows Up

On Earth Day we announced our intention to work toward carbon neutrality through reforestation, in partnership with Green My Experience, led by the wonderful Cristina Calvo. 

To date, through the La Maestra (which means “the teacher” in Spanish) initiative, SweetRush has planted over 375 trees, and is on target to raise that number to nearly 700 trees by the end of 2021. And next year, we anticipate planting over 1,000 additional trees. The new forest is located in the Limon Province in Costa Rica.

La Maestra is just taking root and we’re exploring exciting future possibilities connected to reforestation research and education. Our new website provides information about the reforestation and learning initiative, including an interactive map that allows you to explore photos and names of the trees, some of which honor beloved family members of our SweetRushians.

Discover more at lamaestra.life.

Partners in Pride Supporting the LGBTQ Community

SweetRush’s Partners in Pride ERG is a dedicated group of talented SweetRush teammates working together to positively impact the LGBTQ community and its allies through a variety of programs. Here’s a quick snapshot of some of their recent accomplishments!

• Casa Rara: The team partnered with this Costa Rican foster house foundation that provides care and shelter to LGBTQ+ children, revamping their website to enable greater reach for funding and support. Learn more at casarara.org.
• Beyond the Binary: This job aid created by Partners in Pride educates SweetRush teammates on how best to communicate with nonbinary people. The current version is already in use at SweetRush internally—a publically available version is coming soon!
• LGBTQ+ Timeline: A multi-year effort, this interactive website highlights important milestones and heroes who have impacted the community’s journey. Check it out!
• Consultative power: Partners in Pride has stepped up to consult on our clients’ learning programs and the global representation and inclusion of the LGBTQ community. Working with one client, the team helped them create a global course that will impact the lives of community members who reside in Islamic countries.

Partners in Pride is continuing to drive these conversations, educate themselves and others, and push boundaries for diversity. In their own words, “Partners in Pride is the result of love for one another and our community, and the desire to make things right and better.”

Instructional Design Internship Promoting Diversity in L&D

Recognizing several barriers to entry to the ID profession, Clare Dygert, SweetRush’s Director of Instructional Design and Learning Experience Design, worked with Ann Cathers, Talent Solutions Consultant, to create a program to introduce people of color to what Clare calls “the best profession in the world.”

Clare and Ann partnered with the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), a historically Black university, to create the paid ID Internship Program. The program features an intensive orientation, including how to work at SweetRush, ID fundamentals, and a practicum capstone project. The first cohort is in happening now!

If you’re interested in learning how we have structured this program to help you in creating something similar, connect with Clare! She’s happy to share our findings so far and generally advise students on the ID profession. LinkedIn: /in/claredygert/

More Good Things on the Horizon

Doing good at SweetRush is not a side activity; it’s woven into our way of doing business, and we strongly believe that doing good is good for business. Business can and should be drivers of social change. We’ve adopted a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) to positively affect the lives of a billion people, and every day we are striving to achieve that goal!

If you’d like to learn more about these programs and gain insights into how we work together at SweetRush, we invite you to read our eBook, It’s All About Your People: Embracing Human-Centered Business, Culture, and Learning Design.

Wishing good things to you and yours!

San Francisco, Calif., October 7, 2021 — SweetRush, an industry-leading provider of organizational culture transformation and learning solutions, announces the appointment of Gregg Kendrick as Director of Thrive by SweetRush. Kendrick brings nearly four decades of business experience to the role—as an entrepreneur, CEO, and business leader, and as an independent culture and leadership consultant and executive coach.

Kendrick’s experience and vision evolves and strengthens Thrive’s work in culture and leader transformation. Using human-needs-based frameworks and processes, such as needs-based communication (NVC™), Kendrick has supported conscious leaders to create cultures where people and purpose matter. 

“Transformation can mean many things, but for me and for the work we do at Thrive, it’s specifically the movement of an organization toward valuing its people,” says Kendrick. “This work is about shifting mindsets and language, and merging culture with strategy and organizational goals. Leaders are more powerful and more effective when they lead through trust and intrinsic motivation. But our traditional leadership skill set is grossly inadequate to take us there. I don’t know of a better lever to create impact than to shift leaders toward this mindset: Showing up with love and trust—with its inherent gentleness and fierceness—is the defining way of being an effective leader.”

Thrive by SweetRush helps leaders make that mindset shift by creating experiences and spaces for authentic conversations that spark change—conversations that are often avoided or have been ineffective in the past, and that have stifled advancement within the team. A range of services, including executive coaching, executive team coaching, culture assessments, and training for new skill sets, are all part of the offering, tailored to the needs of each organization.

“We started Thrive by SweetRush because of our clients. They would ask how we created our unique culture at SweetRush and how we’ve become such a high-performing team,” said Andrei Hedstrom, Cofounder and CEO. “There’s a natural connection between culture and learning, in that we put people—life—at the center of organizational transformation. With Gregg onboard, we can help leaders and their people become more resilient and find joy in their work.”

“There is not another company that I would work for other than SweetRush. We live the work we bring to others. We show up differently than what clients are used to, and they literally feel it,” says Kendrick.

Outside of work, Kendrick enjoys using his carpentry and woodworking skills to renovate and preserve his 100-year-old home, as well as sailing and canoeing. He has lived in Charlottesville, Virginia, for more than 30 years with his wife, Lisa, with whom he has had the joy to raise three daughters.

Reach out to Gregg Kendrick via LinkedIn or [email protected]. 

ABOUT SWEETRUSH

Dream for a moment that you have the expertise and tools to positively impact the lives of others. You can affect mindsets and behavior. You can help an organization grow, change, prosper, and thrive. The passionate pursuit of this expertise and the development of these tools are at the heart of the success SweetRush has experienced collaborating with clients who share the same dream.

SweetRush’s focus on team culture and mastery of performance improvement is reflected in loyal clients, a near-zero turnover of teammates, a 20-year track record of success, and a remarkable portfolio. Our work has earned us gold awards and industry accolades and loyalty from a remarkable portfolio of clients.

Every solution we deliver is infused with creativity. Instructional creativity allows us to discover effective and unique solutions to our clients’ challenges. Artistic creativity spurs us to create visually exciting, engaging user experiences. Technical creativity allows us to embrace new capabilities and platforms as they emerge, such as virtual reality, gamification, and mobile delivery. Cultural creativity empowers our clients to create the conditions that energize and empower their people and unleash the energy in their teams. Our Talent Solutions team builds on its unique knowledge of talent, team building, and learning and development to craft a unique, creative solution for clients who need the best temporary staff to augment their team. We apply the creative lens to all things—from project management to our treatment of our teammates, clients, and the planet. 

We are over 200 people strong and have been in business since 2001. Every day, we give thanks for the trust of our world-class clients. Our deliverables span from analysis and curriculum mapping to the creation of blended training products, including live and virtual classroom training, custom-developed eLearning, and innovative use of emerging technologies.

Dream with us, and together let’s make a positive impact!

San Francisco, Calif., September 21, 2021 — SweetRush, an industry-leading provider of learning and talent development solutions, was recently awarded the prestigious distinction of Grand Stevie Winner for the single highest scoring nomination at the Stevie Awards for Great Employers. The nomination earned a Gold award in the Leadership or Skills Development Solution Provider of the Year category. 

The Stevie Awards for Great Employers recognize the world’s best employers and the human resources professionals, teams, achievements, and HR-related products and suppliers who help create and drive great places to work.

Out of more than 950 nominations from 29 nations, SweetRush’s entry earned the highest praise from industry-professional judges, who stated SweetRush is “impacting and disrupting the learning industry in a digital-first world.”

Judges recognized SweetRush’s “innovation and creativity” in its learning solutions that “support the generations of the workplace.” They noted that SweetRush’s “client list is impressive” and remarked on its “meaningful leadership experience” and “engaging content.” The judges also commented on SweetRush’s use of virtual reality to bring “a virtual world to life” and on its design thinking experience for designing learning solutions (CoDesign℠), a “unique offering” in the industry.

“The need for effective leadership training programs has never been more urgent—the pivots and transformations that companies and entire industries have faced mean we need leaders to be creative, innovative, resilient, and caring. Our collaborations with clients such as SHRM and AACN are bringing engaging and interactive learning opportunities to new people managers,” said Arturo Schwartzberg, SweetRush Cofounder and Chairman.

“We are now in the skills economy, and upskilling, reskilling, and creating talent pipelines with skills development resources are essential for the future of work. We’re helping our clients develop future-ready skills programs that enable people to move into in-demand roles, which positively impacts their lives—and the business,” said Schwartzberg. “Winning Gold as Leadership or Skills Development Solution Provider of the Year was thrilling, but hearing we were the Grand Stevie Winner was over the top. The award gave us a great boost forward—thank you, Stevies.”

If you’d like to speak to SweetRush about its award-winning approach to learning and development, get in touch with the SweetRush team.

Details about the Stevie Awards for Great Employers and the list of 2021 Stevie winners are available at www.StevieAwards.com/HR.    

About SweetRush

Dream for a moment that you have the expertise and tools to positively impact the lives of others. You can affect mindsets and behavior. You can help an organization grow, change, prosper, and thrive. The passionate pursuit of this expertise and the development of these tools have been at the heart of the success SweetRush has experienced collaborating with clients who share the same dream.

SweetRush’s focus on team culture and mastery of performance improvement is reflected in loyal clients, a near-zero turnover of teammates, a 20-year track record of success, and a remarkable portfolio. Our work has earned us gold awards and industry accolades and the loyalty from a remarkable portfolio of clients.  

Every solution we deliver is infused with creativity. Instructional creativity allows us to discover effective and unique solutions to our clients’ challenges. Artistic creativity spurs us to create visually exciting, engaging user experiences. Technical creativity allows us to embrace new capabilities and platforms as they emerge, such as virtual reality, gamification, and mobile delivery. Cultural creativity empowers our clients to create the conditions that energize and empower their people and unleash the energy in their teams. Our Talent Solutions team builds on its unique knowledge of talent, team building, and learning and development to craft a unique, creative solution for clients who need the best temporary staff to augment their team. We apply the creative lens to all things, from project management to our treatment of our teammates, clients, and the planet. 

We are over 200 people strong and have been in business since 2001. Every day, we give thanks for the trust of our world-class clients. Our deliverables span from analysis and curriculum mapping to the creation of blended training products, including live and virtual classroom training, custom-developed eLearning, and innovative use of emerging technologies.

Dream with us, and together let’s make a positive impact!

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at https://www.StevieAwards.com. 

San Francisco, Calif., August 20, 2021 — SweetRush, an industry-leading provider of learning and talent development solutions, along with its client-partners, celebrated a record 22 Gold awards at the 2021 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards. 

Earning a total of 27 awards, SweetRush was recognized as a top winner by Brandon Hall Group. The company shares these accolades with the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), adidas, Bridgestone Americas, Mondelēz International, the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC), Sally Beauty, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and Wells Fargo.

“In the midst of a stressful pandemic year, we are so thankful to be working in a field that is needed and relevant,” said Arturo Schwartzberg, SweetRush Chairman and Cofounder.

“We were able to lend support to nurses and to help disseminate critically needed, accurate information to health care workers around the world. We supported our clients in moving their agendas forward, helping to keep the doors open and folks employed and growing in their careers. We are humbled and grateful,” added Schwartzberg.

“We are profoundly grateful to our amazing client-partners for trusting our team to collaborate on high-impact projects in service of greater life potential,” said Andrei Hedstrom, CEO and Cofounder at SweetRush. “There is so much need for growth and transformation in our rapidly changing world, and I am proud of our team for bringing their incredible crafts together to do our part in our caring way. This happens at SweetRush every day, but this is a special time of the year, when the hard work is recognized by expert judges and our skilled colleagues at Brandon Hall Group. What an inspiring time to be in a field of work that has so much to offer. What else is possible?” 

Highlights of this year’s awards include:

• Wins in 14 distinct categories, spanning the Excellence in Learning, Excellence in Leadership Development, and Excellence in Sales Performance program areas
• Seven Gold awards for innovation in learning programs
• Four Gold awards for custom online training content

SweetRush’s awards showcase its breadth and depth of capabilities, including blended learning, competencies and skills development, mobile learning, simulations, performance support, learning ecosystems, and virtual reality.

Subject matter and performance objectives for the winning programs were also varied, including sales training for retail environments, leadership development for new people managers, enabling an agile mindset, new hire onboarding, and empathy and relationship building.

Award-winning programs also represent a wide array of industries that SweetRush partners with: banking and finance, health care, consumer goods, automotive, nonprofit, retail, and business services.

SweetRush’s 2021 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards include:

22 GOLD AWARDS

• Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development Program (5)
• Best Unique or Innovative Sales Training Program (2)
• Best Advance in Custom Content (4)
• Best Advance in Competencies and Skills Development (2)
• Best Advance in Leadership Development
• Best Program for Sales Training and Performance
• Best Advance in Creating an Extended Enterprise Learning Program
• Best Sales Program for the Extended Enterprise
• Best Use of Blended Learning
• Best Use of Games or Simulations for Learning
• Best Use of Mobile Learning
• Best Use of Performance Support
• Best Learning Team

4 SILVER AWARDS

• Best Advance in Competencies and Skills Development
• Best Learning Program Supporting a Change Transformation Business Strategy
• Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development Program
• Best Unique or Innovative Sales Training Program

1 BRONZE AWARD

• Best Unique or Innovative Sales Training Program

“Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards in 2021 provide much-needed and well-deserved recognition to organizations that went above and beyond to support their stakeholders during the unprecedented disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Brandon Hall Group COO and leader of the HCM Excellence Awards Program Rachel Cooke. “The awards provide validation of best practices in all areas of HCM at a time when they have never been more important to employers, employees, and customers.”

Entries were evaluated by a panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, Brandon Hall Group analysts and executives based upon these criteria: fit the need, design of the program, functionality, innovation, and overall measurable benefits.

If you’d like to speak to SweetRush about its award-winning approach to learning and development, visit the company website.

View the winners on the Brandon Hall Group website. Congratulations to everyone who won!

About SweetRush

Dream for a moment that you have the expertise and tools to positively impact the lives of others. You can affect mindsets and behavior. You can help an organization grow, change, prosper, and thrive. The passionate pursuit of this expertise and the development of these tools have been at the heart of the success SweetRush has experienced collaborating with clients who share the same dream.

SweetRush’s focus on team culture and mastery of performance improvement is reflected in loyal clients, a near-zero turnover of teammates, a 20-year track record of success, and a remarkable portfolio. Our work has earned us gold awards and industry accolades and the loyalty from a remarkable portfolio of clients.  

Every solution we deliver is infused with creativity. Instructional creativity allows us to discover effective and unique solutions to our clients’ challenges. Artistic creativity spurs us to create visually exciting, engaging user experiences. Technical creativity allows us to embrace new capabilities and platforms as they emerge, such as virtual reality, gamification, and mobile delivery. Cultural creativity empowers our clients to create the conditions that energize and empower their people and unleash the energy in their teams. Our Talent Solutions team builds on its unique knowledge of talent, team building, and learning and development to craft a unique, creative solution for clients who need the best temporary staff to augment their team. We apply the creative lens to all things, from project management to our treatment of our teammates, clients, and the planet. 

We are over 200 people strong and have been in business since 2001. Every day, we give thanks for the trust of our world-class clients. Our deliverables span from analysis and curriculum mapping to the creation of blended training products, including live and virtual classroom training, custom-developed eLearning, and innovative use of emerging technologies.

Dream with us, and together let’s make a positive impact!

About Brandon Hall Group

Brandon Hall Group operates the largest and longest-running awards program in Human Capital Management. As an independent HCM research and analyst firm, they conduct studies in Learning and Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Talent Acquisition, and HR/Workforce Management. These benchmark studies help organizations by providing strategic insights for executives and practitioners responsible for growth and business results.

Coupling the research studies with the best practice from the awards, Brandon Hall Group has helped more than 10,000 clients globally and more than 28 years of delivering world-class research and advisory. At the core of our offerings is a membership program that combines research, benchmarking, and unlimited access to data and analysts. Membership enables executives and practitioners to make the right decisions about people, processes, and systems, coalesced with analyst advisory services that aim to put the research into action in a way that is practical and efficient.

Brandon Hall Group has also launched professional certifications for business and human capital management professionals to upskill themselves and gain credentials for career advancement.

San Francisco, Calif., May 13, 2021 — SweetRush, a 100% remote workplace, deepens its commitment to green business and sustainability with La Maestra, a reforestation initiative in Costa Rica’s Limón province. 

A life-centered, people-empowerment organization, SweetRush has set the ambitious goal of complete carbon neutrality. SweetRush transforms organizations, teams, and individuals through custom online and blended-learning solutions, cultural transformation, leadership and team development, immersive technology, and staff augmentation for learning and development—and now reforestation.

To this end, SweetRush has begun: 

• Measuring its cumulative carbon footprint and calculating the cost per revenue dollar to offset that footprint
• Including funds in every project budget to plant trees to offset the carbon footprint of all SweetRush team members 
• Inviting every client to match our contribution to offsetting their carbon footprint

The name La Maestra—“teacher” in Spanish—represents SweetRush’s embrace of nature as instructor and guide. SweetRush’s goal with the La Maestra initiative is to learn how rainforest systems can teach companies how to prosper and, in turn, how companies can share their wealth with nature by integrating reforestation into their flow of work. 

“We’re going to view each tree and the regenerating ecosystem of the rainforest as a lesson,” explains SweetRush’s CEO and Cofounder, Andrei Hedstrom. “While we believe that using our regular workflow to generate a living system is a wonderful end unto itself, we also see it as a seed. In planting that seed, we are asking what else is possible when a world-class learning and transformation firm enters the global conversation around reforestation efforts?”

Since his 2005 journey to Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, Hedstrom has been searching for a way to apply the wisdom of natural ecosystems to business. In partnership with Cristina Calvo, ecotourism expert and CEO of Green My Experience, Hedstrom forged the link between SweetRush’s business and reforestation. 

Calvo explained, “La Maestra is a very special project for me because I have been working on sustainability and carbon neutrality in my businesses for many years. I’ve been looking to build a project and partnership that resonates completely with the meanings of conservation, education, technology, time, and growth. With La Maestra, we were able to bring all of those pieces together.”

Calvo’s partnership also helped La Maestra find its home in the Limón province of Costa Rica, on land that belonged to Calvo’s grandfather. Here, members of Calvo’s team plant each laurel sapling with care and nurture it to viability over the next five years. With their dense, leafy branches and nutritious berries, laurel trees are a vital source of food and shelter for La Maestra’s diverse bird species.

SweetRush employees have rallied behind La Maestra and its sustainable, life-affirming purpose. With every tree they plant, team members grow closer to one another—and more connected with the global web of life and the systems that support it. 

“With every client call, every eLearning course we build, every status update, every email, we are growing a forest of knowledge, together,” Hedstrom shared. “Being in service of life potential, and all we can care for and create with each other and the living systems we are a part of, is our highest calling. La Maestra isn’t just about addressing the suffering and fears of today: Serving life potential creates the awareness, services, and products of the future. The best is yet to come for those who can grow this mindset.”

SweetRush’s clients are also seizing the opportunity to bring their learning projects literally to life. Since La Maestra’s launch at the end of Q1, clients have sponsored the planting of 117 laurel saplings. La Maestra broke ground with its first planting on Thursday, April 22, 2021, in a moving celebration of Earth Day.

The pace has been swift: SweetRush has already surpassed 10% of its 2021 planting goal of 1,024 trees. But the vision behind La Maestra is not bound by calendar years or quarters; it’s a long-term legacy. As Hedstrom promised his team, “Starting today, our day-to-day work is going to outlive us.” 

SweetRush plans to further its commitment to green business and the lessons of the rainforest by joining the United Nations’ Race to Zero initiative and pursuing certification as a carbon-neutral company.

For more information, contact SweetRush at [email protected].

About SweetRush

SweetRush’s focus on team culture and mastery of performance improvement is reflected in loyal clients, uniquely low turnover of teammates, a 20-year track record of success, and a remarkable portfolio. Our work with clients has earned us Gold awards from our peers and high ranking on the top industry lists.

We are over 200 people strong and have been in business since 2001. Our five service areas include Custom Learning (including eLearning, mobile learning, gamification, and classroom training), Talent Solutions (temporary talent to augment our clients’ L&D teams), SPARK (VR, AR, and emerging technologies), Thrive by SweetRush (expert coaching and consulting to create high-performing cultures, leaders, and teams), and Good Things (amplifying the impact of nonprofits and the social impact space). Every day, we give thanks for the trust of our world-class clients. Learn more and get in touch with SweetRush at www.sweetrush.com.

Twitter recently asked users what word they would use to describe 2020. There were plenty of responses with four letters, but our word of choice has five: adapt. 

Last year, many of us transformed, practically overnight, from creatures of the cube to creatures of the home office. From training to team meetings, we took every part of our business with us and rebuilt it all online.  

In celebration of our collective agility, we wanted to share the top articles that helped our community make the many pivots 2020 demanded from us. We hope they help you as your virtual environment continues to evolve—and as you move beyond surviving into thriving. 

With over a decade of experience in learning, meeting, and recruiting virtually, we at SweetRush have gone through plenty of trial and error. Here’s a curated list of the practices that have helped us keep our fires lit. 

Find the Fit from Far Away: Best Practices for Virtual Recruiters

Eleven years of being totally virtual has taught us a thing or two about online recruiting. Bring your hunt for the fittest applicants online with these tips from our talent acquisition experts. 

Read more: New to Virtual Recruiting? Here’s How You Can Get Started

Not Just for Alphas: Hear Everyone’s Voice in Virtual Meetings

A virtual meeting is an ecosystem, not a battle for dominance. Lead your pack with these practical tips for hosting virtual conversations everyone wants to join.

Read more: Virtual Collaboration: Techniques for Getting the Best from Your Team

Feed the Need: Build a Virtual Learning Community That Works

Don’t let technology challenges knock your learners off the food chain! Here’s how to assemble the best resources to help learners thrive in your online workplace.

Read more: Need to Create an Online Learning Community Fast? Leverage These Instructional Design Tips

Evolution Through Empathy: Build a Better Species of Learning

Compliance training is necessary—but it doesn’t have to be an evil. These design thinking methods will help your learning remain viable in a jungle of competing priorities.  

Read more: Be a Learning Hero: Use Design Thinking

Lighten the (Cognitive) Load with Nanolearning

The collective stress of the past year leaves us all with less energy for higher-order thinking tasks. Try these 10 tips to build bite-sized learning that your learners won’t fight—or flee.

Shelter from the Storm: Learning Trends That Got Us Through 2020

Adaptation isn’t a thing of the past—this retrospective shows you how to build upon your virtual metamorphosis. Borrow our strategies for sheltering your learners from screen fatigue and other harsh conditions.  

Read more: 2020 in Hindsight: Four Current Instructional Design Trends That Are Here to Stay

Need a boost to help you get to the next stage in your virtual evolution? Let us do the hunting and gathering! Click here for access to curated resources on virtual meetings, recruitment, learning, and technology. 

San Francisco, Calif., August 21, 2020 — In collaboration with its client-partners, SweetRush took home a vast array of Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards, including 16 Gold, 3 Silver, and 7 Bronze awards. SweetRush shares these prestigious honors with the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Bed Bath & Beyond, Bridgestone, Google, Hilton, Mondelēz International, and Wells Fargo.

“We are thrilled that our work has been recognized along with so many incredible teams around the world using L&D to support people and causes. Right now we are helping our clients’ people grow in their abilities, partnering with over 30 nonprofits, and creating learning programs that support frontline health care workers. I am so grateful we are in a craft that can do so much good, and I am proud of the relationships that have developed between our team and our client-partners, who trust us and allow us to develop cutting-edge creative solutions,” said Andrei Hedstrom, CEO and Cofounder at SweetRush, a people empowerment company specializing in custom learning solutions. 

“Our clients are competing for excellence, and every day we are designing creative solutions that meet their performance improvement challenges head on. Next year is our 20th anniversary, and we’ve developed such breadth and depth of capabilities. Winning awards in 15 different categories demonstrates that we have a lot of tools to craft creative solutions and help our clients do remarkable things,” said Arturo Schwartzberg, Chairman and Cofounder at SweetRush.

Among 15 categories, SweetRush won awards for best results of a learning program, learning strategy, blended learning, video, mobile learning, and games and simulations. 

Other highlights include:

• Six Gold awards for innovation in learning programs
• Three Gold awards for VR training and use of emerging technologies
• Certification programs, a specialty, brought home two awards

The awarded programs also represent a vast array of subject matter and business objectives: empathy and relationship-building, leadership, sales, product launch and product knowledge, new hire onboarding, operations and efficiency, and salary negotiation.

SweetRush is serving and supporting a broad array of industries: health care, pharmaceutical, nonprofit/foundation, healthcare, automotive, telecommunications, business services/consulting, technology, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, and banking/finance.

Here is the complete list of SweetRush’s 2020 Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards:

16 GOLD AWARDS
Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development Program (5)
Best Advance in Custom Content (3)
Best Results of a Learning Program
Best Certification Program
Best Unique or Innovative Sales Training Program
Best Sales Training Program for Extended Enterprise
Best Use of Video for Learning
Best Use of Virtual Worlds for Learning
Best Use of Games or Simulations for Learning
Best Use of Mobile Learning

3 SILVER AWARDS
Best Certification Program
Best Use of Mobile Learning
Best Advance in Competencies and Skills Development

7 BRONZE AWARDS
Best Advance in Competencies and Skills Development (2)
Best Advance in Creating a Learning Strategy
Best Advance in Creating an Extended Enterprise Learning Program
Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development Program
Best Learning Program Supporting a Change Transformation Business Strategy
Best Use of Blended Learning

“The Excellence Awards serve the critical function of reinforcing the essential business benefit of creating great experiences for candidates and employees,” Brandon Hall Group CEO Mike Cooke said. “All award winners must demonstrate that their HCM programs drive bottom-line business results. That’s what sets our awards program apart from all others.”

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

If you’d like to speak to SweetRush about its award-winning approach to learning and development, visit the company website.

View the winners on the Brandon Hall Group website. Congratulations to everyone who won!

About SweetRush

Dream for a moment that you have the expertise and tools to positively impact the lives of others. You can affect mindsets and behavior. You can help an organization grow, change, prosper, and thrive. The passionate pursuit of this expertise and the development of these tools have been at the heart of the success SweetRush has experienced collaborating with clients who share the same dream.

SweetRush’s focus on team culture and mastery of performance improvement is reflected in loyal clients, a near-zero turnover of teammates, a 19-year track record of success, and a remarkable portfolio. Our work with clients has earned us gold awards from our peers and high ranking on the top training industry lists.

Every solution we deliver is infused with creativity. Instructional creativity allows us to discover effective and unique solutions to our clients’ challenges. Artistic creativity spurs us to create visually exciting, engaging user experiences. Technical creativity allows us to embrace new capabilities and platforms as they emerge, such as virtual reality, gamification, and mobile delivery. Cultural creativity empowers our clients to create the conditions that energize and empower their people and unleash the energy in their teams. Our Talent Solutions team builds on its unique knowledge of talent, team building, and learning and development to craft a unique, creative solution for clients who need the best temporary staff to augment their team. We apply the creative lens to all things, from project management to our treatment of our teammates, clients, and the planet.

We are over 250 people strong and have been in business since 2001. Every day, we give thanks for the trust of our world-class clients. Our deliverables span from analysis and curriculum mapping to the creation of blended training products, including live and virtual classroom training, custom-developed eLearning, and innovative use of emerging technologies.

Dream with us, and together let’s make a positive impact!

About Brandon Hall Group

Brandon Hall Group is an HCM research and advisory services firm that provides insights around key performance areas, including Learning and Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Talent Acquisition and HR/Workforce Management.

With more than 10,000 clients globally and 25 years of delivering world-class research and advisory services, Brandon Hall Group is focused on developing research that drives performance in emerging and large organizations, and provides strategic insights for executives and practitioners responsible for growth and business results.win