San Francisco, Calif., November 27, 2023 — Bayer, a global leader in health care and agriculture, and SweetRush, a leading provider of custom learning solutions, announced the launch of three award-winning, innovative learning programs: JumpStart, Rise & Thrive, and the Enhanced Approach to Potential Identification (EAPI). Combined, these programs have extensive reach and impact throughout Bayer, and they have been honored with 20 learning and development awards, including 10 awards at the recent 2023 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards.

“I love engaging with the Bayer team—their unwavering commitment to exploring the extraordinary empowers us to deliver exceptional results,” said John-Carlos Lozano, SweetRush Chief Creative Officer.

JumpStart uses cutting-edge learning technology to create a more engaging and immersive new hire experience that solves the pain points of virtual onboarding. Working together, Bayer and SweetRush created the JumpStart onboarding portal to: 

• Welcome new hires in the critical moments between offer acceptance and Day One on the job.
• Unify the process of onboarding, enrolling in benefits, and learning about Bayer’s culture, history, mission, and innovations.
• Provide a Bayer-exclusive social network that introduces users to fellow new hires and helps them form friendships that make work meaningful.
• Offer just-in-time nudges and invitations to live virtual learning events.

The JumpStart and Rise & Thrive (below) learning programs were led by Renee Landry, Bayer North America Learning Lead. “Bayer JumpStart, Bayer’s new onboarding portal, created an exciting experience for our new hires. We developed a solution to increase new hires’ sense of connection and belonging in a creative way,” said Landry.

At the 2023 Brandon Hall Group awards, JumpStart received two Gold awards for learning technology implementation and innovation, and an award for Best New Hire Onboarding Program.

Rise & Thrive is a one-of-a-kind, dynamic development program for Bayer’s leaders. Recognizing that new skills, behaviors, and mindset shifts were needed to lead in the “new normal” of hybrid work, Bayer, SweetRush, and Third Factor collaborated on a groundbreaking learning program. 

Rise & Thrive features:

• A focus on the foundations of habit-building: triggers, actions, and reflection on outcomes
• A unique and innovative combination of microlearning, TED Talk-style videos, Spotify playlists, and weekly “curiosity” dares
• Bold new concepts and actionable best practices that leaders can immediately implement to inspire their teams, build trust and inclusivity, balance and prioritize workloads, and empower every team member

In the words of one participant, “As a manager, I have been to training classes, I have read hundreds of management books, and I have had a personalized coach, but [Rise & Thrive’s] are the most articulate, bite-sized, and helpful real-time management training/coaching pieces that I have ever had. Each one has inspired me to go back, slow down, and focus again on doing the basics well. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”

Rise & Thrive received two Gold awards for leadership development and development program for frontline leaders, and an award for Best Learning Team for Bayer, SweetRush, and Third Factor.

Enhanced Approach to Potential Identification (EAPI)

Blending the latest talent management thought leadership with tried-and-tested industry best practices, the Enhanced Approach to Potential Identification (EAPI) is a process and methodology that enables Bayer leaders to identify the potential of its employees accurately and consistently.

 

Fully integrated with the company’s talent management strategy, EAPI is helping Bayer prepare for the workplace of tomorrow as it feeds into the company’s succession planning and talent review processes. A comprehensive leadership toolkit, developed collaboratively with solutions-partner SweetRush, ensures the methodology is applied consistently by leaders across the organization with step-by-step instructions and clear guidelines for its correct application.

“We at Bayer had a vision for identifying potential that needed to transcend borders and cultures—not an easy task for any company, but especially not easy at a 100,000-person company. SweetRush has been a great and successful partner in supporting us to implement the enhanced approach for Potential Identification across 83 countries with a very creative, interactive, and well-designed self-learning approach in eight different languages,” said Nicola Bianchi, Global HR Head of Product Supply at Bayer.

EAPI and the Leadership Toolkit received four Brandon Hall Group awards for succession planning, leadership development, and competencies and skills development.

“Our Bayer partners have a creative mindset and seek solutions that are innovative and appealing to their learners—and these are our ideal clients,” said Danielle Hart, SweetRush Chief Brand Officer. “Creating three award-winning, break-the-mold learning programs speaks to how deeply they care for their learners and their dedication to the art of learning and development. We always look forward to our next collaboration!”

About Bayer

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability, and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2022, the Group employed around 101,000 people and had sales of 50.7 billion euro. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 6.2 billion euro. For more information, go to www.bayer.com. 

About SweetRush

SweetRush is trusted by many of the world’s most successful companies to help them improve the performance of their employees and extended enterprise. SweetRush is known for exceptionally creative and effective solutions that combine the best of learning experience design with highly engaging delivery. SweetRush services include custom L&D solution design and development, high-performing staff-augmentation talent staffing, certification development, cultural alignment, and innovative learning technologies such as VR, AR, and AI. SweetRush’s work has earned a long list of awards and accolades in collaboration with its world-class clients. Discover more at www.sweetrush.com.

San Francisco, Calif., November 14, 2023 — SweetRush wraps up a year of innovation and collaboration with recognition by Training Industry as a Top Advanced Learning Technologies Company.

Training Industry defines advanced learning technologies as “innovative and cutting-edge technology solutions and tools that enhance and enrich the learning experience.” These include “artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), accessibility tools (e.g., ADA compliance), haptic/biometric devices, and more to solve business problems in innovative ways.”

SweetRush’s leading-edge learning innovations this year include the launch of WebXR content, which empowers client-partners to create immersive experiences for every learner—with or without a headset. The XR team has also pioneered two solutions that make immersive experiences more compatible with any organization’s current learning ecosystem: the LMS Integration Tool (LIT) and the LIT Analytics Dashboard. 

Adrián Soto, SweetRush Director of Immersive Technologies, shares: “Our team is dedicated to helping clients navigate the immersive and advanced technology landscape. Whether it’s for a pilot project or long-term strategy, we’re here to deliver the top-notch research, strategic insight, and development expertise that empowers them to leverage cutting-edge technology to create outstanding learning experiences.”

One of those experiences includes an immersive conversation simulation, recently co-created with a global hospitality leader. This engaging experience combines WebXR with AI voice recognition that responds to learner input and provides real-time feedback.

The team approaches every client engagement as a consultative partnership characterized by end-to-end strategy mapping that begins with a thorough business and learning needs analysis. Together with agency-level creative design, focus on research and development, and deep knowledge of learning technologies, this strategy mapping process is one of SweetRush’s major value-adds.

Danielle Silver, SweetRush XR Solution Architect, adds: “Our team’s success is truly a testament to the innovative spirit of our client-partners. They’re always eager to push the boundaries and embrace immersive and advanced technologies to help learners excel in their current roles and meet the future of work.”

These collaborations result in effective, compelling solutions that make learning an experience to remember—and achieve industry recognition. To date, SweetRush’s partnerships have earned 130 Gold Brandon Hall Awards and 10 Gold CLO Learning in Practice Awards, as well as the creative MUSE and Horizon Interactive and industry-specific recognition by the LTEN Excellence Awards.

If you’d like to speak with SweetRush about how to leverage advanced and immersive technologies for your learning strategy, get in touch to be connected to a consultative expert!

About SweetRush
SweetRush is trusted by many of the world’s most successful companies to help them improve the performance of their employees and extended enterprise. SweetRush is known for exceptionally creative and effective solutions that combine the best of learning experience design with highly engaging delivery. SweetRush services include custom L&D solution design and development, high-performing staff-augmentation talent staffing, certification development, cultural alignment, and innovative learning technologies such as VR, AR, and AI. SweetRush’s work has earned a long list of awards and accolades in collaboration with its world-class clients. Discover more at www.sweetrush.com. 

About Training Industry, Inc.

Training Industry is the most trusted source of information on the business of learning. Our authority is built on deep ties with more than 450 expert contributors who share insights and actionable information with their peers. Training Industry’s courses, live events, articles, magazine, webinars, podcast, research and reports generate more than 10 million industry interactions each year, while the Top 20 Training Companies Lists help business leaders find the right training partners.

Aliso Viejo, Calif.,  November 9, 2023 — Fundamental Skills for Nurse Managers (FSNM), part of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’s (AACN) suite of online eLearning programs, was honored for the third consecutive year at the Brandon Hall Group Human Capital Management Excellence Awards.

The eLearning course focuses on the technical and interpersonal competencies nurses need to be successful managers. To date, FSNM has been recognized with seven Brandon Hall Gold awards for its unique and comprehensive approach to leadership and skill development. 

AACN worked with SweetRush, a leading provider of custom learning solutions, to develop the course and update its content to reflect current issues facing nurse leaders. This year alone, SweetRush received 40 Brandon Hall Group awards for its work with nine organizational partners, including AACN’s Gold-level awards for FSNM as Best Program for Upskilling Employees and Best Advance in Creating an Extended Enterprise Learning Program. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The course provides learners with 16 hours of relevant, high-value content, delivered via concise eLearning modules, authentic branching scenarios, self-assessments and moment-of-need job aids. With relatable characters, realistic scenarios and storytelling, the robust leadership development experience provides participants with tools they can apply immediately in their daily work.

“Nurse managers play a key role in shaping the work environment, ensuring patient outcomes, and attending to the welfare of the staff,” said Herb Williams-Dalgart, AACN learning excellence director. “Their leadership is vital in guiding teams with varying experience levels, encompassing both seasoned nurses and novices, along with non-licensed support staff. It is essential for leaders to demonstrate essential skills, such as managing human and financial resources, as well as ensuring the safety and well-being of both patients and staff, as they step into management positions.”

SweetRush Director of Client Solutions Annie Hodson said, “We leverage a combination of instructional design, creativity and engineering to develop custom solutions for our client-partners, such as AACN. We’re inspired by their dedication to supporting nurses, which aligns perfectly with our mission.”

FSNM empowers new nurse managers with the following critical skills: 

• Getting Started: Understanding the behaviors and practices of their new position, identifying supportive resources and strategies for the first few days on the job, and using cultural competencies to lead a diverse team.
• Human Resources: Developing the management skills that will help engage and retain staff, support team members’ professional development and performance, and clarify scope of practice. 
• Financial Management: Collaborating with the finance department to understand the unit budget, and developing a staffing methodology that honors both the operational budget and patient needs.
• Quality and Safety: Creating a culture of safety, understanding regulations and accreditation, and enhancing the patient experience and quality of service. 
• Leadership: Managing change, advocating for staff, ensuring compliance and ethical practice, collaborating with physicians and other practitioners, and developing contingency plans.

Learners report a significant increase in knowledge and skills in all five areas, as well as an increase in their levels of confidence after applying the information and practices to their work. In the words of one learner, “Having this information as a new manager is crucial in developing relationships, teams, understanding the staff and work-life balance.”

FSNM is part of AACN’s extensive library of eLearning courses, delivering standard-setting education and expertise that nurses and healthcare organizations can trust.

Organizations and individuals can learn more about the course at www.aacn.org/coursefsnm.

About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses

For more than 50 years, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has been dedicated to acute and critical care nursing excellence. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. AACN is the world’s largest specialty nursing organization, with about 130,000 members and nearly 200 chapters in the United States. Learn more at www.aacn.org.  

About SweetRush

SweetRush is trusted by many of the world’s most successful companies to help them improve the performance of their employees and extended enterprise. SweetRush is known for exceptionally creative and effective solutions that combine the best of learning experience design with highly engaging delivery. SweetRush services include custom L&D solution design and development, high-performing staff-augmentation talent staffing, certification development, cultural alignment, and innovative learning technologies such as VR, AR and AI. SweetRush’s work has earned a long list of awards and accolades in collaboration with its world-class clients. Discover more at www.sweetrush.com. 

SweetRush leverages its expertise in immersive learning, game design, and simulations to create effective, engaging experiential learning solutions for world-class clients.

San Francisco, Calif., September 14, 2023 — In a year marked by technological innovation and opportunities to reach new learner audiences, SweetRush celebrates its second consecutive year on Training Industry’s list of Top Experiential Learning Technologies Companies. 

Other 2023 milestones for the SweetRush XR team include the launch of WebXR learning experiences, the LMS Integration Tool (LIT), and the LIT Analytics Dashboard, which help client-partners extend the benefits of immersive learning to learners across the enterprise and support a range of hands-on learning and skilling needs, from technical procedures to interpersonal skills. 

Most recently, the team combined a WebXR conversation simulation experience powered by a custom artificial intelligence (AI) tool that responds to learner input and provides real-time feedback. Adrián Soto, SweetRush Director of Immersive Technologies, characterizes this pairing as “a huge hit,” adding, ”We make such an effort to work with the latest technology to create amazing content. I can’t wait to see what’s next as we continue to create new and improved learning experiences combining AI and immersive technology.”

SweetRush’s consultative approach, which one client describes as “second to none,” is founded in beginning-to-end strategy mapping that addresses organization-wide business and learning needs. World-class client-partners like Coursera and Hilton are pioneering leading-edge WebXR experiences that bring heightened engagement and high-value skills to their diverse, extended learner audiences. 

Danielle Silver, XR Solution Architect, credits the team’s success to its “extraordinary client-partners, and their forward thinking and innovative cultures, who are always looking for ways to offer their audiences more engaging, impactful, and immersive ways of learning and growing.” 

Loyal client-partners wax enthusiastic about SweetRush’s agency-level creative design, focus on research and development, and ability to create award-winning immersive solutions that teach soft skills, customer service, safety and violence de-escalation, complex technical training, and many other unique use cases. 

These partnerships result in creative, compelling solutions that make learning an experience to remember—and have been recognized by 130 Gold Brandon Hall Awards and eight Gold CLO Learning in Practice Awards to date.

If you’d like to speak with SweetRush about its award-winning approach to experiential learning technologies, get in touch to be connected to a consultative expert!

About SweetRush

SweetRush’s focus on team culture and craft 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 creating custom solutions for talent empowerment and people success has earned us gold awards from our peers and high rankings on top industry lists.

We are over 200 people strong and have been in business since 2001. Our service areas include Custom Learning (including eLearning, mobile, gamification, and virtual training), Talent Solutions (temporary talent to augment our clients’ L&D teams), XR/Immersive Tech (VR, AR, AI, and emerging technologies), Transforming Leaders & Culture (expert coaching and consulting to create connected, unified 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. 

Along with nine client-partners, SweetRush won 40 awards at the 2023 Brandon Hall Group Awards in 17 categories, including multiple wins for learning and development, leadership development, new hire onboarding, and upskilling.

San Francisco, Calif., August 22, 2023 — SweetRush, the industry-leading provider of custom solutions for talent empowerment and people success, along with its client-partners, has won a record 24 Gold, seven Silver, and nine Bronze awards (40 total) at the 2023 Brandon Hall Group Human Capital Management Excellence Awards. SweetRush was named a top overall winner for the ninth consecutive year. 

SweetRush shares these awards with client-partners the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Heart Association (AHA), Bayer, Bridgestone Americas, Capgemini, Hilton, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and Wells Fargo.

“These awards reflect the remarkable relationships and craft we have built together with our client-partners to impact the lives and work of people in some of the world’s most impactful organizations,” said Andrei Hedstrom, SweetRush Cofounder, President, and CEO. “The challenges and rewards of serving so many organizations in so many industries, profit and nonprofit, has made us a rallying point for effective and progressive forms of learning and development. Increasingly, year by year, the advances in consulting, designing, and developing for digital learning experiences are becoming a strategic force in the transformation of people and their organizations.”

Highlights of SweetRush’s 2023 wins include:

• Awards in 17 unique categories focusing on learning and development, leadership development, sales performance, talent acquisition, talent management, and the future of work.
• 15 Gold awards for learning and development.
• Nine Gold awards in multiple categories for professional development certification programs.
• Four Gold awards for leadership development, including learning programs for frontline leaders.
• Four Gold awards for learning innovation.
• Three Gold awards for upskilling.
• Two Gold awards for blended learning.
• Gold wins in hybrid learning, learning in the flow of work, custom learning content, and learning technology implementation categories.

SweetRush’s high-impact collaborations with its clients span subject matters and audiences and drive positive change.

In the words of Jaimie Francis, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Vice President: 

“We’re honored to be recognized by the Brandon Hall Awards for the impact of our Talent Pipeline Management® (TPM) framework and the TPM Academy® to advance employer leadership in building high-performing talent pipelines. SweetRush has been an invaluable partner in taking the next step in our evolution to transform our in-person TPM Academy trainings to an engaging, interactive online learning experience. Their stellar team helped us navigate how to create the best experience for our learners so that they are empowered with the tools and information necessary to co-design talent supply chains to help students and workers access and succeed in career pathways. We look forward to continued collaboration and bringing this learning experience to more communities across the world in search of workforce strategies and solutions.”

SweetRush’s other award-winning collaborations with clients:

• Reimagine the virtual new hire onboarding experience with a game-changing, socially vibrant technology platform.
• Help employees step into the shoes of colleagues experiencing microaggressions and recognize the power of small actions to support diversity and inclusion.
• Upskill new people managers with human and technical skills, increasing their confidence and creating more inclusive and effective teams.
• Address challenges in diabetes patient care by teaching healthcare professionals how to treat the whole patient.
• Support leaders managing the “new normal” of hybrid workplaces with impactful approaches to leading with purpose and care.
• Create better career pathways for high-potential employees.
• Develop skills for high-level consultants working with enterprise accounts.
• Offer just-in-time resources that directly impact internal sustainability goals and encourage positive behavior change at home and in communities.

The awards also highlight SweetRush’s breadth and depth in learning design and technology—blended learning, video, storytelling, games and gamification, custom learning platforms, dynamic behavioral assessments, and marketing communications—and its collaborations across industries, including business services, banking and finance, healthcare, consumer goods, automotive, hospitality, nonprofit, and pharmaceuticals.

“Beyond the giddy moment of winning so many awards, what’s truly rewarding is knowing we are changing the lives of so many people, helping them advance in their careers,” said Arturo Schwartzberg, SweetRush Cofounder and Board Chairman. “It’s true we are improving the bottom line of our clients, but we never forget the work we do has tangible impact on real people, and that is symbolically what these awards recognize and what feels good and fuels our celebration.”

SweetRush’s 2023 Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards include:

24 GOLD AWARDS

Best Advance in Creating an Extended Enterprise Learning Program (4)

Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development Program (4)

Best Program for Upskilling Employees (3)

Best Advance in Leadership Development (2)

Best Development Program for Frontline Leaders (2)

Best Use of Blended Learning (2)

Best Advance in Competencies and Skill Development

Best Advance in Custom Content

Best Advance in Learning in the Flow of Work

Best Advance in Learning Technology Implementation

Best Hybrid Learning Program

Best Program to Improve Individual Development Planning

Best Sales Leadership Development Program

 

7 SILVER AWARDS

Best Advance in Competencies and Skills Development

Best Advance in Custom Content

Best Advance in Learning in the Flow of Work

Best Learning Program Supporting a Change Transformation Business Strategy

Best Learning Team

Best New Hire Onboarding Program

Best Use of Video for Learning

 

9 BRONZE AWARDS

Best Advance in Competencies and Skills Development (2)

Best Advance in Leadership Development (2)

Best Advance in Succession and Career Management

Best Development Program for Frontline Leaders

Best New Hire Onboarding Program

Best Program for Upskilling Employees

Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development Program

“Excellence Award winners are shown to be organizations that truly value their employees and invest in them through their human capital management programs. These HCM programs have been validated as best in class for business value and the impact on the employees themselves,” said Brandon Hall Group Chief Operating Officer Rachel Cooke, HCM Excellence Awards program leader.

Entries were evaluated by a panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, Brandon Hall Group analysts, and executives based on these criteria: 

• Alignment to their business need and environment
• Program design, functionality, and delivery 
• Adoption, integration, user experience, innovation, and creativity
• Overall effectiveness, impact, and measurable benefits

About SweetRush

SweetRush is trusted by many of the world’s most successful companies to help them improve the performance of their employees. We are known for exceptionally creative and effective solutions that combine the best of instructional design with highly engaging delivery. Beyond custom learning, we offer clients temporary staffing, the latest in immersive technologies (VR, AI), and LMS consulting. Our collaborations with clients have earned us long-term successful relationships, which we value greatly. Discover more at www.sweetrush.com.

About Brandon Hall Group™

Brandon Hall Group is the only professional development company that offers data, research, insights, and certification to Learning and Talent executives and organizations. The best minds in Human Capital Management (HCM) choose Brandon Hall Group to help them create future-proof employee development plans for the new era.

For over 30 years, we have empowered, recognized, and certified excellence in organizations worldwide, influencing the development of over 10 million employees and executives. Our HCM Excellence Awards program was the first to recognize organizations for learning and talent and is the gold standard, known as the “Academy Awards of Human Capital Management.”

The awards recognize the best organizations that have successfully developed and deployed programs, strategies, modalities, processes, systems, and tools that have achieved measurable results. We are honored to receive applications from organizations worldwide ranging from small, medium, large, and global enterprises to government, not-for-profits, and associations.

San Francisco, Calif., August 1, 2023 — SweetRush is thrilled to be named the No. 1 Content Provider for Immersive Learning by eLearning Industry for the second year in a row. This exciting announcement follows on the heels of new innovation by the SweetRush XR team, including the launch of WebVR learning experiences and the LMS Integration Tool, which together solve L&D’s challenges of distributing and scaling virtual reality enterprise-wide.

eLearning Industry Founder Christopher Pappas cites the SweetRush team’s learning-first mindset, consultative approach, and singular ability to engage learners as central factors contributing to its success. He adds, “You can count on SweetRush to be innovators! VR, AR, AI, simulations, and interactive video—they’re creating effective immersive learning. Collaborate with them, and they’ll show you how to put these tools into practice.”

As an increasing number of L&D leaders seek the benefits of immersive learning, SweetRush’s XR team is committed to innovations that enable technology adoption and tracking. In a recent eLearning Industry webinar, WebVR = L&D’s VR Gateway To The Enterprise!, the team unveiled their latest answer to pressing client needs: WebVR content, learning experiences that leverage new technology to overcome scalability and hardware challenges. 

Another recent innovation from the team is the LMS Integration Tool (LIT), a game-changing technology that allows immersive learning experiences to live in, and launch from, an organization’s LMS. Through a custom analytics dashboard, L&D teams and stakeholders can track learner performance data of their choice. 

For clients like Coursera and Hilton, SweetRush XR is bringing engaging, effective immersive learning to a wider learner audience. The team will unveil their latest developments, integrating AI into VR experiences to enhance skill development with authentic practice and feedback, later this year.

Adrián Soto, SweetRush Director of Immersive Technologies, shares: “The immersive learning and advanced technology landscape is rapidly changing, and that makes it challenging for our clients. We’re excited to meet our clients where they are and be a partner in bringing new ways of learning to their people. Whether it’s an initial proof of concept or multi-year roadmap, our team provides the research, thought partnership, and development skills to create amazing learning experiences and help clients prepare for the future.”

Danielle Silver, XR Solution Architect, adds: “This is such a testament to the capabilities of our team, but also the innovative cultures of our client-partners who are ever willing to experiment, prototype, and push the boundaries of how we can use immersive technologies to elevate learning and offer learners more impactful ways of becoming better at the work that they do.” 

Clients love the team’s customer-centric approach, which one client describes as “second to none,” adding that SweetRush’s “ability to wrench on the creativity nerve was amazing.” 

SweetRush credits its innovations to a highly skilled team whose expertise in collaborating with clients on soft skills, empathy for hospitality, safety and violence de-escalation, complex technical training, and numerous unique use cases have been recognized by 106 Gold Brandon Hall Awards and eight Gold CLO Learning in Practice Awards. 

To learn more about how to augment your learning portfolio with award-winning, highly effective immersive learning experiences, please reach out to Danielle Silver at SweetRush. 

About SweetRush

SweetRush’s focus on team culture and craft 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, custom solutions for talent empowerment, and people success have earned us gold awards from our peers and high rankings on the top industry lists.

 We are over 200 people strong and have been in business since 2001. Our service areas include Custom Learning (including eLearning, mobile, gamification, and virtual training), Talent Solutions (temporary talent to augment our clients’ L&D teams), XR/Immersive Tech (VR, AR, and emerging technologies), Transforming Leaders & Culture (expert coaching and consulting to create connected, unified 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.

San Francisco, Calif., July 7, 2023 – For the ninth year in a row, SweetRush is honored to be included on Training Industry’s 2023 Top 20 Training Companies™ list for Custom Content Development in corporate learning and development (L&D). 

SweetRush employs a client- and learner-engaged approach to discovery, analysis, and ideation, led by consultative learning experts, called Solution Architects, providing clients the end-to-end design and development of custom learning programs. As a thought leader in L&D—publishing an annual Trends Reports, ebooks, webinars, and articles that push the industry forward—SweetRush’s success in securing this accolade can be attributed to three distinct aspects: its client-centric focus, array of innovative modalities to choose from, and unwavering dedication to learner-centered design.

“Clients seek us out to solve their complex business and learning challenges, and because they align with our human-centered approach and dedication to the transformative power of education,” said SweetRush CEO and Cofounder Andrei Hedstrom. “We believe that every learner deserves an experience that ignites their curiosity, fosters their growth, and unlocks their true potential while also amplifying their organization’s mission and purpose. Our solutions are effective because they respect learners’ time and energy, keep them engaged through memorable storytelling and relevant practice, and support them through every step of their learning journeys.”

Many of SweetRush’s world-class client-partners bring the learning experts on board early on in the solutioning process to perform primary research, needs analysis, and understand their key performance indicators (KPIs), making it clear what mutual success looks like for each project. SweetRush’s CoDesign experience—inspired by design thinking—brings together learners, stakeholders, and learning experts to create learner-centered design solutions. 

One of SweetRush’s key strengths is storytelling, including diverse, inclusive, and relatable character-avatars that embrace a whole-person view and build empathy. No matter the modality or technique (emerging technologies, gamification, WebVR, and immersive learning), SweetRush has built its organization on centering learners. 

SweetRush employs these award-winning learning techniques with its client-partners, including Hilton, Google, Bayer, Bridgestone, and Mondelēz International. This latest recognition comes on the heels of the company’s #1 best sales training provider award, #1 best diversity and inclusion training provider award, inclusion in the Training Industry Top 20 Experiential Learning Technologies list, 3 Chief Learning Officer Awards, and 23 Brandon Hall Group awards in 2022 (totalling 147 Brandon Hall awards since 2017). The company is also Certified™ as a Great Place to Work®.

Training Industry recognizes select companies that offer “the best training programs, products, and services on its Top Training Companies Lists” through extensive research, interactions with companies around the world, and thorough analysis.

“By developing engaging content, utilizing innovative technologies, offering quality UX design and much more, these companies create a learning environment that’s not only enjoyable but also satisfies the unique needs of the business,” said Tom Whelan, Director of Corporate Research at Training Industry, Inc.

If you’d like to speak with SweetRush about its award-winning approach to custom training programs, get in touch to be connected to a consultative expert!

ABOUT SWEETRUSH

SweetRush is trusted by many of the world’s most successful companies to help them improve the performance of their employees. We are known for exceptionally creative and effective solutions that combine the best of instructional design with highly engaging delivery. Our work has earned a long list of awards and accolades in collaboration with our clients. Discover more at www.sweetrush.com.