SweetRush and Client-Partners Earn 24 Awards from Brandon Hall Group!

SweetRush wins 24 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards, highlighting its expertise in strategic learning solutions, AI enablement, and games and simulations for L&D. 

San Francisco, Calif., August 14, 2026 — SweetRush, a premier learning strategy and solutions partner, along with its clients, is proud to announce it has earned 24 prestigious Brandon Hall Group™ HCM Excellence Awards^®, including 17 Gold awards. 

Together with parent company NIIT, the combined organization celebrated an extraordinary milestone of 114 total Brandon Hall Group awards this year, reinforcing a shared commitment to global learning innovation.

SweetRush’s 24 awards are shared with client-partners American Association of Family Physicians (AAFP), Arcadis, Scrum Alliance, SHRM, and Uber, all of whom consistently demonstrate a commitment to innovative learning and development initiatives, supported by SweetRush’s expertise.

“What I see every day at SweetRush is the magic that happens when you combine real teamwork with smart design,” said SweetRush CEO Danielle Hart. “Together with our client-partners, we transform workplaces and lift up people and communities, and that’s why we’re all fortunate to be in this remarkable field of learning. Congratulations to our clients, the SweetRush team, our NIIT family, and everyone recognized, for putting their minds and hearts into this important work.”

The awards underscore the expansive capabilities of the SweetRush team, spanning multiple HCM Excellence categories across the Learning and Development and Future of Work program areas. 

Highlights from the 2026 Brandon Hall Group Wins:

Awards in 10 unique categories

• 3 Gold awards for Best Association Professional Development Program
• 1 Gold award for Best Competencies and Skills Development
• 6 Gold awards for Best Custom Content Learning
• 3 Gold awards for Best Extended Enterprise Learning Program
• 1 Gold award for Best Learning in the Flow of Work
• 1 Gold award for Best Learning Program Supporting a Change Transformation Business Strategy
• 1 Gold award for Best Program for Upskilling Employees
• 1 Gold award for Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development Program
• Wins in categories celebrating the Best Use of AI and Best Use of Games or Simulations

Real-World Impact: Award-Winning Custom Learning in Action

SweetRush's award-winning projects are designed to spark real growth, empower people, and make work better. This year’s programs include those that are helping: 

• Healthcare professionals bridge the gap between abstract, two-dimensional ECG data and their ability to construct a concrete, three-dimensional spatial mental model of cardiac anatomy and electrical pathways via an immersive VR and WebXR training experience.
• Employees at a leading architecture firm build AI competency via a series of modules that build knowledge, raise compliance awareness, and develop prompting capability. AI-powered simulations let learners practice real prompts with real-time coaching from an embedded AI assistant.
• Family physicians audit and modify their offices to welcome patients of all abilities and needs. Using high-fidelity 3D graphics, spatial audio, and a seamless UI, physicians navigate three scenarios that allow them to experience the challenges of patients living with mobility, sensory, and hearing challenges.
• HR professionals to shift from legacy recruitment practices to a modern, skills-first approach to hiring and talent management. The engaging and interactive learning experience helps HR leaders and practitioners rethink how they source, develop, and manage talent—placing real-world capabilities at the center of every HR decision.
• Delivery drivers identify, assess, and respond effectively to potential hazards in various road environments via a series of first-person gamified learning simulations that empower drivers to practice responding to critical hazards in a risk-free environment.  

“Winning these awards is such an honor, but the magic really happens in our client relationships,” said Annie Hodson, Chief Client Solutions Officer at SweetRush. “It takes courage to try new approaches, whether we’re leveraging AI or spatial learning. We’re deeply grateful to our partners for trusting us to innovate together and create learning that actually moves the needle.” 

SweetRush supports clients within industries including automotive, banking and finance, business services, consumer goods, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, nonprofit, retail, and pharmaceuticals.

SweetRush’s 2026 Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards:

17 GOLD AWARDS

• Best Association Professional Development Program [x3]
• Best Competencies and Skills Development [x1]
• Best Custom Content Learning [x6]
• Best Extended Enterprise Learning Program [x3]
• Best Learning in the Flow of Work [x1]
• Best Learning Program Supporting a Change Transformation Business Strategy [x1]
• Best Program for Upskilling Employees [x1]
• Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development Program [x1]

7 SILVER AWARDS

• Best Association Professional Development Program [x1]
• Best Custom Content Learning [x2]
• Best Extended Enterprise Learning Program [x1]
• Best Use of AI for Learning [x1]
• Best Use of Games and Simulations for Learning [x2]

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

Every year, the HCM Excellence Awards remind us that innovation is ultimately about impact. The organizations recognized this year have demonstrated that great HR and learning strategies don't just improve programs, they strengthen organizations, empower people and deliver measurable business results. We are honored to celebrate their achievements."

Rachel Cooke, COO of Brandon Hall Group™ and HCM Excellence Awards® Program Leader

View the winners on the Brandon Hall Group website. Congratulations to all!

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. Now part of the global NIIT family of world-class learning services, SweetRush is known for strategic thought leadership and exceptionally creative and effective solutions that combine the best of learning experience design with highly engaging delivery. SweetRush services include strategy consulting and analysis, custom L&D solution design and development, high-performing talent for staff augmentation, certification development, 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 Brandon Hall Group™

Brandon Hall Group™ is the home of the HCM Excellence Awards® — the most prestigious awards in Human Capital Management. Since 1993, these awards have set the gold standard for recognizing breakthrough innovations across Learning and Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Human Resources, Sales Performance, Talent Acquisition, and Future of Work. Known as the “Academy Awards of Human Capital Management,” our awards program features over 150 categories and attracts entries from leading corporations worldwide. Our rigorous evaluation process, conducted by veteran industry experts and Brandon Hall Group analysts, ensures that winners represent true excellence in HCM. The HCM Excellence Awards® are part of our comprehensive recognition ecosystem, which includes the Excellence in Technology Awards and Excellence in Action Awards. For over 30 years, Brandon Hall Group™ has empowered and recognized excellence in organizations worldwide, influencing the development of over 10 million employees and executives. We are the only professional development company that offers data, research, insights and certification to Learning and Talent executives and organizations.

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