The program will open March 4, 2024, and will remain open until April 22, 2024. Judging will remain open until July 1, 2024. Finalists will be notified via email whether they have ranked in July. The final ranking will be revealed at the annual LearningElite Gala in October.

Send all questions to Liz Loutfi-Hipchen, managing editor of Chief Learning Officer and LearningElite program coordinator: customerservice@betterworkmedia.com.

The LearningElite is open to all for-profit, nonprofit, government or academic organizations, regardless of size, location or industry.

Companies worldwide are encouraged to apply.

Lines of business are encouraged to apply.

Academic institutions that apply should reference learning and development provided to employees, staff and faculty (not the student population).

Vendors can apply if they reference internal learning programs. Vendor applications that solely describe their external learning programs or products are disqualified from ranking and are not included in the benchmark.

While we prefer applications that reference the learning function of the entire enterprise, business units with their own learning function can apply.

The application period is currently closed.

When the application period opens April 3, 2023, log on to the awards tool to register and apply for the LearningElite.

LearningElite applications are only accepted through the online tool. The tool contains downloadable planning worksheets to help your organization prepare its application. The application fee is also processed through the awards tool.

Online applications are filled out through our nomination entry portal: https://betterworkmedia.awardsplatform.com/

There is a 12,000 word limit on Part II of the application. Organizations exceeding this limit will be penalized up to a quarter point on their scores.

Attachments are allowed and can be added at the bottom of Pat II.

There is an application fee, with two tiers:

Application Fees

Please note that there is a price increase to the Benchmark tier:

Benchmark: $395. Includes application fee, digital badges and scorecard.

Benchmark Plus: $995. Includes application fee, digital badges, scorecard, copy of the annual LearningElite Best Practices and Benchmarking Report, and benchmarking data cut. A $1,500 value.

Application fees are submitted with a credit card at the awards portal. Your application is not finalized until payment.

Application Fee FAQs

Which option is right for my organization?

The Benchmark option is best for first-time organizations and organizations who don’t plan to purchase the annual report or wish to purchase the report later. The Benchmark Plus option is best for organizations who plan to purchase the report or who wish to get a more granular view of their ranking in relation to other organizations.

When will I receive my materials?

The report, scorecards and custom data cuts will be delivered in late spring, after the winners are announced.

Can I invoice my application fee?

Government and nonprofit organizations can invoice their application fee. Contact us for details.

Individual organizational data will be used to establish your organization’s standing in the LearningElite. The BetterWork Media Research and Advisory Group will use application data to generate a personalized scorecard delivered to you after final rankings are announced. LearningElite finalists will be announced in a press release and on ChiefLearningOfficer.com. The top LearningElite organizations will be featured on ChiefLearningOfficer.com. Summarized and anonymized application data is included in the annual LearningElite benchmarking report.

Judges include senior practitioners, learning-solution providers, suppliers, vendor executives and learning and development experts. Most judges have about 10 years’ experience in the learning and development industry.

LearningElite judgeship is open to senior practitioners and learning-solution providers’ executives from any size organization and industry. Judges are vetted prior to the application review process. Many judges participate year after year.

Each application is reviewed by multiple judges to minimize bias. Judges do not review applications from organizations in their industry and may recuse themselves from any application if there is a potential conflict of interest.

Judges are given a detailed set of instructions and a scoring rubric to assist them. Judges rate an organization in each of the five dimensions of the LearningElite model: learning strategy, leadership commitment, learning execution, learning impact, and business performance results. For each question, judges assign each question a score from 2 (underdeveloped) to 5 (elite).

Multiple judges’ scores are aggregated to determine the ranked list of LearningElite organizations.

The seven Editor’s Choice awards are determined by the BetterWork Media Group’s Research and Advisory Services. The Editor’s Choice winners scored the highest in each of their respective dimensions. Organizations with fewer than 4,000 employees qualify for Best Small Company, while Best Mid-Size Company is open to organizations with 4,000-8,000 employees.

The Editor’s Choice awards are:

• Learning Strategy
• Leadership Commitment
• Learning Execution
• Learning Impact
• Business Performance
• Best Small Company
• Best Mid-Size Company

Finalists are notified of their status by email in July. Emails will be sent to the person listed as the primary contact on the application.

An unranked finalist list is also posted to this website around that time.

Numbered rankings are revealed at the annual LearningElite Gala. The 2024 LearningElite Gala will be held in October.

The LearningElite Gala is our awards ceremony. Please stay tuned for updates regarding the 2024 LearningElite Gala.

All applicants receive a custom scorecard, featuring year-over-year comparison and judges’ comments about their application.

Ranked applicants also receive:

• A discount on the LearningElite benchmarking report.
• A discount to the spring CLO Symposium.
• An invitation to the LearningElite Gala.
• Digital badges for use in any and all promotional materials.
• A LearningElite trophy.*

*Awards trophies are mailed to the person listed as primary contact on your application. Please contact us if you would like your organization’s award sent to a different address.

The Winner’s Circle was introduced in 2014 and was retroactively applied to 2013. The Organization of the Year joins the Winner’s Circle for three years. While Winner’s Circle organizations may participate in benchmarking, they aren’t included in the ranking or banding. After three years, the organization is considered out of the Winner’s Circle and may once again participate in the ranking.

Current Winner’s Circle organizations are KPMG, ADP and Verizon. Previous Winner’s Circle organizations (which are once again eligible to participate in the rankings) are Accenture, AT&T, Nationwide, DAU, Vanguard, Qualcomm Inc. and General Mills.

Past Winners:

2021: Verizon

2020: AT&T

2019: Nationwide

2018: Accenture

2017: DAU

2016: Vanguard

2015: Qualcomm Inc.

2014: General Mills

2013: AT&T