Bühler Group, in collaboration with the IMD International Institute for Management Development, has been honored with the Brandon Hall Group Bronze Medal Excellence Award in Learning and Development, category Best Team Development Program, for their high-performance team program. This recognition celebrates not only the transformative impact of the joint initiative but also Bühler’s enduring commitment to developing high-performing, values-driven leadership teams to advance its global strategic goals.
The award-winning program is a cornerstone of Bühler’s strategic transformation journey aimed to embed the company’s values—Trust, Ownership, and Passion (TOP)—into its leadership culture, driving cultural transformation and improving performance to achieve strategic objectives.
Developed with IMD, the program ran from 2020 to 2023, empowering Bühler’s top 140 executives and cascading high-performance team practices to over 1,000 leaders worldwide. It featured a multi-phase learning journey with pre-work, a four-day residential program in Lausanne, individualized coaching, and follow-up seminars, all based on a four-step model to enhance team effectiveness. A cascading process enabled trained facilitators to roll out high-performing team workshops across Bühler’s global teams.
Irene Mark-Eisenring, Chief Human Resources Officer at Bühler, mentioned: “Together with IMD, we created a learning journey that not only strengthened team effectiveness but also accelerated our cultural evolution. This award is a testament to our commitment to building a values-driven, high-performing culture.”
Survey results underscored the program’s impact: 98% of participants reported gaining practical tools and knowledge relevant to their roles, and the same percentage felt prepared to apply them at work. Later surveys confirmed increased trust levels within teams, a driver of psychological safety, satisfaction, identity, and retention. In this sense, Elke Thamm, Head of People Development & Talent at Bühler, added: “These metrics drive real impact as they are also tied to psychological safety, employee satisfaction, shared identity, and employee retention.”
Ina Toegel, IMD’s Professor, said: “Most companies struggle to apply the learnings and frameworks despite their positive intentions. Bühler not only delivered on its ambition to apply the learning, but proactively drove the process, and succeeded in scaling the application.”
The program has shaped Bühler’s high-performance team culture in multiple ways, from strengthening leadership alignment to enhancing team collaboration, and continues to support teams in navigating uncertainty and driving performance in today’s dynamic market environment.
Misiek Piskorski, Dean of Executive Education at IMD and Professor of Digital Strategy, highlighted: “This Brandon Hall Group award recognizes Bühler Group’s dedication to leadership development and creating real impact—and the privilege IMD has in partnering with such a visionary organization to support their leaders and teams in achieving extraordinary results.”
The learning journey earned a Bronze Medal in Best Team Development at the 32nd Brandon Hall Group Human Capital Management Excellence Awards, which honor global achievements in Learning and Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Talent Acquisition, Human Resources, Sales Performance, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and Future of Work initiatives. A panel of experts recognized the program for its innovation, measurable business impact, and transformative approach to human capital management.
