Brandon Hall Group recognizes golden trio with joint award for Greystar, Hemsley Fraser and 5App

Global learning and engagement specialist Hemsley Fraser has been awarded its fourth Brandon Hall Group Award. The award, jointly given to Hemsley Fraser, Greystar, the global leader in rental housing, and learning technology and digital UX expert 5App, recognizes the success of the new Greystar Business School.

Hemsley Fraser, Greystar and 5App united to win the coveted Brandon Hall Group Gold Award for Excellence in the Best Launch of a Corporate Learning University category. The successful Greystar Business School is a one-stop hub that houses all employee learning and communication and delivers a frictionless, social and personalized user experience.

Since the launch of the Greystar Business School – an outstanding example of Hemsley Fraser’s learning-as-a-service model – the organization has achieved:

• 24% improvement in performance and productivity
• 90% increase in understanding of company goals and objectives
• 35% reduction in employee turnover

Steve Thompson, Senior Director – Learning and Talent Development at Greystar, puts this down to a clear vision and successful collaboration of what needed to be achieved. He said, “Greystar was expanding so quickly that we needed fast action to ensure skills and values were embedded in our growing team both at a Corporate and Onsite level. Bridging this gap and making learning available to all and at point of need required a fresh, innovative approach. The partnership has produced a phenomenal solution in terms of developing the Greystar Business School, building our brand and creating a learning culture in Europe.”

Matthew Prisco, Client Digital Transformation Lead, at Hemsley Fraser agrees. “From the very first meeting with Greystar, it was clear they needed a partner who could bring the strategy to life and reinvent L&D within the business through a multiple service offer. One of the key components to success was how closely we were able to work with the operational side of the business, thanks to the trusting partnership we had formed. This created key stakeholders across the enterprise who were able to adapt the approach to their specific function and job roles, driving context and relevance to a diverse audience. It’s been a really interesting journey so far, and I look forward to developing our partnership for consistent impact at Greystar.”

Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards are highly valued by organizations, as evidenced by the record number of applications received this year in the midst of a global pandemic. “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. Excellence Awards winners will be honored at Brandon Hall Group’s HCM Excellence Conference, January 26-28, 2021, at the Hilton West Palm Beach, Florida. Select winners also will serve as presenters in breakout sessions, sharing their leading practices during the conference.

Our judge's comments included:

“The Business School was essential in turning around decreasing engagement and increasing intent to stay. And bringing together assets in one easy to use platform with social collaboration was well done.”

“…really liked how company news and videos from the CEO were incorporated - so you can learn in the same place you get your company-wide news and updates.”

“The results were exceptional. It is not easy to turnaround engagement so positively in such a short period of time, nor to engage a wide audience in a new platform - well done!”