11 Powerful Stories of Performance Innovation: Meet the 2025 “Make Work Better” Award Winners

What does it take to make work better?

It’s more than just checking boxes on a performance review. It’s about reimagining how work gets done. It’s about brave HR leaders and forward-thinking organizations who champion their people, harness technology with heart, and create systems that don’t just support performance — they enable it.

At EmpowerHR 2025, we had the honor of recognizing eleven individuals and organizations doing exactly that. These are this year’s “Make Work Better” award winners — stories of scale, bold ideas, and lasting impact. Together, they reflect the power and new shape of performance enablement.

Each faced systemic challenges — outdated systems, fragmented processes, cultural resistance, lack of visibility — and responded with bold, people-first strategies. Here are their stories.

Impact Award: University of Phoenix 

People Award: Lincoln Financial

Scale Award: BioMarin (North America), HelloFresh (EMEA)

HR Visionary Award: Samatha Ennist, High Liner Foods

Advocate Award (company): Bhavya Gopalakrishnan, Arcesium; Deanna LaPierre and Matthew Meech, LivePerson; Armando Smeke, Posadas

Trailblazer Award: Stacie Willoughby, ATB Financial (North America); Dolça Freixes Pascual, Ferrer (EMEA)

Program Innovator Award: Sinclair Broadcasting Group

IMPACT AWARD: University of Phoenix — Turning talent planning into a strategic superpower

The challenge: Break down silos in traditional performance management processes that led to complexity and limited visibility.

Big changes start with bold moves. At the University of Phoenix, the HR team replaced an outdated, time-consuming talent planning process with a streamlined, data-driven model that gives leaders better insights and employees clearer paths for growth.

Previously, only 38% of employees were assessed, and leaders lacked the clarity to distinguish between high-potential talent and steady performers. Development and succession opportunities were often missed. The team knew a simple update wouldn’t cut it—they needed a full reimagination focused on simplicity, data, and impact. Their goal: optimize the process and maximize ROI.

Their solution: Integrate talent planning into existing quarterly check-ins. Managers now shift from performance-related questions to talent planning in a workflow they’re already familiar with. This approach has driven better insights, more consistency, and greater leader participation.

As a result, assessments jumped to 82% of employees, and leaders can now more accurately and objectively identify those ready for significant advancement.

“I think that’s really what we learned through this talent planning process — that we can use talent planning as a data element,” explained Bekah Roberts, talent management program manager at University of Phoenix. “And the easier we make it for leaders, the more they can get out of it.”

Today, talent planning is no longer a checkbox exercise—it’s a dynamic, ongoing process that empowers leaders to support employee development and prepare the organization for what’s next.

Read the University of Phoenix case studies from Betterworks and 3Sixty Insights.

PEOPLE AWARD: Lincoln Financial — When you put people first, performance follows

The challenge: Build a robust performance management process based on employee feedback and data insights that reflect core company values.

Through a mix of employee sentiment and focus group data, Lincoln Financial identified six key opportunities to improve performance management: clear and consistent goal setting, clear expectations and consistency in performance check-in conversations, a clear and fair rating scale based on a new performance management process, improved rating distribution, better calibration and compensations decisions defined by performance differentiation, and better manager-employee conversations with greater upskilling and manager accountability.  

Lincoln Financial sought to bring its core values and leadership attributes to life in its performance management processes. Multiple HR and Communications teams in the company partnered to roll out the new performance process in phases to ensure that employees were clear on the processes and understood what would come next.

“I really think this came down to the partnership we had between employee experience, our human resources business partners, and our communication teams, “ says Jennifer Meyers, senior consultant of employee experience. “All of these groups were very instrumental to the overall success and adoption of the redesign process.”

High adoption metrics (82% of employees with at least three goals, 95% for check-in conversations, 97% for year-end form completion) confirmed that employees were not only aware of the process but also engaged in it.

Lincoln Financial’s story shows that when you put people first by listening, treat performance as a shared responsibility, and focus on measured and clear steps, employees respond with trust and engagement.

SCALE AWARD (North America): BioMarin Pharmaceutical — Growing the right way, from the inside out

The challenge: Scale performance management during rapid workforce growth without losing developmental focus.

Scaling a company isn’t just about adding people — it’s about building the right systems to support them. BioMarin’s strategic vision is focused on scalable, people-first initiatives to strengthen leadership, optimize HR processes, and improve workforce agility

As BioMarin expanded its global footprint, it faced a common scaling dilemma: how to support a growing workforce without overburdening HR or compromising employee experience. Traditional one-size-fits-all feedback cycles weren’t cutting it. Coaching was optional, feedback was inconsistent, and career progression lacked structure.

BioMarin’s solution? Flip the paradigm. Instead of top-down mandates, they made leadership development central to their growth strategy. With Betterworks, they launched their first company-wide feedback cycle and embedded coaching into daily workflows. Leaders are now accountable for growth conversations — not just annual evaluations.

“Everybody deserves a coaching conversation, and we do want to focus on where everybody believes that they are getting the most compelling career experience within BioMarin,” says Sanjiv Kumar, global head of talent development. He wants to ensure that BioMarin is an exceptional place to work with leaders who provide coaching, guidance, and support to their employees.

The program team is just getting started. BioMarin has set aspirational goals for this year with 100% conversation completion rates, high goal setting throughout the organization, and a high eNPS score for development opportunities and amazing leaders.

By treating coaching as a right — not a reward — BioMarin made development accessible and equitable at scale.

SCALE AWARD (EMEA): HelloFresh — Scaling with heart and hustle

The challenge: Develop a unified approach to performance management to improve employee experience and drive growth and success during hypergrowth.

When companies grow fast, processes can struggle to keep up. But at HelloFresh, performance enablement and trust are scaling right alongside the business.

HelloFresh grew too quickly for its performance tools to keep pace. Multiple systems, siloed data, and disconnected goals made it difficult to align people, measure progress, or create a consistent employee experience across regions.

The company rolled out Betterworks to over 7,000 employees in just six months. But it wasn’t the speed alone that made it work — it was the precision. A dual focus on global consistency and local sensitivity ensured adoption across diverse markets. Managers were trained, change champions were activated, and feedback was built into every stage. 

By providing comprehensive learning materials and hands-on support to local HR teams, HelloFresh established a consistent, people-first approach to performance that drove alignment and adoption of goal setting, performance evaluations, feedback, and recognition

“My biggest takeaway from this journey is the importance of balancing global consistency with local sensitivity and definitely making sure you bring people with you during this journey,” explains Tamara Molinas, global director of people performance. 

“I think at the end of the day, people don’t just adopt tools, they really adopt what the tools enable them to do,” says Donna Nguyen, director of talent development.HelloFresh isn’t just growing—it’s growing with intention, ensuring that its performance processes reflect a culture of transparency, growth, and recognition at every level.

Listen to “What’s Next for HR Leaders” with Yasar Ahmad of HelloFresh and Dolça Freixes Pascual of Ferrer.

HR VISIONARY AWARD: Samantha Ennist, High Liner Foods — Performance enablement with a human touch

The challenge: Support growth through stronger alignment between its people and its strategic objectives.

Visionaries don’t just incrementally improve processes — they transform them.

At High Liner Foods, Samantha Ennist, manager of organizational effectiveness, led the charge, integrating Betterworks Goals, Conversations, 1:1s, Peer Feedback, and Calibration to support the company’s talent strategy and advance a culture of cross-collaboration, transparency, and alignment with High Liner’s strategic priorities. 

With a short timeline for the first two phases of the Betterworks implementation, Samantha used a “Heart, Head, Hands” approach to support the organization through the change process. “ We wanted to use a change strategy that really appealed to the heart first, then the head, then the hands, “ Samantha explains. “So first we address how people might feel about a new system or process. We show them that we understand what some of those initial emotions might be.”  After addressing employees’ emotions and thought processes, Samatha provided the tools and resources to help employees learn hands-on how to use Betterworks. By partnering with HR Business Partners, Samantha also helped build a bench of Betterworks experts.

The results have been nothing short of remarkable. For new hires, introduction to Betterworks starts with onboarding. Among all employees, High Liner achieved a 99% activation rate, 95% adoption of goals in the first year, and a 96% completion rate for manager-employee conversations.

Samantha is already putting down tracks for the second year of implementation, prioritizing the implementation of Betterworks modules in a way that will support the High Liner’s short- and long-term talent strategy and support the business in new ways.

ADVOCATE AWARD: Bhavya Gopalakrishnan, Arcesium — Iterating, learning, and leading by example

The challenge: Keeping performance systems relevant in a fast-changing business environment using data-driven decision-making to ensure sustainable growth while maintaining a strong company culture.

True advocates don’t just drive internal change — they lead by example. Arcesium has done both, scaling its performance and leadership programs while inspiring the broader HR community with its people-first approach.

To support rapid growth, Arcesium introduced scalable leadership development programs, including 360-degree feedback, competency-based leadership training, and structured career development conversations. These tools help leaders manage growing teams while reinforcing a high-performance culture.

Scaling quickly can strain culture and operations, but Arcesium tackled this head-on by embedding core values into OKRs and year-end reviews. The company simplified onboarding and gave leaders the tools to coach and support effectively. With a data-driven approach, Arcesium continuously tracks engagement, retention, and leadership effectiveness — and uses those insights to improve.

“We’ve tried different things to make constant, iterative, incremental improvements into what we’re doing,” explains Bhavya Gopalakrishnan, head of human capital, US & UK. 

This approach has strengthened employee engagement, improved retention, and made performance conversations more meaningful. By tying leadership behaviors to OKRs and business goals, Arcesium keeps performance and culture aligned. Employees feel supported in their growth, which helps the company retain talent and stay competitive — even as it expands into new teams and regions.

By promoting the power of feedback, alignment, and development, Arcesium is showing that advocacy isn’t just about influence—it’s about creating lasting impact.

Listen on demand to the EmpowerHR session, “Beyond Performance: The Next Evolution in HR Strategy with Betterworks,” with Bhavya.

ADVOCATE AWARD: Deanna La Pierre and Matthew Meech, LivePerson — Making AI a manager’s best friend

The challenge: Leverage AI to turn cumbersome and low-value performance reviews into more efficient, accessible, and practical events that help managers and employees.

At LivePerson, innovation isn’t just a goal—it’s built into how they work.

By integrating AI into their performance processes, Senior Director of Talent Development Deanna LaPierre and Talent Development Manager Matthew Meech have elevated the employee experience, making development smarter, faster, and more impactful. 

LivePerson has used Betterworks to bring consistency and clarity to key talent processes. For new hires, they created a way to manage probation through anytime conversations, helping standardize onboarding across global teams. They also rolled out 360 feedback- and competency-based conversations to support development and streamline the entire performance cycle. 

By enabling AI features, Matthew and Deanna made the process faster and easier—leading to near-perfect review completion in 2023, with 2024 on track to repeat that success. With Betterworks AI Assist, LivePerson reinvented performance conversations. Managers saved time, gained clarity, and expressed feedback more constructively. They also embedded feedback into new hire probation periods and created consistent, trackable 360 feedback processes.

“Since using AI in the process, I’ve had a number of managers reach out to tell me that they really love AI and how it simplified their process,” Deanna says. “Some have gone so far as to say that what used to take over an hour, now takes them about 15 minutes because the AI removes the burden of trying to figure out what to say and how to say it.”

And, they’ve shared their experiences with others. The LivePerson team has actively championed Betterworks, recommending it to multiple companies and speaking at key events. 

Read the LivePerson case study to learn more about how LivePerson is revolutionizing performance enablement with AI.

ADVOCATE AWARD: Armando Smeke, Posadas — Performance across 200 hotels and counting

The challenge: Align performance in a highly decentralized, operationally diverse business and drive widespread adoption.

Building a performance culture takes vision, persistence, and leadership, qualities Armando Smeke has in abundance.

As Posadas’ Strategy Director, Armando has expanded the Betterworks platform beyond corporate functions to reach all 200 hotels. Through his leadership and determination, he is driving a culture of accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement. His ability to overcome organizational resistance and scale the platform across a complex, decentralized structure demonstrates his role as a true change-maker in the industry. Armando’s achievements have elevated HR’s strategic impact within Posadas and set a precedent for other organizations seeking to modernize their approach to goal-setting and execution.

At Posadas, hotel operations and corporate teams once operated on different performance wavelengths. Armando Smeke set out to fix that by rolling out OKRs across 200 hotels and building custom processes, dashboards, and feedback loops. Despite initial resistance, he created a unified performance framework that honored local autonomy while enabling centralized visibility.

Thanks to his efforts, 88% of employees now own at least one OKR. His work proves that operational complexity doesn’t have to be a barrier to strategic alignment.

“Using technology for performance management allows me to present a solution to the business and say, ‘Hey, we can integrate technology and people processes with our strategy and be like a forward-thinking leader here at Posadas,’” Armando explains.

Armando has shared Posadas’s success story at universities with the Master’s group from the “Instituto de Empresa” in Madrid. His work proves that operational complexity doesn’t have to be a barrier to strategic alignment and that persistence indeed pays off.

Learn more about the genesis of Posadas’ evolution with performance management in the Posadas case study and listen to Armando as he talks about moving from goals to greatness on the Betterworks People Fundamentals podcast.

TRAILBLAZER AWARD (North America): Stacie Willoughby, ATB Financial — Future-proofing HR one system at a time

The challenge: Transform a fragmented HR tech stack and manual processes into streamlined processes that give HR the freedom to scale easily and create better digital experiences for employees. 

Great technology should make work easier, not harder.

When Stacie Willoughby, director of HR technology, took charge of HR tech at ATB Financial, data silos and inefficient systems were inhibiting progress. Employees lacked intuitive tools, and HR couldn’t access the insights needed to drive talent strategy.

Stacie is a trailblazer in HR tech, leading the charge in transforming ATB Financial’s talent strategy. She didn’t just roll out new software — she built a fully integrated, future-ready talent management system, architecting a future-proof foundation for talent development. From streamlining recruitment to reimagining onboarding and compensation, Stacie turned disconnected HR processes into a cohesive, data-driven experience that’s built to scale.

Stacie led the implementation of 12 new HR systems, including Betterworks, to replace outdated processes with seamless, data-driven solutions. She has created an efficient digital experience for employees while also promoting a culture of meritocracy. Now, HR has the tools to scale efficiently, and employees have the support they need to grow. She also created a roadmap and governance model that positioned HR as a tech-enabled business partner.

 ”It’s really important that you… start with a clear and aligned vision between what the program owners are striving for and what the technologies are able to do and then really prioritizing user experience and what the reporting or data insights will be needed to showcase the value to the organization.”

Her bold transformation turned HR tech into a strategic asset, unlocking scale, transparency, and agility across the enterprise.

TRAILBLAZER AWARD (EMEA): Dolça Freixes Pascual, Ferrer — Building a culture of purpose and progress

The challenge: Aligning employee performance with corporate values and social responsibility.

A true trailblazer doesn’t just tweak the process—they make bold, meaningful changes. That’s exactly what Dolça Freixes Pascual, Talent & Culture Advisor at Ferrer, along with a broader team, have done.

Together with the team, Dolça led the creation of a performance model that prioritizes people, collaboration, accountability, and continuous growth. Partnering with Betterworks, they rolled out a performance and development program that’s helped boost engagement, promote data-driven decisions, improve internal mobility, and support stronger talent decisions. 

At the heart of this transformation is clarity. Employees now set individual priorities tied to company goals, making it easier to track progress and have more meaningful year-end reviews. Regular development conversations and real-time, multi-stakeholder feedback keep growth on track and encourage cross-functional collaboration. Managers are now empowered to truly support their teams—not just evaluate them.

Their work reflects Ferrer’s broader mission: to use business as a force for good. The company donates 40% of its profits to social and environmental causes, and employees actively participate in over 70 charitable projects around the world. That deep sense of purpose has made a real impact — Ferrer is now the highest-scoring B Corp pharmaceutical company globally.

“It helps us also to influence others, to inspire other companies to show them that there’s a way of doing business differently,” Dolça says. “And that there’s a way when we do things differently, when we commit to a livable planet, when we commit to a more fair society, we also become more engaging for our teams.”

Ferrer’s teams have proven that when you put people and purpose first, performance follows.

PROGRAM INNOVATION AWARD: Sinclair Broadcast Group — When recognition goes viral

The challenge: Deepen engagement with the company’s OKR framework by gamifying recognition of employees’ achievements. 

When recognition is engaging, it doesn’t just fit morale — it transforms culture.

Before 2024, Sinclair’s recognition rates were low, with just an average of 12 recognitions given every month. So Darrell Davis, VP of Business Transformation, Bob Saylor, Director of Objectives and Key Results, and Carly Nunez, Program Analyst, OKRs decided a little March Madness of their own could pump up enthusiasm and score higher engagement while also strengthening cross-functional collaboration.

Enter the “Recognition Rumble.” Designed like a March Madness bracket, the contest gamified cross-functional recognition and paired it with weekly updates, team pride, and executive involvement. 

“OKRs are very much a team event,” Bob says. “Almost all our OKRs are over fairly large teams. So for us, it’s ‘How do we get the team all involved? How do we get everybody excited to, number one, celebrate the good stuff that we can all build on, and then recognize each other, even within a team, for the contributions, where someone’s going above and beyond?’ because we’re getting there. It makes the human part of achieving together that much more pliable, that much more effective, that much more transparent, that everybody feels it, everybody sees it. Everybody, importantly, wants to participate.”

During the three-month-long contest, Sinclair recorded over 2,200 recognitions from 80% of its users. In total, the recognition tourney netted a recognition jump from just about 4% of Betterworks users to 84% of users.

Sinclair showed that a little creativity can create powerful moments and shared experiences of appreciation.

What It Means to “Make Work Better”

Each of these winners tackled not just tactical challenges — but deeply human ones: alignment, motivation, fairness, belonging, purpose. These are the building blocks of performance enablement. And thanks to leaders and companies like these, we now have a roadmap for what’s possible when HR leads with vision, technology, and heart.

Want to build your own performance transformation story?