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    Best Practice Institute Recognizes Executives, Programs at Microsoft, National Grid

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    Innovative Talent and Leadership Development in Practice

    To effectively manage talent and develop the next generation of leaders, organizations must create forward-thinking programs that address future needs. Best Practice Institute (BPI) recognized two leading companies, Microsoft and National Grid, for their innovative and effective programs in leadership development and strategic workforce planning. These initiatives highlight how to connect leadership growth with real-world impact and proactively manage workforce gaps.

    Microsoft's Front Lines: Developing Leaders Through Global Action Learning

    Shannon Banks, Microsoft's HR Director for Western Europe, received the BPI Award for Top Practitioner in Global Talent Solutions for creating the 'Front Lines' program. This initiative immerses the company's elite high-potential leaders in action learning situations in developing nations.

    The program was designed with two primary objectives:

    • Develop leaders through practical, hands-on experience.
    • Make a genuine contribution to communities in the emerging world.

    Launched in Kenya in 2010, the program has also run in Peru and the Philippines. During an intensive 4-5 day workshop, participants team up with partner organizations, such as non-profits, to address real-world challenges. These experiences have taken place in locations like the Mukuru slums of Nairobi and a shantytown school in Pachacutec, Peru.

    National Grid's Proactive Approach to Strategic Workforce Planning

    Juliette Trollope, Manager of Strategic Workforce Planning for National Grid, was awarded the BPI Award for Top Practitioner in Strategic Workforce Planning. She refined a program at the international electricity and gas company that predicts and develops responses to gaps in "critical job families" years in advance.

    "It's all about forecasting the gaps and then ensuring that we put in place actions to address them before they become significant," Trollope explained.

    Key features of National Grid's strategic workforce planning (SWP) include:

    • Long-Term Horizon: The planning process operates on a 10-year timeframe and is refreshed annually.
    • Focused Scope: The approach concentrates on core areas of the business and "critical job families."
    • Collaborative Ownership: A vital component of the program's success is its collaborative nature. The process engages all key players, including HR business partners, finance, and management information teams, but is led by the business units, which have ultimate ownership.

    By engaging stakeholders across the organization, National Grid ensures that its workforce plan is not just an HR exercise but a strategic business imperative.

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    Best Practice Institute

    Best Practice Institute is the research organization behind Most Loved Workplace® certification, the SPARK Model, the Love of Workplace Index™ (LOWI™), and The Workplace Report.

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    The report format includes executive summaries, research-backed articles, company examples, methodology notes, and practical implications for retention, hiring, culture, leadership, and employee experience. New research and analysis is published on an ongoing editorial cadence at /workplace-report.