2024 Don Clifton Strengths-BasedCulture Award Winners
Don Clifton's legacy is built on his mission to study "what's right with people." In this spirit, we introduced the Don Clifton Strengths-Based Culture Award in 2020. This award recognizes organizations and educational institutions with cultures that put the strengths of leaders, managers and employees at the core of how they work every day.
These organizations drive performance by helping employees focus on what they do best, maximizing the potential within teams, and integrating strengths-based development into their mission, vision, and values.
Meet the Winners
For the fifth year in a row, Accenture has won the Don Clifton Strengths-Based Culture Award. The global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security has made applying strengths one of the key actions in its approach to people development: Performance Achievement. Accenture's goal is to enable its 738,000 employees to achieve great performance through coaching and development based on their CliftonStrengths® assessments and by focusing their greatest talents to achieve key priorities.
By weaving a strengths-based approach into performance and career conversations, Accenture established a strengths-based culture, enabled by a global network of approximately 300 strengths coaches and hundreds of strengths champions trained over the years. Their focus on collaboration and shared success helps fuel high performance and greater inclusion. Since the launch of Performance Achievement and strengths-based conversations, more than 694,000 people who have worked at Accenture have completed the CliftonStrengths assessment, and more than 772,000 people who have worked at Accenture have participated in a Q12® team engagement survey.
The CrossFirst Bank brand stands for a commitment to pursuing excellence in banking and building trusted relationships with their employees, clients, strategic partners and communities. By putting people first, they are able to realize their vision, purpose and promises. CrossFirst Bank understands the value of investing in their people and offers each new employee the opportunity to take their CliftonStrengths® assessment and be coached one-on-one by one of their internal Gallup-Certified Strengths Coaches. CrossFirst Bank has mastered the art of embedding strengths into how they do business. They live this out by speaking about strengths early and often, which naturally led to strengths becoming a common language for their culture.
As a strengths-based, engagement-focused organization, they are committed to giving every employee the opportunity to do what they do best everyday through ongoing development initiatives like CrossFirst University, the "Extraordinary Manager" program and Strengths-Based Selling workshops. CrossFirst Bank's commitment to providing an opportunity for every employee to know their natural talents not only contributes to their own success and wellbeing -- but to the overall success of the bank.
Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven, specialty biopharmaceutical group committed to helping people around the world build families and live better lives. Ferring is a leader in reproductive medicine and maternal health, and in specialty areas within gastroenterology and urology. Ferring has been developing treatments for mothers and babies for over 50 years.
At Ferring, our behavioral expectations are strongly guided by our Ferring Philosophy, our Code of Conduct, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, our Leadership Principles, and a Strengths-based approach. By integrating CliftonStrengths® into our organization since 2019, we are truly leading a movement and cultural transformation aimed at empowering our employees to bring their authentic selves to work. This initiative enables them to lead and support teams using their innate abilities and unique talents, essential for advancing our organization's objectives, enhancing customer experience and ultimately improving the lives of our patients.
Today, after five years of integration, CliftonStrengths has become an integral part of numerous people processes within our organization, including onboarding, performance management, learning and development, leadership development, and engagement. We are proud to have a network of over 120 internal certified coaches dedicated to supporting our employees and leaders in integrating strengths into their daily interactions, fostering a culture of empowerment and growth.
Macquarie Technology Group is Australia's data centre, cloud, cyber security and telecom company for mid-large business and government customers. They pride themselves on providing the best customer experience in Australia.
PTC is a science-driven, global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of clinically differentiated medicines that provide benefits to patients with rare disorders. PTC's ability to globally commercialize products is the foundation that drives investment in a robust and diversified pipeline of transformative medicines and its mission to provide access to best-in-class treatments for patients who have an unmet medical need. The company's strategy is to leverage its strong scientific expertise and global commercial infrastructure to maximize value for its patients and other stakeholders.
Through the implementation of CliftonStrengths®, Southwest Airlines has had the opportunity to rise to the next level in terms of creating an amazing strengths-based culture. With over 80,000 employees and 11 million customers served each month, putting people first is not simply a business mantra for Southwest, but rather a way of life to which the organization is genuinely and wholeheartedly committed.
What started as a grassroots movement in the organization has turned into 100% of the departments committing to CliftonStrengths implementation, starting their journey to make Southwest Airlines the world's first strengths-based airline. With so many customer-facing employees, a culture focused on individuals' strengths is critical to continue growing the spirit of hospitality, one employee at a time. The strengths strategies being implemented throughout the organization enhance the employee experience for everyone.
Growing talent has always been a part of Stryker's DNA. To deliver on its mission every day, this global medical technology company is driven by a set of values that includes helping its approximately 51,000 employees discover their strengths and follow their passions. From hiring to development, talent is woven into the fabric of Stryker's organizational culture.
Keeping people at the heart of everything they do, Stryker is continually focused on providing talent solutions to their workforce. Strengths is an integral part of the company's culture, and Stryker uses the CliftonStrengths® assessment to help employees understand their natural abilities. The company also leverages an internal coaching community of approximately 300 Gallup-Certified Strengths Coaches to further drive the power of understanding one's strengths through individual and team coaching. When people can do what they do best, they look forward to coming to work and, in turn, will deliver great business results.
For more than 25 years, Travelex Insurance Services has been a leading travel insurance provider in the United States. As a premier partner in the travel industry, Travelex offers a diverse array of products designed to help travelers create and protect the moments that matter most while they explore the world.
In 2016, the Travelex organization recognized the transformative power of leveraging individuals' innate talents and strengths and implemented CliftonStrengths® into their program. By embracing this approach, Travelex created a culture that valued and celebrated each team member's unique abilities. Travelex focuses on what each employee does well and how to help individuals grow and develop, not just as Travelex team members but as human beings. Diversity, equity and inclusivity are inherently woven into the program -- Travelex team members celebrate their strengths and the strengths of others and acknowledge with great appreciation the variety of strengths within the organization.
CliftonStrengths is an integral part of the Travelex culture as it empowers employees to reach their full potential, promotes a growth mindset, and enhances overall engagement and employee wellbeing. Through CliftonStrengths, Travelex invests not only in the success of its employees but also in the success of the organization. For Travelex, it is all connected, and by focusing on strengths and wellbeing, they've created a culture where team members know they are supported and encouraged to bring their whole selves to work.
West Virginia University (WVU) is a prominent public research university nestled in Morgantown, West Virginia. Established in 1867, WVU boasts a rich history and a vibrant campus culture. WVU offers a picturesque backdrop for its diverse student body of more than 25,000 students and is part of the WVU System, which has campuses all across West Virginia. The University is the state's land grant and flagship institution. WVU is also one of just 146 institutions in the country to be considered an R1 -- or "very high research" designation. Beyond academics, WVU provides ample opportunities for student engagement through more than 400 clubs and organizations, and big-time athletics experiences. WVU is home to the first Purpose Center on a college campus; the Center connects students' passions and strengths to their future careers, helping them understand how they can make a great impact in the world post-graduation.
WVU sees CliftonStrengths® as a tool on the journey for purpose, helping students understand more about their natural patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors and how to apply them holistically for success in academics, career, leadership and wellbeing. In addition to student work, WVU offers a variety of strengths-based opportunities for faculty and staff, parents and families of students, alumni, and partners with WVU Extension to bring strengths to communities and K12 programs as part of the land-grant mission.
We're celebrating organizations that are making a difference in people's lives.
From work to education, we recognize organizations doing exceptional work transforming culture, improving engagement and putting strengths first.