The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp)—a leading global human capital research firm—has announced the remaining four Finalists in its 2021 Next Practice Awards competition. Exclusive to i4cp's research and analysis, next practices describe innovative strategies strongly tied to excellence in market performance but not yet leveraged by most organizations.

Finalists in phase two of the 2021 competition include Ford Motor Company, T-Mobile, JLL, and Land O'Lakes, joining previously announced finalists Tiffany & Co., Prisma Health, F5, and Avanade. All were chosen for demonstrating creative workforce practices that positively impact business results.

Winners will be selected from the full slate of finalists and honored at i4cp's Next Practices Now Conference, taking place virtually in November and onstage at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in March.

Entries in the sixth annual awards competition showcase initiatives organizations have implemented to strengthen DE&I programs, upskill and reskill employees, expand mental health offerings, and safely return to the office:

• Ford Motor Company—In response to significant disruption in its European markets, in part driven by a shift in customer behavior, moves towards carbon-neutral transportation, and demand for device integration, the 118-year-old company needed to increase its agility & workforce capability and align its capability & talent acquisition. Ford in Europe put into effect four priority sprints, covering skills, environment, innovation, and digitization, to reskill and redeploy personnel, compete for talent against tech companies outside the automotive industry, and instill a continuous learning culture.
• T-Mobile—Following the death of George Floyd and the growing racial tension in the U.S., T-Mobile created a program "Lead Magenta Next," with the sole purpose of increasing the diversity of its leadership. The goal was to place underrepresented talent at the intersection of sponsorship, readiness, and opportunity. Among other successes, within two months of the end of the first cohort, 28% of participants were promoted.
• JLL— In order to develop a successful corporate reentry approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, the commercial real estate leader was challenged to dramatically increase support for the well-being of employees while also identifying best practices for clients. In response, JLL Americas has enabled 11,000+ employees to return to the office—without a single COVID-19 outbreak.
• Land O'Lakes—One of the U.S.'s premier agribusiness and food companies, Land O'Lakes views employee health and well-being as core to the value proposition. However, with 150 locations and many employees who live in rural communities without computer access during the workday, communicating and educating employees on wellness offerings is a challenge. The company set out to find innovative mental health resources that employees could access anytime from anywhere, leading to the introduction of new tools. Among their results: registrations in Land O'Lakes' employee assistance programs have seen double-digit increases quarter over quarter.

Because discovery of next practices is a primary focus of i4cp's research, the company looks to its network of member organizations to uncover world-class examples of those practices in action. The Next Practice Awards showcase the design, implementation, and measurement of innovative people practices that effectively address a variety of compelling business challenges.

Detailed case studies of the four phase two finalists are now available (you can view the Phase One finalist case studies here), and some of the leaders of those initiatives will be interviewed onstage at i4cp's 2022 Next Practices Now Conference.