Award recognizes commitment to employee development.
HOUSTON (Oct. 29, 2020) – Mattress Firm, America’s largest mattress specialty retailer, is proud to announce that it is a 2020 winner of the Association for Talent Development’s (ATD) BEST Award. Mattress Firm is among 66 organizations from around the world including Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States to receive the award this year. Companies were recognized during a virtual awards recognition celebration on June 30.
The award highlights the creation of Mattress Firm’s, “Camp Sellmore,” a summer educational program that transformed the foundational knowledge of the selling process. Summer is Mattress Firm’s busiest season, so to better prepare, the L&D team hosted more than 300 live training sessions with prework completed through its virtual campus. The initiative was part of the company’s new Customer Buying Process, a need to redesign the sales process that associates used to assist customers in-store. Through blended learning components, the complete summer program resulted in 98% completion of over 23 hours of education and improved the in-store associate’s abilities to serve customers.
“We are so honored to have received this award and be among the company of all the other incredible organizations who have also been recognized for their hard work,” says Kristen Gullo, Mattress Firm’s Vice President of Learning and Development. “I want to thank my amazing team who strive daily to help prepare every employee, either at our corporate office or at one of our 2,500 stores, be as successful as they can be.”
The ATD BEST Awards are the talent development industry’s most rigorous and coveted recognition. The BEST Awards recognize organizations that demonstrate enterprise-wide success through talent development. “Creating innovative, vibrant learning cultures and developing talent in ways that clearly contribute to strategic business goals, are hallmarks of ATD BEST winners,” says Tony Bingham, ATD President and CEO. “They get it. Leaders in these organizations value the impact that talent development achieves, because they know that having a knowledgeable and skilled workforce drives success.”
Mattress Firm competed against 185 organizations that submitted quantitative and qualitative information about their talent development practices and programs. Applications were assessed in a blind review by members of the ATD BEST Awards advisory committee, a select group of experts in the field.
This is the eighteenth year of the BEST Awards. More information about the 2020 ATD BEST Award winners may be found in the special July 2020 issue of TD magazine.
About Mattress Firm
Since 1986, Mattress Firm has made it easy to get a great night’s sleep by providing our customers an expertly curated collection of quality mattresses from the best brands. Today, with more than 2,500 neighborhood stores, we strive to be America’s most trusted authority on sleep by placing our customer at the center of everything we do. Our experts help more than three million people a year find the right solution for their sleep needs. Our selection of mattresses and bedding accessories include leading brands such as Serta®, Simmons®, Tempur-Pedic®, tulo®, Sleepy’s® and Purple®. Committed to serving our communities, the Mattress Firm Foster Kids program, in partnership with the Ticket to Dream Foundation, hosts three collection drives a year in communities nationwide to help foster children get better sleep so they can shape a better future. For more information, visit www.mattressfirm.com.
About ATD
The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is the world’s largest professional membership organization supporting those who develop the knowledge and skills of employees, improve performance, and help to achieve results for the organizations they serve. Originally established in 1943, the association was previously known as the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD).
ATD’s members come from more than 120 countries and work in public and private organizations in every industry sector. ATD supports talent development professionals who gather locally in volunteer-led U.S. chapters and international member networks, and with international strategic partners. For more information, visit www.td.org.
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