It may be the final month of the year, but we’re committed to wrapping up 2025 with a bang. In that spirit, we’re thrilled to share that 15Five has been named a Gold winner in the Brandon Hall Technology Excellence Awards—taking top honors in the category “Best Innovation in AI-Human Collaboration Tools” for Kona.
Brandon Hall Group is a research and analyst firm with more than 10,000 clients globally and nearly 30 years of delivering research-based solutions that empower excellence in organizations around the world. The Technology Excellence Awards Program celebrates the most forward-thinking innovations shaping the future of learning, talent and human capital management.
Today's managers are stretched like never before. They’re leading teams, juggling deadlines, running meetings, nurturing talent—and they’re doing it without enough time, tools or support. Meanwhile, HR teams simply can’t effectively coach every manager, especially at scale.
Enter Kona.
Following our acquisition of Kona in January, we launched Kona by 15Five in May, an AI-powered coach that joins virtual meetings and delivers real-time, privacy-conscious coaching in the flow of work tailored to your company, your managers and your culture. It pulls insights from across the 15Five platform (think: performance reviews, engagement surveys, manager effectiveness data) and turns them into actionable guidance managers can use immediately.
Kona helps managers:
- Run more effective 1-on-1s with real-time nudges
- Navigate hard conversations with confidence
- Build stronger leadership habits that actually stick
- Save time with auto-generated agendas, summaries and action items
This award recognizes what we believe deeply at 15Five: AI shouldn’t replace managers—it should empower them. Kona pairs the best of technology with the best of human leadership, making high-impact coaching accessible to every manager.
The Technology Excellence Awards are judged on innovation, design and creativity, a demo component and measurable benefits. This is 15Five’s third win in the Brandon Hall Group Tech awards—we won Gold in 2023 and 2021 for Best Advance in Talent Management Measurement/Business Impact Tools.
We’re honored by the recognition from the Brandon Hall Group team and are energized for what’s ahead!
