Case Study: BD (Becton Dickinson)
How a Global Medical Technology Leader Used Skillrater for Leadership Development, Stakeholder Feedback, and Measurable Skill Progress
Executive Summary
BD (Becton Dickinson), a global medical technology company, partnered with Skillrater and Best Practice Institute to implement a continuous stakeholder feedback and leadership skill-rating program.
The initiative targeted leadership competency development across senior and emerging leaders, using Skillrater's 360-degree feedback platform to collect structured skill ratings from supervisors, peers, direct reports, clients, and cross-functional stakeholders. The program produced measurable improvements in leadership effectiveness, stakeholder alignment, and skill development visibility.
The Challenge
BD needed a scalable, continuous approach to leadership development beyond annual reviews.
- Traditional 360 feedback was episodic, expensive, and disconnected from daily work.
- Leaders lacked ongoing visibility into how stakeholders perceived their competencies.
- The organization needed to connect leadership development to real business outcomes and measurable skill progress.
- Specific leadership competencies targeted: strategic thinking, stakeholder engagement, cross-functional collaboration, change leadership, talent development, innovation, and results orientation.
The Skillrater Solution
Skillrater was deployed to provide a continuous, evidence-based feedback loop for BD's leadership teams.
- Continuous stakeholder skill ratings: Leaders invited ratings from 8–15 stakeholders across functions.
- Skill-specific assessments: Tied directly to BD's established leadership competency model.
- Structured feedback: 1-to-5 structured ratings paired with qualitative feedback on demonstrated skills.
- Real-time dashboards: Showing skill trends, gaps, and progress over time.
- Privacy-controlled profiles: Leaders owned their data and chose what to share, building trust.
- Integrated development: Connected with leadership programs run through Best Practice Institute.
- Agile cadence: Quarterly feedback cycles replacing stagnant annual reviews.
Leadership Competencies Assessed
Each competency was rated by multiple stakeholder groups, providing a multi-dimensional view of leadership effectiveness.
Measurable Results
The implementation of Skillrater drove significant, quantifiable improvements across the leadership cohort.
Key Takeaways
- Continuous feedback produces better outcomes than episodic reviews.
- Stakeholder-sourced skill ratings provide richer, more actionable data than manager-only assessments.
- Tying skill ratings to specific competency models creates alignment between individual development and organizational goals.
- Leader-owned skill profiles increase engagement and accountability.
- Integrating feedback with development programs accelerates skill growth.
From This Case Study to Today's Skillrater
The insights from enterprise deployments like BD significantly shaped Skillrater's evolution. Today's platform applies these exact same principles — evidence-based skill assessment, multi-source validation, and actionable development guidance — in a modern, self-service format accessible to both individuals and entire organizations.
Learn more about our history, or see how we help individuals rate their profiles and employers analyze their talent signals today.