Content delivered via smartphone adds value to employees’ work

Dow was undergoing change. At the top of the list was a megamerger with DuPont. That wasn’t the only change, however; the company was also undergoing a CEO transition, preparing for a new brand launch, experiencing significant divestitures and acquisitions and more. The internal communication team had to find a way to reach all employees—not just those with access to workstations—with a personalized experience. Its solution has won Dow first place in the “Value to Employees” category of Ragan’s 2018 Employee Communications Awards.

One key goal, as Dow explains, was to “update our internal communication channels in a way that helped to create a holistic and consistent experience across channels and devices.” This goal led to a redesign of the intranet homepage to include customizable widgets featuring content and news feeds from Dow Connect, the company’s branded SocialChorus platform.

The redesign included a featured story section to highlight the most important news; four global news feeds; Corporate News and Discover Dow channels, where employees find information about corporate news and initiatives,  financial news, awards and recognitions and topics from regional sites to product launches and new innovations; People News; and Core Values information.

In addition to attracting new users, employees found value in getting the information they most needed in timeframes convenient to them. The experience of access to localized, relevant content is the same on mobile devices and desktops across the global company’s many locations.

More than 53,000 employees use the network, and the amount of time they stay on the homepage has increased by 40 percent.

Congratulations to the team led by Christine Miller, Jennifer Holzinger, Pam LeVasseur and Liz Israel.