Employee Communications Awards 2021 Winners

Mizuho Americas

Mizuho Americas Remote Work Culture

Mizuho Group Americas aims to keep its employee connection going in the “new normal”

Financial services provider Mizuho Americas wanted to keep the water cooler conversations going, especially during the pandemic. To do so, its corporate communications and marketing teams needed to enhance connections in a work-from-home environment. Its efforts earn a Grand Prize for Best Remote Work Experience/Culture in Ragan’s Employee Communications + Top Places to Work Awards.

Mizuho Americas did not want employees to feel detached from the company or each other as the pandemic lingered. Although it began frequent communications in the early months of the crisis, the company realized it needed to step up its game. To do so, it enlisted its comms and marketing teams to create a new employee experience, and fill the water cooler.

To do so, the team(s) needed to fill a pipeline for employee comms and connections. They did this through:

Livestream Office Hours and Speaker Series: Monthly livestreams serve as a signature employee engagement tool. Held every week since remote work began in March 2020, executives provided critical business and COVID-related information firm-wide. The OHxSS livestream format offered information and entertainment with guests including CNN political contributor Van Jones, who spoke on the need for criminal justice reform; Dr. Matthew Walker on the science of sleep; and cryptocurrency pioneer Mike Novogratz on the myths and merits of digital assets. Employees could engage with executives, pose questions to and laugh alongside leaders. In October, the company transitioned to a monthly cadence for OHxSS but the livestreams continue to garner wide attendance, consistently hovering around 1,000 viewers and sometimes hitting as many as 2,500, or nearly 85% of the organization.
Livestream Town Halls: To keep employees fully informed of business progress, quarterly Town halls transitioned seamlessly from in-person to virtual livestreams for its Corporate and Investment Bank, and Banking Americas divisions. These events also were opened to wider audiences. Town halls garnered full viewership from Division employees.
Fun WFH Challenges: The company paired its OHxSS with Work-From-Home Challenges, a once-weekly (later, monthly) series of employee participation photo challenges meant to lift spirits and create a sense of togetherness while apart. Challenges included: a virtual bake-off, “Corona Hair Don’t Care” (galleries of DIY haircuts and shaggy stylings), “QuaranTeens” (employees’ high school photos) and “Quarantine Commencements” (pandemic pomp for the graduating children of employees). Submissions added levity, camaraderie and even a bit of competition across an isolated staff base. The company also used these challenges to celebrate traditional on-site celebrations such as Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day and Mizuho Volunteer Day.
Virtual Holiday Party: Every December, Mizuho Americas holds its annual holiday party. Given COVID, the event went virtual with an Americas-wide party that drew soul and pop-rock singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw for musical entertainment, virtual champagne flute clinks, and raffles of prizes that included airline tickets and a MacBook Pro. Nearly 1,600 staff, and some family members joined the party via livestream.
Operation Connect: The idea for the proactive, Americas-wide effort was simple: make impromptu calls to connect with five or more colleagues with whom you haven’t spoken in the previous few months–-either to reconnect or make new connections with colleagues. The goal was to mimic the unplanned hallway encounters and water cooler chats that are so common on site. The company encouraged friendly competition with recognition given to the divisions with the most connections made. A survey following the initiative revealed that more than 1,500 connections were made that might not have been otherwise.

Congrats to Mizuho Americas’ Laura London, Cheryl Gilberg, Max Alex, Casey Waltz, Beryl Bai, Jim Gorman, Simone Kim, Kate Gresham, Hiroko Muroshima, Cynthia Yin, and Ashley Horne.

Legoland Parks & Resorts

Brickbuzz (Speakap)

Legoland Parks & Resorts builds an employee app for real-time communications

With building at its core, it should come as no surprise that Legoland Parks & Resorts created a technology framework to keep employees up to date. It earned a Grand Prize for Best Use of Technology in Ragan’s Employee Communications + Top Places to Work Awards.

“If you build it, they will come,” or so Legoland Parks & Resorts believed, much like the movie “Field of Dreams.” In the middle of the pandemic, Legoland Parks & Resorts sought the help of Speakap to implement an employee app for its entire workforce, including over 5,000 frontline workers without a company email address, desktop or phone.

The internal communications platforms’ goals included: streamline real-time communications between office and frontline workers through mobile and web; ensure that on-the-go staff had easy access to events, documents, videos and images; facilitate the sharing of appropriate information and questions between teams, locations and tiers of the organization; and alert employees of breaking company news through timely push notifications with read acknowledgements.

Speakap worked alongside the Legoland project team to create materials for employee introduction to the app and associated training activities. It was a quick, four-week turnaround for the launch so the teams needed to create stages for the project to ready for launch. Those included:

Set Up: Brickbuzz (the name chosen by employees for the app) was released as a native app for iOS and Android, available for tablets and desktop devices. The app is 100% white labeled and makes no reference to Speakap.

Through an HR sync, which Speakap created with Ceridian, an API connection automatically assigned employees to their respective location, department and job role within the app, connecting team members to the right colleagues as determined by the organization’s structure, without manual setup by app administrators.

Twelve 30-minute training sessions were held via Zoom for Florida, New York and California to engage managers, specifically those who work on the frontlines. Managers were critical in helping onboard extended team members use of Brickbuzz.

Infographics and launch videos helped get employees excited about the launch.

Launch: On Sept. 15, all 5,000 Legoland employees were invited to join Brickbuzz. Head office employees received the invitation through their corporate email address. The frontline associates received it through their private email addresses or via text message. Some even received a printed invite with a QR code. Almost 80% of employees were activated within the 4-week timeframe, and 87.1% have activated to date.
Additionally, before the launch, the company enabled a rewards and recognition integration with Kazoo HR, making their content and features easily accessible for Legoland employees through the Brickbuzz app.

Learn & Improve: In the first month, weekly project management calls between stakeholders continued. Then, in the months to follow, Legoland deployed employee surveys to get feedback, discussed the analytics, held quarterly business reviews and rolled out new app features such as language translation.

Kudos to Legoland’s Erwin van der Vlist, Nick Miller and Jennifer Santos.

Horizon Therapeutics

Graves’ Disease Awareness Month and TED Awareness Campaign with Gail Devers

Horizon Therapeutics employees race to the finish in support of Graves’ disease and TED

With the help of three-time Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers, employees at global biotechnology company Horizon Therapeutics got the chance to champion the company’s mission of combining science and compassion to transform lives for those who live with Graves’ disease and TED. The campaign and efforts earn a Grand Prize for Campaign of the Year in Ragan’s Employee Communications + Top Places to Work Awards.

Horizon Therapeutics focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines that address critical needs for people impacted by rare, autoimmune and severe inflammatory diseases. So, when three-time track and field Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers shared her personal story about facing Graves’ disease and subsequently Thyroid Eye Disease ), Horizon Therapeutics sprinted into action.

Horizon launched an internal campaign to educate employees about Devers’ story, and their role in passing the relay “baton” forward in support of patients with Graves’ disease and TED. Beyond supporting Devers, Horizon’s objective was to increase the number of employees participating in a quarterly all-employee meeting from the prior quarter by at least 10%. They enlisted Devers to rally the employees: “I’m recruiting everyone on the Horizon team – like you recruited me – and we’re all on this relay team. [W]e have this baton and in this baton is knowledge and information and we’re going to pass it person to person letting them know if you have Graves’ disease these are the symptoms, this is what you need to do,” said Devers.

Roughly 1,670 employees, or 92% of the staff, gathered in-person for the all-employee meeting in July 2021, the first since March 2020. Devers kicked off the meeting by symbolically adorning Horizon CEO Tim Walbert and meeting host and Chief Communications Officer Geoff Curtis with her gold medals, acknowledging Horizon’s “gold medal” approach to putting patients first so that they can focus on whatever “race” or “finish line” is important to them. Devers then led employees on a walk around Horizon’s campus, fundraising $20,000 for a local charity. Employees and Devers wore campaign T-shirts and passed a relay baton from the back of a line of employees to Devers at the front of the pack.

Employees then got the chance to connect with Devers one-on-one. For employees who tuned in virtually, coverage of the event circulated on all internal channels, including a recording of the meeting. The manager of Horizon’s ophthalmology division further reinforced Dever’s message of teamwork and collaboration in a quarterly team update. Other initiatives included: the CEO’s messaging platform, intranet, e-newsletter (average open rate of 75%), podcast, digital signage and a charity walk.

Congrats to Horizon Therapeutics’ Megan Ivers, Geoff Curtis, Kelly Jansen, Maggie Fairchild, Amber Haen, Trevor Rayhons, Allyson Putman, Michael Lyons, Josh Gaby, and Laura Kaufman.

3M

3M Employee & Executive Communications

3M innovates its global communications strategies around the future of work and employee experience

The comms teams at research and development company 3M created a multichannel employee comms strategy and a new comms playbook focused on strategy, thought leadership and employee experience. The move earned a Grand Prize as Employee Comms Team of the Year in Ragan’s Employee Communication + Top Places to Work Awards.

3M’s global employee and executive communications team knew it needed to rethink its strategies in light of the pandemic — especially around the future of work. To do so, the team optimized its existing communication channels and added additional technology to deliver content, reach target audiences and allow employees to find, consume and share relevant information. Ultimately, they wanted the communications team to be agile, aligned, high-performing, and go beyond KPIs to better influence strategy, thought leadership and overall user experience.

With those goals in mind, the team set the stage and followed through with key initiatives:

Defining the future of work at 3M: The “Work Your Way” initiative offers choice in where and when work gets done by allowing non-production employees to work in flexible arrangements. A live CEO companywide huddle and global email included an overview of the new approach, as well as personal examples. Redeveloped employee guides, FAQs, “people like me” scenarios and toolkits were created for executives, supervisors and area leaders to help activate among local employees.
3M Go transformation: Due to virtual office environments, the team needed to build “a virtual home for culture.” The new employee intranet offers relevant news, conversations and resources, including live events and videos to showcase company moments and campaigns. The experience was fully integrated into apps and devices that employees use every day, like Microsoft Teams.
Employee Channel Strategy and Communications Playbook: The team aimed to create a global approach to how communicators should use each internal channel, such as email, intranet, digital boards and more. This comprehensive new resource answers how-to questions for communicators with searchable content. To launch, the team engaged with more than 50 communicators virtually and conducted workshops to gauge engagement and understanding.
Leadership Monthly newsletter: According to a global employee survey and other listening channels, employees wanted to learn more about company directions and strategic priorities directly from their leaders. The Leadership Monthly newsletter shares information tied to 3M’s strategic priorities, outlines specific actions leaders should take to enable consistent leader-led communication and helps to ensure company messaging is clear. The newsletter specifies what senior leaders should know, share and do to help cascade important information to their teams. The newsletter has an 81% open rate.
“What’s Next at 3M” podcast: The podcast was created for employees to learn more about unique growth opportunities including new businesses, ventures, partnerships, collaborations and more. The strategy leveraged a podcast distribution platform to deploy wherever employees get their podcasts including Apple and Spotify.
Global visibility to communications strategy and tactics via Opal: A first-ever global content planning platform and process to enable integrated planning. The team gained senior leadership buy-in and engaged with communicators globally to implement one technology platform and train for its use. Currently, more than 130 communicators use the platform.

Kudos to the 3M team for all their success.

—JG

Intel

Employee Communications & Employer Brand

Intel tasks its ECEB teams with comms strategies during pandemic while rebranding

Technology provider Intel had to reach its employees during the pandemic, not only about COVID information, but also the company’s transformation from a PC-centric to a data-centric innovator. Its combined efforts from its employee comms and employer branding teams earns Grand Prize as Employee Comms Team of the Year in Ragan’s Employee Communications + Top Places to Work Awards.

With a broad and complex footprint and a combination of research and development and manufacturing operations (not to mention other company pieces), Intel employs more than 110,000 people across 46 countries and has 10 manufacturing sites in seven countries. Intel had the challenge of reaching these dispersed employees during a pandemic while also evolving branding and technology – plus introducing a new CEO. Enter the employee comms and employer branding teams.

First, the pandemic sparked the need to streamline communications around COVID into a single intranet hub with user-friendly categories and chat functions to ensure employees received the latest information. More than 50 pages of ever-evolving FAQs were easily navigable. The team also introduced the vision for the future of the Intel workplace, post-pandemic, regardless of where employees worked.

Other objectives included:

Meet a new, yet familiar, CEO: Pat Gelsinger rejoined Intel as its CEO, and the ECEB team partnered with the CEO Comms team to make the most of Gelsinger’s trademark openness as he expanded on Intel’s transformation.Create a vital employer brand: The team responsible for attracting and retaining talent launched a new employer brand — a flexible framework to better serve global and locally targeted campaigns. With a tagline of “Do something wonderful,” the brand injected new energy into stories of Intel’s people and their impact.

People leader expectations: Intel is redefining what it means to be a leader or manager. To do so, the employee comms team partnered with HR on new approaches to deepen commitment to their enhanced expectations, as leaders and managers embrace new responsibilities and possibilities.

Personalized information flow: A new employee information platform, Circuit+, co-lives on the company’s Circuit intranet. Circuit+ personalizes an employee’s Intel news and information flow and reduces the volume of mass email, in an effort to create “more music, less noise.”
To measure the initiatives in the 12-month strategy, the ECEB team deployed employee surveys and then benchmarked Intel employee communications against 80+ leading tech companies. Here, some results.

59% of Intel employees believe communications had improved over the last 12 months.
94% of employees trust information from the company vs. a 74% industry benchmark.
90% rate information as clear and easy to understand vs. an 84% industry benchmark.

Congrats to Intel’s Valerie Fox, Karlin Keller, Sarah Vedas, Elizabeth Aberg, Jocelyn Boudreaux, Angela Bradburn, and Connie Brown.

—JG

University Health

2021 University Health Open Enrollment

University Health develops a successful virtual model for its internal campaigns

The pandemic forced the team to pivot its 2021 open enrollment campaign tactics in a short time, but the results proved positive and won for Benefits Communication in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

One of many things that had to adapt to the pandemic was San Antonio-based University Health’s 2021 Open Enrollment campaign. Executed in just a month the Corporate Communications and Human resources teams implemented a whole new way to assist more than 10,000 employees in enrolling and updating their insurance and benefits packages while keeping everyone physically distanced due to pandemic restrictions.

The multi-pronged approach became a mix of awareness, informational and educational campaigns all aimed at reaching as many employees as possible, including those who do not have access to a desktop computer.

The communications and HR teams created stories in the weekly infoLINE eNewsletter that explained the virtual process, highlighted new vendors, and included links to both an internal website for more information and an external microsite with benefit information that could be accessed off-network for use with family members or financial planners.

The human resources team hosted more than 30 Webex events across all shifts to educate employees, and Corporate Communications worked with On-Site Studios to develop a simple animated video that walked team members step-by-step through the enrollment process. For those preferring a printed document, a downloadable PDF guide to benefits was created.

HR also created and manned a 24/7 Benefits Hotline to answer team member questions for the three-week open enrollment.

A weekly huddle system provided the opportunity for consistent reminders to team members around open enrollment, while an email campaign notified team members when enrollment was open and how to easily participate. Signage was also placed in each remote parking shuttle bus. An emergency text message went to those who had not enrolled by the final week.

The result was one of the most successful open enrollment campaigns at University Health, with 85% enrollment. The Webex presentations were attended by 1,176 employees. More than 1,834 calls came to the Benefits Hotline over the 28-day period, and now HR plans to continue offering the service year-round.

Congratulations to the winning team of Helena Steubing, Andrew Castillo, Brandi Gamboa and Lance Hougdahl.

—KL

Intel Employee Communications & Employer Brand

Connecting Leaders and Managers to Expectations for a New Era

Intel Employee Communications & Employer Brand redefines leadership and management

The winning Change Communication campaign in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards comes from tech giant Intel, which emphasized clarity, support and growth as its key pillars.

As Intel transforms its business and culture to pursue new growth, they’ve redefined what it means to be a leader or manager within the company to be in sync with the energy, ambition and objectives of the company’s tech innovation. To assist in rolling out these expectations, the Connecting Leaders and Managers to Expectations for a New Era campaign took place from Sept. 2020 to Sept. 2021.

This multi-phase effort has been managed by members of the Employee Communications and Employer Brand team in partnership with Human Resource leaders. The three pillars of the change in communication approach are:

Clarity to ensure leader and manager roles are understood in the context of the company’s transformation.
Investment in providing leaders and managers with needed programs, tools and support.
The opportunity to act as visible role models for the culture and business evolution with one- and two-way communication guidance and content.

To achieve these goals, a mix of new offerings and expanded familiar activities were used. The quarterly executive sync in Sept. 2020 featured a four-hour agenda and “straight talk” about the expectations with approximately 200 top executives. A 50-minute express sync session gave top leaders the opportunity to ask unfiltered questions to Intel’s CEO. The Manager of Managers Forum and expanded All Manager Forum both provided business context while delivering on needs and offering opportunities.

Development systems were created and expanded — one for managers, one for managing at Intel Academy, and one for executives, Leading Now. Following the first two Leading Now sessions, 90% of executives rated the experience as “useful” or “very useful.”

A revamped manager feedback survey allowed managers to receive employee feedback that directly aligned with the evolved expectations. Since undertaking the change effort, a mid-2021 Employee Experience Survey shows an 11-point gain in “trust in the leadership of my organization.”

The team behind the winning Change Communication effort is Eileen Wong, Bruce Patterson, Jocelyn Boudreaux and Nima Gupta.

—KL

Atrium Health

Enterprise Communications

Atrium Health’s Enterprise Communications delivers confidence-building communications

Internal communication efforts focused on helping Atrium Health’s 70,000 hospital network employees navigate all facets of the pandemic and earned a win for COVID-19 Communication in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

When the first cases of COVID-19 appeared in March 2020, the Atrium Health Communications team began to keep the public and its workforce in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia informed with up-to-date information. To address the rapidly changing protocols and fear of the unknown, the internal communications efforts centered on providing the Atrium Health team with essential, reliable information; increasing teammate compliance with behavior expectations; and building resilience against fear and stress throughout the extended crisis.

Informal research that guided the internal strategies came from operational leaders’ feedback about stressors or confusion within their teams. Media reports quoting health care workers from other areas and posts in a Facebook group for North Carolina health care workers also validated the information from operational leaders.

Four staff needs rose to the top:

Personal protective equipment fears and uncertainties, especially supply during a global shortage.
Job fears, including job security with the cancellation of non-essential appointments and procedures, and worries as team members transitioned to roles like covering COVID-19 testing sites.
Pride in themselves and fellow health care workers.
A desire to recognize and thank all team members.

To address the topics, the Communications team focused on three tactics: informational content that included the creation of a COVID-19 intranet hub, emails from incident command, and stories on a mobile app. The messaging included the latest recommendations for PPE, reminders about expected employee behaviors and information about staffing needs. Inspirational content included frontline teammate profiles, clinical and technical expertise making a difference, and communication of donations or thanks. Deep dives, leadership messages and transparent Q&As were key confidence-building content.

Overall, the communications team distributed nearly 1,000 pieces of internal content that generated more than 6 million views from Atrium Health employees. Kudos to the team for all their efforts.

—KL

HP Inc.

Mobilizing HP’s Employees to Fight COVID-19 with 3D Printing

HP Inc. uses its technology to support health care workers, rally its employees

As HP employees transitioned to working from home, many also became employee-volunteers, helping with 3-D printing PPE. The communication campaign highlighting these efforts is a winner for COVID-19 Communication in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

Like many, tech company HP Inc. took proactive steps across its business to protect employees when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, including screening at all HP sites, limiting travel and implementing work-from-home policies. But the company also felt compelled to do more and began using its 3-D printing technology to help health care workers around the world.

Through the efforts of HP employees with a global network of partners, government, health, academic and industry agencies, more than 5 million parts were 3-D printed and put into the hands of medical staff. This protection and support of the safety of health care workers around the world became the founding principle for an HP employee communications campaign.

The campaign’s objectives included rallying employees to volunteer their time and join the effort to 3-D print PPE, and inspiring HP employees and making them proud to work for the company. Three strategies drove the employee communication campaign: Communicating with authenticity, celebrating and evangelizing employee heroes, and driving collaborative brand communications to illustrate what’s possible.

The tactics included:

Weekly internal leadership COVID-19 memos from the president of HP’s 3-D printing business highlighted the critical work by employee-volunteers, the latest collaborations with customers and partners, and inspirational responses from the medical workers receiving the PPE.
Special virtual COVID-19 all-employee meetings allowed key members of the internal COVID-19 taskforce to speak about life-saving applications being created with partners and customers.
Custom video and feature stories, created through a partnership with T-Brand Studios and Bloomberg Green, captured the human element behind the 3-D printing technology and were promoted to HP’s global employee base of more than 60,000 people.

An anonymous survey in April 2020 measured employee sentiment. The results show that 100% believe HP has a clear vision and strategy, and 98% are excited about the future of HP (increases of 25% and 21%, respectively). Ninety-six percent of respondents also indicated a belief that senior leadership provides a clear direction for the future.

Congratulations to the team leading the Mobilizing HP’s Employees to Fight COVID-19 with 3-D Printing campaign.

—KL

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

COVID-19 Information and Updates

Communication efforts kept St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital employees safe

A full suite of communication tools kept remote and on-site employees informed and updated. These efforts win for COVID-19 Communication in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital experienced transformation in nearly every area when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Two goals emerged around generating specific and timely communication:

Educate a workforce of on-site and newly remote employees by leveraging the influence of the CEO.
Inspire and build confidence around the safety and security of the institution with clear, up-to-date communication for all employees.

Research on how audiences would best receive internal communications formed the basis for the strategy. Various platforms and distribution methods were used to reach employees reliant on digital communications as well as non-computer-based work groups.

Several communications tactics featured James R. Downing, M.D., president and CEO of St. Jude, as the primary communicator, including COVID-19 update emails and town hall meetings. The COVID Q&A with Dr. Downing videos, where he answered questions posed by employees, received 8,001 impressions, while the Coffee Break with Dr. Downing videos, where he connected with employees more informally, received 3,664 impressions.

Downing and the chief nurse executive also hosted listening sessions to give nurses on the frontline a voice, and each webcast averaged 500 viewers out of a workgroup of about 650. An institution-wide survey found 94% of respondents said “the CEO communicates St. Jude’s mission, strategy and vision in a way that inspires,” an increase of 4% over the course of the pandemic.

Additionally, the internal communication strategy included launching a social networking platform, Yammer, for employees to connect and receive information. The St. Jude Intranet also features a dedicated COVID-19 site for communications, external resources, updated policies, FAQs and a form to submit suggestions for process improvements. The dedicated site earned more than 168,000 page views from September 2020 to September 2021. A dedicated Ask St. Jude email address took employee questions, and more than 2,000 emails were answered.

Beyond the successful results of the team’s tactics, a direct line can be drawn to the internal communication efforts contributing to keeping the hospital’s employees and patients safe. Kudos to the St. Jude Research Hospital team.

—KL

Cisco

Cisco Employer Brand - National Intern Week

Cisco uses employee-generated content to fuel a social media campaign

Cisco’s week-long National Intern Week campaign partnered with existing interns to spotlight their experiences, resulting in heightened engagement and a win for the Employer Branding Campaign in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

The Cisco Employer Brand has an audience of current employees and potential candidates, which the networking, cloud and cybersecurity solutions company connects with using a variety of social media activations. By featuring employee-generated content, the company can spotlight real stories about working at Cisco.

Capitalizing on the trending conversations around #NationalInternDay, Cisco generated a week-long campaign around providing a real-life view of what a virtual internship is like. The intention was to tie directly into the business funnel: capture attention, foster real connections, inspire action and create advocates.

Through a variety of social media activations, the company’s then-summer interns were invited to share their virtual experiences using the #WeAreCisco hashtag. Participating interns around the globe were invited to partner with the company to share their story with the #LoveWhereYouWork hashtag, resulting in 13 social media posts for Cisco’s channels and three blog posts for WeAreCisco.

Additionally, two interns — one technical and one non-technical, each on different coasts —had a dual Live on Instagram to discuss their journeys to Cisco, overall experience and answer audience questions. On LinkedIn Live, an intern turned full-time employee hosted interns from California, New York City and Norway to speak about their time and share tips for future interns.

As part of the campaign, the team also arranged for three Cisco interns to take over the Instagram accounts of the universities they attend, which increased reach at schools where the company recruits. In total, the National Intern Week campaign generated more than 19,000 video views and 3,000 engagements across social media.

Congratulations to the winning team behind the campaign: Carmen Collins, Jen Burns, Casie Shimansky, Kim Dufresne, Andrew Breeden, Ileana Cates and Lauren Grimaldo.

The Kroger Co.

Kroger Houston Division Negotiations

Houston contract negotiations spur thoughtful communication from The Kroger Co.

Careful trust-building tactics were used to connect the grocery chain’s division president to area and local store leadership as well as directly to employees. These efforts receive recognition for Executive/Leadership Communication in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

In 2020, The Kroger Co. in the Houston market entered contract negotiations with its more than 14,000 employees across 106 grocery store locations. The Houston division president was relatively new to the position, but it became imperative to position him as a source of truth. The leadership communication from the division president also set the stage for district and store leader communication to the frontline store employees.

A strategic executive communications plan was implemented. The plan provides ongoing associate communication across a variety of platforms, encourages dialogue and open discussions between executive and store leaders, and increases the presence of the division president in the community while also positioning him as a thoughtful leader.

The internal communications plan incorporated a mixture of leader-to-leader and leader-to-frontline employee communication tactics, including:

Robocalls recorded by the Houston division president to deliver immediate targeted messaging.
Regularly scheduled store visits and days of listening to encourage dialogue.
Rapid Response Conference Calls led by the division president and human resources leader to address negotiation updates, gather feedback and insights, and share communication expectations for leaders to frontline employees.

The information and materials shared with leaders during the Rapid Response Calls cascaded down to store teams. Store associates were also engaged using handouts, a negotiations website, company intranet and Kroger Television. The negotiations website had over 31,000 page views from September to December 2020, more than 22,000 of those unique.

An external communications plan was also simultaneously put into effect to reach community stakeholders as well as engage employees outside of work.

Cheers to the team who make the executive communication campaign happen: Joe Kelley, Henry Taylor, Miles Bocock, Michael Marino and Patty Leesemann.

—KL

Visa

Meet Visa

Visa’s multi-year rebranding journey began with its employees

As the payments tech company evolves its brand and business, Visa sought to inspire employees in their work and empower them as brand ambassadors while keeping mission and purpose at the center. These efforts garner a win for Rebranding Campaign in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

While Visa is one of the world’s most recognized brands, the company began a multi-year journey in 2021 to ensure it is seen as a trusted network that drives commerce forward. Bringing along Visa’s 21,000 employees was a crucial component of the brand’s success and business evolution.

The goal of the internal rebranding campaign was to inspire, excite and encourage employees to build products and services that support Visa’s mission and purpose while also acting as effective ambassadors for the brand.

In the months leading up to the campaign launch, members of the Global Employer Brand Communications team worked closely with brand, marketing, legal and the broader communications team, plus multiple agencies. This collaboration ensured the development of strategies and tactics inspired by the new brand and positioning that would resonate with employees. Some of those included:

A virtual sneak peek launch event featuring Visa’s CEO and CMO that gave employees an early look at new brand creative. A record-breaking 6,500 employees tuned in for the event live, and over 1,100 more watched it afterward.
Created a “Meet Visa” page on the company’s intranet to host all related assets, plus new campaign videos and fun facts that employees can share with their networks. This has received nearly 9,000 clicks and 3,900 asset downloads.
Through the virtual Visa University, employees could be reintroduced to Visa through their colleagues’ words and find tools to become effective brand ambassadors with their own networks. Over 1,500 employees have engaged with this immersive digital learning guide.
Social media assets inspired by the new brand creative direction and featuring colleagues were available. Employees sharing how their work supports the mission and purpose have driven over 210,000 impressions externally on social media, including on the @LifeatVisa Instagram.
A Microsoft Teams background that allowed employees to position themselves within a Visa ad was automatically pushed to all 21,000 employees’ computers.

Overall, the Meet Visa campaign had 79% employee engagement by those who attended the all-employee virtual event and/or visited and participated on the intranet’s Meet Visa page. Company pride is stronger among employees who viewed the campaign (94%) over those who did not participate (88%).

Congratulations to the successful team who brought the Meet Visa campaign to life: Cari Gushiken, Grant Wright, Melinda Campero, Margarita Vargas Patron, Cara Chronis, Robert Baker and Laura Crowley.

Kroger

The Kroger Co. Recruitment Marketing Plan

The Kroger Co. triples its summer hiring campaign goal

A two-phase approach used the grocery chain’s new employer brand and earned the gold for its Recruitment Campaign in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

The Kroger Co. Set out to fill 10,000 jobs in the summer of 2021 to support its 2,700 supermarket stores, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers, plus new facilities for the Kroger Delivery service. The company introduced its first-ever employer brand at the end of 2020, and so a comprehensive recruitment marketing plan was born that kept summer hiring in mind.

Phase one centered on a one-day, enterprise-wide hybrid hiring event. Promotional materials like fliers and signage were sent to all supermarket stores for in-store and location displays, and each included a specific QR code for direct access to a banner or business unit-specific registration page. A 30-second spot played on in-store radio to promote the hiring event, plus hiring ads ran on social media, Google and Indeed. Customer-focused hiring advertisements went out in weekly customer emails, customer circulars and on e-commerce shopping sites.

Kroger associates were encouraged to invite friends, family and neighbors to participate in the event via the company intranet, internal email channels to corporate and store leadership associates, and during the weekly sales show. Throughout the recruitment campaign, careers at Kroger were celebrated with consistent posts on the company’s LinkedIn, Indeed and Glassdoor pages, and an associate Instagram page was launched.

Phase two aimed to support continual summer hiring from June 11-July 31, 2021. A second promotional materials kit went to all supermarket stores with updated fliers for general summer hiring, plus the in-store radio spot was updated. Manufacturing and distribution centers hung outdoor building banners. Additional outdoor signage — a trio of yard signs and “now hiring” flags — were sent to all stores for out-of-store display.

The recruitment marketing for the phase one hybrid hiring event netted 169.43 million impressions across all mixternal channels. The virtual hiring event was attended by 2,554 applicants and thousands more attended in-store events. Offers were made to approximately 5,000 applicants across supermarket, pharmacy, supply chain and manufacturing during the event, 28 times more candidates than the daily average. During phase two, an additional 80 million customers were reached through in-store and storefront advertising plus social and internal outreach efforts. An additional 31,000 associates were hired, tripling the initial campaign goal of 10,000.

—KL

Carson Group

Carson Group’s Return-to-Workplace Campaign

Carson Group brings employees along in move to new headquarters

The financial services firm navigated not only the return-to-office but also a move into an entirely new headquarters during the pandemic, a feat deserving of a win for Return-to-Workplace Communication in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

Like so many in spring 2020, Carson Group transitioned its approximately 240 stakeholders, as employees are known, to remote work. Located in Omaha, Nebraska, the financial services firm was in the process of completing its $80 million headquarters, so when a return to office became feasible, employees would returning to an entirely new location.

The Corporate Communications team developed new or alternate communication methods to address the COVID-19 pandemic and the new building. The CEO and presidents of the organization share weekly update videos in an internal newsletter. As the weeks turned into months for the pandemic, email correspondence expanded to incorporate a variety of internal digital assets, including surveys, mental health resources and more.

Communications around the headquarters also moved forward. Carson stakeholders were invited to tour the new building with the construction and development team each month to develop an idea of the new environment. Considering the pandemic, changes to the building layout were made, such as prioritizing air quality and flow, adequate space and a flexible environment. Stakeholders received surveys and questionnaires to assist with making building decisions, like preferred desk setups, requested gym equipment and ideal food vendors.

The Carson headquarters was completed in spring 2021. The Corporate Communications team sent two surveys: One anonymous to learn stakeholders’ vaccination status, and the other around comfort returning to the workplace. Then a COVID-19 committee was formed with stakeholders from various departments to help with decision making. Policies, updated based on state and local guidelines and guidance from the CDC, were posted in a centralized location on the company’s intranet.

A phased approach to return-to-office was implemented, which had new teams moving into the headquarters every two weeks. Stakeholders received a to-do list via email the week prior to their move, and the IT team handled computer and phone setups in advance. Stakeholders in the office filled out a daily health questionnaire for the legal team, and since then new strategic policies around vaccinations, masking and testing have been put into effect.

Satisfaction is measured using OfficeVibe surveys, and its overall stakeholder engagement is an 8.2 out of 10. The work environment, specifically the new building, achieved an 8.5 out of 10. Since the return to office, stakeholder satisfaction has increased 0.4%, and the employee net promotor score rose two points.

—KL

Cisco

@WeAreCisco Social

Cisco takes advantage of Instagram features to deepen engagement

The networking, cloud and cybersecurity solutions company’s social media strategy centered on increasing reach and interaction with a content series through Instagram Stories. These efforts earn recognition for Use of Social Media in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

The social media audience for @WeAreCisco is current employees and potential candidates, and a variety of activations engage both audiences. With Instagram as the most active channel, the social media team creates and shares content, including feed posts, interactive Instagram Stories, Lives, Reels and IGTV.

The Cisco Employee/r Brand’s social media strategy is to build community by fostering real connections and deepening employee advocacy by sharing real employee stories. While there is a lot of competition in users’ feeds, the approach remains centered on employee-generated content to authentically display the Cisco Life.

When employees transitioned to working from home, the social media team featured #ThrowbackThursday images of global offices, asking the audience to identify the location and showcased employees’ work-from-home setups.

The Cisco social media team also challenged themselves to stand out using Instagram Stories. A few tactics for the content series included:

Focusing on the “This or That” trend, the team placed two images side-by-side and asked audiences to vote. One example saw the brand asking, “who wore it best? – business casual or Cisco tee?” which then could translate into asking employees to share their favorite Cisco t-shirt.
Creating Stories around relevant trending days, like #WorkingParentsDay, which showcased company benefits to potential talent while inserting the company into a social conversation.
Developing templates for the Cisco audience to use and share on their own Instagram Stories. For example, a template asked employees to say why they love their jobs with only GIFs.

These Instagram-focused efforts by the Cisco Employee/r Brand social media team netted feed posts receiving an engagement rate 2.5 times higher than average. The Instagram Stories “This or That” series garnered 3 times the average amount of reach and votes than any other poll, and the templates for Instagram Stories generated 3 times more tap backs.

Cheers to Carmen Collins and Jen Burns, who led these efforts for Cisco.

—KL

Bospar

Bospar, The Politely Pushy Tech PR Agency

Bospar emphasizes work-life satisfaction

The fully virtual PR firm, a winner for Amazing Workplace Culture in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards, refers to itself as “politely pushy” in how it works for clients and advocates for its employees with new initiatives and benefits.

Since its launch in 2015, Bospar has been a virtual, work-from-home public relations agency that organized itself by skills and experience. They’ve also found numerous ways to build meaningful workplace culture and ensure a satisfying work-life balance.

A company-wide mentorship program offers ongoing touchpoints around professional development and emotional support. Employees can choose to participate in staff development, which includes a financial incentive. Promotions are not tied to annual reviews, and company anniversaries are acknowledged with a bonus. Company time can also be used to volunteer at 501(c) non-profit organizations.

Bospar launched a Fun+Wellness Committee to make the agency more enjoyable as well as look after staff’s mental health needs. The committee has yoga, meditation, and book and bike clubs. It also has a newly formed diversity, equity and inclusion task force that is implementing programs to help ensure the company is fostering a culture of inclusion and diversity within the workforce and talent pool. In addition to leading the task force, Vice President & Head of DEI Sana Javaid conducts anti-bias training for the staff.

Employee connection is also fostered in the company’s Slack channels, where they can engage in professional collaboration and friendly conversations. The company also has a Bospar Today newsletter and hosts in-person regional meetups.

When the Texas abortion law restricted reproductive rights, Bospar announced a relocation plan that offered to pay the expenses of any staff member who needed to move to ensure they remained in control of their health. The company has committed to offering the plan to other staff members if similar laws are passed elsewhere.

Kudos to Curtis Sparrer, principal, for creating a great workplace culture.

—KL

Ford Motor Company

Bronco Employee Advocacy

Ford Motor Company put its employees in the driver’s seat

The auto company offers training and hands-on experiences to engage employees as ambassadors for a vehicle relaunch, earning top marks as a Brand Ambassador Program in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

As Ford Motor Company resumed production of its Bronco SUV for the first time in 25 years, the company saw the opportunity to educate and provide hands-on experiences to employees with the reimagined vehicle. The Bronco Employee Advocacy program harnessed the strength of employee ambassadors, which is an ongoing piece of Ford’s business vision, called the Ford+ plan.

A drawing opened to all southeast Michigan employees in July 2021 for the chance to drive the Bronco on an exclusive off-road course in a COVID-protocoled environment. Out of 365 registered drawing entries, approximately 150 employees were selected to participate. Upon selection, employee participants received a note and video message from Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s chief product platform and operation officer, discussing how the SUV fits into the Ford+ plan and the importance of sharing as Blue Oval ambassadors on social media.

The interactive day for employees included:

An in-depth presentation on the Bronco brand, Ford’s outdoor brand “Built Wild” and all 4×4 vehicles, plus insights into the innovation of the Bronco models.
A safety briefing plus a trail drive with Ford’s Tier 2 off-road certified drivers who provided coaching around the terrain- and water-loaded course.
Putting the reimagined SUV through its paces on two separate courses of approximately 20 minutes each.
Connecting with an on-site social media advisor in a special social photo area who encouraged posting and stressed the importance of employee advocacy following the drives.

For employees unable to participate in the drive, video and photography professionals were on-site to create media assets. The employee ambassadors also received a Bronco information QR code to spread the word and start conversation, a special social media frame and physical stickers to share.

After the interactive event, 97% of participants indicated they felt better prepared to act as a company and product advocate, and about 75% shared their experience on social media or other conversations. The off-road event also generated internal conversations among employees with at least 6,600 views of event images and videos.

Congratulations to the winning team: Jim Kruz, Paul Kampe, Sue Clifton, Courtney Hewett, Ryan Vetter, Alice Riley, Dan Roth, Jennifer Haselhuhn, Jiyan Cadiz, Sam Schembari and Jenn Corney.

—KL

AMC Networks

DEI Commitment

AMC Networks hosts ‘Crucial Conversations’ with employees

The entertainment organization makes employee resource groups a core part of the organization and gives them a platform to create change both inside the organization and through content. This receives top marks for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commitment in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

AMC Networks keeps diversity, equity and inclusion at the heart of the company and recognizes it can be a lever for positive change, particularly in the areas of talent and workplace, content, and the company’s greater purpose. With the introduction of new Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Aisha Thomas-Petit, the organization began establishing a new vision, mission and goals for success in DE&I.

Communication has been an essential part of ensuring this commitment reaches every aspect of the organization. The virtual town hall series Crucial Conversations brings together AMC Networks partners, thought leaders and employees for important conversations on current events and advancing DE&I, representation and justice. Several of the organization’s employee resource groups have helped facilitate the town hall series, such as a conversation with the Asian American Culture Network titled “Challenging the Model Minority Myth.”

The ERGs not only create communities for employees to network and connect, but also serve as a valuable sounding board for AMC Networks’ content development and programming. These groups also increase the organization’s overall cultural competencies and can facilitate leadership and skill development.

A taskforce dedicated to DE&I and the ERGs meets every other week to discuss progress and identify new opportunities. Three internal initiatives have come from the taskforce:

AMC Networks DEI Learning Journey equips employees with tools and knowledge to expand their awareness and understanding around the promotion of DE&I. This includes online courses and interactive workshops.
Streaming Service Swim Lanes sees members of the ERGs helping the company curate collections to celebrate cultural moments like Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Pride Month and more for streaming services such as AMC+, ALLBLK and Shudder.
The Mentorship Collective connects ERG members with an executive mentor in a group setting for a monthly, hour-long session for six months. This collective promotes diversity of thinking, practice and understanding.

AMC Networks also established an employee social justice fund to bolster the work of charities combatting racial injustice and asked employees for organizations that are meaningful to them. So far, contributions have been made to The Equal Justice Initiative, Black Lives Matter, Mothers Against Police Brutality, the National Urban League and more.

—KL

Maximus

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Communications

Maximus aligns culture recognition months with DE&I activities

The government services organization clearly defines its framework and commitment for leaders and employees, which earns it a nod for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commitment in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

To create a place where employees don’t just exist but thrive, Maximus focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion as an integral part of the company. Since September 2020, communication campaigns and strategies have connected employees to the organizational DE&I journey.

These efforts have created a consistent way to talk about and define Maximus’ DE&I framework and commitment, which is presented in a guide for leaders and employees on the intranet. Employees can find a framework that details how the organization defines DE&I and why the topics matter as well as editorial content, FAQs and materials around pronouns, Black Lives Matter and more. The intranet provides an interactive space for employees to comment and discuss content.

Also published on the DE&I intranet site and through the company’s mobile app are materials affiliated with the Cultural Heritage Recognition Program. The program aims to develop a learning connection for employees around celebrating diversity through blog posts, leadership messages, historical context and more. This recognition aligns with Maximus’ Community Conversations, which are virtual discussions that elevate cultural heritage or related topics. For example, Maximus hosted a Community Conversation called “Juneteenth: A Symbol of Freedom” that had over 300 participants. A First Friday monthly networking event also provides employees a way to connect and engage.

Maximus has also trained 15 internal facilitators on effective communication, listening techniques and DE&I topics. These facilitators host listening sessions to learn about employees’ experiences and challenges. At the time of awards entry, 14 listening sessions have been held across varying levels of the company with more to come.

The DE&I intranet site has over 50,000 page views, which makes it one of the company’s most visited intranet sites. DE&I events consistently show a 100% favorable rating for engagement, and post-event surveys similarly receive a 100% favorable rating which indicates employee engagement and support for the content. Also, a recent Gartner assessment rates the communications aligned with the organization’s DE&I strategy with a positive 3+.

—KL

Volkswagen Financial Services

100% Me

Volkswagen Financial Services Group leads culture transformation through listen, educate, change

The sharing of employee stories launched a communication program that now is ingrained in organizational culture and earns a win for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commitment in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

After an open forum where a diverse group of employees shared their experiences, the management of Volkswagen Financial Services Group, the banking and leasing division for the automotive manufacturer in the United Kingdom, wanted to share those stories throughout the organization. This became the catalyst for a full-blown communications program that has become a permanent part of the culture.

Led by Jo Coxhill, general manager of communications and engagement, and the internal communications team, the approach centered on listening, educating and changing. Five program goals were outlined:

Cultivate a work environment that is open, authentic and based on trust.
Enable employees to be 100% their authentic selves all the time and have the confidence to share their stories.
Celebrate and embrace differences and use those differences to reach the best business results.
Remove bias and ensure opportunities are available to everyone.
Share VWFS’s diverse culture with external audiences, highlighting it as a desirable place to work.

The kick-off for the communications program was an off-site event where employees were asked what diversity means to them. Responses formed the basis for follow-up campaigns and activities.

Internal communications invited employees to meet with VWFS board members and senior management to discuss DE&I in an environment called Creative Coffee. During the emotional and eye-opening session, employees shared stories of discrimination from childhood, the workplace or society at large. To give these stories even more reach, leadership wanted to share the firsthand accounts publicly, and internal communications worked with eight employees to create a series of videos themed “100% Me.”

In addition to the video series, the organization utilized Poppulo’s omnichannel platform to bring the stories to life. Town halls and Q&A sessions with leaders also gave employees the space to talk, which built trust and a “speak-up” culture.

The VWFS “100% Me” video series has since expanded to include sensitivity videos, where employees speak about what terms they find derogatory or offensive, why, and suggest more appropriate terms to use instead. The internal communications team also now has DE&I advocates in every department of the organization.

—KL

Atos

Secure the Gold

Olympics connection inspires Atos to motivate employees to be champions

A three-round campaign connected employees to the digital services and consultancy company’s governance, social and environmental initiatives and brought home gold for Employee Education/Training Program in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

Atos’ North America Secure the Gold campaign had three goals at launch: leverage enthusiasm for its 2021 Tokyo Olympics International Olympic Committee partnership, increase engagement on its newly relaunched employee communications platform and inform employees about CSR key performance indicators.

The Olympic theme was consistently incorporated into the campaign’s communications and teasers. It even inspired the three rounds of the campaign: the team competition, the all-around individual competition and the individual skills competition. Each round increased gradually in effort and difficulty, and points could be earned for joining webinars, commenting on relevant content and submitting blogs.

The team competition for governance spurred employees to complete cybersecurity and safety awareness training to protect against advanced persistent threats. The team competition round divided North American employees into 17 teams based on their divisions. Team members encouraged fellow employees to complete their training and participate in three webinars.

As part of the all-around individual competition for social, the company recognized the importance of creating a sense of community, especially during the isolation of the pandemic. In the first challenge, employees were asked to participate in up to three physical activities related to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Photos, videos, goals and/or blogs had to be submitted. The second activity was video submission on the subject of “Making the best of your home office.”

For the final competition, Atos recognized that communication around environmental goals can be challenging to understand, so they created a learning experience around supporting the company’s strategy and becoming involved with the Decarbonization Center of Excellence. The third round of the campaign challenged employees to be part of the solution in combatting climate change. In addition to viewing a webinar, employees were tasked with submitting either a blog or video on the topic of “Decarbonized community.”

Overall, the campaign had over 300 participants who earned 52,220 points total. Blog posts during the campaign received 1,090 comments, an increase of 200%. Webinar participation averaged 89 attendees, and there was 70% compliance in cybersecurity awareness training.

—KL

Ingka Services AB - IKEA & OTW

Ingka (IKEA) global news

IKEA takes employee news to fresh digital platform to connect its global workforce

IKEA redesigned its editorial program to create an omnichannel digital news source, winning the award for Employee Experience: Employee Engagement in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

Known for its ready-to-assemble furniture, IKEA gave itself a home makeover, reinventing its internal communications and editorial platforms. After 19 years of delivering its global employee magazine, Readme, in print, the retailer discontinued the mag, opting to create an omnichannel news platform to share stories and content digitally, all with the mission of building employee trust and engagement and promoting IKEA’s values and culture.

In shuttering print and converting to digital, IKEA recognized challenges in its process. There was low interest among employees to read news on the intranet, nor could the intranet accommodate the print mag’s offering of 23 different languages. The editorial team was not set up to meet the just-in-time “news” structure for digital publishing, and lastly, but likely most important, engaging employees would be difficult given the heavy competition for their attention.

IKEA tackled the challenges with OTW agency to develop IKEA Global News. There was a full year of workshops, deep interviews, extensive global research and many different suggestions and proposals. The final concept adheres to two main guidelines: a journalistic approach and a visual approach.

Some of the omnichannel solutions include:

Release of a brand-new app — “Hej!” — with content translated into 11 languages.
“Let’s co-report,” a project where employees can make contributions to news stories by writing, filming, taking photos or pitching story ideas.
A training course for all communicators at IKEA on how to create content for the IKEA Global News platform.
Digital screens in the staff areas of IKEA stores that feature unique presentations and short versions of company news. (The screens have the potential to reach 170,000 employees.)

Analytics revealed IKEA Global News was a roaring success. When the program started, the IKEA team saw an engagement rate (IKEA’s formular that combines page views, likes, comments and shares) of 7.2, which grew to 18.2 in August of 2021. The bounce rate also dropped from 47% to 38%. To date, the employee app Hej has 50,000 users.

Congrats go to OTW Agency Sweden’s Erika Bergqvist Lindvall, Victoria Öhrström – JG

##

Newell Brands

Newell Now: Newell Brands' Culture Connector

Newell Brands creates workforce optimism with new employee app

With increased frequency of published content and push notifications, the comms team helped leaders engage employees, winning in the Employee Experience: Employee Engagement category of Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

With a large frontline employee force, Newell Brands opted for a new employee app, Newell Now, to reach workers. Launched after careful consideration of employee needs and company goals, the app aimed to build a sense of community among a global workforce; connect employees with leaders, brands and each other; and disseminate important information in a digestible way.

The corporate communications team identified a variety of different topics to amplify key moments in time, such as heritage months (Black History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month) and diversity, inclusion and belonging celebrations (Juneteenth). In total there were 40+ new channels created (some with specific business units in mind). Some of the channel themes include:

give@newell shares content about the company’s philanthropy including volunteer opportunities and product donations.
together@newell is the home for diversity, inclusion and belonging initiatives and supports communications and information coming from Newell’s employee resource groups. It also hosts content in celebration of heritage and awareness months like Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month and Pride Month.
well@newell provides information to help employees understand benefits and shares information about tools and resources.
Covid-19 channel communicates safety information, social distancing protocol, vaccine education information and more.

The team listened to its employee base to learn what else they’d like to get from the app. Among the top responses was leadership content, which now makes up over 50% of top-performing content each month. Quarterly Global Meetings, webcasts and leader videos are hosted on the app, as well as “Leaders Live!” — an internal podcast hosted by the VP of corporate communications that brings awareness to internal initiatives and projects happening across the business.

Here are some of the measurement highlights since launching the new app:

Increase of 3,500 new app users.
The Newell Now post announcing the Corporate Citizenship Report generated 372 clicks, 18 times higher than the average click rate. In addition, the 2020 Corporate Citizenship video saw 15% higher engagement than the previous year’s video with a total of 1,216 clicks.
Leaders Live! consistently outperforms all content month-over-month and achieved an average engagement rate of 15% per episode and ranks within the top three performing posts of app content each month.
An internal survey from 2021 found that over 90% of respondents have confidence in the Newell Brands leadership team and nearly 90% felt optimistic about Newell’s future thanks to leadership communication.
Videos made up at least 60% of the top five posts on Newell Now every month and make up 85% of top 20 posts.

Congrats to Newell Brands’ Danielle Clark, Beth Stellato, Christina Moylan, Hayden Francis, Anne Archer Bengel, Alex Middleton, Steven Briley, Carly Gaynes and Fiona Johnson. –JG

Pfizer

Conversation Leaders

With employee advocates, Pfizer grows social media engagement by 60%

The pharmaceutical giant partnered with employees to deliver key messages during vaccine development during the pandemic, earning a win in for Employee Experience: Employee Engagement in Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

What better advocates can you ask for than your own employees? Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer did just that during the pandemic, asking Pfizer colleagues to lead the conversation on patient impact, science and innovation. As a replacement for Pfizer’s LinkedIn Elevate platform, it created Conversation Leaders, in partnership with employee app Dynamic Signal, an effort initially focused on driving talent acquisition outcomes. However, in March 2020, program priorities quickly shifted to align with Pfizer’s strategic priorities supporting vaccine development and the #ScienceWillWin campaign to amplify Pfizer’s commitment to finding a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19.

Roughly 12,000 employees registered for Conversation Leaders within the first week, a significant increase in participation over Pfizer’s former Elevate program which had less than 500 ambassadors. The Conversation Leaders program continued to grow, adding 450-500 new members monthly. Each member was carefully trained to engage on the topic of vaccines. According to Pfizer:

Newly onboarded colleagues are supported through a Resources quick link, which contains FAQs, content submission guidelines, social media frames/banners (for Facebook & LinkedIn), as well as a training video. The Members Tutorial video (created by a Pfizer intern) provides a navigational site walk-thru, how-to tips for subscribing to categories, connecting accounts, sharing content and more.

Conversation Leaders enables Pfizer colleagues to use their authentic voice when sharing content, and helped define internal culture as Pfizer sought to establish a reputation as the most patient-centric company in pharmaceuticals. Sentiment around #PfizerProud grew as employees felt more connected to company values.

As an example, Pfizer’s “Dear Scientist” content series allowed patients to share their personal disease experiences to drive awareness and encourage early screening for health risks. This in turn prompted colleagues to open up and share personal stories with these same diseases while sharing company messaging.

The highest performing content from the Conversation Leaders program included several open letters from Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla. The top five posts of 2020 all centered on the COVID-19 vaccine development and “Science will win” campaign, and the most shared post of 2020 was the Nov. 9 letter where Albert Bourla discussed Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine efficacy results. This post also garnered the highest reactions and third highest clicks of all posts in 2020.

Conversation Leaders has increased Pfizer’s reach on social media by 60% overall. Pfizer’s employee ambassadors have helped the company reach approximately 2 million more people on LinkedIn (a 51% increase over Pfizer’s branded LinkedIn channel). The greatest percentage increase in reach has come from Pfizer employees on Facebook with an estimated increase in reach of 174% over Pfizer’s branded Facebook channel.

Not resting on its laurels, Pfizer launched a member survey called “What Motivates You?” to uncover insights to help make the program more accessible. Results confirmed improvement opportunities, such as introducing the program in new hire onboarding, increasing personalization (through more targeted broadcasting), increasing the volume of content, sharing the impacts of the program more broadly and doing more to recognize participation.

The numbers speak for themselves: With less than 500 users, Pfizer’s LinkedIn Elevate program drove an annualized earned media value of $121,000. With Conversation Leaders, the program drove an estimated $1.5 million in earned media value through over 4,500 members actively sharing in the program’s first year. Fifty-eight percent of U.S.-based employees are active (vs. executive goal of activating 10%).

Kudos to Pfizer’s Ellen Gerstein, Jennifer Kokell, Yui Pang, Margie Guan. –JG

Bayer

Stop and Thank: Employee Appreciation and Engagement During a Pandemic

Bayer’s Employee Appreciation Day sees 64% of employees report improved well-being

The life sciences giant launched a multichannel worker recognition program to increase perception of employee well-being, earned a win in the Employee Experience: Employee Recognition or Reward Program category of Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

Recognizing a critical need to address employee well-being and appreciation during the pandemic, Bayer launched a multichannel campaign around its 2021 Employee Appreciation Day (EAD) it called “Stop and Thank.”

The campaign, prompted by internal Bayer research in late 2020 and early 2021, showed that U.S. employee sentiment toward the company was trending down on crucial metrics. Employees were initially appreciative of support and communications during the pandemic, but as the crisis showed no signs of abating, email open rates and engagement numbers began to decline. Employees reported they didn’t feel recognized for their work and Bayer was not attentive to overall employee well-being.

In response, ‘Stop and Thank” was developed to boost morale, well-being and employee recognition by using a leader-driven approach to enable and require leaders to recognize their teams. Ahead of EAD, emails were sent to managers and an article about the campaign was published on BayerNet, the company’s intranet. Managers were requested to share recognition of essential workers on a special photo wall on BayerNet, which was also shared on digital signage on work sites. The team engaged U.S.-based communicators outside of corporate communications, and prepped communications to senior leaders based in the U.S. to request their participation.

Because managers play a vital role in recognizing teams, there was a dedicated virtual information session for manager that offered research connecting employee recognition to well-being, and a review of tools and materials available for leaders, including a tip sheet with ideas and resources to help them recognize team members. Bayer used its “Better Because of You” platform for e-cards and small financial rewards for workers in the spotlight. An employee post on Bayer Scapes, the company’s external blog site, showcased the people behind the Bayer brand, highlighting business-critical workers and their managers at the pharmaceutical manufacturing site in Berkeley, California.

To tie the importance of employee well-being and health back to the recognition program, Bayer invited its vendor B Well to share special activities that support well-being via a webinar. Other components of the recognition program included Yammer posts with #StopandThank, and a video by the president of Bayer U.S. with a special message for all U.S. employees.

Some of the successes of the initiative included:

The Better Because of You tool resulted in 12,500 e-cards and awards – a 257% increase over 2020’s EAD event.
Sixty-four percent of employees in a post-EAD day poll said the events of the day improved their well-being.
Pre-engagement communications to the most senior leaders and their direct reports achieved a 74% open rate and 78% engaged read rate. During the pandemic, open and read rates had declined, but rates for this initiative returned to pre-pandemic levels.
The initiative inspired business units to create their own events and recognition programs for employees. Global communications in Germany, where Bayer is headquartered, have suggested running a similar campaign next year.

Kudos to Bayer’s Lisa Noury, Mary Lou Panzano, Samantha Schoenauer, and Elisa Maselli, Forty1-VTLO. –JG

John Hancock

John Hancock's Employee Resource Groups

John Hancock builds belonging with employee resource groups

The financial group’s nine resource groups for workers established an inclusive environment, earning a win for the Employee Experience: Employee Resource Groups category of Ragan’s Employee Communications & Top Places to Work Awards.

John Hancock believes diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) strategies should not be a “check-the-box exercise.”

To date, there are a total of nine employee resource groups (ERGs), three of which were created during the pandemic. At their core, the company’s DE&I initiatives involve increasing the representation of Black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) and women at all levels of the organization. This includes enhanced training and equipping leaders to lead inclusively, measured through specific performance goals. And the strategies go beyond the company’s walls to support local BIPOC communities through mentorship, education and advocacy commitments.

The company’s ERGs are voluntary and employee-led, and aim to create community around a common identity, trait or interest. ERGs typically collaborate with each other to explore intersectionality and bring new dimensions to diversity to the forefront. ERGs played a crucial role in the company’s first-ever “Afternoon of Reflection and Learning,” where employees were able to dedicate time toward deepening their understanding of various aspects of DE&I. ERGs hosted and curated several of the afternoon’s sessions focused on helping employees become better allies.

John Hancock’s nine ERGs include:

The Global Women’s Alliance (GWA), which supports and encourages the recruitment, development and advancement of women throughout the organization, inspiring and enabling all to reach their full potential.
GenNEXT, which aims to bridge the gap between generations in the workplace through education, networking and volunteerism. It also celebrates the contributions and potential of young professionals at John Hancock.
The Association of Multicultural Professionals (AMP) continues the legacy of inclusion at John Hancock by cultivating talent and creating meaningful growth opportunities while promoting a community of practice and thoughtful engagement.
Valuing the Inclusion of Black Employees (VIBE) aims to better enable its Black employees to advance professionally, support the aspirations of potential employees and increase awareness of various Black cultures.
The Military Employee Community (MiLE) supports all employees who are current service members or veterans, as well as their families and allies.
Professionals Reaching Out for Unity and Diversity (PROUD) promotes an inclusive workplace for LGBTQ+ employees.
ERG Ability builds a culture of inclusion for employees with disabilities, both visible and invisible, so all can feel supported and welcome, including employees, families and customers.
Family celebrates commitment to family and addresses the challenges faced by working parents and employees caring for elder parents and children with needs or chronic illnesses.
Pan-Asian Community for Employee Success (PACES) supports Pan-Asian employees with a commitment to building their presence, influence and leadership potential.

Congrats to Meghan Fackler. –JG

Mastercard

Boards for Impact

Mastercard bolsters community health, employee retention with ‘Boards for Impact’

The Credit card giant built a ‘priceless’ experiential learning opportunity that connects its top women and Black talent with volunteer opportunities, earning a win in the Employee Volunteer Program of Ragan’s Employee Communications + Top Places to Work Awards.

Mastercard, a giant in the global payments business, aims to connect consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses worldwide—and volunteer programs. It created “Boards for Impact,” a nonprofit board placement program that connects its top women and Black talent with a purposeful volunteer opportunity while putting them in positions of influence.

The program leverages top employee skills and expertise for social impact with the ultimate goal of supporting local community organizations.

The program, which kicked off in 2020 and has grown across the U.S. and U.K. (with three virtual cohorts), engaged more than 60 VP-level and above women and Black leaders for 2- to 3-year leadership terms. Participants in the program come from across its different business units and serve on a variety of nonprofit boards in D.C., New York, Miami, St. Louis and London.

The program allows diverse talent opportunities to grow and learn from a seat at a leadership table and connects Mastercard talent with nonprofits in need. Industry nonprofit sectors affected by the program include the arts, workforce development, youth education, financial inclusion, homelessness, health services, among others.

Here are some of the results to date of the program:

Higher retention rate of Boards for Impact VP+ women when compared to non-participating women.
Ninety-five percent of participants feel their time serving on a nonprofit board has served as a meaningful leadership development experience.
Eighty-six percent of participants feel more confident using their skills and knowledge learned from board service leadership positions.
Eighty-five percent of participants developed and/or stretched their skills because of their nonprofit board participation.
The top five skills developed or stretched through board service include building influence, critical thinking and problem solving, building self-awareness, collaboration, and leading change.

Mastercard believes that serving on a nonprofit board will help diverse leadership talent gain the skills and behaviors to build self-awareness, unlock growth and potential in others, lead teams with impact and drive a more inclusive culture.

Kudos to Mastercard’s Lauren Ottulich, Kelly Joscelyne, Ann Cairns, Susan Warner, Brielle Nalence. –JG

Brooks Running

13.1 Company Meeting

Brooks Running transitions to hybrid town halls to keep employees connected

The performance athletic brand’s annual company meeting adopted a hybrid model to ensure all employees were involved, earning a win in Hybrid Workplace Strategy of Ragan’s Employee Communications + Top Places to Work Awards.

When the pandemic hit, Brooks Running had to quickly figure out how to hit the pavement with virtual global town halls and company meetings. Then, when COVID-19 restrictions seemed to ease a bit, the company opted to gather for a hybrid event, named “13.1 Company Meeting” in a nod to the distance of a half marathon.

The internal comms team wanted to ensure that virtual participants weren’t being left on the sidelines. To do so, the hybrid virtual event included:

Meeting theme: To create a fun summer vibe, the 13.1 Meeting had a “Summer Pool Party” theme, which was folded into executive presentations, festive décor onsite at the venue and digital elements on the livestream platform.
Custom-developed Microsoft Teams Together Mode background: To create a unique virtual experience for its 30-plus sales reps in the field, the company developed a custom pool party background for Microsoft Teams Together Mode. Virtual attendees joined the meeting via their own pool floatie, and the Microsoft Teams call was projected onto a 100-foot floor-to-ceiling screen, which provided levity and engagement between the virtual and in-person audiences.
Virtual and on-site employee photo booths: At the venue, an in-person photo booth stocked with pool floaties and summer props offered the chance for employee group shots while virtual attendees could engage with the photo booth online. The virtual photo booth allowed attendees to choose a fun background, photo frame and pool-themed stickers to put the finishing touches on their selfies. Both photo booths were merged into one collection, and all the photos were displayed on the big screen during the meeting.
Specific camera angles and shots: The livestream leveraged different camera angles and views so that members of the virtual audience felt like they were in person at the meeting. Presenters also found ways to acknowledge the virtual audience and encouraged the in-person audience to give shoutouts to those who joined remotely.
Globally inclusive video content: Nearly 20 employees from around the world recited a custom-written Brooks-themed poem. Employee volunteers filmed themselves, and the Brooks’ video editor stitched the clips together to create a message of hope and optimism. In addition, the company gathered more than 150 of the in-person attendees to create a video message for teammates in Asia. The goal of this video was to show support and provide words of encouragement since the Asia team had been in lockdown all summer due to COVID-19.
On-site apparel and footwear showcase: Working remotely meant that employees did not have the opportunity to see the latest footwear and apparel products in person before they launched. To compensate, Brooks took advantage of the space at the venue to create a mini product showcase that helped drive awareness and excitement for the brand.

It was clearly a “Run Happy” day for Brooks (its company mantra), as post-meeting survey results indicated that all employees clearly understood the company’s business and direction. Ninety-seven percent of employees felt proud to work at Brooks following the meeting and 96% of employees were energized about the company’s future. Ninety-four percent said they understood how their role supports Brooks to achieve its strategic objectives.

Kudos to Brooks Running’s Alice Liang and Kim Ottele. –JG

Ford Motor Company

Internal Events Strategy

Ford Motor Company drives its business strategy forward, brand advocates

Ford Motor Company put its business plan to the employee test with in-person and virtual events to accelerate overall company pride and continue its Ford+ transformation plan to become a technology leader. The acceleration earned a win for Internal Events Strategy in Ragan’s Employee Communications + Top Places to Work Awards.

To drive its business strategy forward, Ford Motor Company put its employees in the driver’s seat … literally. Each virtual and in-person employee engagement aimed to provide a deeper understanding of Ford’s products and customer-centered solutions and how these move the Ford+ vision of moving from a car company to a technology leader—forward.

Given the pandemic, all in-person events were captured through storytelling, videos or photography and highlighted on Ford’s internal channels to ensure everyone had the benefit of learning more about the products and how they support the Ford+ business plan. And employees got the chance to sign on as Ford Blue Oval ambassadors to share their company pride on social media.

Some of the internal events included:

Global Town Halls: Reduced from twice a month to monthly in 2021, global employees learned about the company’s key objectives and mission-critical topics. The company added pre-roll promotion slides, video of monthly successes, five facts with a leader and a follow-up takeaway article on internal channels. The monthly events average 25,000 views combined in live and video-on-demand participation.
Leadership+: A series of global manager virtual meetings highlighted topics such as roles in delivering the strategy, focus on demonstrating appreciation to employees and the importance of the key Ford+ behaviors, including Caring for Each Other and Competing Like a Challenger.
Presidential Visit: In May 2021, President Biden visited Ford’s Rogue Electric Vehicle Center to preview the Ford F-150 Lightning and learn about Ford’s EV efforts. For employees, this demonstrated how the company’s EV strategy will lead the company and the nation to broader acceptance of a next-generation vehicle. It was a success, with more than 59,700 views on Ford’s internal channels and more than 21,900 video views.
Maverick Class: Typically, only a handful of employees can participate in briefings ahead of a reveal, but the company leveraged new technology to share this exclusive content with employees and allow the full base to deep dive following reveal to help answer product-specific questions. Success meant 930 attendees and more than 20K on-demand views; 95% of employees felt they had the products and solutions to deliver on the Ford+ plan for the future; 100% found it educational.
Bronco Built Wild Off-Road Employee Drive: Employees tested the new Ford Bronco on a specially designed off-road trail. Of the 154 attendees, 99% said the event gave them pride in working for Ford and 97% felt better prepared to be advocates for Ford.
Blue Cruise Employee Test Drive: Employee drawing winners got the chance to experience the hands-free driving BlueCruise system before its over-the-air delivery to customers.

Plant/Building Tours: Realizing that not all employees could travel for test rides or experiential events, Ford brought the experiences to them—more than 3,600 in total. These employees were able to check out and take pictures with the F-150 Raptor, F-150 Lighting Electric and Maverick.

Congrats to Ford Motor Company’s Jenn Corney, Marisa Bradley, Alice Riley, Jim Kruz, Paul Kampe, Sue Clifton, Courtney Hewett, Ryan Vetter, Dan Roth, Brooke Rousseau, Chris Kassab, Cathy Drummond, Julie Baker, Jenni Placinta, and Jennifer Haselhuhn (H+K Strategies).

Mastercard

Boards for Impact

Mastercard bolsters community health, employee retention with ‘Boards for Impact’

The Credit card giant built a ‘priceless’ experiential learning opportunity that connects its top women and Black talent with volunteer opportunities, earning a win in the Talent Management Strategy category of Ragan’s Employee Communications + Top Places to Work Awards.

Mastercard, a giant in the global payments business, aims to connect consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses worldwide—and volunteer programs. It created “Boards for Impact,” a nonprofit board placement program that connects its top women and Black talent with a purposeful volunteer opportunity while putting them in positions of influence.

The program leverages top employee skills and expertise for social impact with the ultimate goal of supporting local community organizations.

The program, which kicked off in 2020 and has grown across the U.S. and U.K. (with three virtual cohorts), engaged more than 60 VP-level and above women and Black leaders for 2- to 3-year leadership terms. Participants in the program come from across its different business units and serve on a variety of nonprofit boards in D.C., New York, Miami, St. Louis and London.

The program allows diverse talent opportunities to grow and learn from a seat at a leadership table and connects Mastercard talent with nonprofits in need. Industry nonprofit sectors affected by the program include the arts, workforce development, youth education, financial inclusion, homelessness, health services, among others.

Here are some of the results to date of the program:

Higher retention rate of Boards for Impact VP+ women when compared to non-participating women.
Ninety-five percent of participants feel their time serving on a nonprofit board has served as a meaningful leadership development experience.
Eighty-six percent of participants feel more confident using their skills and knowledge learned from board service leadership positions.
Eighty-five percent of participants developed and/or stretched their skills because of their nonprofit board participation.
The top five skills developed or stretched through board service include building influence, critical thinking and problem solving, building self-awareness, collaboration, and leading change.

Mastercard believes that serving on a nonprofit board will help diverse leadership talent gain the skills and behaviors to build self-awareness, unlock growth and potential in others, lead teams with impact and drive a more inclusive culture.

Kudos to Mastercard’s Lauren Ottulich, Kelly Joscelyne, Ann Cairns, Susan Warner, Brielle Nalence. –JG

Mastercard

Women’s Mentoring Series – ‘Mentoring Matters’

Mastercard focuses on women with its mentoring matching series

The financial technology company doubled down on its commitment to women, pairing senior leaders with women at junior levels for support and mentorship. The series, Mentoring Matters, earns a win in the Talent Management Strategy category of Ragan’s Employee Communications + Top Places to Work Awards.

According to data from Mastercard, junior-level women at organizations often leave at a greater rate than that of their male peers. Recognizing that this talent is a foundational bench for growing future leaders within its business and can have an impact on overall gender diversification within the company, Mastercard launched its Mentoring Matters program to support and help women grow in their careers and tackle potential barriers.

The Mastercard Women’s Mentoring Matters series is an internal mentoring program. Junior-level women are matched to mentoring volunteers at senior leadership levels.

To launch the program, a fully curated conversation framework was designed to dig into topics that women told Mastercard matter. The content is distributed monthly to help shape conversations and nudge those women into areas of identified need. Mentorship relationships are created by matching volunteer mentors to mentees based on specific criteria. Mentor pairs are guided by monthly conversation starters that feature curated hot topic videos, research and resources. Senior mentoring women share their experiences and role model how they dealt with challenges. The curated topics provide an ongoing rhythm for the program, are highly relevant to the challenges and opportunities currently faced by mentees and serve as conversation bridges for mentoring discussions. Mentors and mentees then join quarterly networking forums, which create opportunities for connection and learning from the broader cohort and feature speakers of interest.

More than 1,100 women and men across the organization participate as mentees and mentors from across business units and the globe. The 12-month experience is initiated with a focused matching process by a central talent team to identify best fit mentoring pairs, followed by guided discussions and networking opportunities for the pairs.Results from the first cohort (2020-2021) delivered the following results:

60% reduction in attrition
Higher results in annual performance and talent placement
Mentees had higher promotion rates (22% vs. benchmark at 11%)
Improvements in engagement for mentees and mentors
Rich insights into retaining and developing high-talent junior women.

Congrats to Mastercard’s Brielle Nalence, Kelly Joscelyne and Jennifer Rademaker.

–JG

Atos

Secure the Gold

Atos aims to Secure the Gold with relaunched intranet around 3 main goals

Digital solutions provider Atos wanted to increase enthusiasm for its participation in the Tokyo Olympics, engagement on its intranet and better inform employees about its North American corporate social responsibility initiatives. It scored a win for Intranet Employee Engagement in Ragan’s Employee Communications + Top Places to Work Awards.

Atos, among the global leaders in secure and decarbonized offerings and a range of digital solutions, centered its launch of its new intranet around its participation in the Tokyo Olympics. To do so, the company staged the Secure the Gold campaign to generate enthusiasm not only for the games but for the organization and its business priorities overall.

The Olympic theme was carried through in three categories: the team competition, all-around individual competition and individual skills competition.

Team competition: The first round, Governance, focused on the immediate advanced persistent threats from organizations looking to disrupt the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Atos cybersecurity teams worked to prevent and stop these threats from hacking the company and its clients. This is not solely the responsibility of one Atos team; it’s a global team effort for Atos employees to educate themselves and each other to prevent hacks. North American employees were divided into 17 teams based on their divisions. Employees were asked to encourage their colleagues to complete training and participate in the three webinars in round one.

All-around individual: The second round, Social, focused on wellness and diversity. The diversity potion discussed accessibility and Atos’ role in the Paralympics, while the wellness portion consisted primarily of activities:

Employees were challenged to participate in up to three physical activities (swimming, basketball, running and golf, among others) like those in the Olympic/Paralympic Games. Employees then needed to submit photos, videos, goals and records.
Making the Best of Your Home Office, with employees submitting an office video on topics ranging from workspaces to daily routines to maintaining mental wellness. Employees also were encouraged to join Yammer community creative groups.

Individual skills: The Environment round challenged employees to be part of the solution to combat climate change. The activity focused on decarbonized community and getting to zero net emissions, which requires cooperation between innovators and policymakers. Employees needed to submit a written blog with a unique title, and vlogs were a minimum of two minutes and accompanied by a written portion.

Over 300 employees participated, earning a total of 52,220 points.

Congrats to Victoria Bowman and the Atos team.

–JG

Finning

Traction: Finning

Finning International launches Traction, a central digital workplace

One of the largest Caterpillar equipment dealers needed to unite its workers around the globe and continue to build on its commitment to safety and DE&I initiatives. Its new digital workplace earned a win for Intranet Employee Engagement in Ragan’s Employee Communications + Top Places to Work Awards.

With a large percentage of its overall workforce on the frontline, Finning International needed to create a digital, central place to host resources, relevant information and build employees’ understanding and collaboration of its business priorities — in multiple languages. That need spans Canada, South America, the UK and Ireland, and 12,000+ employees. Finning has an ongoing commitment to ensuring a culture of safety, including psychological safety and mental well-being, as well as creating communities around DE&I.

All of this resulted in Traction, Finning’s new intranet aimed at a complete employee experience where employees felt safe and comfortable. Traction includes:

Strong communities: In the benefits and well-being community, employees can share how they are using company well-being and other health benefits in their own lives. Since launch, it has sparked greater employee engagement with employees sharing their personal stories across multiple geographies.

DE&I: Allies for Inclusion is a global community in Traction that creates a safe space to highlight practical ways to show respect, inclusion, and care for one’s well-being. It also reduces stigma associated with topics that have traditionally been avoided in the workplace including suicide prevention and other safety issues, both physical and mental.

Leadership Transparency: A culture of openness and transparency contributes to employee safety and well-being as it removes barriers between employees and company leaders. To strengthen and encourage transparency, Traction hosts Ask Finning – an open forum where employees can ask organizational leaders questions and get answers. If the question warrants a follow up, the leader will call or message the employee directly.

To ensure continuous engagement on Traction, Finning deploys surveys to determine how people are using the site and what they want more or less of. A feature called Ideas Campaigns has helped crowdsource employee feedback, generating ideas about how to reduce costs.

In 2021, users visited Traction an average of 20.6 time each, visiting an average of two pages per visit. More than 10,000 active users browse through Traction on a weekly basis.

Congrats to Finning’s Elisha McCallum, Grace Hon, Cherry Pecovnik, Nicholle French, Michelle Loewen, Kelly Vail, Helena Rose, Lauren Maclean, Daniela Flores Rojas, Angelica Meza Pinto, Macarena Yugovic Sepulveda, Shawn McGuire (4Refuel) and Ruth Adair (Beezy).

–JG

Legoland Parks & Resorts

Brickbuzz (Speakap)

Legoland Parks & Resorts builds an employee app for real-time communications

With building at its core, it should come as no surprise that Legoland Parks & Resorts created a technology framework to keep employees up to date. It earned recognition for Best Internal Social Network in Ragan’s Employee Communications + Top Places to Work Awards.