How food supplier ADM engages global workers during COVID-19

Communicating during COVID-19 is a challenge in and of itself. Making that even more challenging is supporting the majority of your global workforce as they still go to work.

“As states are going into shelter in place, and this is happening globally, we’re still asking employees to go work—especially our frontline employees to go work—because they’re working at plants and facilities that are producing food that goes into your pantry,” says Brett Lutz, vice president of global communications at Archer Daniels Midland, and member of the Communications Leadership Council.

ADM’s employee and contractor base numbers 40k globally across more than 800 facilities. One-third of its employees have been transitioned to remote work, while two-thirds go to plants that serve 200 countries.

“Communications is difficult, especially when you’re trying to think about getting the right message to the right people at the right time in all ways.”

Luckily, ADM spent the last year focusing on technology advancement to do that.

The key to reaching workers who don’t log typically into a computer each day? Mobile.

“This has been a huge uptick in the way that we’ve been able to get information that’s critical to our colleagues in a way that they can actually receive it,” Lutz says.