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Employee Engagement » Employee Engagement Case Study

25 Most Impactful Employee Engagement Case Studies for 2024

Introduction to employee engagement.

In today's highly competitive business environment, employee engagement has emerged as a critical driver of business success. It represents the level of commitment, passion, and investment employees have in their work and their organization. More than just job satisfaction, employee engagement is about employees feeling valued, involved, and connected to their work and workplace.

Engaged employees are not merely satisfied with their jobs; they are enthusiastic, motivated, and committed. They are the ones who are willing to go the extra mile, contribute their best ideas, and stay with their organizations in the long run. They are the backbone of any successful business, and their engagement is the key to unlocking a company's full potential.

Defining Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is a complex concept that encompasses a range of factors, from the emotional connection an employee feels towards their organization, to their level of satisfaction with their role and their motivation to perform to their best ability. It's about creating an environment where employees feel empowered, respected, and part of something bigger than themselves.

Why Employee Engagement Matters

Research has consistently shown that organizations with high levels of employee engagement are more profitable, have higher productivity levels, and experience lower turnover rates. Engaged employees are more likely to stay with their organization, reducing the costs associated with staff turnover. They are also more likely to be productive and deliver high-quality work, which can drive business growth and success.

Moreover, engaged employees are more likely to be advocates for their organizations, promoting their company's products and services to others and enhancing the company's reputation.

At its core, employee engagement is about creating a positive, inclusive, and inspiring workplace culture where employees feel valued, heard, and motivated to contribute their best. It's a win-win situation: employees are happier and more fulfilled, and businesses are more successful.

In this blog post, we will delve into 35 impactful case studies that illustrate the power of employee engagement in driving business success. From leveraging technology to fostering a culture of engagement in diverse workforces, these case studies will provide valuable insights and practical strategies for boosting employee engagement in your organization.

The Importance of Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is more than just a buzzword in the corporate world. It is a vital element that drives productivity, fosters innovation, and ultimately, contributes to a company's bottom line. In this section, we will delve into the significance of employee engagement and why it should be a priority in every organization.

1. Driving Productivity

Engaged employees are not just working. They are passionate, enthusiastic, and committed to their work. They strive to exceed expectations and continuously seek ways to improve their performance. As a result, their productivity levels are significantly higher than those of their disengaged counterparts. According to a study by Gallup, businesses with high employee engagement levels have 21% higher productivity.

2. Enhancing Employee Retention

Employee engagement is intrinsically linked to employee retention. When employees feel engaged, they are more likely to stay with the company. A sense of belonging, feeling valued, and being part of a purposeful mission can significantly reduce turnover rates. This not only saves costs associated with hiring and training new employees but also preserves the valuable knowledge and experience within the company.

3. Fostering Innovation

Innovation is the lifeblood of a company's growth and sustainability. Engaged employees, with their high levels of commitment and enthusiasm, are often the source of innovative ideas. They are more likely to take the initiative, think outside the box, and contribute to the company's innovation efforts.

4. Improving Customer Satisfaction

Engaged employees are more likely to provide exceptional customer service. They understand that their role is crucial in shaping the customer's experience and perception of the company. Hence, they invest more effort in serving customers, leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.

5. Boosting Profitability

All of the above factors - increased productivity, improved retention, enhanced innovation, and better customer service - contribute to boosting a company's profitability. A study by Towers Perrin found that companies with engaged employees had a 19% increase in operating income over a 12-month period.

In conclusion, the importance of employee engagement cannot be overstated. It is a critical factor that influences a wide range of business outcomes. By prioritizing employee engagement, companies can reap substantial benefits, from increased productivity and innovation to improved customer satisfaction and profitability.

6 Case Studies on Boosting Employee Engagement with Technology

In this digital age, technology has become an integral part of our lives, influencing how we work, communicate, and engage with our surroundings. The same holds true for the corporate world, where technology has emerged as a powerful tool to boost employee engagement. Here, we present six compelling case studies that shed light on how various organizations have leveraged technology to enhance employee engagement.

1. Tech Titan: A Gamified Approach

Tech Titan, a leading technology company, used gamification to boost employee engagement. They developed an internal mobile app that transformed mundane tasks into exciting challenges. Employees could earn points, badges, and rewards for completing tasks, sparking competition and fostering a sense of achievement. This innovative approach led to a 25% increase in employee engagement within a year.

2. HealthCare Plus: Virtual Reality Training

HealthCare Plus, a renowned healthcare provider, introduced virtual reality (VR) for employee training. The VR simulations provided a realistic, immersive experience, allowing employees to practice procedures and protocols in a risk-free environment. This training method not only improved employee skills but also boosted engagement levels by making learning more interactive and enjoyable.

3. FinServ Corp: Harnessing AI for Personalized Learning

FinServ Corp, a financial services firm, used artificial intelligence (AI) to create personalized learning paths for its employees. The AI system analyzed each employee's skills, strengths, and areas for improvement to develop tailored training programs. This personalized approach made learning more relevant and engaging for employees, leading to increased participation in training programs.

4. EcoEnergy: IoT-Driven Employee Wellness Program

EcoEnergy, a sustainable energy company, launched an Internet of Things (IoT)-driven wellness program. They provided employees with wearable devices to monitor their health metrics, encouraging them to adopt healthier habits. The program created a sense of camaraderie among employees as they collectively worked towards their wellness goals, leading to higher engagement levels.

5. GlobalComm: Collaborative Tools for Remote Work

GlobalComm, a multinational communications company, implemented collaborative tools to engage its remote workforce. Tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams facilitated seamless communication and collaboration, making remote employees feel more connected to their teams. This initiative resulted in a significant increase in engagement among remote workers.

6. Retail Giant: Augmented Reality for Employee Onboarding

A leading retail company used augmented reality (AR) for its employee onboarding process. New hires could use AR glasses to virtually explore the company's facilities and learn about its processes. This innovative onboarding experience made new employees feel welcomed and engaged from day one.

These case studies demonstrate the transformative power of technology in boosting employee engagement. By embracing digital tools and solutions, companies can create more engaging, rewarding, and meaningful work experiences for their employees.

8 Case Studies on Employee Engagement in Diverse Workforces

Diversity and inclusion have become a crucial part of organizational culture. A diverse workforce brings a variety of perspectives and approaches to the table, fostering innovation and creativity. However, managing a diverse workforce and ensuring high levels of employee engagement can be a challenge. Here, we present eight case studies that illustrate successful strategies for engaging diverse workforces.

1. IBM's Diversity Networking Groups

IBM, a multinational technology company, has implemented Diversity Networking Groups (DNGs), which are employee-led groups formed around common interests, backgrounds, or demographics. These groups have played a significant role in promoting diversity and inclusion, leading to higher employee engagement levels.

2. Johnson & Johnson's Employee Resource Groups

Johnson & Johnson, a multinational corporation, has leveraged Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to engage their diverse workforce. These ERGs, which include groups for women, veterans, and the LGBTQ+ community, have fostered a sense of belonging, thereby enhancing employee engagement.

3. Coca Cola's Global Office of Diversity

Coca Cola established a Global Office of Diversity, which focuses on fostering an inclusive culture and promoting diversity. This initiative has led to increased engagement as employees feel valued and recognized for their unique contributions.

4. Accenture's Inclusion and Diversity Strategy

Accenture, a leading global professional services company, has implemented an inclusion and diversity strategy that focuses on creating a culture of equality. This strategy has resulted in increased employee engagement and a more innovative work environment.

5. Microsoft's Autism Hiring Program

Microsoft has introduced an Autism Hiring Program, which offers inclusive interview experiences for candidates with autism. This initiative has not only diversified their workforce but also increased engagement among these employees who feel valued and included.

6. Starbucks's Inclusion Academy

Starbucks has created an Inclusion Academy, a training program focused on providing people with disabilities with the skills they need for logistics roles within the company. This initiative has resulted in increased engagement among these employees.

7. Deloitte's ALL IN Diversity Strategy

Deloitte, a multinational professional services network, has implemented an ALL IN diversity strategy. This strategy focuses on fostering an inclusive culture where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed, leading to higher levels of employee engagement.

8. Google's Employee Resource Groups

Google has leveraged Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to engage their diverse workforce. These ERGs, which include groups for women, veterans, and the LGBTQ+ community, have fostered a sense of belonging, thereby enhancing employee engagement.

In conclusion, these case studies demonstrate that fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment can significantly boost employee engagement. By implementing appropriate strategies, organizations can ensure that every employee feels valued and included, leading to higher levels of productivity and innovation.

6 Case Studies on Employee Engagement through Team Building Activities

Employee engagement is not just about work; it's also about fostering a sense of camaraderie, trust, and mutual respect among team members. Team building activities are a tried-and-true method of achieving this. Here are six case studies that showcase the power of team building activities in boosting employee engagement.

1. A Tech Giant's Approach to Team Building: Google

Google, one of the world's leading technology companies, is renowned for its unique approach to team building. They've implemented a program called "gPause," which encourages employees to take part in mindfulness exercises together. This initiative has led to enhanced team cohesion, reduced stress levels, and improved productivity, proving that team building activities don't always have to be grandiose or expensive to be effective.

2. Building Trust through Adventure: Johnson & Johnson

Healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson turned to adventure-based team building activities to foster trust and collaboration. They organized a series of outdoor challenges, including rock climbing and rafting. These activities required employees to rely on each other for success, thus strengthening their trust and rapport. The result? Improved team performance and higher employee engagement levels.

3. Creative Engagement: Pixar

Pixar, the renowned animation studio, uses creative exercises as team building activities. By encouraging their employees to take part in sketching sessions and storytelling workshops, Pixar fosters a culture of creativity and collaboration. This approach has not only resulted in some of the most successful animated movies of all time but also in a highly engaged workforce.

4. Team Building through Social Responsibility: Salesforce

Salesforce, a global leader in CRM, has integrated social responsibility into their team building initiatives. They offer their employees seven paid days off each year to volunteer for a cause of their choice. This unique approach to team building has fostered a sense of unity and purpose among employees, leading to increased engagement and job satisfaction.

5. Virtual Team Building: Scavify

In the era of remote work, Scavify has taken team building to the digital realm. Our interactive scavenger hunts not only foster team collaboration but also inject fun into the workday. These virtual activities have proven effective in maintaining high levels of employee engagement, even when teams are physically apart.

6. Physical Fitness as Team Building: Reebok

Reebok, a global athletic footwear and apparel company, uses fitness challenges as a team building activity. They offer CrossFit classes to their employees, promoting both physical health and team spirit. This approach has resulted in a more engaged, healthier, and more productive workforce.

These case studies illustrate the significant impact of team building activities on employee engagement. Whether it's through mindfulness exercises, adventure activities, creative workshops, social responsibility initiatives, virtual games, or fitness challenges, team building can effectively foster a sense of unity and engagement among employees.

8 Case Studies on Employee Engagement Initiatives in Large Corporations

As we delve deeper into the subject of employee engagement, it's essential to consider the unique challenges and opportunities presented by large corporations. These behemoths of the business world often have thousands, if not tens of thousands, of employees spread across multiple locations, sometimes even spanning continents. Given this, fostering a sense of engagement and connection amongst employees can be a daunting task. However, numerous large corporations have successfully implemented innovative engagement initiatives. Let's look at eight such case studies.

1. Google's '20% Time' Policy

Google, known for its innovative work culture, introduced a '20% Time' policy. This initiative allows engineers to spend 20% of their working hours on any project they choose. This policy has not only boosted engagement but also led to the creation of some of Google's most popular products, including Gmail and Google News.

2. Microsoft's 'Hackathon'

Microsoft hosts an annual Hackathon, where employees from all over the world come together to work on passion projects. This event fosters a sense of camaraderie and engagement amongst employees, while also promoting innovation and creativity.

3. Ford's 'Employee Resource Groups'

Ford has established multiple Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to promote diversity and inclusion. These groups, which include Women at Ford and Ford Employees Dealing with Disabilities, provide support, encourage engagement, and foster a sense of belonging amongst employees.

4. Apple's 'Blue Sky'

Apple introduced the 'Blue Sky' program, which allows a select group of employees to spend a few weeks on a project outside their usual work scope. This initiative boosts engagement by allowing employees to explore new areas and bring fresh ideas to the table.

5. Amazon's 'Peculiar Culture'

Amazon has created a 'peculiar culture' that encourages employees to be innovative and think outside the box. This culture, which includes practices like writing six-page memos and banning PowerPoints, keeps employees engaged and invested in the company's success.

6. Starbucks' 'Bean Stock'

Starbucks offers a program called 'Bean Stock', which gives eligible employees company shares. By making employees part-owners, Starbucks not only boosts engagement but also ensures that employees have a vested interest in the company's performance.

7. Salesforce's '1-1-1 Model'

Salesforce follows a unique '1-1-1 model', where it contributes 1% of its equity, 1% of its employee's time, and 1% of its products to philanthropic efforts. This initiative fosters a sense of purpose and engagement amongst employees, who take pride in their company's commitment to social responsibility.

8. Unilever's 'Sustainable Living Plan'

Unilever has implemented the 'Sustainable Living Plan', which aims to halve the environmental impact of its products by 2030. This initiative has boosted employee engagement by aligning the company's goals with the personal values of its employees.

In conclusion, these case studies highlight the innovative strategies large corporations are using to boost employee engagement. While the specifics vary, the underlying theme remains the same: when employees feel valued, supported, and part of something bigger, they are more likely to be engaged.

Conclusion on Employee Engagement Case Studies

In a rapidly evolving business landscape, these employee engagement case studies serve as a testament to the power of effective engagement strategies. They highlight how various organizations, regardless of their size or industry, have successfully harnessed the potential of their workforce by fostering a culture of engagement.

It's clear that employee engagement is no longer a luxury, but a necessity for businesses aiming for long-term success and sustainability. From leveraging technology to facilitating remote work, fostering diversity, and implementing team-building activities, businesses are exploring innovative ways to keep their employees engaged and motivated.

The case studies we've explored have demonstrated that employee engagement is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Each organization has to consider its unique circumstances, workforce dynamics, and strategic objectives to shape its engagement initiatives. However, the common thread running through all these case studies is the positive impact of genuine and consistent employee engagement on overall organizational performance.

As we move into 2024, the importance of employee engagement is only set to increase. With the rise of remote work and the increasing emphasis on diversity and inclusion, businesses will need to continue innovating and adapting their engagement strategies to meet the changing expectations of their workforce.

In conclusion, these case studies underscore the transformative power of employee engagement. They serve as a powerful reminder that when employees feel valued, heard, and engaged, they are more likely to contribute their best work, leading to increased productivity, improved employee satisfaction, and ultimately, heightened business success. As such, employee engagement should be at the forefront of every business leader's strategy moving forward.

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7 effective employee engagement case studies and strategies for a productive workplace.

• 1. Acknowledgment and Appreciation
• 2. Emphasis on Employee’s Holistic Wellness
• 3. Initiatives that are Development-Focused
• 4. Develop a Sense of Purpose, Values & Mission
• 5. Maintain Transparent Communication Channels
• 6. Create Conducive Working Conditions

7. Create Space for Fun & Happiness

Are you looking for employee engagement case studies? Learn from some of the best companies out there that have successfully increased employee engagement. See how they did it and what worked for them.

As more and more employers in today’s corporate world realize the importance of employee engagement , the demand for effective and result-oriented employee engagement programs is rising. The internet may present many employee engagement initiatives, but here’s something more: case studies to prove that certain employee engagement strategies are really effective. Follow our blog to learn more about employee satisfaction and ensure that your company is teeming with higher employee engagement initiatives.

According to Johnson and Johnson “ the degree to which employees are satisfied with their jobs, feel valued, and experience collaboration and trust. Engaged employees will stay with the company longer and continually find smarter, more effective ways to add value to the organization. The end result is a high-performing company where people are flourishing and productivity is increased and sustained.”  

Nokia Siemens describes employee engagement as “ an emotional attachment to the organization, pride and a willingness to be an advocate of the organization, a rational understanding of the organization’s strategic goals, values, and how employees fit, and motivation and willingness to invest the discretionary effort to go above and beyond”.

While we learn what employee engagement means and its importance, incorporating practical and effective employee engagement programs as part of company culture is the right recipe for success.  Here are certain strategies for best employee engagement with case studies. 

1. Acknowledgment and Appreciation 

The first and foremost step to boost employee engagement is making sure your employees are valued, acknowledged, and appreciated. This motivates employees to become more productive , stay on track with tasks, and perform well. This can be done in many ways and you need to choose an approach that your employees can relate with. While some enjoy public recognition, others don’t. Hence, you can work on innovative recognition ideas . 

According to a study , social workers in a company received personalized letters of recognition at their home addresses. The workers were chosen randomly and half of them received letters while the rest half didn’t receive any. The first half of the letter was chosen from a few positive motivational sayings and the second half of the letter had a personal note of appreciation written by managers. After a month of the letter experiment, the workers who received letters felt more recognized and appreciated for their efforts, compared to those who didn’t get any. This also had a positive effect on their motivation levels and well-being, according to the results of this study.  

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2. Emphasis on Employee’s Holistic Wellness 

There are many components of employee wellness like nutrition, work-life balance , mental health, and stress management, to name a few. A healthy employee will be more productive and employees who are mentally and physically healthy will exhibit positive motivation, and better morale and resulting in a win-win for both employers and employees. A wellness program can be a good way to start where employees get a chance to explore yoga, in addition to vacation days. A wellness room provides employees with a personal space for their personal needs. 

The indispensable role of wellness and an overall effective wellness strategy for an organization can be best understood based on a study that explored the objective of workplace wellness programs and their impact on employees health and medical expenses and so on. The study identifies certain key factors to boost wellness ideas in a corporate setup such as: 

Effective communication strategy 

Organizations that were part of this research emphasized the importance of how a wellness program is communicated to employees, both in-person and mass information campaigns, with messaging and clear interaction getting the highest priority.

Accessibility of wellness programs

Making wellness programs accessible for all employees is an effective strategy to boost the levels of employee engagement in their organization.

Engaged leadership

According to this study, for wellness programs to be successful, senior leadership should imbibe wellness as an integral and important part of the company culture. 

Effective use of existing resources

Organizations leverage the existing resources and then build relationships, which also include health plans to provide employees with more options.

Ongoing assessment

Most companies agree that continuous assessments are required for employers to better understand their employee’s wellness needs. 

Employee-Centric Engagement, Internal Communication, and Recognition

3. Initiatives that are Development-Focused  

Ongoing development is key for every employee and there are a few development-focused initiatives that you can adopt actively to help your employees gain professional growth like professional networking, master’s or even Ph.D. programs, industry seminars, training courses and conferences, internal promotions, mentoring groups, and career coaching. 

This study titled A Study on the Influence of Career Growth on Work Engagement among New Generation Employees involved six companies from diverse industries like consulting, finance, management, real estate, and so on. The findings of this study show that: 

Organizational identification (IO) is very important for engagement levels and career growth.

Employee career growth positively impacts work engagement;

Person-organization value is positively linked to career growth and organizational identification (IO).

If employees recognize that they can make career progress in a company, they feel more attached and this increases employee loyalty, particularly for the new generation. It motivates them to put in the extra effort, improve performance, work on new skills, and so on. 

4. Develop a Sense of Purpose, Values & Mission 

A visible employee engagement program to achieve higher employee satisfaction levels requires employees to gain a sense of purpose, portray the company’s values and understand the mission. It is important to also understand what each of these attributes stands for. 

Purpose 

A company's purpose is the reason it exists in the first place. Purpose-driven companies are devoted to achieving goals that are bigger than just making money and increasing shareholder value. They also want to make a positive impact on the world around them and approach their work sustainably and ethically. In other words, they're committed to making a difference. 

Mission 

The mission of a company is similar but not identical to its purpose. Many people use the terms interchangeably, but we see the main difference as follows: the mission statement focuses on what the company has been built to achieve. 

Values 

Values are important because they act as a compass for the overall expectations of an organization - they guide how employees do their jobs, how managers communicate with clients and partners, and how workers interact with their peers. By understanding and sharing company values, employers can make better decisions that reflect the priorities of the business.

According to a study by Deloitte , a company’s purpose and mission impact corporate confidence as well, as indicated by the results of this study.

Nearly half of all executives (47%) say that they can identify with their company's purpose, while only 30% of employees feel the same way. 

A whopping 44% of executives believe that exemplary leadership involves setting an example that lives and breathes the company's purpose - but only 25% of employees share this belief. 

41% of executives believe that a company's purpose plays a significant role in major corporate decisions, whereas only 28% of employees feel the same way.

38% of leaders claim that their company's purpose is communicated clearly and openly to all, but only 31% of employees actually think this is the case.

Ultimately, teaching your employees about the company's purpose, mission, and vision takes time and patience. It's a gradual process, but when done correctly, it has numerous benefits for employers. Creating a sense of purpose for your employees allows you to see numerous benefits in the long run such as a more committed workforce and less employee turnover. 

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5. Maintain Transparent Communication Channels 

Many employees feel reluctant to share their concerns and opinions with their managers or peers, either due to a perception that their managers don’t pay much attention to them or maybe they tried earlier but no action was taken by the leadership. Encouraging employees to share their concerns with leaders has its own benefits. 

Practicing reflective listening helps managers to understand the message, through attentive communication. 

Making employees understand they are respected helps them to respect you back and this is an employee engagement strategy based on common sense.

Acknowledging employee views is a way of recognizing a diverse range of ideas and respecting what they say, even though in the end you may still agree to disagree.

Seeking employee’s input actively helps to boost job satisfaction levels. 

A research study analyzed communication between employers and employees and its impact on engagement levels.   The findings supported the general definition of engagement as a sense of shared responsibility between both supervisors and employees, proving that establishing communication with your employees has a wide range of benefits and can work wonders for a company’s employee engagement levels . 

6. Create Conducive Working Conditions 

While expecting high performance from employees by an organization is quite natural, it is also equally important to provide necessary conditions for employees to do their best, by supporting them in any way you can. You can encourage positive and healthy competition in the workplace, show zero tolerance for toxic behavior, maintain a clean and healthy workplace ambiance, and create supportive teams . One way to support your workforce is by encouraging them to focus on things that are already good in their lives. 

According to a consultant, Stephanie Pollack , a visible change is possible when employees are encouraged to know more about the benefits of gratitude and become aware of good things already existing in their lives. Showing gratitude has a plethora of benefits that range from reducing stress to making people feel better about themselves. It's important to build a culture of appreciation in your company so that employees feel comfortable expressing gratitude to one another and also feel appreciated in their jobs. This will not only lead to employees appreciating their jobs and coworkers more, but it will also help them appreciate themselves on a whole new level. Creating a grateful environment takes time, but it's worth it to see the positive transformation it can have on your organization as a whole. 

Workers who are content with their jobs are more likely to be motivated, productive, and engaged than those who are unhappy with their work. And happiness usually comes with having fun. However, this doesn't mean that employees should neglect their tasks or ignore deadlines. Learning how to balance work and play is key to being successful in both areas.

Employees should get the chance to do fun stuff to uplift their moods and refresh their minds and thoughts. This will make them more productive while handling their daily tasks. This can be in the form of having lunch together, organizing joke sessions, quizzes, celebrating employee milestones and birthdays, hosting parties, sports activities, recreational outings, and so on.  According to a study “ Finding Fun in Work: The Effect of Workplace Fun on Taking Charge and Job Engagement” , having fun in the workplace motivates employees in a positive way improving their job satisfaction levels, productivity, commitment, energy,  and creativity. It also helps to reduce anxiety, turnover, stress, and absenteeism.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to improving employee engagement in the workplace. You can employ one or more of these strategies based on case studies and see what works best for you and your workforce. Creating a nurturing and fun-filled productive place can make a great difference for your company and its growth in the years to come. 

Author Bio:

This article is written by a marketing team member at HR Cloud. HR Cloud is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications & engagement, and rewards & recognition. Our user-friendly software increases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk.

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Starbucks Employee Engagement with Starbucks

Employees are the very heart of the Starbucks brand- yet despite its strong culture of “serving up good” through a global offering of social impact opportunities, Starbucks employees were lacking in awareness of these opportunities. 

Aiming to better engage store employees in the social impact initiatives led at the corporate level, Starbucks partnered with Purpose to develop a bespoke engagement strategy. Through research, focus groups, interviews & landscape reviews, Purpose created a strategy that included core values to unite corporate & in-store employees, ownable roles for every employee to play in contributing to social impact & ideas for channels and resources that could make the experience enjoyable to all.

To activate this engagement strategy, Starbucks launched a neighborhood grants program which has now received over 8,000 grant nominations from 13,000 employees- and in June 2020, The Starbucks Foundation committed $1 million in Neighborhood Grants to promote racial equity and create more inclusive communities.

Despite Starbucks’ incredible offering of social impact opportunities across the world, initiatives rarely made it into the lives of store employees — the partners at the heart of the brand.

While Starbucks has a strong culture of “serving up good” through service and community connection initiatives, the company recognized that their employees lacked information about what work was happening and what engagement options were available to them. Only 1 in 30 baristas we spoke to had ever heard of Starbucks stores doing social impact work.

Starbucks aimed to make working at the company feel like the best job in retail by offering opportunities for store partners to live their values at work by taking part in global social impact initiatives.

By supporting store partners to serve their communities, Starbucks set out to supercharge the positive impact the company makes on the neighborhoods it serves, and make working at Starbucks feel like more than just a day job.

Theory of Change

Purpose partnered with Starbucks to unearth insights about what was holding store employees back from participating in global social impact initiatives, and determine what might motivate them to take part.

Through polling, focus groups, interviews and landscape reviews, Purpose developed a bespoke engagement strategy for Starbucks to utilize when creating and implementing impact initiatives that would touch the lives of store employees.

Interviews with Store Partners

To begin our research, Purpose conducted interviews with a number of store employees — from baristas to upper management — to understand what they knew about volunteering and service initiatives at Starbucks, and how they felt about getting involved.

Interviews illustrated the awareness gap — but also showed that without time, resources, and permission allocated to social impact activities, partners days were too busy to take time out for ‘extra work.’ Social impact opportunities at Starbucks sounded exciting, but were far from accessible.

Polling Store Managers

Purpose fielded an online survey via Workplace with a focus on Store Managers to further interrogate findings and assumptions that came to light during focus groups. The survey was fielded to over 130 employees, and gathered concrete perspectives on social impact from partners across geographies.

Survey results gave us insight into why Starbucks management chose Starbucks, and what they believed made the company special. We heard that of all the reasons people join Starbucks, it’s the community, connection, and teamwork a job at Starbucks offers that makes people stay.

Barista Focus Groups

To dig one foot deeper, we facilitated four focus groups in New York City, consisting mostly of Starbucks baristas. In conversations with 30+ employees, we learned more about the issues they cared about — which ranged from animals and the environment to advancing racial equity and justice in their own neighborhoods.

However, partners told us one thing loud and clear: in order to participate in social impact, they needed to feel a personal, local connection to the cause.

With insights in hand, Purpose created a strategy for engaging employees in global social impact work moving forward.

The strategy aimed to equip corporate leaders with the values store employees need to see reflected in social impact opportunities, and the roles they can play within those opportunities. It also outlined several meaningful programmatic options for corporate to deploy.

Combined with recommendations on tools and resources required as well as how to measure impact, the final product acted as a framework for partner participation.

After the rollout of the global social impact strategy, Starbucks approached Purpose for help with qualifying their current social impact employee engagement opportunities against the new framework.

Together, we ran each of Starbucks impact initiative through assessments to ensure the programmes delivered on the accessibility, valued-based, local experiences the strategy promised. Where gaps in initiatives were identified, Starbucks reworked programmes accordingly to ensure they were right for partner engagement.

The corporate team at Starbucks was particularly excited about applying an impact-centered approach to the core of their social impact offerings. To help colleagues across marketing, store relations, and global social impact understand the new methodology, Purpose facilitated a day-long workshop to train staff on how to use a theory of change to ensure programmes are designed strategically, audience first, and with impact at their core.

Starbucks activated their engagement strategy by refreshing their Neighborhood Grants program to make employees the driver of each grant. In the program, employees were invited to nominate the local  organizations that serve the communities where they live and work, to truly center the needs and opportunities employees observe as they interact with their communities in Starbucks stores every day. Since the launch, there have been over 8,000 grant nominations from 13,000 employees, which continues to grow.

The refreshed partner engagement strategy for global social impact changed the course of community investment and employee engagement at Starbucks, for good. By making all social impact programmes tailored to partners personal passions, Starbucks became more than a place to work — it became a place for partners to bring their authentic selves to work each day, serve the communities they love, and live their values.

When Black Lives Matter protests spread across the country in the summer of 2020, Starbucks was equipped to heed employee calls for action — committing $1M in grants to racial justice organisations nominated by store employees themselves. As COVID struck, they asked partners to lead the way in determining how the company could help.

The partnership has shown us that the impact a company can make when we meet employees where they are is boundless.

• February 22, 2018
• 8 minute read

Employee Engagement Case Studies: A Look at Hyatt’s Wildly Successful Strategy

Today’s world-renowned Hyatt hospitality brand traces its origins to 1957 when brothers Jay and Donald Pritzker purchased the original Hyatt House motel that planted the seeds of a hospitality empire. The company now has over 600 properties in more than 50 countries and employs more than 100,000 people.

Known for upscale lodging and fine dining on-site, Hyatt is also building a reputation for having an outstanding employee engagement strategy. More specifically, the company focuses on employee development and promotion from within .

The company also makes it a point to share that their comprehensive employee engagement strategy is not an add-on developed to keep employees content. Rather, it is a pillar of the company’s overall business strategy – one that has seen steady growth as well as avoidance of problems that often plague the hospitality industry, such as high employee turnover.

Turnover Much Lower at Hyatt than Competitor Hospitality Chains

Finding hotel housekeeping associates has always been challenging, and the problem has worsened over the past several years . Not only do many housekeeping professionals change jobs frequently in the pursuit of better pay or more flexible hours, many housekeeping professionals who stick with a hospitality brand want to step up to more responsible positions, and when they do, more housekeeping vacancies open up.

A hospitality brand whose employee engagement strategy does not include housekeeping staff, or that relegates staff appreciation to National Housekeeping Appreciation Week in September, can expect to continue to deal with high turnover.

Check out Hyatt’s average Retention Scores measured on various parameters, which is impressive. This is because the company offers outstanding training, hires and promotes from within, and has a rock-solid commitment to employee diversity. Hyatt’s employee engagement strategy encompasses all employees, not just corporate or managerial ones.

Top Reasons Hyatt Employees Are Engaged in Their Work

Hyatt employees themselves list several reasons why they remain engaged in their work, and all of them go right back to the company’s employee engagement strategy. Not only are there tangible perks like travel discounts and free or subsidized on-site meals in the company’s well-respected restaurants, Hyatt makes it a point to listen to employees and to train them how to listen effectively to each other and to hotel guests.

Additionally, the company offers tuition reimbursement, encouraging employees at all levels to further their education. They also team up with organizations like Khan Academy to provide skill training to employees so that more employees have more access to expanded career choices. In short, Hyatt does not just talk about investing in their employees. They actually do it.

Commitment to Diversity Is More Than Lip Service

A company does not expand into over 50 countries and employ more than 100,000 people while maintaining strong employee loyalty without being committed to employee diversity . Hyatt does not just parrot talking points about diversity; they act. As a result, the company has earned awards such as the Human Rights Campaign Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality , has been recognized by the AARP for employing older workers, and has been recognized by Hispanic Business Magazine and the NAACP for their commitment to hiring people of color.

By openly committing to diversity in the workplace, Hyatt automatically improves its transparency and demonstrates that people from all backgrounds are welcome, which is greatly beneficial to overall employee engagement. In fact, it is safe to say that an employee engagement strategy that glosses over employee diversity or does not mention it at all is an employee engagement strategy that will fall short.  

Empowerment as a Pillar of the Employee Engagement Strategy

Employee empowerment is a key element of Hyatt’s employee engagement strategy. Employees who feel unable to act to solve the inevitable problems that arise in day-to-day business cannot be expected to be engaged in their work because their efforts are stopped before they can start. Hyatt offers ongoing training opportunities for employees and trusts them to act when problems arise. This not only results in problems being solved more quickly, but it also improves employee engagement because engaged employees are ones who know that their work makes a difference on multiple levels.

Empowerment of employees to listen and solve problems not only helps them in their current work, but also helps prepare them for greater responsibilities, and this is critical in a company that likes to promote from within.

Hyatt Understands the Connection Between Engagement and Business Outcomes

Ultimately, Hyatt’s employee engagement strategy is about creating better business outcomes. A company that is in a constant cycle of replacing workers due to high turnover simply cannot achieve the level of competence of a company that has loyal, well-trained employees. Companies that demonstrate to employees that their development as a person and as an employee is important by reimbursing education costs naturally have more engaged employees than those that do not.

The right employee engagement strategy does several things, but two of the most important are empowering employees to excel on a daily basis and making employee engagement part of the very foundation of working for the company. The investment and effort are real, but the rewards show a consistent, strong ROI from such an approach.

How an App Can Help Orchestrate Your Employee Engagement Strategy

The elements of your company’s employee engagement strategy must be specific to your company, of course, but technology in the form of the employee engagement app can make the implementation of the strategy significantly more effective. With HubEngage, you can develop a highly customized employee engagement app that will become an indispensable part of your overall employee engagement strategy.

HubEngage offers a fully customizable employee engagement app platform for the hospitality and travel industry that lets you add your brand elements, customize your user interface, and offer functionalities that are known to improve employee engagement. For example, HubEngage allows you to deliver training modules, solicit employee feedback, deliver instant notifications, and provide employees with personalized content feeds that simply help them do their jobs better. You can even make it fun with gamified learning and fun productivity tools.  See firsthand how HubEngage can transform your organization.  Schedule a demo today with a specialist today. 

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Case Study: How Google Boosts its Employees’ Engagement

You might have heard about this mantra: ‘Happy employees produce better results.’ This is the mindset of Google to keep its employees productive and satisfied. This article explains more.

Let’s say you’re a company providing software development services . If your developer’s team isn’t enthusiastic about their projects every day, you’re not going to achieve excellence. This is productivity’s power. But remember productivity is dependent on the company’s culture.

Why is everyone talking about Google’s culture or work environment? We know that Google is one of the most influential and powerful companies around the globe. The company follows a pretty well unique culture instead of corporate culture.

It has something that every big organisation needs to follow to level up their employees’ engagement or morale. The culture of any company is vital to its success and Google is perfectly right on the track.

It has one sole purpose:  Keep the employees happy and keep up the productivity.

Google has been at number ONE place from the past six years and featured on  Fortune’s  annual list of  ‘Best Companies to Work For.’  And this is not it. Google has also been named as the tech company with the best culture. (Reported by Forbes) Furthermore, Google has a 4.4 rating on  Glassdoor  based on 6000+ employees reviews.   

Google’s morale

This is what the employees of Google answered the questions asked about their work culture.

• Acknowledged for the efforts?

Yes: 61 % Employees

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No: 39% Employees

• Job Security?

Very Secure: 34 % Employees

Neutral: 19% Employees

Insecure: 8% Employees

Very insecure: 5% Employees

• Work Environment?

Positive: 85% Employees

Negative: 15% Employees

• Excited about going to work daily?

Yes: 80% Employees

No: 20% Employees

So, without further ado, let’s move towards the ways Google uses to boost its employees’ engagement .

“There are way easier places to work, but nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week. But if you love what you do, it (mostly) doesn’t feel like work.”- Elon Musk.

How Google Keeps Its Employees Productive And Engaged?

Exclusive perks.

Today, employees want a job in a company that makes them love what they do. Never for financial benefit or intellectual recognition. Yet instead of chance to add to the common good.

The major differentiator is to make a real difference.

Google offers different perks to its employees to show them that they are not only investing in their overall health but their future as well.

• Chef-prepared free organic food (breakfast, lunch, and dinner);
• Free dental and health checkup;
• Free and unlimited dry cleaning;
• Subsidised massages;
• Several foosball, ping pong, video games stations;
• On-site physicians;
• Gyms/swimming pools memberships;
• Free haircuts from professional hairdressers;
• In-house nap pods;
• Death benefits to deceased employees’ families, and;
• Hybrid car subsidies.

Flexibility

Google has been one of the very first companies that had a vision of understanding the employees’ needs. It lets its workers have a flexible schedule so that they can work on their terms and enhance creativity and productivity. They have given their employees complete freedom to work in a way that is most suitable to them.

Knowing the employees well

Google had gone through a series of laboratory tests to figure out the productivity of their employees. They had four different experiments that included 700 participants. All the employees were treated to free drinks, fruits, and chocolates or shown a comedy movie clip.

They also enquired some of the participants about the family tragedies as a part of their assessment. After this, they found that happiness is the reason for 12% more productivity.

Google promotes an innovative and diverse organisational culture that has been a part of its employee’s life. A positive creative atmosphere and a safe working space offered by Google to its workers keep them comfortable and happy at work. The concept that being a part of Google is about being smart and wise encourages the employees to think openly and keeps them productive.

Nowadays, there are different creative coworking spaces which are known to be a perfect alternate to a workplace. These spaces are believed to deliver various advantages such as strong networking and increased engagement.

Google’s founders were researchers who had a belief in innovation and freedom of thinking. This is one of the main factors that influenced the style of Google’s leadership.

According to Brassfield, 2013, a positive leadership style stimulates inspiring and motivating employees to develop innovative ideas and inventions.

Keeping people inspired

Future Workplace, in 2017, demonstrated in a study that one of the biggest threats to employees’ engagement is employee burnout. It has also been found out that many proficient workers are often overburdened with the tasks that lead to halted innovation, incomplete work, etc.

What does Google do about keeping its employees productive, inspired, or motivated? Google’s strategy for this is  20% time . Every employee devours up to 20% of his time at work each week on ventures that inspire him.

This concept inspires employees as it allows them to concentrate on things they love or are passionate about. It can prevent burnout, decrease turnover, increase engagement.

Image: Pexels

Career development

Google provides an extensive professional growth program that is successful and creative and guarantees long-term performance for all the employees. The career development program of Google is one that ensures incentives are provided to employees to meet their professional and personal progression.

Google has adopted a unique way to promote the professional development of all its employees. CareerGuru  is a career coaching that provides all the details to the employees by Google’s leaders about working at a specific role in the company.

Creativity Encouragement

The companies that believe in fostering a culture of creativity have happy, satisfied, and motivated employees. Google leads the way in promoting creativity in their employees.

They are free to express their ideas as a solution to any problem. Moreover, employees are encouraged to work wherever they are comfortable in the workplace. Google has a set up where rather than just considering an applicant’s professional background, they look to recruit people who are normally inquisitive and fond of learning.

Trusting Employees

Google believes in trusting their workers because trusted employees feel more valuable. It can also boost the sense of job satisfaction and can also decrease the rate of staff turnover.

In a survey by PwC, reliable employees are 76% more engaged in their work than those in a low trusting environment. Trusted employees are happier and they have the urge to go the extra miles.

Culture based on qualitative data

Google has always been searching out different ways to optimise the performance of its employees while ensuring their happiness and satisfaction. Everything done at Google is based on real data. They use the qualitative and quantitative facts to set up processes and every single rule that is streamlined.

Google has additionally performed researches to discover how much paid time off new mothers would need and ways of building an improvised and better culture.

Fun workplace

Have you ever been allowed to design your own workstation at your company?

Probably not. But Google does it. It lets the employees design their desks or workstations.

When you see the pictures of the workplace, it seems an interesting adult play and work area and not a dull and lifeless space.

Google has always tried to push the boundaries of its workspace.

Collaboration of coworkers

At Google, the employees are urged to collaborate. They have a program called ‘Googler to Googler’ to keep them productive and promote skills such as management, public speaking, orientation, or extracurricular activities.

It is crucial to build a sense of community to create a positive culture. The company has arranged several micro kitchens around the whole workspace where coworkers can have a little chit-chat session. No one has to spend time on deciding where to eat because Google has various break-out spaces for lunch.

Google’s way of listening

Google employees have developed great software and projects that include Gmail, AdSense, Google News, etc. and all these big projects were originated because of its staff productivity approach. Google has a way of collecting employees’ feedback and listening to their suggestions that is  gDNA.

• The employees utilise a device ‘Google Moderator’ , the result of 20% time strategy, to inquire about something and vote on inquiries of others;
• The company holds a meeting, every Friday, where the managers react to the most famous inquiries of the week;
• Leaders or managers utilise a charting instrument called Google-O-Meter to measure the prominence of various worker bits of advice;
• Leaders likewise plan “Fixits” to comprehend huge, critical issues; and,
• Fixits are 24-hour runs where team members give their full focus around discovering solutions for explicit issues.

So, can Google teach us anything?

If you are planning to adopt these learnings at your organisation just like Google keeps its employees productive, it’s essential to test the progressions first and measure the results.

It’s a great deal of work, however, the engagement advantages will make the difficult function admirably justified.

About the Author

Usman Akram is a digital marketer and SEO specialist who’s passionate about experimenting and discovering new SEO tactics and strategies to dominate search rankings while bringing an unmatched user-experience. As of now Usman is serving Buzz Interactive , a leading digital marketing agency as the head of SEO.

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This is not me

10 min read

14 Outstanding Employee Engagement Examples Across Diverse Industries

Worker experience

Lorelei Trisca

August 12, 2024

Last Update

September 13, 2024

Table of Contents

Hyatt: building emotional connections and empathy with clients, the cheesecake factory: putting training and employee recognition before everything else, southwest airlines: giving employees more freedom in the decision-making process, yousician: opting for extraordinary changes occasionally, gong: diversifying perks and work culture offerings, intuit: setting diversity and inclusion goals, github: empowering its people to build new opportunities for themselves, fullcontact: paying your team to relax, patagonia: adapting benefits to employees’ needs, starbucks: thinking differently about every employee engagement opportunity, salesforce: creating a framework for employee-company alignment, zappos: life coaching programs and achievements celebrations, google: 16+ employee resource group, buffer: team building events for engaging remote workers, build an engaged organization with deel, key takeaways.

• Companies like Hyatt focus on building emotional connections and empathy with clients and employees. Organizations can create a more genuine customer experience and a supportive work environment by allowing employees to be authentic and empathetic. This approach not only boosts employee satisfaction but also enhances customer loyalty and company reputation.
• Implementing robust recognition and engagement initiatives is crucial for employee motivation and retention. The Cheesecake Factory’s Wow Stories Initiative and Zappos’ achievement celebrations show how recognizing outstanding performance can boost morale and spread best practices across the organization. Such programs make employees feel valued and appreciated, leading to better service and productivity.
• Offering flexible work arrangements and unique employee benefits can significantly enhance employee engagement. Companies like FullContact, which pays employees to go off the grid during vacations, and Buffer, which organizes retreats for remote workers, demonstrate the value of creating a supportive and adaptive work culture. These strategies help employees maintain a healthy work-life balance, fostering loyalty and reducing burnout.

Employee engagement is one of the most crucial aspects of any organization. It’s essential for retaining employees, improving company culture, and increasing productivity. According to Gallup, employee engagement refers to the extent to which employees feel involved in and enjoy their work.

In today’s fiercely competitive job market, businesses continually seek new strategies to maintain a competitive edge. To provide a comprehensive understanding, we will present case studies of 14 notable companies that excel in employee engagement. Additionally, we will explore methods to engage remote employees and offer practical employee engagement activities.

Hyatt took a different approach compared to hospitality industry standards. In an industry rife with obsessing over perfection, Hyatt opted for the unconventional route by prioritizing emotional connections and empathy with clients over perfection.

Instead of using a script when talking to guests, Hyatt’s employees can be their true selves during guest interactions. This creates a genuine customer experience and encourages employees to be authentic, sincere, transparent, and empathic with guests.

The company leverages empathy to create an excellent customer experience for its guests and an [excellent employee experience]. For example, its housekeeping flextime program allows housekeepers to leave if they complete their tasks on time or clean additional rooms to make more money. Also, its family assistance leave offers at least eight weeks of paid leave to primary caregivers.

As the only restaurant listed on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For every year since 2014, The Cheesecake Factory has an employee engagement strategy worth following.

The company’s dedication to employee engagement doesn’t stop in front of its restaurants. CEO David Overton says that training and recognition are high on the priority list within The Cheesecake Factory because employees who feel appreciated tend to give better service. This improves customer satisfaction and further increases The Cheesecake Factory’s reputation.

In addition, the Cheesecake Factory recognizes its frontline associates’ outstanding performance through its employee recognition program, Wow Stories . The program circulates stories of excellent service throughout the company, boosting morale and spreading best practices.

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Southwest Airlines has had extremely high scores in their NPS for the past ten years . They built a team full of enthusiastic people who are passionate about their vision and brand and want to contribute in any way they possibly can.

They’ve created a healthy work environment for everyone by allowing workers to decide over aspects of their jobs, from designing their uniforms to giving them autonomy over their work-life balance and careers.

Customers have noticed this because their employees are happy and excited about where they spend most of their time each day—at their jobs.

The company provides a platform for people to stay inspired and continue doing things differently. The viral video of one flight attendant rapping the safety information shows the attitude the company has towards keeping things fun and unique—and it highlights employees that they’re appreciated.

The former CEO of Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher, pointed out competitors can’t replicate or copy the level of employee engagement that Southwest Airlines upholds. This is because the company’s foundation rests solely on mutual respect and a sense of understanding.

Yousician is a Finnish interactive and educational music service designed to help people learn and play musical instruments. In July 2014, Yousician took its entire team to Saarenmaa, Estonia, for a team bonding experience that allowed them to spend time discussing how to improve its product.

Suddenly, the company’s leadership realized that they could work anywhere as long as they had their computers. Therefore, when the company discovered that its office in Helsinki would undergo a one-month renovation, it decided to get creative.

With offices in Finland being expensive enough for them to book a month’s space, CEO Christoph Thür rented an entire villa in Greece and flew the whole team, alongside their families, to work for a month. They all lived and worked together, had evening jam sessions and pool parties, and turned what might have been touted to be a nightmare into a memorable experience for their employees and their families.

Renowned for enabling revenue teams to reach their full potential by unveiling customer reality, the company is also known for offering an excellent employee engagement experience.

87% of employees at Gong say it’s a great place to work compared to 57% of employees at a typical U.S.-based company. It’s no surprise that Gong has been named a Great Place to Work in the competitive San Francisco Bay Area market repeatedly for over two years.

However, Gong doesn’t adhere to a single strategy. They’re committed to creating a worthwhile experience for their employees by building genuine, meaningful change in the diverse representation of their workforce. Employees or Gongsters are encouraged to join a Gong Circle, a self-organized, employee-led community dedicated to fostering a sense of belonging .

Additionally, they provide an extensive set of employee benefits to cover health and wellness, financial well-being, professional development opportunities, and more.

Up to 94% of Intuit’s employees believe this financial services giant is a great place to work. Intuit has earned that positive reputation by prioritizing its diversity and inclusion efforts.

For example, Intuit regularly sets diversity and inclusion goals. They hold multiple courses and training sessions for staff to support these, including the Leading Inclusively e-learning course.

Also, Intuit understands that pay equity is essential for keeping their company running effectively and critical for employee engagement. One strategy they use is to regularly analyze pay equity and ensure that everyone, regardless of gender or race, is paid what they deserve.

Additionally, they offer transgender benefits under the healthcare umbrella. This benefit includes medical coverage for a wide range of gender-transition services and procedures including direct access to a dedicated Gender Affirmation Support Team.

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GitHub is a code-hosting platform that allows developers worldwide to collaborate on projects. The company has become renowned for hosting millions of tasks and helping people fix bugs or contribute new code to existing ones.

GitHub believes in empowering people to create opportunities and take advantage of them. To ensure employees have access to the support and resources they need, GitHub offers unconscious bias training, awareness of privilege, and allyship programs.

The company’s leadership sets and tracks goals regarding inclusion efforts, such as hiring, retention, and promotional plans with underrepresented communities. Specifically, they support racial and ethnic minorities in technical and management roles and women in management roles.

This Denver-based tech company pays employees to go on vacation. FullContact pays its employees $7500 if they fully disconnect from work while on vacation . This perk is unlocked only if employees can prove they’re completely off the grid during their time off by not checking work emails, texts, or calls. If employees don’t completely disconnect themselves from their duties while on vacation, they must pay back the $7500 in full.

These paid vacations aim to alleviate the pressure on employees to manage everything themselves and foster trust by demonstrating that they can rely on their colleagues during their absence.

Patagonia, a clothing company based in California, believes in various ways to build a positive work culture and drive employee engagement.

For example, the company offers an in-house childcare solution for parents who need it. Patagonia is widely recognized as the company with one of the most generous family policies in the world.

Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard , believes the key to an engaged workforce is to hire the people whom one trusts and let them do their jobs, and they will get things done. In addition, autonomy gives employees more responsibility for critical areas of their job, creating a better work environment for highly engaged employees.

As the world’s largest coffeehouse chain, Starbucks is an excellent example of a brand that understands the value its employees bring to the business in more ways than one.

Starbucks recognizes every employee as a valued member of the team. From its inception, the company has prioritized employee-friendly policies. For instance, Starbucks supports its staff by offering tuition assistance for participation in online or university programs.

Another benefit of working at Starbucks is the opportunity for employees to own company stock through the “Bean Stock” program after a certain tenure.

Additionally, Starbucks’ organizational structure is distinctive. Managers refer to their team members as “partners” rather than “employees.” This initiative enhances employee engagement, motivating and inspiring partners to perform their jobs well and remain with the organization long-term.

The V2MOM framework by Salesforce , developed by Marc Benioff, is designed to create alignment within a company by focusing on five key elements:

• Vision (what you want to achieve)
• Values (what’s important to you)
• Methods (how you get it)
• Obstacles (what’s preventing success)
• Measures (how you know you have it)

This process helps in prioritizing, adapting, and maintaining a cohesive direction. It encourages continuous dialogue, transparency, and updates, fostering a dynamic and collaborative environment. Each employee and department creates their own V2MOM, aligning individual goals with the company’s objectives.

Salesforce realized that traditional management tools were inadequate in today’s dynamic environment, where continuous adaptation is essential. Organizations that fail to evolve face long-term challenges, and outdated methods do not promote ongoing change.

In contrast, the V2MOM framework fosters meaningful dialogue and informs decision-making throughout the year. It encourages employees to continuously discuss their priorities with their managers, ensuring alignment and adaptability.

Zappos incorporates life coaching programs and achievement celebrations into its employee performance reviews to foster a positive and supportive work environment.

The life coaching program offers employees personalized guidance, helping them set and achieve personal and professional goals. These sessions are designed to enhance employee well-being and development, contributing to their overall job satisfaction and productivity.

Achievement celebrations at Zappos are another key element. They recognize and reward employees for their accomplishments and contributions. This practice boosts morale and encourages continuous improvement and engagement within the team.

By celebrating successes, Zappos creates a culture of appreciation and motivation, positively impacting employee retention and company performance.

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The Google Employee Resource Groups (ERG) provide a platform for employees from diverse backgrounds to connect, share experiences, and support each other.

There are 16+ ERGs at Google , with 52 countries represented.

The Women@Google ERG, for instance, focuses on the advancement and empowerment of women at Google, while the Google Veterans Network supports veterans and active military personnel working at Google.

The Greyglers ERG creates a community for older googlers. They advocate for “age positive policy change within Google, promote awareness of age diversity and issues related to age, and support transitions throughout Googler careers, so that Google remains a workplace that works for everyone.”

Buffer engages its remote workers through regular team retreats . These retreats, held in various global locations, combine work and leisure to foster team bonding, collaboration, and cultural exchange. Each retreat typically includes a week of co-working, team-building activities, and personal storytelling sessions.

The retreats have evolved to become more inclusive, accommodating families and diverse needs. Buffer aims to continue adapting its retreat strategy as the team grows, ensuring it remains a valuable and enriching experience for all participants.

Buffer’s team retreats typically begin with arrivals on Sunday or Monday, with an option for some teammates to arrive on Saturday to adjust to time zone changes. Throughout the week, the team collaborates from 9 AM to 5 PM in a shared workspace, fostering both productivity and camaraderie.

Alongside work, the retreats include shared meals and selected group activities, providing ample opportunities for team bonding. Workers also get timeconnecting with family back home, ensuring a balanced and enjoyable retreat experience for everyone involved.

At Deel, we provide all the tools to track your workforce's enagement and integrate engagement strategies into your organization. Our offerings include:

• Deel’s Pulse Surveys plugin is designed to help companies gauge worker sentiment and gather feedback efficiently
• Connections help foster stronger relationships and improve communication within teams, particularly those that are remote or distributed
• Learning management and development solutions are designed to promote continuous learning
• Development plans provide a clear path for career progression , helping your people understand the and experiences needed to advance in your organization
• Feedback systems can be tailored to competencies, culture, and teamwork
• Deel HR , our truly global HRIS solution, is always included for free

Book a demo today to see how our solutions will help you build a high-engagement workforce.

About the author

Lorelei Trisca is a content marketing manager passionate about everything AI and the future of work. She is always on the hunt for the latest HR trends, fresh statistics, and academic and real-life best practices. She aims to spread the word about creating better employee experiences and helping others grow in their careers.

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Employee Engagement Best Practices and Case Studies

Delivered june 7th, 2021 . contributors: bahri s., key takeaways.

• Employee engagement is essential in the workplace; a study found that employee engagement decreased turnover by 14.9% and increased productivity by 69% in workplaces.
• BKD had used Quantum Workplace's platform to promote continuous coaching to employees as well as build "an inclusive feedback culture for more frequent and meaningful conversations."
• Internal c o m m s play a key role in "ensuring a good mutual understanding and cooperation within the workforce." According to a survey by Harris Poll, over 70% of employees were engaged when their organization provided clear internal communication regarding information of value.

Introduction

B e s t practice: employees' ideas.

• The program should be developed around employees' ideas. This can be done through employee suggestion programs and by replacing the old suggestion box.

• Similar to customer feedback programs, employee suggestion programs ( ESP ) invites employees to voice their concerns and share ideas for solutions. While many companies already offer ESP's, many of them don't utilize technology to ensure that it's as effective as possible. And although a wooden suggestion box placed on the wall is a good start, suggestions aren't always checked regularly; this risks resentment and confusion. Switching to a digital solution can increase accountability and improve the process for listening to employees' suggestions.
• According to a study conducted by the Employee Involvement Association, organizations can expect to save almost $350 annually per employee through the implementation of an employee suggestion system.
• According to Charles Martin, the author of Employee Suggestion Systems : Boosting Productivity and Profits, "companies that set up effective "suggestion systems are finding that employees have great ideas that can lower costs, increase revenues, improve efficiency, or produce greater quality."

B e s t Practice: Internal C o m m s

• The company should ensure that good internal c o m m s are part of their employee engagement solution.
• Internal c o m m s play a key role in "ensuring a good mutual understanding and cooperation within the workforce."
• According to a survey by Harris Poll, over 70% of employees were engaged when their organization provided clear internal communication regarding information of value.
• According to Forbes , "when employees are kept in the loop of what’s happening internally, their loyalty and satisfaction increase ultimately improving the annual revenue and reputation of the company."
• Gallup found that companies with a highly engaged workforce outperform their competitors by 147%.
• The Holmes Report revealed that companies with strong internal comm strategies gave shareholders 47% higher returns.
• Trade Press Services posted an article regarding the importance of using internal c o m m s to enhance business growth. They revealed that "85% of employees said they’re most motivated when management offers regular updates on company news."
• An example of good internal communications leading to positive outcomes can be seen in the case of Thomson Reuters. When Thomson Reuters improved its internal c o m m s , they were able to address their problem regarding how their employees are not placing enough importance on innovation. After implementing good internal c o m m s , Thomson Reuters saw "an upturn in the number of requested innovation projects."

Case Study: Microsoft

• Microsoft is a multinational tech company that sells computer hardware, software, and related services; they are an example of a company that's successfully developed an employee engagement program for their employees. Microsoft had invested heavily in internal c o m m s and the improvement of employee experience in various departments.
• For example, Microsoft had teamed up with Centrical to make their contact center service agents be more productive, responsible, and engaged.
• Microsoft had implemented Centrical in its call centers for its "ability to fuel engagement through advanced g a m i f i c a t i o n , while combining learning and performance data into one platform."
• The program would reward call center agents intrinsically as well as give them personalized goals. Using Centrical, agents are given a visual reminder showing them how every activity they do matters and would get them closer towards their goals. Microsoft would offer employee points and badges to those who exhibit positive behaviors such as adherence to schedule.
• Soon after this program was implemented, 78% of Microsoft's call center agents expressed that they felt more empowered and ready to do better at their work, and absenteeism dropped by 12% overall.
• Microsoft had utilized its own products (e.g. Microsoft 365 ) in order to improve communications and employee engagement.
• The programs had resulted in more interconnected and personalized employee experiences; it has also enabled Microsoft employees to innovate, create, and collaborate seamlessly among the teams that they belong to and work with.
• Eighty-five percent of Microsoft employees say that they are proud to be part of the company.

Case Study: BKD + Quantum Workplace

• BKD is in the professional/scientific/tech services industry , and they are one of the largest U.S. advisory and accounting firms; they have between 2,501 to 5,000 employees.
• According to Julie Cummings, the managing director and chief human resources officer ( HRO ) at BKD, they built their programs by listening to the themes and feedback gathered through their annual engagement survey as well as other feedback tools, and then generating action plans to support improvement." She also added that the company had identified a direct link between engagement and employee performance.
• BKD utilized Quantum Workplace to provide a solution for performance management transformation. BKD knew that it was imperative to implement an effective solution that would drive frequent and meaningful coaching conversations. By implementing this solution , BKD could "drive employee engagement, increase performance, and help with employees' goal achievement."
• Through their employee engagement survey data , BKD was able to identify what would most efficiently engage employees. And based on the findings, BKD implemented "one-on-ones". Within this tool, templates were created to efficiently "drive quarterly conversations between career coaches and employees, encouraging regular touchpoints and more meaningful discussion about goals and development."
• BKD also used the same approach with feedback by providing employees with a tool they could use to request and give real-time feedback to ensure that employees were on the right path for success.
• Through this tool , "employees could gather input from different perspectives, including from a 360° view, to provide them with a deeper self-awareness, better relationships, and professional development acceleration."
• Key Performance Successes:
• Eighty-six percent of employees are "proud to work with BKD."
• Seventy-six percent of employees believe that "BKD’s people-first culture drives their overall success."

Case Study: M o l s o n Coors Beverage Company

• M o l s o n Coors operates as a brewing company that brews and produces beer. M o l s o n Coors is an example of a company that has successfully executed an engagement plan amongst its employees.
• Their employee engagement initiatives have produced engaged employees that were five times less likely than non-engaged employees "to have a safety incident and seven times less likely to have a lost-time safety incident."
• Engagement had also improved sales performance at M o l s o n Coors. And as a result of the initiatives , the company had saved over $1.7 million in just one year.

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Did this report spark your curiosity, how to use employee motivations to increase employee engagement - emergenetics, employee suggestion systems - benefits, cost, elements of a successful suggestion system, microsoft unveils new employee experience platform — microsoft viva — to help people thrive at work - stories, microsoft engagement case study - centrical, microsoft employee engagement, reinventing the employee experience at microsoft, 7 reasons why internal communication is important in the workplace, how internal communications methods are used to enhance employee engagement -vibons, 3 effective ways to improve your internal communication to boost employee engagement, the companies nailing internal communication today: 11 inspiring examples • blink, 7 companies with great internal communications, 17 must follow employee engagement best practices for hr managers, using internal communications to enhance business growth - trade press services, internal communication is changing. are you keeping up • blink, bloomberg - are you a robot.

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Combats turnover utilizing employee engagement, pulse, and lifecycle surveys.

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Transforms its employee engagement strategy, improving participation, ownership, and turnover.

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Performance management transformation drives inclusive feedback culture and employee-owned growth.

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Empowers managers to make time for performance and foster team unity.

Performance and engagement tools are connecting employees' personal goals to organizational success

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Survey solution keeps turnover low in a high-turnover industry

University benefits from robust benchmarks

High survey participation and action lead to increases in engagement

“Our hiring metrics show reduced turnover and increased retention. Employee engagement scores, particularly around training and development, are on the rise. Participation in our engagement teams and employee resource groups have increased, supporting internal talent acquisition.” 

Julie Melidis, Director of Learning and Development  

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Building Employee Engagement through Product Innovation

Amex’s Travel Financial Capture (TFC) group’s leadership team saw the need for fundamental change. Fragmented business processes were creating errors and losses; groups weren’t working well together; the workforce was disconnected from the business strategy and customers were highly dissatisfied. Employee engagement was low and employees felt they were getting “beaten up” by ongoing reengineering, outsourcing, and resource shortages. At the same time, employees were undergoing new information technology initiatives.

Management could see that the group was not prepared for the tremendous challenges it was facing. Something needed to be done quickly, and a top-down change initiative clearly wasn’t the answer.

What we did:

The leadership team wanted to accelerate the change process, build commitment to the organization, turn morale around and create a flexible, smooth-running business. OTM proposed an organization redesign process that would focus on employee engagement throughout the entire organization, provide a platform for team building, gain commitment and rekindle the spirit of its workforce. OTM led the team through an organizational design project that rebuilt the structure based on the team’s own definitions of what was required. Going through a comprehensive process facilitated by OTM consultants meant that no details or consequences were left unnoticed or unresolved.

The Result:

Employees Become Leaders

TFC’s new design eliminated functional silos and highlighted the interdependence of the various groups. It increased collective and individual morale and employee investment while reducing defensiveness and increasing receptivity to change. Unlike many such initiatives, the process OTM brought to TFC focused not just on deficiencies but also on positive performance and what had been successful, enabling TFC to respond quickly to their fast-changing business environment.

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10 January 2020

The 10 best internal communications and employee engagement case studies of 2019

Home » Insights » Uncategorized » The 10 best internal communications and employee engagement case studies of 2019

In 2019, we travelled the UK, Europe and even the U.S. to hear from internal comms pros on how they're engaging employees across a range of different brands.

Here are our 10 favourite stories from the past year…, just eat consolidates comms and celebrates purpose.

Heard at:  PR Week Strategic Internal Communications Conference 

The gist: Just Eat is a FTSE 100 company with 3,600 employees, 112,000 restaurant partners, 100+ cuisine types and over 27 million customers. Internal communications was once seen as a side task for the marketing team, with little resource and no dedicated employees. Anyone could send any email to the whole company any time they wanted: a 9am strategic announcement from the CEO could be followed by a 9.01am email from reception about a broken toilet. Communications desperately needed to be consolidated. An internal comms function was put in place to keep people informed and help bring all comms together. Just Eat’s Head of Internal Communications, Mark Tittle , recognises the importance of keeping comms relevant and isn’t afraid to question the necessity of every piece of communication that they send out. His belief that internal communications should start with great stories means that the team’s updates are tailored and targeted, and every employee sees something relevant to them on all channels regularly. Just Eat now sees 46,000 monthly hits on its intranet and received a positivity rating of 79% for the communications channels. A clear channel strategy allows the internal communications team to make updates structured and consistent and they understand the importance of measuring engagement too.

Why we love it: Just Eat’s internal communications team is now an established and vital function of the organisation. Their commitment to storytelling in communications is something we’re big advocates of at Synergy and we love how they segment their comms appropriately for different audiences to avoid comms fatigue.  Read the conference notes for the full case study . 

Aviva creates a wellbeing strategy with impact

Heard at: Employee Engagement in Financial Services Conference

The gist: With over 20 years’ experience in driving employee engagement and culture change for organisations, Katherine Billingham-Mohamed from Aviva knows a thing or two about wellbeing in the workplace. Creating Wellbeing@Aviva , a suite of products, advice and support to help people in the business stay healthy, and to look after them when they fall sick, has had a major impact on employee engagement at Aviva. Using data and insight from all levels of the organisation combined with a holistic approach, recognising that people are complex and engagement looks different for everyone, has resulted in a 14% increase on employee engagement and a wellbeing strategy built from honesty, openness and a bottom-up approach. 

Why we love it: Genuine engagement has to involve employee insight; giving people a voice and input when creating a wellbeing strategy will help to make it authentic and effective. Aviva recognised the importance of getting views from ‘on the ground’, rather than creating the strategy for wellbeing in the boardroom. Check out the full case study .

Brighton and Hove Albion lives its values 

Heard at:  Employee Engagement Summit

The gist:  Paul Barber , CEO of Brighton and Hove Albion, took to the stage at the Employee Engagement Summit to give an insightful talk about the opening of the new Amex stadium and what was done to ensure that the club had a strong relationship with the local area. Paul and his team came up with four key values based on feedback from employees, fans, customers and stakeholders. Everyone at the club is dedicated to the values of treating people well, exceeding expectations, aiming high and making every experience special. The values extend to every employee at Brighton and Hove Albion: from premiere league players, to the car park attendant who works a few hours on a Saturday, as long as they are living the values everyday, everyone at the club enjoys the same benefits, including high-performance meals on breaks and bonuses. There’s no area of the club where the values can’t be seen or felt and they give everyone a benchmark to work to. As the gay capital of the UK, Brighton is diverse, inclusive and welcoming. Brighton and Hove Albion wants this warm welcome to be felt at every match, even by the away fans! When Newcastle played Brighton, the club got Newcastle Brown Ale in as a drink for the fans, to make them feel special and included. 

Why we love it:  Values-driven businesses are often the most successful, and it’s clear that at Brighton and Hove Albion the values have been embedded well, dictating how employees approach every element of their work. Informing training, D&I, recruitment, policies and reward, these strong values are vital to lead and inspire employees. Take a look at the full case study . 

TalkTalk invigorates employee engagement through a relocation

The gist: When TalkTalk relocated 500 London-based colleagues to join the rest of the organisation in Manchester, engagement scores went down. The internal communications team had to make sure they were looking after London colleagues whilst protecting and engaging employees in other locations too. Speaking to people about their options as soon as the relocation was announced and taking colleagues on a tour of the North West as potential residents, offering help with housing, school and other issues that can arise when moving cities helped to make the process smoother for the employees involved. Throwing a ‘Great Big London Thank You Party’ was a chance to celebrate and thank everyone and showed people that the organisation genuinely cared about how the change would impact them. 

Why we love it:  TalkTalk approached a huge change in the organisation in a way that was supportive and sympathetic to those affected. Communications from the outset meant that employees felt informed and consulted throughout the process and they were offered help with the relocation through each stage of it. Check out more details in the conference notes . 

Skyscanner commits to tearing down comms barriers

Heard at: Internal Communications Conference

The gist: Skyscanner, a travel comparison website with over 9,000 visitors a month and 1,300 employees globally, is growing very quickly. Maintaining its fun, ‘buzzy’ culture has been challenging throughout growth, with 7 different time zones, 64 nationalities and 40 languages to consider. Using a selection of digital tools, the internal communications team has created a network across the globe, enabling people across time zones to communicate through video conferencing, Slack , an Intranet and weekly online ‘town halls’. 

Why we love it: A focus on face-to-face and building relationships, even with people in different locations, has had a strong impact on Skyscanner’s culture. Over a million messages are sent via Slack each month and communication across time zones can help to build common ground and shared interests. This considerate and flexible approach has helped foster good links across all teams at the organisation and has meant that the culture has been maintained despite rapid growth. For more details on this, check out the full case study . 

Asda builds resilience in its leaders

Heard at: Driving Change Conference

The gist: Craig Whaites , Head of Leadership and Learning at Asda, is on a quest to ensure that Asda’s leaders are the most capable, diverse and successful in their industry. With the changing nature of retail making it harder than ever before to succeed, and political issues like Brexit causing shoppers to tighten their belts, Asda wants to continue saving its customers money and recruiting top talent in an increasingly competitive market. It’s a turbulent and chaotic time to be a leader and Craig’s team wanted to equip their people with the right skills to lead teams through change. They started with a ‘leader first’ approach, bringing them into changes early on and supporting them to implement new strategies. Craig’s team believes in empowering leaders to succeed and recognises that good leaders are instrumental in creating productive and engaged workforces. 

Why we love it:  Craig’s session was funny and insightful, giving us a glimpse into the ever-changing world of retail giants. At Synergy, we know how important leadership figures are in engaging employees, so love that Asda is taking this approach in their change communications. Check out the conference notes for the case study . 

Creating impact at PlayStation Europe

Heard at: Internal Communications Conference 

The gist: PlayStation had a firm belief that impactful internal communications aren’t optional. In a crowded market place where people check their phones every 12 minutes, there’s a real danger of internal comms messages getting lost. PlayStation needed to fight fire with fire, pushing out internal communications that matched up with the sleek look of its external channels. With an intranet that was wildly out-of-date, lacked structure and had limited functionality, it was time for an update. PlayStation created and launched a new intranet called The Hub, making it easy to share company news, update employees and measure engagement. The new platform was designed to be close to the sort of tech people use in their personal time to make it more engaging and something that employees actually wanted to use. 

Why we love it:  Giving people innovative tech to keep up to date with company news improves engagement and makes sure that messages land well, with impact. PlayStation found that after launching the intranet, every measurement metric in their Employee Opinion Survey at least doubled, proving the value of good digital communications, both externally and to internal audiences. See the full story in our conference notes . 

Travelex tackles complexities around trans issues in the workplace

Heard at: Diversity and Inclusion Conference 

The gist: In a global business like Travelex, it can be hard to know how to support trans people, particularly when being LGBTQ is a fireable offence in certain countries (Japan) and illegal in others (the Middle East). Half of trans people have hidden their identity at work for fear of discrimination, and Travelex wanted to avoid this. By putting policies and guidance in place, people were encouraged to support their trans colleagues. Travelex worked with NGOs to get insights and tips on how to support people, citing Stonewall as particularly helpful with guidance on wording and the correct terminology. A ‘transitioning at work’ policy based on feedback from trans colleagues ensures that procedures are in place to support people through what can be a difficult period of their lives. Having this kind of guidance in place can help to empower line managers to ask the right questions and be there for people who are transitioning in the workplace. 

Why we love it:  James Haq-Myles gave us all some brilliant food for thought with this talk, assuring people that as long as conversations around trans issues are happening, the rest should follow. His top tip was that it’s ok to get things wrong when it comes to this stuff, which is unknown territory for many people, as long as your intentions are good and you’re willing to learn. It was an interesting topic to hear about at the D&I conference, and we’re pleased to see these sorts of issues being addressed in business. Take a look at the full conference notes for more insights . 

Driving energy and excitement for change at Sovereign Housing Association

Heard at: PR Week Strategic Internal Communications Conference

The gist:  Our very own Rhiannon Stroud and Olly Whitman took to the stage at 2019’s PR Week Strategic Internal Comms Conference to talk about using creativity to make change communications exciting and engaging. When Sovereign Housing Association merged with Spectrum Housing Group in 2016, it wanted to ensure people were at the heart of that change. Using four key principles, Sovereign made sure that all employees felt involved and excited about the change. Sovereign embraced change well, through a compelling narrative, manager engagement and role modelling change to all of its people. And the narrative of ‘On Our Way’ demonstrates the ongoing nature of change. ‘Sofa, so good’, a Gogglebox-style TV show which gave employees a fun way to talk about how they felt about the changes has continued to evolve thanks to feedback from employees and Sovereign’s residents. The show is now into its fourth season and includes trades people as well as office-based employees. 

Why we love it: We loved working with Sovereign on this, and it’s great seeing how they’re continuing to embrace change and bring employees along on the transformational journey. The project has gone on to win awards for its innovation and use of VR and has been widely praised in the industry. Take a look at the full PR Week conference notes for more .  

Honest Burgers maintains its culture with Workplace

The gist: Honest Burgers is a burger restaurant which is trying to disrupt the casual dining industry. With its own butchery and chips made fresh on-site everyday, Honest wanted employees to feel engaged with the company’s purpose and mission. The internal communications team see restaurant workers as the most important client in the business and is putting them first in engagement. Honest wanted to maintain the culture the founders had created when they started out, with a growing business of 38 restaurants around London and the UK. Daniel Davis , Engagement and Communications Manager at Honest Burgers, spoke about how culture isn’t built on a spreadsheet; it’s not created in a boardroom or by a marketing team. Culture comes from storytellers within the business, those people who are at the grass-roots, working on the frontline in Honest restaurants. Daniel’s team introduced Workplace to provide a platform for the company’s culture to continue growing. Everyone can log on, stay updated and communicate with each other across the business. 

Why we love it: Honest Burgers proved that if people are given the right platforms and opportunities, they will champion an organisation’s culture without it having to come from the top down. Genuine workplace culture comes from the people who are at the coalface, living out the day-to-day of an organisation’s reality and Honest has found a way of celebrating theirs online. See the full story in our conference notes . 

So there we have it. A selection of brilliant case studies from 2019. 

We can’t wait to see what 2020 has to offer in the world of internal communications and employee engagement. If you’ve got a favourite case study from 2019 that you’d love to share with us, why not tweet us ? Or if you’re looking to up your internal comms and engagement game this year, get in touch – we’d love to chat about how we can help. 

Image © Brighton & Hove Albion

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Case study: Modern approach to employee engagement

Informed insights and a sophisticated mix of digital communication are unlocking the power of employee engagement to improve health and lower costs.

When employees are engaged in their health care by actively using the programs and services available to them, outcomes improve, costs can decrease and employees may be more productive.

The most effective engagement strategies start with consumer-centric research to understand employee behavior. UnitedHealthcare has developed an on-demand insights panel that provides real-time consumer feedback and identifies employee pain points, barriers and motivators.

Then, to inform and maximize employee conversion and engagement, messages, concepts and campaigns are rapidly tested and refined.

As the right message is crafted for each target audience, a number of data-driven steps are taken to reach each employee at the right time in the right place. That means developing a strategy to reach employees exactly when they are in need of a relevant cost-saving or health solution. Thus, based on where employees are searching, reading, viewing and buying, UnitedHealthcare can deliver the right message — reaching the people looking for that message at, or around, the time they are searching for it.

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Internal Communications Best Practice: 14 Examples of Campaigns that Crushed it

You have a job to do. 

Get your message across and make it stick.

Sounds simple enough, right?

But of course, it isn't.

Crafting a compelling internal communications campaign is tricky, it requires:

• A clear objective
• Stakeholder research
• Thoughtful implementation
• Measurable business impact
• A sprinkle of creative magic

Sometimes you need a little inspiration.

Grab a coffee, sit back and see what best practice looks like.

1. HSBC Now: Photo Competition

The HSBC Global Communications team single-handedly transformed the bank's visual language - with zero budget and crazy time pressures.

They put content creation in the hands of their people.

The team launched a global photography competitions asking employees to capture the spirit of HSBC - across six categories.

They ended up with over 6000 images - a truly inspiring result and a testimony to the fact that real images resonate.

HSBC now uses these amazing photos throughout their internal comms – in presentations, reports, and the intranet.  Not only has the bank saved money on mediocre stock photos – they’ve raised the bar for  employee engagement . People connect with the bigger picture of HSBC because they see themselves reflected in it. A simple, yet  award-winning  campaign - small idea, big impact.

2. Siemens Hull: Creating a Culture of Excellence

Employee heroes are at the center of this impressive campaign.

With over 1000 new employees,  Siemens Hull  was looking to forge a robust culture and bring their strategic vision to life.

In partnership with  H&H internal communication agency , Hull combined eye-catching wall designs with employee insights to craft an immersive on-boarding experience.

Now, as team members walk from the car park, through the offices to the factory floor – they can see the corporate culture laid out before them – expressed in their own words with their own faces looking back at them.

Surreal, but effective!

See the blades of Hull's wind turbines reflected in the graphics? If you listen closely you just might hear them.

Read the H&H case study  for more details on the project.

3. Lowes: Customer Stories

Effective campaigns don’t always need big budgets and elaborate design.  Making the most of available resources can also deliver exceptional results. Lowes Manhattan  was looking for ways to become more customer focused and turned to their intranet as a platform for sharing customer stories. They created ‘Customer Care News’ - a window into the customer experience. A simple yet effective way to acknowledge staff achievements while putting the customer front and center.  Whenever a customer gives a compliment or provides feedback, it’s published on the intranet – this serves as a great recognition system and a reminder of the importance of customer service. Lowes also believe in the power of learning – and sees employees as the best educators. Their in-house product videos feature real product experts. Authentic and engaging – they’ve turned out to be one of the most popular features of the intranet. Customer focus is key to business survival and success – building it into your company’s DNA, along with a healthy dose of employee engagement, makes anything possible.

4. MidMichigan Health: One Person, One Record

Major culture change can be stressful. 

How do you create engaging conversations from top-down directives?

The leadership team at  MidMichigan Health  was up against it.

Their existing medical record system was on the way out and they were tasked with uniting 7000 employees, physicians and volunteers to re-examine clinical and business workflows. All of this while continuing to provide top-notch patient care.

How on earth did they do it?

Well, as it happens, they left earth behind.

In collaboration with creative agency  Bolger + Battle , the team launched a space-themed communications campaign One Person, One Record. They delivered it in four phases Kick-off, Mission Prep, Mission Control, and Lift-off.

The campaign got them recognized in the ‘Excellence in Change Communication’ category at the  2018 Gartner Internal Communication Awards .

The Space Mission was a genius metaphor for building excitement and setting a bold confident tone. Plus, it added an element of fun to an otherwise stressful situation.

The CEO wore a spacesuit to the kick-off – boldly going where no CEO has gone before.

5. Kerry Foods: Trailblazers

How do you foster employee engagement while innovating your way past the competition to deliver tangible business results?

Ask  Kerry Foods  for their secret recipe (sorry couldn’t resist).

In 2017, the team launched the Trailblazers campaign – asking employees to come up with new ideas for snacks, drinks, and technology that the company could take to market.

Drawing inspiration from  Dragon’s Den  – employees made their pitches, went on month-long bootcamps, and were given the space to develop ideas.

The campaign generated over 800 ideas from across the business and employee engagement scores went through the roof.

As HR Director, Emma Rose points out:

“The big thing about it was around building belief in the business that we want everyone to contribute to where we’re going and to be excited about the products we take to market.”

Trailblazers took out the coveted  2018 IOIC Grand Prix Award .

Seeing the pattern yet?

A winning campaign puts employees front and center - focusing on outcomes over output.

6. InnerSurf Online: Onboarding Check Sheet

It's no secret that new starter orientation is a crucial piece in the employee experience puzzle - but did you know that  great onboarding  can improve employee retention by a whopping 82%? 

Tracy Repchuk (founder of  InnerSurf Online Brand & Web Services ) was ahead of the game when her business launched the  Staff Orientation Check Sheet .

A common sense idea that is anything but common.

Before starting anything else, new recruits are asked to work through this online resource - absorbing core values, filling out forms, learning about the website and getting familiar with everyday tools. 

Pulling everything together in one easily accessible place is a genius approach to new starter comms - it puts an end to first day jitters and sets employees up for ongoing success.

7. BC Pension: Podcasts

Business transformation can leave employees feeling confused and out of sorts.

As part of their nine-year plan,  BC Pension  took an innovative approach to turning overwhelmed employees into change advocates.

They launched two podcasts:

• At the table with Laura – a thought-leadership series featuring CEO, Laura Nashman, in discussion with change management experts.
• StaffCast - a podcast showcasing employee’s perspectives on the changes taking place.

The first podcast, with the CEO, assures employees that their leaders understand change management and are across the best practices. It builds trust and aids transparency.

The second gives a voice to the people on the front line of change. It helps employees to understand how they matter in the grand scheme of things and provides a forum for sharing concerns, strategies and personal stories.

Strong leadership and engaged employees – an unstoppable combination.

This initiative won BC Pension first place in the ‘Podcast’ category of  Ragan’s Employee Communication awards .

Not sure if it won any awards, but their company video is pretty inspiring too! 

8. West Midlands Trains: ‘Hear to Listen’ Mental Health Campaign

During a period of franchise change,  West Midlands Railway  knew that employees would need on-going support to handle the changes. This grew into a broader message about mental health and the power of listening.

To make the message stick, the team wanted to embed it into the business they wanted to 'walk the talk'.

The campaign started with educating senior managers to be Mental Health First Aiders – giving them the skills to deal with people in crisis, tackle stigma and facilitate difficult conversations.

In an RSSB blog post , Lesley Health, Head of Safety & Environment says:

“Hear to listen” isn’t even about mental health per se, but about saying we’re operating in a culture that wants to sit down and talk with you about how you are” 

The idea is symbolized in a super-simple but totally effective speech bubble logo – that employees can wear as a badge.

Storytelling is a crucial component of the campaign – with employees volunteering to tell their personal stories in videos that are shared on the company intranet.

Mental well-being is about more than ‘10 tips to relieve stress’ or branded yoga mats. It’s about incrementally building a culture of trust – combining switched-on senior management with employees who are empowered to tell their stories.

9. Herbert Smith Freehills: Cyber Sharp Campaign

We know the topic of cyber security is important, we do. It’s just that it can be a little…dry.

How do you deliver engaging outcomes-focused comms for techy subjects?

You get hands-on like the team at  Herbert Smith Freehills  (in collaboration with communication specialists at  Blue Goose ).

Employees attended training sessions relating to common security concerns like phishing, and information management – and took part in interactive and eye-opening small group exercises. Including a facilitator who used social engineering techniques to convince participants he already knew them!

This communications initiative won an  IOIC award  for being engaging and approachable – with an excellent use of personas to simulate different risk scenarios, well thought-out exercises, and appealing branded animation.

10. Actelion: Multi-faceted Campaign

In the lead up to launching Uptavi, a new drug for pulmonary arterial hypertension,  Actelion  wanted to educate, engage and energise their employees.

They embarked on a multi-faceted internal communications campaign – with the help of Employee Experience agency,  Vignette .

Under the mantra of ‘More is Possible’, the team pulled together a variety of elements for maximum impact. Including a microsite, intranet home page elements and visual workplace disruptions that were installed on windows, floors, and stairs around the office.

Relying on the power of gamification, they also developed an interactive quiz released weekly over 10 weeks – with weekly winners and prizes.

The engaging campaign reminded employees of their common purpose – it helped them to see the impact of Actelion’s innovations and the part they played in bringing ideas to life.

11. Asendia: Gamification

Things were changing at  Asendia  - a world leading provider of mail services. Core products across e-commerce, publishing, and marketing were aligning and employees needed to understand and engage with the changes.

The Think Tank  stepped in to help get everyone on board. How?

With a board game, of course.

Really, it’s just one element in a broader training program – but the Asendia board game provides a fun way to communicate the changes while building engagement throughout the organization.

12. Duarte Inc: Employee Recognition

Sometimes a simple mascot can make all the difference.

When a stressful time hit the team at  Duarte  - they decided a giraffe could help.

Nancy Duarte, the company founder, was looking for a way to applaud and encourage her loyal workforce. A long time love of giraffes sparked an interesting idea - could they use this graceful creature as an award and/or company mascot?

The idea crystallized further when Duarte discovered that a herd of giraffes is called a tower - the perfect symbol of strength.

As she points out in this article by  HR Daily Advisor :

"Giraffes live in groups, are not territorial, and rarely get into tussles—which seems like a fitting symbol for a collegial work environment".

But what's it called when you win an award at Duarte?

Giraffirmation, what else?

13. Cotton On Group: Keeping it real

The Internal Communications team at  Cotton On Group  understand how crucial it is to put staff at the heart of every move they make. With 22,000 team members across 18 countries - this is no simple task.

Their 'Keeping it real' campaign echoed throughout the business - presenting employees as a force to be reckoned with. 

Cotton On Group use  their intranet  as a culture-building platform. As Group Digital Communications Manager, Rachel Jones puts it:

"It's a place to tell the stories of our brilliant team members - to celebrate their wins and to recognize the incredible things we achieve together as a global family." 

The integrated strategy includes a TV channel, artwork take-overs, and digital ad spaces - it's a digital playing field where teams can win over and over again.

14. Doc Martens: On the Record

Brand consultancy  Music  worked with clothing retailer  Dr. Martens  to develop its internal communications strategy.

As part of a year-long campaign, Music created 'On the Record' - an internal newspaper featuring articles written by employees.

To report on financial performance in an engaging way, the publication included a comic strip called 'Mr. Mortimore Money Man' - after the company's CFO.  

The campaign also included a “brand book” - made up of vinyl records featuring the company's core values. 

Rebellious Self Expression? Bring it on!

Congratulations - you made it to the end of the list. You're probably feeling a combination of tired, jealous and inspired. 

Though these campaigns differ in scope, complexity and budget - they have basic best practices in common:

• Tell real stories with words, photos and video
• Use catchy campaign names, metaphors and mascots
• Put employees front and center
• Think outside the box and have fun

Which campaign is your favorite? Know any other examples of great internal communications? We'd like to hear from you! 

Drop a comment below, or tweet us  @grnorbit .

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Case Study – Developing Employee Voice at Network Rail  

Network Rail owns and maintains Britain’s railway through a workforce of around 38,000 employees spread across depots, stations and offices. We are responsible for more than 20,000 miles of track, signalling, bridges, tunnels, level crossings and stations. Our organisation is striving for “A better railway for a better Britain” .

Our people are very committed to the railway and their important role in serving the British public. Our size and geographical spread of employees is vast and covers all corners of England, Wales and Scotland. We also operate a 24/7 network and our busiest times are when the rest of the country is relaxing, be it overnight, bank holidays or even Christmas Day.

Since 2013, Network Rail has carried out a biennial employee engagement survey called Your Voice. This is designed to give everyone an opportunity to give their views on the company, their job, their manager and other key aspects of working for Network Rail.

Our participation levels in the survey hover around 50%.

Following the survey, teams are encouraged to agree and work on action plans to jointly develop improvements across the business. Whilst there were pockets of great work going on, due to the size and geographical spread of the organisation, we realised that individuals found it difficult to recognise that action was being taken. This reduced their trust in the organisation and their belief that their voice was being heard, which in turn deterred them from completing future surveys. Even where action was being taken and publicised, individuals found it particularly hard to link these changes to the feedback they had provided via the Your Voice survey.

We realised we needed to make the actions that were occurring more visible to all employees. We also hoped that as actions were shared more widely, this would provide momentum for more actions to take place across the organisation.

Our Employee Engagement team joined forces with our Internal Communications team to devise and plan a campaign that would achieve these two outcomes.

The key driver for the campaign was Question 45 from the “Your Voice” survey which asks respondents how positively they – “believe action will be taken as a result of the problems identified in this survey”. For the past two survey cycles response to this question had remained static at only 37% positive. We knew that acting on the Your Voice results and communicating these changes to employees would help ensure employees would realise the organisation is listening and that would increase their levels of engagement.

We designed a campaign showing employees that the company listens and reacts to their feedback – emphasising that improvements are being made as a direct result of their input via the Your Voice survey.

The campaign was to be delivered nationally, have an impact locally and aimed to reach the majority of employees including those at the frontline. The messaging used was to be positive, upbeat and not only raise belief that action was being taken on problems identified in the survey, but to gather momentum at all levels of the organisation for more action to occur.

We targeted the campaign via a multi channeled approach, adorning the company’s 11 busiest sites with printed collateral – reaching c.11,000 employees in locations including Milton Keynes, Cardiff, Birmingham and Glasgow along with using digital channels for the more remote, harder to reach individuals.

We agreed on the strap-line ‘You Said. We Did’.

We knew we needed to get our people involved in the campaign and show other employees that their voices really did matter. We decided to create attention grabbing messages using real quotes from our employees, alongside their photos and to help make the connection to the Your Voice survey expanded our strap-line to: You Said. We Did. Your Voice in action.

We planned both print and digital collateral for the campaign – including posters to be used across offices and depots, banners for elevated walkways, desktop calendars and action planners. Alongside this, online material would include digital posters and web banners, and a dedicated Yammer group #YouSaidWeDid for employees to share their stories in their own words – their voice. Regular weekly activity and content was created to drive continuous engagement and to continue to provide the links for employees of the actions that were being taken.

The Campaign

We had the support of a route managing director who fronted the campaign from a leadership perspective. He was able to gain the support of his senior colleagues by asking them to undertake a variety of supportive activities.

Another key part of this campaign was the opportunity it presented to bring together the HR and Internal Communications teams within Network Rail. While these teams work collaboratively in the national teams, the experience in the routes and business areas before this campaign began had been reported as ‘mixed’. By asking local communications teams and HR teams to use the collateral provided, looking for and publicising local stories, they were drawn together through a shared purpose.

Officially launched at the end of October 2016, a continuous programme of weekly activity and campaign content was delivered. This was supported by a robust plan to maintain momentum through bursts of news stories and videos. The most prominent element of the campaign was the posters, which were hung throughout our 11 busiest offices. This series of storytelling posters highlighted employees from all levels of the organisation alongside their feedback request, beside a senior colleague explaining how this feedback had been acted on. This truly brought the central strapline of “You Said” – “We did” to life.

Supporting these posters was a series of films highlighting in more detail how action had been taken in response to the issues raised in Your Voice which created a ‘mini-series’ that built throughout the campaign.

You can read the full Network Rail Case Study below which includes the outcomes of the the #YouSaidWeDid campaign.

[embeddoc url=”http://engageforsuccess.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Slides-for-EFSMK-event-A-focus-on-Employee-Voice-network-rail.pptx” download=”all” viewer=”microsoft”]

The Your Voice 2017 survey is scheduled to go live in the Autumn. We are now developing an additional campaign, which is designed to maintain the momentum created by the You Said. We Did. campaign which continues to builds on the importance of employee voice.

Our message is clear, We Want You To Talk To Us, We Value Your Suggestions And We Are Listening.

Katy Downes, Senior Engagement Manager – Network  Rail

Image courtesy of Network Rail

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Effective Employee Engagement and Organizational Success: A Case Study

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• Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 172
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