BRINGING SMILES TO HERSHEY CASE STUDY
ABOUT THE HERSHEY COMPANY Founded in 1894 by Milton S. Hershey, The Hershey Company has a longstanding history as the chocolate and confectionery leader in North America. Their portfolio of more than 80 brands includes such iconic favorites as Hershey s, Reese s, Hershey s Kisses, Jolly Rancher, and Ice Breakers. The Hershey Company has been headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, for more than 150 years. Approximately 21,000 Hershey employees worldwide work every day to bring goodness to the world through great tasting snacks. Hershey s values tell the story of One Hershey a global and diverse team that is open to possibilities, grows together, and makes a difference by having a positive impact on everything they do.
A CHOCOLATY CHALLENGE Hershey s employee base is diverse and dispersed, with many different generations working in tandem all over the world. Each year, a global employee survey called Many Voices, One Hershey is used to track metrics on culture, engagement, and satisfaction across the company. Back in 2013, survey results indicated that recognition had a positive impact on engagement and retention in parts of the business where recognition programs were prevalent. However, Recognition and Reward was the item with the greatest decline on the survey down 8% from 2012 to 2013. Upon completing an audit of the state of recognition at Hershey, the team found that there were very inconsistent employee experiences. While there were many functional recognition programs, they had poor visibility and offered redundant solutions across the business. Not all managers had access to recognize their employees and not all employees had the same experience across the globe. Essentially, we didn t have a consistent strategy for recognition, says Cesar Villa, Director, Total Rewards International. Now leaders have tools to empower employees and keep them motivated. Giving recognition used to involve a lot of process. Now they can give recognition more frequently with less hassle. CESAR VILLA DIRECTOR, TOTAL REWARDS INTERNATIONAL THE BIG CHALLENGES poor visibility redundant solutions limited access
We needed to create a global experience, the same experience for every employee. CESAR VILLA DIRECTOR, TOTAL REWARDS INTERNATIONAL
THE DELICIOUS SOLUTION To address employee feedback, Hershey set out to develop a true culture of recognition. That would start with consolidating all of their disparate recognition and reward programs into a global solution to drive engagement and support Hershey s Best Place to Work culture. Success criteria for the new, global program would involve increased participation and engagement scores, budget controls and process effectiveness. Hershey chose Globoforce as their partner in this endeavor. On why they chose to partner with Globoforce, Cesar says, Simply put, it s the proven experience that Globoforce has in recognition. We interviewed Globoforce s customers and they said they ve had great experiences with good coaching and global technology. And one of the most important things is the global approach that Globoforce offers and the easy-to-use technology. Working together with Hershey, Globoforce created the SMILES recognition and reward program. The program is uniquely branded and linked to Hershey s core values of Open to Possibilities, Growing Together, Making a Difference, and One Hershey. It s open to all employees, in 17 countries and five different languages. Employees can send their peers SMILES through a website or mobile app. Paper options are also available for Hershey s offline employees in manufacturing facilities. Points-based rewards are redeemable for thousands of merchandise and gift card options around the world, depending on where the employee is based. Now leaders have tools to empower employees and keep them motivated. Giving recognition used to involve a lot of process. Now they can give recognition more frequently with less hassle, says Cesar. Every 10 minutes a Hershey employee is recognized by a colleague More than 100,000 recognition moments delivered since launch 2 years ago
SWEET SUCCESS After just one week, 8.7% of the company was recognized. And after a year, more than 50,000 SMILES were awarded, with 68% of those rewards coming from leaders. 81% of the recognition occurred across different countries, which is crucial for Hershey s global workforce. Additionally, the program achieved 100% cross-organization recognition within its first year. The team was also pleased to see the frequency of recognition increase, with 8% of employees being recognized on a weekly basis. Finally, recognition satisfaction increased by 11% after SMILES was implemented. because my ideas have been recognized and I can share what The Hershey Company has given me. Hershey is well on its way to creating a culture of recognition. The team is currently building a roadmap to include all recognition activities in Hershey SMILES, including well-being initiatives, sales contests, and life changes. When you get married, celebrate your birthday or are promoted, you will be recognized in Hershey SMILES. says Cesar. There has been great feedback and stories from employees so far. Cesar notes, We interviewed employees in manufacturing plants. One said, I have been here for 25 years and this is the first time that I have received recognition. So that s something impressive. It proves that their ideas count and that their contributions are taken into consideration. They also like having thousands of options in the awards network. For example, they can take their family out to dinner and they can say, I m proud 11% increase in recognition satisfaction in 2014 7% increase in recognition satisfaction in 2015
Let Globoforce help you make the case for recognition in your company. VISIT OUR SITE: globoforce.com» EMAIL US: info@globoforce.com» READ OUR BLOG: globoforce.com/gfblog» CALL US: +1 888 7-GFORCE Globoforce (Europe) 21 Beckett Way Park West Business Park Dublin 12, Ireland t // +353 1 625 8800 e // info@globoforce.com Globoforce (North America) 144 Turnpike Road Suite 301 Southborough, MA 01772 USA t // +1 888 743 6723 e // info@globoforce.com Founded in 1999, Globoforce is the world s leading provider of employee recognition solutions. Through its social, mobile, and global technology, Globoforce helps HR and business leaders elevate employee engagement, increase employee retention, manage company culture, and discover actionable insight about their talent. Today, employees across the world are living their company values and achieving peak performance through the SaaS-based Globoforce platform. A private corporation, Globoforce is co-headquartered in Southborough, Massachusetts, and Dublin, Ireland. 2016 Globoforce Limited. All rights reserved.