Kellogg fuels their global workforce with frequent recognition

As one of the most recognisable brand names in the world, Kellogg has traditionally prioritised inclusivity as a key pillar of the organisation.

However, a recent internal survey revealed that only about half of employees feel that they regularly received recognition for stellar work. Kellogg also realised that many of their existing recognition practices were siloed and most were top-down, which was out of step with the organisation’s values and objectives.

Moreover, there was an absence of a standardised global peer-to-peer recognition programme, which Kellogg identified as crucial to spur greater employee engagement and job satisfaction. Guided by their Deploy for Growth Strategy, which is fueled by the belief that their people are their competitive advantage, Kellogg set about redefining their recognition and rewards programme goals.

The objectives, Kellogg identified, were to improve recognition across the company, increase company pride and employee loyalty, and to establish fairness, equity and inclusivity through a global recognition programme that connects Kellogg employees and increases the visibility of their accomplishments.

Achievers Employee Success Platform

After an extensive RFP process, Kellogg decided to select Achievers as their recognition solution provide based on several of Achievers’ key differentiators:

• A mobile-first employee experience to meet the needs of diverse employee groups, such as manufacturing plant workers and field sales representatives who do not use Kellogg computers.
• Technology that exceled beyond the peer-to-peer recognition programme, in areas such as the management of years of service awards, birthday celebrations, results trackers, and more.
• Detailed reporting capabilities providing access to data and analytics to measure success and gather key programme insights.
• Seamless consolidation of all of Kellogg’s disparate recognition programmes into one global platform.
• The ability to customise the platform to align with the Kellogg brand and link to their company values, competencies, and objectives.
• A movement away from cash awards to an outstanding rewards marketplace with a catalogue of thousands of options for employees to choose from, inclusive of rewards that are not marked-up, allowing employees to enjoy a memorable moment when redeeming.

Kellogg’s programme, aptly named Achievers, has been launched in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific, and has enabled the company to unite as one global company.

Liz Smith, Global Recognition Manager, Kellogg Company, explained, “Using Achievers, we have been able to make recognition fun, inclusive and global at Kellogg. We now have the tool to show our people just how much we value and appreciate them in a public and creative way.”

The Achievers progamme has also since evolved into an employee engagement hub and one-stop-shop of employee resources, recognition and rewards. As a start, Kellogg launched virtual Service Awards cards, which made it easier to promote and celebrate milestones within the organisation. They then added features such as AMEA HR Excellence Award, Birthday Celebrations, Coffee Chats, Check-Ins, Surveys and Announcements.

The platform’s robust mobile capabilities meant that it was readily accessible to Kellogg’s partially offline workforce, while the accessibility offered by the mobile experience was important as it ensured all employees had equal access to the programme’s benefits.

According to Kellogg, Achievers has helped the company reinforce core values through the demonstration of leadership through growth competencies and the strengthening of culture, among others. On average, 74% of the Kellogg employee population logs in to Achiever on a monthly basis, with an overall activation rate is 95%.

Sanjay Patel, VP, Global Total Rewards, Kellogg Company, “Our employee love our Achievers platform and it embedded into our Kellogg culture seamlessly. Our people call it intuitive and easy to use, and the mobile app is a hit for many leaders who love that they can recognise in real-time.”

With key programme objectives met – facilitation of frequent cross-department/region recognition, increased company pride and loyalty, reduced attrition and established fairness, equality and inclusivity across one global programme – Kellogg is eager to embark on the next steps in their employee engagement journey.

Given the popularity of Achievers, Kellogg plans to continue to reinforce the programme’s value as an engagement hub by adding even more initiatives, such as: new wellness and total health programmes, employee referral resources, rewards for contributing cost-saving ideas, and other innovations to engage their workforce — all while keeping recognition at the centre of what they do.

Nader Salah, Sr. Director, Global Total Rewards, Kellogg Company, concluded, “A true partner, Achievers has worked hard to learn our company and culture – what works for us and what doesn’t – and make recommendations based on their learnings. They want us to win together.”

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