Industry:
Fuel, convenience and food services
Number of employees:
4,500+
Number of locations:
540+
Platform features:
Employee benefits, employee communications, reward and recognition, employee wellbeing
The challenge
The transition of ownership of over 540 fuel and convenience sites from Woolworths Group to EG Australia took a number of years; a process that left many employees feeling disconnected and uncertain about their new employer. EG Australia faced the challenge of getting their 4,500 employees familiar and comfortable with a new brand and to be involved in creating a company culture that was markedly different from that of the previous owners.
The immediate priority after the acquisition was uniting a dispersed and disenfranchised workforce under a clear purpose, company values and culture, which was especially difficult because the majority of the workforce worked part-time and independently.
In addition to overcoming distance and disconnect, employees were also concerned that the transition from Woolworths Group meant losing access to their exclusive employee discounts – a heavily used benefit that employees would miss.
Several months after the acquisition was finalised, COVID-19 was announced as a global pandemic and travel in and around Australia decreased significantly. Many of the EG sites were negatively impacted by nation-wide restrictions, leaving employees feeling isolated and uncertain. EG Australia needed a way to keep both its Support Office staff and its remote employees informed, connected and motivated through a long period of lockdown and beyond.
The approach
EG Australia knew that in order to successfully bring its workforce on a change journey, it needed to reach and engage all employees no matter where they were working. Luckily, there was support from the leaders in the business to ensure the new EG Australia brand and culture were clearly established, communicated and embedded across the entire business.
Peter Fotheringham, Chief People Officer at EG Australia, immediately mobilised his team to start a ‘top-down, bottom-up’ approach, running workshops across the country to help employees identify and define the new culture and company values. Peter and his team worked to identify themes from employees' responses, and created the new company values – 'the way we work together.' After the workshops were complete and they had a clear understanding of the values and behaviours that would drive EG Australia’s success, the design team created graphics and posters to help communicate them across different sites.
They intentionally adopted a more casual style motif, as a deliberate step away from their previous owners's corporate brand.
"We wanted something that showed that we are different, and that we are focussed on the team and the customer," Peter said. "This really resonated with employees in the field: it was personal and people-focused."
Peter started to look for ways to help bring the ‘Way We Work Together’ and the new employer brand to life, and also address the need for employees to receive the level of financial support and connection that they were used to.
"When we went to market, we were looking for something that would provide an immediate benefit for our people," Peter explained. "Not only did Reward Gateway’s benefits suite provide the Woolworths discount that our people thought they were going to miss out on, it opened up access to so many more retailers, and so many more savings."
EG Australia partnered with Reward Gateway to design and launch its own employee engagement platform 'Booster' in a phased approach. Booster’s bright colours, employee photographs and approachable branding were central to its design, as it was created to connect all employees, irrespective of their role in the company.
Booster became the go-to place to access existing and new employee discounts, as well as a primary channel for communications. The team later added employee reward and recognition to the platform, with peer-to-peer eCards and manager-led monetary awards to further boost connections across the business, and a Wellbeing Centre to provide extra physical, nutritional, financial and mental health support.
The results
Booster is now available to all EG Australia employees via any laptop, tablet or mobile phone, at any work site, at a time that suits them. They can read the latest company and CEO updates, send and receive thank yous via their peer-to-peer eCards, and access their rewards all in one place.
The People Team and CEO, Mike McMenamin, keep the content on Booster up-to-date and exciting, so people always have a reason to explore the platform. They refresh the images and layout on a regular basis to reflect seasonal events and company celebrations and publish a monthly newsletter, ‘Mike on the Mic’ to shine a spotlight on company news. They include a short video message that is normally shot on a smartphone, and print the newsletter so employees have an option of how they prefer to stay informed and connected to the greater business.
Today, 91% of EG’s employees actively use Booster – an outstanding result for a predominantly remote and part-time or casual workforce. Since launch, EG Australia has delivered over $530k worth of savings through its benefits hub and distributed more than 12k monetary awards to its employees, which amounts to over half a million dollars of financial support straight into the pockets to hardworking Australians all around the country!
EG employees are also embracing instant, peer-to-peer recognition, with over 27k eCards flowing through the social wall. The participation and excitement this has created across the company has helped keep them informed, connected and motivated through a time of transition and unforeseen challenges.
Want to hear more about the EG Australia story? Check out this webinar recording below: