Meaningful Rewards for Employees, at Any Budget
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85%
employees active on platform
6,300
Recognitions captured in a year
1 in 4
Recognitions come along with a reward
Industry:
Logistics
Number of employees:
1,700
Work modes:
On-site, hybrid
Platform features:
Employee communications, Employee recognition, Employee reward, Reward redemption
The challenge
For Raymond West, building a consistent employee experience across a large, geographically dispersed workforce meant finding ways to reach people wherever they worked – in branches, in the field and across functions. With technicians making up a significant portion of the workforce and many employees spread across the West Coast, the company wanted to ensure culture felt both visible and personal.
The goal was not simply to communicate from the top, but to create an environment where recognition, feedback and connection could happen in ways that felt meaningful at both the enterprise and local level.
The approach
Raymond West created a leader-led, multi-channel engagement strategy that combines in-person leadership visibility, branch-level ownership and digital recognition through Lift Up, their RGER engagement platform.
Leadership presence that reaches every location
Twice each year, senior leaders – including the President, CEO, COO and VP of HR – travel to locations across the business to share business updates, recognize achievements, answer questions and gather feedback. Leadership splits these visits so employees experience live, in-person connection, while recorded video helps extend participation when needed.
These sessions are designed to be interactive, with Q&A, feedback opportunities and on-the-spot rewards that make participation engaging and memorable.
Local culture with branch-level ownership
To ensure culture reflects the people in each location, Raymond West empowers localized culture committees made up of cross-functional employees. These groups plan activities that fit the personality of their branches, from seasonal events and scavenger hunts to holiday celebrations.
The company also creates community-style experiences, such as family car shows with food trucks, that connect with employees’ interests and extend engagement beyond the workday.
Storytelling that reinforces shared values
Company-wide campaigns help unite employees around common themes while making room for personal voice. Initiatives tied to wellbeing, purpose, and community – such as walking challenges, awareness campaigns and recognition of veterans – help employees see themselves in the broader company culture.
Lift Up: the digital backbone for recognition and connection
Lift Up, Raymond West’s Employee Experience Platform through RGER, helps the company scale recognition, storytelling and rewards across all locations.
Through peer-to-peer and manager eCards, employees can celebrate contributions across teams and departments, making recognition social, visible, and interactive. This is especially important in a dispersed organization where collaboration often happens across branches and roles.
Lift Up also supports recognition tied to career growth and customer impact. Technician training milestones are shared and celebrated on the platform, reinforcing advancement and mastery. Customer-centered contributions are recognized through the FRED Award, where employees can nominate colleagues and attach real customer feedback. These awards are presented quarterly, often by senior leaders during communication sessions.
Recognition is further strengthened through Lift Up Bucks and the Reward Marketplace, giving employees flexible, tangible ways to redeem appreciation. Leaders also use annual recognition budgets for Manager Spotlight Awards, enabling timely recognition tied to company values, progress, and team achievements. In some cases, leaders even print Lift Up Bucks to hand out in meetings, creating immediate recognition moments that resonate with field-based teams.
"The program has provided managers with additional tools to recognize employees, reinforce positive behaviors and celebrate progress toward goals. And not just the final achievement, but the milestones along the way. They're better able to reward the behaviors that contribute to our organization." - Christine O'Connell, Sr. Director of Talent Management and Employee Experience
Listening as a shared responsibility
Raymond West approaches listening as an enterprise-wide commitment, with multiple channels designed to gather feedback and turn it into action.
The company uses a comprehensive engagement survey every three years, supported by annual pulse checks and focus groups to gather both broad and detailed insight. It also creates structured forums for employee voice, including the President’s Advisory Council, a Master Technician Roundtable, and a Safety Advisory Council.
This listening model reflects shared ownership across the business: engagement teams, executives, training leaders, and EHS all play a role in hearing employees and acting on what they learn. Leaders reinforce that accessibility directly, helping employees feel their voice matters.
The impact
Raymond West’s approach has helped create a culture where recognition is more visible, more frequent and more embedded in everyday work.
Cross-functional and cross-location recognition is becoming a more common part of how employees celebrate one another. Field technicians and branch teams have more opportunities to participate in company-wide communication and recognition efforts.
Recognition now carries both symbolic and practical value, combining social visibility in Lift Up, executive callouts during communication sessions, and flexible rewards employees can use in ways that matter to them.
“What truly inspires me is ensuring that every employee has the best experience ever and making sure they feel valued.” - Christine O'Connell, Sr. Director of Talent Management and Employee Experience
For standout performers, larger awards and celebrations add another layer of meaning, with banquets, guest invitations, swag, and visible symbols of achievement helping recognition last beyond a single moment.
Raymond West is continuing to strengthen grassroots engagement by expanding peer-driven recognition and localized culture initiatives alongside enterprise-wide programs. The team is also refining nomination and selection processes for key awards and working to ensure employees across branches of different sizes feel equally connected, recognized, and valued.
By combining visible leadership, local ownership, employee feedback and scalable recognition through Lift Up, Raymond West continues to strengthen a culture that connects employees across branches, functions and roles.
