Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) recently joined us in a webcast to discuss employee engagement and the implementation of their new Web portal. We worked with the Canadian retail group, which includes major stores such as Zellers, The Bay and Lord & Taylor, to identify a more effective way to reach employees.
HBC traditionally utilized print materials posted on bulletin boards or attached to pay statements to communicate important information to employees. But these communications made it difficult to measure the effectiveness and determine how well their messages resonated with employees. Since launching the Web portal, HBC has seen an 80% conversion rate and increases in total visits and pages viewed.
So how can you take note of HBC’s example and get your employees engaged and productive? Here are a few takeaways from the project:
- Make pay statements or other important HR documents available through a Web portal. You’ll use less paper and decrease the amount of administrative tasks it takes to produce the paper copies – allowing the HR department to stay focused on more important tasks. This also allows for a one-stop-shop for employees to reference timely messages or significant announcements.
- Make the portal simple to access and easy to use. Some of HBC’s employees did not have computer access at home, so the company made desktops at retail locations available for use during work hours. They also provided assistance to employees in setting up personal email accounts, if they did not already have a company address.
- Don’t pile on too much, too soon. Start simple and utilize a scalable approach that layers on functionality and continues to improve productivity. HBC rolled out their solutions over a 12-month period in small increments to maximize employee understanding and acceptance.
- Be ready for what’s next. Our world is becoming more mobile each day and so are your employees. Consider the best way to reach different kinds of employees with the same message. For some, a smartphone or tablet application may be best while for others, you’ll want to deliver the message straight to their inbox. Outreach can also be scheduled over a certain length of time to ensure your employees don’t receive multiple messages in one day.
Want to learn more about engaging employees and how Buck Consultants can help? Check out the full webcast: Driving Productivity through Engaging Technology Solutions: The HBC Experience.