How Kellogg fuels their global workforce with frequent recognition

Coupling their vision to help foster a good and just world with their mission to create better days and a place at the table for everyone through their trusted food brands, Kellogg set out to fuel their global workforce with frequent recognition and a focus on fairness, equity, and inclusivity.

In business over 100 years, and operating across four regions, Kellogg’s global manufacturing footprint spans North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, with a workforce of over 31,000 employees. A company cognizant of inclusivity, Kellogg recognized that as their teams grew domestically and abroad, a disconnect was forming. A company survey revealed that only about half of their people felt that they regularly received recognition for a job well done. It had also become a challenge for Kellogg to reach even 5% of their population with any type of monetary recognition outside of their regular compensation and bonuses. Moreover, of the existing recognition practices they did have, many were siloed, and most were top-down, which was out of step with the organization’s values and objectives.

It was clear that they needed a solution to stay united and keep their teams engaged as they continued to grow. Guided by their Deploy for Growth Strategy which is fueled by the belief that their people are their competitive advantage, Kellogg redefined their recognition and rewards program goals with the objective to:

1. Create a culture of recognition in which employees feel frequently appreciated for both their big wins and day-to-day successes

2. Increase company pride and employee loyalty by making employees feel valued, ultimately reducing attrition and retaining top talent

3. Establish fairness, equity, and inclusivity through a global recognition platform that connects Kellogg employees and increases the visibility of their accomplishments

The differentiators make all the difference

Following a thorough review of vendors in the market, Kellogg selected Achievers as their recognition platform of choice based on several of Achievers’ key differentiators:

A mobile-first employee experience to meets the needs of their diverse and often offline workforce
Technology to excel beyond peer-to-peer recognition and manage of years of service awards, birthday celebrations, results trackers, and more
Detailed reporting capabilities that provide access to data and analytics to measure success
Consolidation of disparate recognition programs into one global platform
Platform customization to align with the brand and link to their company values, competencies, and objectives
A marketplace of rewards without mark-up and a movement away from cash awards

Creating a culture hub with Achievers

Kellogg used a thoughtful approach for their program rollout, first launching to their North American employees in order to establish best practices, then to Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific — a moment that marked the union of their global teams.

With their workforce better aligned, and with all employees able to access the platform’s benefits through its mobile capabilities, Kellogg formed a complete employee engagement hub, creating a one-stop-shop for all things employee engagement, including:

A channel through which to recognize and reward across the organization
A library of employee resources
Virtual Service Awards cards that make it easier to promote and celebrate milestones
New features such as: their AMEA HR Excellence Award, Birthday Celebrations, Coffee Chats, Check-Ins, surveys, and Announcements.
A medium through which to share timely and important updates and information in real-time with all employees — an added benefit highlighted during the global pandemic.

Kellogg’s core values

Living the K Values
Demonstrating Leadership through Growth Competencies
Strengthening Our Culture
Displaying Functional or Technical Excellence

The recognition ROI story

With an average of 74% of employees logging into the program monthly and 95% having activated their account, Kellogg’s program has become an integral part of their culture and has made a real impact on the business.

Since launching their Achievers platform globally, Kellogg has seen a double-digit increase in the number of employees who agree with the survey statement: “I regularly receive appropriate recognition when I do a good job.”

Keeping in lockstep with this positive trajectory, Kellogg’s monthly recognition metrics have consistently outpaced all benchmarks, ranking in the top quartile across Achievers’ enterprise, global and North American benchmarks.

Other recognition fast facts:

The average employee globally at Kellogg receives 2.6 recognitions per month. This is even higher in the North America region, at 3.3
Globally, 70% of employees at Kellogg receive at least one recognition per month. In North America, 82% of employees do
50% of Kellogg employees send at least one recognition per month. Again, this is even higher in North America at 70%

What’s the reason for greater recognition frequency in North America? This region’s commitment to the organization’s recognition best practices, which includes monthly recognition budgets and giving points to all employees to award in peer-to-peer recognition.

What’s the future of more frequent recognition hold for Kellogg?

In partnership with Achievers, Kellogg continues to focus on innovative ways to drive engagement and is committed to being an early adopter of new recognition and employee engagement technology. Kellogg intends to reinforce the program’s value as an engagement hub by adding even more initiatives, such as: new wellness and total health programs, employee referral resources, rewards for contributing cost-saving ideas, and other innovations to engage their workforce — all while keeping recognition at the center of what they do.

And with great excitement, Kellogg has plans to roll out Achievers to additional populations and is thrilled about the possibilities that this connectivity will bring to their global workforce.