How Würth Canada made recognition the engine of high performance

Wurth Canada, a leading industrial supplier of products and solutions to Canadian businesses, embarked on a journey to build a culture that could enable and support sustainable high performance and scale alongside their business.  

As the organization continued to grow and evolve, leaders knew that sustainable performance required not only a clear and inspiring vision, but also a collaborative and humanistic culture. Strong results alone wouldn’t be enough. Wurth Canada knew that a shared set of values, consistent leadership behaviors, and a clearer connection between day-to-day actions and business success would help drive success. 

The gap between daily actions and success 

The pathway forward wasn’t simple. Culture varied across teams, and the organization needed to build a shared understanding of the type of culture that would drive long-term success. In addition, recognition — one of the most powerful tools for reinforcing behavior — needed to become consistently part of how work was done and celebrated. 

For a largely remote, field-based workforce, alignment and connection at scale posed an even greater challenge. 

Wurth Canada set out to change that by creating a people centric culture rooted in collaboration, trust, achievement, and continuous improvement. Those values were reinforced in visible, meaningful ways. 

Where values stop being words and start driving behavior 

To bring their vision to life, Wurth Canada launched Wurth Excellence, it’s recognition and rewards platform powered by Achievers. 

Recognition wasn’t treated as a side initiative or a “nice‑to‑have.” Instead, Wurth Excellence was designed as a core mechanism for cultural reinforcement — intentionally built around Wurth Canada’s ten Cultural Attributes of High Performance: 

• Collaboration
• Integrity
• Achievement
• Encouragement
• Trust
• Self-Awareness 
• Crucial conversations
• Accountability
• Boldness
• Curiosity 

With this change, every recognition moment would do more than celebrate results. It would reinforce how those results were achieved, turning values into daily signals employees could see, feel, and repeat. 

Recognition that reinforces how great work gets done 

Every recognition sent through Wurth Excellence is tied to one of the company’s ten cultural attributes, turning everyday appreciation into a clear signal of what high performance looks like in action. 

That structure does more than celebrate wins. It spotlights the behaviors behind them — collaboration, accountability, self-awareness to name a few — and reinforces them in the moments that matter most. 

By anchoring recognition to shared attributes, Wurth Canada created clarity and consistency across teams. Expectations became visible. Culture became tangible. And instead of living in annual conversations, values started showing up every day, in real time. 

Reimagining signature recognition moments 

Achievers also helped Wurth Canada modernize its most important recognition programs, bringing structure, fairness, and visibility to moments that matter most. This included updates to the following award programs: 

Employee of the month 

Before Wurth Excellence, an employee of the month program didn’t exist. Now, employees across the organization have regular, meaningful opportunities to be recognized. 

Each month, a specific cultural attribute is highlighted through in platform announcements and townhall meetings. Any employee recognized for demonstrating that attribute during the month is automatically nominated, ensuring recognition reflects lived behaviors, not just visibility or tenure. 

Employee of the year 

For employee of the year, Wurth Excellence provides a more complete view of contribution over time. Rather than relying on a single nomination, a full year of recognition data is reviewed — including employee of the month wins and the attributes employees were recognized for — creating a more objective and holistic picture of impact. 

Recognition that keeps pace with performance 

As a sales driven organization, Wurth Canada relies on timely recognition to maintain momentum and focus. 

Leaders use Wurth Excellence to award employees in regional and national sales contests aligned to business priorities, celebrating real-time wins and measurable outcomes. By bringing sales contests rewards into one centralized platform, Wurth Excellence quickly became a daily destination for employees. 

When leaders lead, recognition follows 

Recognition is viewed as a fundamental responsibility of leadership within the company. It reinforces the expectation that engaging, recognizing, and supporting teams isn’t optional, it’s part of the job. When leaders consistently show appreciation and recognize for individuals and teams, the impact shows in both business results and culture.  

Built‑in reporting in Wurth Excellence enabled senior leaders to gain real‑time visibility into recognition across the organization — including participation, points usage, leader engagement, and more. These insights turn recognition into a coaching tool, surfacing what’s working, spotlighting standout leaders, and guiding more meaningful conversations. 

What followed? Strong recognition habits become visible signals of strong leadership and high‑performing teams. 

One platform, one message, one shared culture 

With most employees working remotely in field‑based roles across the country, Wurth Excellence plays a critical role in creating connection and consistency. 

By giving employees a single platform for recognition, communication, and contests, Wurth Canada ensures everyone — regardless of location — experiences the same cultural message and opportunities for appreciation. 

Making appreciation personal and powerful 

At Wurth Canada, recognition doesn’t stop at celebration. Each employee of the month receives $300 in points, redeemable through the Achievers Reward™ marketplace for rewards that are personally meaningful. This flexibility strengthens the connection between living the company’s values and being recognized for it, while reinforcing a shared commitment to high performance and appreciation. 

What happens when culture clicks 

The launch of Wurth Excellence was just one of many initiatives supporting Wurth Canada’s transformation while strengthening employee engagement. As a result, the organization has seen meaningful gains across engagement, performance, and retention: 

• Turnover reduced by 60%, reaching approximately 15% 

• Average productivity per employee nearly doubled  

• Glassdoor rating improved by 20%, from 3.5 to 4.2 

While multiple factors contributed to these outcomes, Wurth Canada credits its culture of appreciation and recognition as playing a critical role in reinforcing the behaviors and mindset that enabled the organization to drive high performance and engagement.