The Project: Internal Communications to Engage a Disparate Workforce
With 325 employees across the U.S. and 80% in delivery trucks and patients’ homes all day, Hospice Source struggled to keep its workforce informed and connected.
When a new CEO arrived, he brought Thrive aboard as the fractional Chief Communications Officer/outsourced communications department for the company. He tasked Thrive with quickly creating and implementing an effective internal communications strategy to improve employee engagement and communications.
Partnering with the CEO, Thrive crafted an integrated “Every Employee, Every Time” internal communications program that included a CEO field visit roadshow, a first-ever employee newsletter, workplace culture definition and communications, an employee engagement survey and a survey action and communications plan.
The Challenge: Internal Communications with 80% Field/Non-Desk Employees
Hospice Source, a 25-year-old durable medical equipment (DME) fulfillment company with over 300 employees across the U.S., replaced its CEO of ten years in September 2021 with a new leader.
Employee turnover was high, especially for field employees/delivery drivers, where competition for labor was really fierce at the time. A disparate workforce of 80% field/non-desk employees and a 20% mix of remote and in-office employees made internal communications a difficult challenge.
The only internal communications tool consistently used by all employees was email, and aside from emails sent by HR for open enrollment and compliance, no corporate internal communications initiatives or resources were in place.
To add to the challenge, within months of the CEO’s arrival, the VP of HR left, and Thrive stepped in to take on the first employee engagement survey initiative the CEO had prioritized. Overall, morale and engagement seemed low, but Hospice Source’s long-standing, short mission statement – Every Patient, Every Time – seemed to resonate with employees.
Thrive was tasked with quickly developing and implementing an internal communications strategy to improve employee engagement.
The Solution
Partnering with Hospice Source’s CEO, Thrive strategized and implemented a new, comprehensive, integrated communications program for the company’s employees across the country. The majority of employees work in non-desk/delivery roles, making internal communications particularly challenging.
CEO Field Visits “Roadshow”
- Created opportunities for dialogue where the CEO was able to listen to field employees and share his vision while getting real-time feedback directly from employees
- Made the roadshow visible to employees by communicating with the field in advance and documenting and showing the visits (via photos and videos)
The Company’s First Ever Employee Newsletter – “The Source”
- Improved internal communications through creating a brand new monthly digital newsletter that informed, engaged and recognized employees across the organization; asked for feedback, listened and adjusted as needed
- Established the newsletter as a corporate communication channel in advance of the employee survey; used it to encourage survey participation; later, used it to build trust by communicating results and the survey action plan
- Thrive served as editor and designer of The Source, working closely with Hospice Source’s CEO, HR and Director of Customer Experience
- We conducted a newsletter readership survey to provide an opportunity for employee feedback and to make improvements
Employee Engagement Survey
- Created an employee engagement survey that followed best practices and was easy for employees across the company to complete
- Created and sent compelling, frequent messaging through multiple channels to encourage participation from all employees; promised to communicate survey insights and to take action on employees’ input
Survey Action Plan and Internal Communications
- Followed through on company’s promise to communicate survey insights and to take action on them
- Analyzed results and prioritized 3 priority areas the company could commit to
- Created a framework for leaders to gain additional insights and create employee survey action plan teams (with members from all levels and departments in the company) around the 3 key priorities
- Communicated survey action plan information in a timely way via the employee newsletter
- Partnered with CEO to create and communicate a new quarterly all-hands employee town hall initiative
- Provided updates in each monthly issue
- Ensured that Thrive was involved with each of the survey action plan teams so updates were included in each newsletter
Culture Definition and Communications
- Worked with client to create a “culture code” with mission, core values and “we will” behavior statements to support it
- Communicated, reinforced and applauded the employees who exemplified the core values in each monthly employee newsletter
- Worked with CEO to strategize, plan and create messaging for the company’s first (and subsequent) virtual town hall meetings
- Helped create, brand and communicate a NEW employee recognition program, “BRAVOS”
The Result
This comprehensive internal communications program resulted in a more engaged and appreciated team, ready to deliver on its mission of “Every Patient, Every Time.”
- The CEO visited 75% of the sites across the country as planned. He met with each site manager and as many of the drivers as possible, engaging in two-way conversations. Many field employees said it was the first time they had ever met anyone from corporate. Employees shared their thoughts about what worked well and areas to improve. Thrive captured photos and video to document and communicate the initiative.
- The company’s first-ever employee newsletter was created and then launched in February 2022. It was sent, consistently, each month thereafter. In a readership survey employees across the company reported that the monthly employee newsletter helped them feel more informed, connected and appreciated.
- The company’s first-ever employee engagement survey was executed in April 2022 and received a 70% response rate. Of the employees who completed the survey, 169 wrote thoughtful answers to the two open-ended questions, and 81% of respondents work in field operations, with relative representation from every region, achieving Hospice Source’s objective of gaining survey engagement across the company.
- We developed the company’s first defined culture by April 2022. We communicated the new “culture code” in each newsletter. The CEO reinforced it in each Employee Quarterly Town Hall. We also tied the culture code’s four core values into each newsletter in a variety of ways, including employee spotlights and the NEW employee recognition program (“BRAVOS”).
- Employee turnover, high across the driver/technician market everywhere at the time, slowly decreased and stabilized.
Client Feedback
“Our driving mission is to serve ‘every patient, every time,’ and delivering on that purpose starts with a connected and engaged workforce. The Thrive team consistently provides smart counsel, sound strategy and strong execution. Best of all, they are truly an extension of our team and a trusted partner. We’re happy with their work, the results and honored that the employee communication work we’ve done in partnership with Thrive has been recognized with so many esteemed awards.”
A Multi-Award-Winning Internal Communications Program
- National PRSA Silver Anvil Award of Excellence, Internal Communications Program
- PRSA Dallas Pegasus Award, Internal Communications
- PRSA Greater Fort Worth Worthy Award, Internal Communications
- PRSA Pegasus Award in the Publication (Digital or Print) category for the Newsletter that was part of this initiative
- PRSA Pegasus Best of Show Award, Newsletter
- PRSA Worthy Award, Newsletter
