When I joined Ferrotec USA, I noticed a disconnect. While the company had a strong foundation, there was a lack of clarity around our core values. Employees lacked a clear understanding of our values, making it challenging to cultivate a unified and positive company culture.

I saw an opportunity to lead a culture shift. My goal was to redefine our Mission, Vision, and Core Values—and, more importantly, to ensure those values were deeply understood and adopted by every employee.

The Approach

Working closely with the CEO and executive leadership, I led a comprehensive rebranding process. We started by listening. I conducted company-wide surveys and organized focus groups across various departments to identify key pain points and gauge the existing understanding of our company's identity. These insights were invaluable, revealing where our messaging was weak and where our team felt a genuine connection.

The data-driven insights guided our rebranding efforts. We refined our language, tested new wording with different employee groups, and worked tirelessly to ensure every word resonated with the culture we wanted to build. The result was BigHeart, a new set of core values that truly represent a positive culture shift for Ferrotec.

The Rollout and Impact

Once approved, we launched the new values at the start of the year with a widespread and fast-paced rollout. I developed a multi-channel communications plan that included:

• Executive leadership speeches and video messages

• Targeted newsletters and internal memos

• Physical and digital signage for all our facilities

Our work didn't stop there. To ensure the new values were more than just a poster on the wall, we integrated them into the fabric of our company. We wove our values into our company events, built them into our employee awards and recognition programs, and most importantly incorporated them into our yearly performance metrics.

We continue to conduct annual surveys, focus groups, and maintain other feedback mechanisms to ensure alignment, and modify as needed.

The effort paid off. The adoption of BigHeart was widespread and fast. What started as a Ferrotec USA initiative quickly received international recognition, with other Ferrotec locations worldwide now adopting our guiding principles and following our lead in their own cultural development.

For years, our internal communication and engagement efforts were fragmented at Ferrotec. Information was scattered, and our team felt disconnected. My goal was to unite our workforce and foster a culture of growth by strategically leveraging technology to transform our employee experience.

My approach was to select and implement platforms with specific strategic goals in mind, ensuring each tool served a distinct purpose while complementing a broader communications strategy.

The Strategy and Execution

• A Centralized Hub: I completely revamped our intranet, turning it into the central hub for our organization. The new platform, which I designed myself, provides daily news, messages from the executive team, and quick links to all major programs, including our internal benefit portal and company-wide calendars. It's now the go-to resource for our team and the single source of truth for all Ferrotec employees.

• Professional Development: To elevate our learning culture, I initiated and became the administrator for our new LinkedIn Learning account. I organized quarterly learning challenges and curated custom learning playlists for different teams regularly to boost engagement. Our efforts paid off; employee usage is higher than the industry average for similar organizations. 

• Culture and Recognition: To formalize our company culture of appreciation and reinforce our core values, I revamped our BigHeart Employee Recognition program and partnered our organization with Nectar. Our strategic goal was to encourage peer-to-peer recognition, improve morale, and improve employee retention. We saw a dramatic increase in engagement, with recognition shoutouts soaring, from single digits before implementation to hundreds sent each month by employees once utilizing the new program.

• Real-Time Communication: For our employees on the manufacturing floor and in other areas without regular computer access, I introduced and managed a digital signage network using ScreenCloud. This ensures real-time communication is accessible to our entire workforce, displaying consistent messaging, news, and special announcements across all our facilities.

The Power of Integration

Each of these platforms was valuable on its own, but their true power was in their integration. I designed a cohesive strategy where all platforms work together to serve our team. For example, our intranet promotes new LinkedIn Learning courses and celebrates Nectar awards, while our digital signage displays key messages from both. 

By connecting these tools, we didn't just implement technology; we built a unified ecosystem for employee engagement that continues to foster a connected and purpose-driven team.