5 Unily clients announced as finalists for Inspiring Workplace Awards 2021

Shining the spotlight on the world’s most inspiring workplaces

Now in their seventh year, the Inspiring Workplace Awards celebrate great places to work and the initiatives that are leapfrogging us forward. Specifically, the awards highlight those companies that strive to deliver a better experience for employees, delivering excellence through wellbeing, culture, diversity, innovation, technology, communications, and leadership.

After a tumultuous year, it’s more important than ever to ensure that employee experience is a priority, especially with the challenges an increasingly hybrid workforce may bring. The Inspiring Workplace Awards seek to celebrate those companies that have inspired a positive employee experience within their organization.

What does an inspiring workplace look like?

Our five Unily finalists come from a range of industries and locations. All of them have demonstrated creativity and innovation in their fields, using Unily as the employee experience platform to deliver the campaigns that inspire their workforces.

#1. Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores recognized for Inspiring Use of Technology

Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores is the United States’ leading travel stop network, and with more than 30k employees across the country, it needed a way to connect team members on the road, at their desks, and working on the shop floors.

Since more than 75% of their workforce is deskless and frontline, Love’s worked with Unily to launch a new, mobile-optimized intranet platform, that could act as a digital headquarters accessible to every employee.

The intranet played a vital role in maintaining Love’s close-knit culture, even in the midst of a global pandemic. By leveraging their newly launched platform, Love’s was able to cultivate a sense of connectivity that touches every employee, whether they are working from their home office or serving customers on the shop floor. Their innovative approach has been recognized as a leading example of using technology to solve modern enterprise challenges.

#2. Samuel, Son & Co. a finalist for both Inspiring Use of Technology and Inspiring Communications

Samuel, Son & Co., the Canadian multi-national company specializing in metal processing, distribution, and industrial products, worked with Unily to design a solution that would unite its 87 locations across three countries (Canada, the US, and Mexico) into one unified digital workplace – The Torch.

The enterprise was recognized by the Inspiring Workplace Awards panel for uniting a multi-lingual workforce with inspiring communications. Using advanced language and translation capabilities, Samuel, Son & Co. is able to connect with every employee in one place.

In addition to geographical dispersion, Samuel’s employees’ roles and responsibilities vary greatly. There are several different types of workers, including those on the frontlines in shop floors and on the road as well as corporate colleagues who work at a desk. The intranet platform ensures that employees in every role and region feel connected to the company’s agile culture, supported by analytics that demonstrate widespread engagement.

#3. Virginia Commonwealth University a finalist for Inspiring Communications

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is an academic medical center at the forefront of health care, providing patients with the most progressive treatments and medical technology available. When it came to launching an internal communications strategy, VCU Health’s objective was to develop a multi-channel approach that effectively reaches and engages their entire workforce of over 13k employees.

From clinical physicians and nurses based in hospitals to administrative staff, communications needed to be both inclusive and accessible to all, while resonating with every employee and his or her specific role. VCU Health leveraged their newly launched Unily intranet to combat the challenges healthcare enterprises faced on the frontlines of the pandemic, including supporting 6 dimensions of employee wellbeing and DEI resources.

#4. Red River a finalist in Inspiring Culture

IT transformation specialists, Red River Technology, needed a solution that would be universally accessible, user-friendly and translate its tight-knit corporate culture into a virtual format. An outgoing and collaborative culture was a hallmark of Red River’s employee experience from the very beginning.

The enterprise wished to keep this dynamic environment alive as it grew. While employees may no longer know every colleague personally or sit in on every meeting Red River holds, the enterprise aimed to keep connectivity high by debuting a user-friendly intranet, with a heavy focus on engaging content.

In launching The River, one of the department’s primary goals was to ensure that employees were engaging with news content in a way that they hadn’t been previously while utilizing their legacy platform. The River has not only led to an increase in viewership for major news updates and fun video content; the launch of the new intranet is also correlated with a rise in the number of employees who are clicking through to department pages for more detailed information. This widespread uptick in readership across all content types on The River illustrates that employees are taking full advantage of the intranet to become active participants in shaping Red River’s culture.

#5. Zaxby’s a finalist in Inspiring Communications

Zaxby’s is an American chain of fast-casual chicken restaurants. With over 1.9k corporate and franchise owners spread across more than 900 locations throughout America, it turned to Unily to create a digital workplace that would unite all stores and establish a cultural standard.

An engaging communications strategy with ample opportunities for two-way messaging is essential for uniting employees around Zaxby’s mission and core values. ZNET, Zaxby’s enhanced intranet, serves as the backbone for the enterprise’s internal communications strategy, as well as a launchpad for cultural initiatives and team-building activities.

From a messaging standpoint, ZNET centralizes all internal communications updates and creates a personalized experience for end-users. Since corporate employees may have different communications needs and priorities than their colleagues who own a franchise, ZNET has targeted homepages to ensure every end-user sees the news that will be most relevant to their role.

Unily bringing home the gold in 2021

The Inspiring Workplace Awards aren’t the only awards that Unily has won big at this year. The Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g) awards saw Unily become the first to win four out of the ten overall featured best intranet designs. If you would like to know how you can design an award-winning intranet for your enterprise, reach out to us today for a free demo.