Unite 24 Awards: Spotlighting the trailblazers transforming employee experience

A defining year for employee experience leaders

The discussions at Unite made it clear: 2024 has been a pivotal year for employee experience (EX). Organizations are rising to the challenge of delivering exceptional EX in a decade characterized disruption. Top enterprises understand that empowered employees are a precursor to success, and the shift toward an employee-first mindset was mirrored in the impressive calibre of projects and platforms we saw on the day.

At the close of the conference, we held our Unite Awards, an opportunity to celebrate the inspiring work of our trailblazing customer-base. This year, we introduced three new categories to better represent the shifting priorities of employee experience leaders worldwide. Our four judges whittled down hundreds of entries to select just one SMB and one Enterprise winner for each category.

Best launch or relaunch

The Best Launch or Relaunch is a staple. This category recognizes the most successful launches and relaunches of EX platforms.

Enterprise winner: CVS Health

CVS Health® is the leading health solutions company, delivering care to improve the health of communities across America. With 300,000 dedicated colleagues – including more than 40,000 physicians, pharmacists, nurses and nurse practitioners – CVS Health wanted to empower its workforce with a mobile gateway to the digital workplace.

The Heartbeat Mobile platform provides 24/7 access to essential information and services, enabling corporate colleagues to easily connect with applications like Workday and Colleague Zone from any device. The platform includes a personalized news feed, a people directory for searching colleagues, and specific resources for people leaders and senior executives – all designed to power execution excellence across the business.

The launch was supported by a comprehensive marketing strategy utilizing videos, digital signage, town hall discussions, and internal communications. Before the full launch, select business functions were given early access to the app, allowing for feedback and improvements to ensure a seamless user experience (UX). Early adoption metrics exceeded expectations with over 127,000 views and around 10,000 unique users.

The Heartbeat Mobile launch exemplifies a strong commitment to employee needs. By actively listening to colleagues and addressing their requests for easier access to essential services, CVS Health demonstrated an adaptive and responsive organizational culture. Ultimately, it was this unrelenting focus on meeting the needs of its evolving workforce that ensured a win for CVS Health.

SMB winner: RTL Nederland

The Dutch media network wowed the judges with its multi-layered launch approach, and strong use of employee testing and feedback when designing the platform. When launching, the team made use of external surroundings to make a big bang, including redesigning elevators, scattering QR codes around restaurants, and hiring a professional photographer to take employees photos so each had a new profile picture for the launch. The effort that went into the launch paid off, with RTL seeing a 94% adoption of their platform, and an average feedback score of 7.8 out of 10.

Business impact / ROI

In this new-for-24 category, we wanted to spotlight the EX-innovators championing impact of EX investment on organizational success. Instead of talking in abstractions, these enterprises are demonstrating how their EX transformations are translating into impressive business outcomes – no mean feat.

Enterprise winner: Wipro

Wipro, a multi-national technology company providing IT, consulting and business process services, impressed the judges with their entry, which focused on measurable fiscal return. Since their launch of The Dot, Wipro’s 230,000+ employees have benefited from a single destination for seamlessly connecting with the information and resources they need to simplify their workday. The platform allows Wipro employees to work at new speed towards shared goals, and has demonstrated some serious business ROI, with impressive stats including:

• A cost avoidance of $ 20,885,841.02 for the year 2023
• An integration of over 100 employee apps into The Dot
• Integration of a Gen-AI chatbot which has received over 5.2million queries

With over 240,000 unique visitors each month and high engagement rates across its 100+ integrated apps, 70 social communities, and 3,261 active documents, The Dot has become a central hub for collaboration, communication, and knowledge sharing across Wipro’s global workforce of 230,000 employees.

Wipro’s implementation of The Dot stands out as a highly impactful employee experience platform. It has not only streamlined operations and improved productivity but also fostered a stronger sense of community and engagement among its global workforce. The measurable cost savings, high employee adoption rates, and positive feedback from users demonstrate the platform’s effectiveness in delivering tangible business outcomes. Wipro’s success in leveraging The Dot as a central hub for communication, productivity, and cultural transformation makes it a deserving winner of the Business Impact award.

SMB winner: Valley National Bank

Valley National Bank recently launched multiple initiatives tied to their strategic focus on relationship banking. To help communicate and embed these initiatives within the organization, sites were created to house all comms, information, tools, and resources.

As a result, there was a 144% increase in sales teams using the platform, translating into a significant improvement in alignment with the company strategy – a vital part of achieving Organizational Velocity.

Culture impact

In this category, we look for stories that show EX platforms being used to cultivate a positive company culture. Whether it’s championing DEI, nurturing change management, promoting employee wellbeing or enhancing employee voice, this category recognizes the enterprises leveraging best-in-class technology to enable culture transformation at scale.

Enterprise winner: Alshaya Group

Alshaya Group is a dynamic retail and hospitality company operating over 90 international brands across the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond. With a workforce exceeding 50,000 employees, Alshaya is dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. A commitment to corporate social responsibility is at the heart of its operations, driving initiatives that promote community engagement and employee wellbeing.

The entry focused on the ways Alshaya is using its employee experience platform to promote inclusivity, wellbeing, and recognition across the organization. The platform champions Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) by providing a home for Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and critical training resources on unconscious bias and cultural sensitivity, significantly increasing awareness across the workforce. Wellbeing is also a key focus with wellness challenges and mental health resources housed on the platform leading to improved morale and a notable decline in absenteeism.

The platform also provides an outlet for the employee voice, underpinned by a bi-annual engagement survey and regular pulse checks to gather feedback, with a “Suggestion Box” feature fostering ongoing dialogue. Finally, a gamified recognition system that celebrates achievements in real-time, enhances team cohesion and morale through peer recognition.

As a result of these efforts, Alshaya Group has achieved impressive success metrics:

• Engagement Scores: Employee engagement has increased by 30%.
• Participation Rates: Over 70% of employees engage with wellbeing programs.
• Feedback Mechanism: Engagement survey boasts a 90% response rate, with positive feedback about feeling valued.
• Reduction in Absenteeism: A 25% decrease in absenteeism linked to initiatives.

SMB winner: Windstream

Through community templates and best practice, voice and data connections company Windstream has managed to get 22% of their 9k employee base now enrolled in an employee resource group (ERG). Supported by strategic resources woven throughout the intranet including: suicide prevention resources, pronoun guidance, documents, a checklist for new ERG members on how to engage, virtual backgrounds, and blog series on ERG-related topics including mental health, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and more.

EX = CX

Our EX=CX award is another new category for 2024. We believe that happy employees create happy customers, and we’re looking for real-world examples that prove this connection. This category is about celebrating platforms that have been a game-changer in driving exceptional customer experiences.

Enterprise winner: Kantar

Kantar is a leading data, insights, and consulting company, employing around 25,000 professionals worldwide. Through the "Blueprint for Brand Growth" initiative, Kantar is equipping employees with essential skills for effective customer engagement, including access to training modules and industry insights via its central EX platform. The platform also fosters brand pride by sharing success stories and celebrating employee achievements, creating a sense of ownership among teams in relation to their impact on customer satisfaction. Employees are encouraged to share insights from customer interactions, fostering continuous improvement and recognizing outstanding service, which reinforces Kantar’s commitment to excellence.

Key metrics demonstrating Kantar’s success include:

• Customer Satisfaction Scores: Since the initiative's launch, customer satisfaction has increased by 25%.
• Employee Engagement Rates: Surveys indicate a 40% improvement in employee satisfaction, showing that employees feel more motivated.
• Training Participation: Over 75% of employees have engaged with the training modules on the platform.
• Qualitative Feedback: Employees report increased confidence and pride in their roles, recognizing the connection between their efforts and customer success.

With a 25% increase in customer satisfaction and a 40% improvement in employee engagement, Kantar demonstrated the powerful connection between a motivated workforce and exceptional customer service, making them a standout winner for this award.

SMB winner: Boston Beer Company

With a 90% adoption rate among their target audience, Boston Beer Company met and exceeded the challenge to bring all sales information from various systems into their platform, Brew Hub. Their sales teams across multiple brands and many programs come to Brew Hub consistently to support learning, communications, and awareness of key events. Their site has become a key resource in supporting their day to day activities as well as longer term yearly planning containing the information they need to succeed.

Best platform design

The best platform design category is judged by the people! The Unite 24 audience cast their votes to decide which of three shortlisted entries would be crowned winner. We looked for purposeful designs that combined art and science to achieve aesthetic perfection and ultimate functionality.

Winner: British Airways

British Airways is a global airline and the UK’s flag carrier, with a team of over 35k colleagues working together to provide exceptional service. The company scooped the top prize for Best Platform Design for its innovative redesign of the BA Better World Learning Dashboard. The platform combines aesthetic appeal with functional interactivity, offering a dynamic, mobile-responsive experience. Using Unily’s developer framework, the site presents content in engaging, digestible chunks rather than dense text, with features like fading content, progress bars, and interactive widgets such as flip cards, “Lottie” animations, and image sliders. The design ensures a consistent and vibrant user experience across devices while guiding users through content in a purposeful layout. The platform’s branding is cohesive and extends beyond Unily to emails, kiosks, and even merchandise, reinforcing its impact. Early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the platform’s effectiveness in making sustainability learning interactive and accessible, setting a new standard in intranet design.

What could an award-winning EX platform do for you?

If you’ve been inspired by the awesome progress of these trailblazing enterprises, it might be time to explore what a true EX platform could do for your organization.

Want to hear more stories from enterprises pioneering the EX revolution? Be the first to watch Unite 24 on demand.