Growing technology firm uses engagement platform to unite new and existing employees through shared vision

When Causeway’s workforce increased drastically due to acquisitions, the team needed to find a way to unite existing and new staff in order to reduce any negative impact these changes had on employee engagement. The organization took a culture-focused approach, using the engagement platform to communicate in a lively and memorable way.

The challenge

Between July 2018 and January 2019, technology company Causeway acquired four businesses, increasing its headcount by 50%. The team needed to ensure employees were engaged so that they could navigate the next phase of the company’s journey, while clearly communicating Causeway’s culture to successfully integrate new employees from the acquired businesses.

An internal review was carried out to examine the Causeway culture – highlighting that the company’s vision message was too long and therefore it was difficult for employees to remember. Its focus was not considered to be sufficiently “aspirational,” and lacked engagement from employees from all parts of the business. The company values were known and recognized, but the leadership team decided to take the opportunity to revisit them to ensure that they would still be relevant for the journey that Causeway was about to embark on.

The approach

The team wanted communications around the culture, vision and refreshed values to make an impact and help employees remember them easily. Inspired by the Causeway brand and its star logo, they decided to appeal to their employees’ interest in science fiction by creating a strategy centering around a space theme and “Becoming a star.” As part of the tactics rolled out, the team created a video showing employees giving their feedback and opinions drawn directly from the workshops, illustrating the diversity of views and reminding employees of their contribution.

Colored icons represented each value to provide clear, simple imagery. The team created an animation to show the journey to “becoming a star,” planned high-impact launch events at Causeway’s offices and designed a five-week teaser campaign using a space-themed countdown that encouraged employees to look out for the next communication on the platform. Teasers reflected the icon colors and provided clues such as QR codes, a quiz, videolinks, a launch pack and an invitation to a celebration.

On the day of the events, the team revealed colorful posters displaying the values, and updated the employee engagement portal to promote, drive and communicate the story across different locations and ran space-themed events. 

The team’s ongoing communication initiatives included:

• A values “mission” to maintain momentum, an online values quiz to test employees’ learning 
• A self-assessment matrix to guide behavior and inform personal development 
• Communication of the different aspects of Causeway culture via the employee engagement portal to help deliver the key messages 

The results

Despite a 50% increase in headcount due to acquisitions, the business has not suffered a negative impact, which would normally be expected during a period of significant change. The number of employees who knew and understood the company vision increased by 16% after launching the program, while 95% of employees now understand how their work contributes to the vision, compared to 91% previously.

Furthermore, 95% of employees actively used the employee portal to find out about the Causeway culture, and 94% of employees now understand how the values apply to them in their role. The values are helping to engage employees and bring everyone together with a common language, as well as guiding the team in their decision-making and on how to behave. This is reflected in the fact that 85% of employees are excited about where the company is headed, compared to 75% previously.