Can eCards change company culture?

2 min read

Changing a company culture doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, effort, employee feedback, leadership buy-in and more. 

But one piece of the puzzle to spark change for one business was a seemingly simple eCard. 

eCards are a form of peer-to-peer recognition, where anyone in the business can send an eCard to others in the business. These eCards can be grouped by corporate values, greetings (like welcoming on a new team member) or a congratulations. 

But while there are many benefits to peer-to-peer recognition, like the visibility of eCards being shown on a social “wall,” or making recognition readily available to everyone in the business, one Reward Gateway client brought its eCard strategy to the next level with design and personalisation. 

Charles Tyrwhitt, a well-known global retail organisation, was looking for new ways to engage its dispersed, multi-generational workforce and move the needle on employee engagement.

To help, the 1,100-strong company put several initiatives in place, including reward and recognition, wellbeing, improved communications and even employee feedback tools. 

A focus on company values

Alongside implementing several new engagement initiatives, Charles Tyrwhitt decided to refresh its values into the three “BE’s,” which were: 

• BE the Boss
• BE the Customer
• BE the Best

These values were highlighted in the organisation’s new eCards in a dozen different ways so employees could have a variety of ways to showcase values-driven behaviour from their peers. What’s more, the Leadership Team took a special role in the eCard rollout, with personalised eCards from each member of the Team that can be delivered to employees worldwide. 

Here's an example of a Leadership Team eCard from Finance Director, Ian Taylor. The eCard design plays
on the fact that he often runs to work. 

“It’s really, really helping those leaders and managers who can’t be everywhere at every one time connect with people in other locations. We’ve got employees all around the world and leaders wanting to recognise them, so it’s brilliant to be able to message and recognise them on-the-go, from wherever they are,” says Sarah Mortimer, Talent Acquisition and Employer Communications Manager at Charles Tyrwhitt.

A closer look at Charles Tyrwhitt's "Celebration Station," part of the full employee engagement platform

Read the full Charles Tyrwhitt success story to see how this strategy helped the business increase its Best Companies score and connect employees around the world.