BRINGING SMILES TO HERSHEY
CASE STUDY
ABOUT THE HERSHEY COMPANY
Founded in 1894 by Milton S. Hershey, The Hershey Company has a longstanding history
as the chocolate and confectionery leader in North America. Their portfolio of more than
80 brands includes such iconic favorites as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses, Jolly
Rancher, and Ice Breakers. The Hershey Company has been headquartered in Hershey,
Pennsylvania, for more than 150 years. Approximately 21,000 Hershey employees worldwide
work every day to bring goodness to the world through great tasting snacks.
Hershey’s values tell the story of “One Hershey”—a global and diverse team that is open to
possibilities, grows together, and makes a difference by having a positive impact on everything they do.
“Now leaders have tools to
empower employees and keep
them motivated. Giving recognition
used to involve a lot of process.
Now they can give recognition
more frequently with less hassle.”
Hershey’s employee base is diverse and dispersed, with many
different generations working in tandem all over the world.
Each year, a global employee survey called “Many Voices, One
Hershey” is used to track metrics on culture, engagement, and
satisfaction across the company.
Back in 2013, survey results indicated that recognition had a
positive impact on engagement and retention in parts of the
business where recognition programs were prevalent. However,
Recognition and Reward was the item with the greatest decline
on the survey—down 8% from 2012 to 2013.
Upon completing an audit of the state of recognition at Hershey,
the team found that there were very inconsistent employee
experiences. While there were many functional recognition
programs, they had poor visibility and offered redundant
solutions across the business. “Not all managers had access
to recognize their employees and not all employees had the
same experience across the globe. Essentially, we didn’t have a
consistent strategy for recognition,” says Cesar Villa, Director,
Total Rewards International.
A CHOCOLATY CHALLENGE
poor visibilityredundant solutions
limited access
CESAR VILLA DIRECTOR, TOTAL REWARDS
INTERNATIONAL
THE BIG CHALLENGES
“We needed to create a global experience, the same experience
for every employee.”
CESAR VILLA DIRECTOR, TOTAL REWARDS INTERNATIONAL
To address employee feedback, Hershey set out to develop a
true culture of recognition. That would start with consolidating
all of their disparate recognition and reward programs
into a global solution to drive engagement and support
Hershey’s Best Place to Work culture. Success criteria for the
new, global program would involve increased participation and
engagement scores, budget controls and process effectiveness.
Hershey chose Globoforce as their partner in this endeavor. On
why they chose to partner with Globoforce, Cesar says, “Simply
put, it’s the proven experience that Globoforce has in recognition.
We interviewed Globoforce’s customers and they said they’ve
had great experiences with good coaching and global technology.
And one of the most important things is the global approach that
Globoforce offers and the easy-to-use technology.”
Working together with Hershey, Globoforce created the SMILES
recognition and reward program. The program is uniquely
branded and linked to Hershey’s core values of Open to
Possibilities, Growing Together, Making a Difference, and One
Hershey. It’s open to all employees, in 17 countries and five
different languages. Employees can send their peers SMILES
through a website or mobile app. Paper options are also available
for Hershey’s offline employees in manufacturing facilities.
Points-based rewards are redeemable for thousands of
merchandise and gift card options around the world, depending
on where the employee is based.
“Now leaders have tools to empower employees and keep them
motivated. Giving recognition used to involve a lot of process.
Now they can give recognition more frequently with less hassle,”
says Cesar.
THE DELICIOUS SOLUTION
Every 10 minutes a
Hershey employee is
recognized by a colleague
More than 100,000
recognition moments
delivered since launch
2 years ago
11%11% increase in recognition
satisfaction in 2014
After just one week, 8.7% of the company was recognized. And
after a year, more than 50,000 SMILES were awarded, with 68%
of those rewards coming from leaders. 81% of the recognition
occurred across different countries, which is crucial for Hershey’s
global workforce. Additionally, the program achieved 100%
cross-organization recognition within its first year. The team was
also pleased to see the frequency of recognition increase, with
8% of employees being recognized on a weekly basis. Finally,
recognition satisfaction increased by 11% after SMILES was
implemented.
There has been great feedback and stories from employees so
far. Cesar notes, “We interviewed employees in manufacturing
plants. One said, ‘I have been here for 25 years and this is the
first time that I have received recognition.’ So that’s something
impressive. It proves that their ideas count and that their
contributions are taken into consideration. They also like having
thousands of options in the awards network. For example, they
can take their family out to dinner and they can say, ‘I’m proud
because my ideas have been recognized and I can share what The
Hershey Company has given me.’”
Hershey is well on its way to creating a culture of recognition. The
team is currently building a roadmap to include all recognition
activities in Hershey SMILES, including well-being initiatives,
sales contests, and life changes. “When you get married,
celebrate your birthday or are promoted, you will be recognized
in Hershey SMILES.” says Cesar.
SWEET SUCCESS
7%7% increase in recognition
satisfaction in 2015
Founded in 1999, Globoforce is the world’s leading provider of employee recognition solutions. Through its social, mobile,
and global technology, Globoforce helps HR and business leaders elevate employee engagement, increase employee retention,
manage company culture, and discover actionable insight about their talent. Today, employees across the world are living
their company values and achieving peak performance through the SaaS-based Globoforce platform. A private corporation,
Globoforce is co-headquartered in Southborough, Massachusetts, and Dublin, Ireland.
© 2016 Globoforce Limited. All rights reserved.
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Let Globoforce help you make the case for recognition
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