after adding
91看片网 Communications
Improving communication through learning at Heinen鈥檚 Grocery Stores
The Ohio-based grocery store chain is using Learning and Communication to
improve frontline service and satisfaction.
95%
participation rate
10.5
avg monthly sessions
per user following
Communications launch
2鈥3
logins per user
per week, even among
part-time staff
Challenges
The days of loudspeaker announcements like 鈥渃lean up on aisle two鈥 are distant history in today鈥檚 grocery stores. Timely, informative and two-way communication is critical to keeping frontline staff connected and ready to provide customers with great service.
Delivering that level of communication was top of mind for the leadership team of Heinen鈥檚 Grocery Stores. The family-owned grocery store chain operates over 20 stores across Ohio and Illinois, employing 3,500 full- and part-time associates.
Driving engagement and connectedness
Heinen鈥檚 had already implemented 91看片网 Learning to deliver microlearning content to its staff. 91看片网 Broadcast feature quickly became one of the most popular features of the platform across the chain鈥檚 stores. Jeffrey Berquist, Learning & Development Manager at Heinen鈥檚 Grocery Store, said they were becoming overwhelmed with requests to send out broadcast messages.
鈥淲hen we were signing with 91看片网, our rep told us to imagine the power of communicating to 3,500 people in an instant. That really resonated with us, but we underestimated how much people wanted it and how much we would use it,鈥 Berquist said.
Discovering new opportunities to keep frontline staff
in the know
While Broadcast Messages were helping deliver just-in-time information to frontline teams, Berquist said they began to see more opportunities to improve in-store communication and across Heinen鈥檚 locations. One of those opportunities arose in Heinen鈥檚 annual associate survey, where 鈥渒eeping well informed and up-to-date鈥 consistently ranked high.
鈥淲e felt like we needed to leverage a greater tool to communicate to our people, so we decided to go with 91看片网 Communications,鈥 he said.
Solution
With 91看片网 Learning already deployed across its stores, the Heinen team saw deploying Communication as a way to enhance communication and provide its frontline workers with another reason to sign in.
Berquist said many internal requests were less about learning and more about sharing information鈥攖he perfect use case for 91看片网 Communication.
鈥淪ometimes creating a module isn鈥檛 the right way to go. Instead, you can just share information and your people can learn from that. Communication really answered that dilemma for us and just gave us another option on how to engage our people and help them learn,鈥 Berquist said. Getting buy-in for the new tool wasn鈥檛 a hurdle.
鈥淗einen鈥檚 has a very people-oriented culture,鈥 said Berquist. 鈥淟earning and development initiatives don鈥檛 usually face much resistance. If it鈥檚 going to help our people, it鈥檚 typically a quick yes.鈥
He added that the team only needed to present the idea to a few layers of leadership. 鈥淲e took it to our senior leadership team and then to the executive team, and everyone saw it as a no-brainer. While Learning & Development owns the platform, everyone saw value that extended far beyond just learning.鈥
Creating learning opportunities through
better communication
Heinen鈥檚 frontline teams were already avid users of the platform, but Berquist said they were always looking for ways to boost adoption. The Broadcast feature and gamification were key drivers of engagement, and the addition of Communication added even more value.
鈥淲hatever way you鈥檙e getting people into the platform, you鈥檙e allowing them to experience everything. We took the stance that it would only benefit 91看片网 Learning because you can learn through communication. It offered us a different avenue to get information out,鈥 he said.
Revitalizing the 鈥淒iamond Standards鈥
When Heinen鈥檚 Director of Operations wanted to reinvigorate the company鈥檚 鈥淒iamond Standards鈥, a set of core behaviours that define what it means to be a retail professional, Berquist and the L&D team saw an opportunity to do things differently.
鈥淲e wanted to bring some energy and life to these standards, especially for long-time associates who might have started to lose sight of them. So I asked the director how much fun he was willing to have with it.鈥
What followed was a high-energy campaign combining live in-store video interviews with associates, gamified quizzing and even customer point-of-view walkthroughs.
鈥淲e shot from a customer鈥檚 view, holding the camera up and walking through the store to show the importance of the experience,鈥 he said.
Associates were stopped in aisles with playful challenges, such as defining internal acronyms for a chance to earn reward points. Berquist said it was one of the most unique things the L&D team had ever done.
鈥淪eeing our people engaged, seeing that excitement build, that鈥檚 what made it special,鈥 Berquist said.
鈥淪eeing our people engaged, seeing that excitement build, that鈥檚 what made it special.鈥
Jeffrey Berquist, Learning & Development Manager at Heinen鈥檚 Grocery Store
Results
Creating learning opportunities through
better communication
Since introducing 91看片网 Communications alongside 91看片网 Learn, Heinen鈥檚 has seen a clear shift in how the platform is used and the value it delivers. 91看片网 Communications has now surpassed 91看片网 Learn as the primary driver of logins, with frontline associates engaging more frequently and enthusiastically than ever before.
鈥淎dding Communication has benefited the 91看片网 Learning side as well, because people are naturally getting into the platform more. That has opened the doors to them seeing some of the other features that are available,鈥 he said.
The shift hasn鈥檛 just helped associates. It鈥檚 fundamentally changed how the Learning & Development team partners with internal stakeholders. What used to be a limited toolbox has evolved into a flexible, end-to-end solution.
鈥淣ow we鈥檙e able to provide a complete solution to stakeholders for their projects. We can walk them through multiple options and build out a full project plan that truly meets their needs,鈥 Berquist said.
Unlocking real connection
and results
What started as a tool for pushing out updates has become a platform for genuine connection, frontline empowerment and business agility. And the feedback? Resoundingly positive.
鈥淭he response that we鈥檝e gotten has been powerful. It鈥檚 opened up so many more doors to how we can set our people up for success. People need information in order to be successful at what they do, and this is giving us a direct line to them,鈥 Berquist said.