5. Setting the Scene
• New leadership
• Historic anniversary
• Changing workforce
• Opportunities for engagement
6. Setting the Scene
• New leadership
• Historic anniversary
• Changing workforce
• Opportunities for engagement
So how did we improve engagement?
1. Creating a highly personalized recognition program
2. Changing perceptions of Port careers through employee
stories
3. Modernizing communication touchpoints with employees
18. PROPS Results
Launch
• Goal: 80% participation within 30 days
• Actual: 88% participation in two weeks
• 463 employees received the activation bonus
Today
• 98% account activation
• 86% active in last 30 days
• Typical employee: Given 9 recognitions, received 14
recognitions
• Recognitions per day: 69
• Recognitions per week: 479
Regional government agency - operations impact the entire Pacific Northwest
Key customers = private sector shipping lines, railroads and airlines
96% of revenue from business transactionsSuccess depends on ability to attract and retain customers locally, nationally and internationally
3 airports, 4 marine terminals, 5 industrial parks
Range from Dredge Oregon out on Columbia to Travel + Leisure Best Airport in America = PDX
More than ½ of us in our ultra-modern, LEED Platinum HQ
Nearly 800 employees, both represented and admin
24/7 operation
Maintenance, fire fighters, police, landscapers, air quality specialists, planners, engineers, wildlife technicians, you name it
New HR Director (2/13)
New Deputy Executive Director (2/14)
New internal comms manager (1/15) – first time in IC after more than 15 years in media relations
Getting people and products where they need to go since 1891 -- 125th anniversary in 2016!
Old can also mean OLD
25% of all employees retiring in next 5 years
Opportunity to attract next generation of Port employees
Opportunity to engage our current employees as ambassadors to help spread the word
So how did we improve engagement?
We did the 3 things you see here.
You’ll hear about all of them, but
Let’s start with #1 – recognition program
Employee engagement survey (75% participation)
One of lowest scoring responses on the survey
“If I contribute to the organization's success, I know I will be recognized.”
Knew there was desire for more recognition
Old school low-tech way: Passport with stickers
Filled passport = limited Port branded rewards
So HR identified this…
Vendor (Achievers) and platform seen here
Very modern, social media focused, 100% online, mobile accessible
You can give and receive points with each recognition
Redeem for gift cards, ipads, great rewards
Internal comms role was to brand and launch the platform
To be a success, needed employee buy-in from throughout org
Focused on integrating employees at every opportunity
First opportunity for employees to engage
Help with picking program name
Assembled a core team of site champions from all areas of org
Employees who were well known and respected amongst their colleagues
Together we brainstormed names and narrowed down to four suggestions
Gave all employees chance to vote
ECHO – Based on the International Civil Aviation Organization alphabet. Aligns with our aviation business and fits with the social aspect of recognition that echoes throughout the organization.HAT TIP – As used to give credit; frequently spotted on Twitter.PROPS – Fits with our aviation and marine business (propeller) and represents recognition (giving props). Also could work as an acronym such as Peer Recognition Of Port Staff.#THX – Aligned with airport codes (ours is PDX); incorporates a hashtag as a way of saying thanks through social media.
** SHOW OF HANDS!!**
Solid guess – our employees picked PROPS too! (70%)
Runner up is #THX
Second opportunity to engage
Making site champions the stars of our promo campaign
Penina and Jason
Took photos of each champion with a blank sign
Rather than making assumptions about what type of recognition would be authentic
Champion could handwrite a relevant message for their own team
Display in their work area
Very relevant and personal
Renee -- Thanks for doing such a thorough job on those budget revisions!
Julia
Ryan
More generic options to use in common work areas
…we even placed some strategic signage in the hallway through which most employees enter the building
Since we know that everyone loves food
On launch day
Put PROPS drops (custom M&Ms) on every desk
And since the one thing that moves employees more than food is MONEY
$10 in PROPs points for those who signed up in the first few weeks
But ultimately, it was about the personal touch
All the employees seen here are our site champions
On launch day, we gave them custom buttons and balloons at desk
Easy to find if colleagues had questions
Set up computer stations in areas w/o desks; hot spot on dredge
App auto-installed on all Port iPhones
Single sign-on for easy access
How did it go?
Goal of 80% participation within 30 days
Surpassed with 88% in just two weeks
463 employees received the activation bonus
TODAY:
98% account activation. 86% active in last 30 days.
Typical employee has given 9 recognitions and received 14 recognitions.
Recognitions per day: 69
Recognitions per week: 479
Here’s what PROPS looks like today
I’ve accrued more than $300 worth of points in 9 months. Not too shabby!
Next project up for modernization and increased engagement: Our careers website!
No idea what year this was created, but looks to me like early-2000s
No information about working at the Port
No idea about the employee experience
Despite this, we still had literally 100s of applicants for every job
Goal was never to attract more
Instead, use career site as opportunity to influence perceptions of working at the Port
Showcase our many assets
HR Director gave idea of what she was looking for…
Apple
Google
Fellow Oregon company, Nike
How to get there?
Again, started by pulling together a group of employees for some brainstorming
Here’s the list of adjectives describing the Port that we came up with:
Passionate, Mission Driven, Purposeful
People, planet, purpose.
Global reach, local opportunity.
Consider current tagline:
Possibility in every direction.
Those ideas became this….
One of our mitigation sites
Server room
Airport
At the Port of Portland, the possibilities are endless. Fascinated by flight? Find your way to our airport. Excited about economic development? Find your way to our marine terminals. Engineers, environmentalists, marketers, accountants...if you’ve got the know how, we’ve got the job for you. Find your possibility at the Port of Portland.
BUT…
Generic – works for wide audience, but can’t make a personal human connection
Not unique – many of the original adjectives – Passionate, Mission Driven, Purposeful – could apply to any govt or non-profit
In my experience, we’re DIFFERENT
Showed you LEED platinum architect designed building
World class restaurants in the terminal
People who have amazing talents (brandy distiller, home brewer, marathon runner, mountain climber)
The type of work we do
So we proposed a second concept:
Meet our people
Understand what makes us special
So here’s what we imagined that might look like…
And here it is in practice…
Meet Shane, our foodpreneur, AKA senior manager of concessions development
We're not what you'd expect. When you think of airports, you don't usually think of world-class cuisine. But thanks to concessions expert Shane Andreasen, the best dishes in Portland have landed at the best airport in the United States. From Country Cat to Petite Provence, it's Shane's job to recruit restaurants that tempt travelers' taste buds and bring new possibilities to their palates. And that's just one of the many unexpected jobs you'll find at the Port of Portland.
As you might imagine, we went with this second concept.
Identifying rock stars (key departments, gender balance, age)
Q & A with each employee to better understand specifics of their job
Getting quirky with copy, titles
Meet Evelyn…
And Ray from IT
Our Digital Alchemists
Here’s Camela, our financial consultant…
And Mike, a financial analyst
Our Fiscalogists
Amy is one of our represented employees -- a baggage handling system technician – here’s her copy.
We’re not what you’d expect. If a baggage carousel has no luggage, does it still revolve? This isn’t rhetorical; it’s a real question that mechanical automation expert Amy Kidder had to address. While adding smarter motors and lightweight belts, Amy also helped find a way for continuously running carousels to “time out” when travelers’ bags aren’t present, dramatically increasing energy efficiency. And that’s just one of the many unexpected jobs you’ll find at the Port of Portland.
HINT: If you take a look, you’ll notice that all the copy has the same formula
A contradiction. A personal connection. A cool project.
There’s also Jay, an electrician lead
Who’s our power wrangler
And, of course, this is a careers site so we couldn’t forget Isata, our staffing specialist
Or Relationship Guru
COPIES AVAILABLE UP FRONT AFTER PRESENTATION
So how did this new imagery play out for our careers site?
Carousel on top of site
Also incorporated quotes and photos of employees throughout
Goal wasn’t more applications!!
Since launch in October:
26,000 unique visitors
Average: 4,000 views per month
Average user spends 5 minutes on the page
Employees:
It’s very engaging and gives a real feeling for what it’s like to work here and distinguishes the Port from the pack of government agencies.
It perfectly shows who we are and what we do to someone considering us for their career choice.
It’s like a “day in the life of Port employees” slideshow.
Biz Contacts:
I love how you used so many photographs and the quotes are a great touch.
It’s clear, it’s clean, it’s modern, it’s energetic. I love how you let the employees provide a lot of the text for you.
Prospective Employee:
I wasn't intending to leave my current employer, but happened upon the posting for a job at the Port while exploring another website. I was inspired to visit your careers page and ultimately felt compelled to apply.
Now that it was live, how to roll it out?
Encourage current employees to spread the word – best ambassadors
We’d engaged employees with the visuals
Now to engage everyone creatively
Started by encouraged employees to suggest their own titles
Emission Magician – Environmental specialist who studies air quality
Drainsurgeon - Plumber
Roadway Beauty Intensifier - Landscaper
Logomaniac – Graphic Designer
Roadblock Remover – Every single one of us
HR director selected four favorites that fit our broad range of employees
Asked employees to pick their personal favorite and ordered t-shirts accordingly
Really hard decision because everyone’s job has elements of each – inspired lots of discussion!
Police and Fire = Guardians…but also Front desk?
Maintenance = Fixologists…but also admins?
SHOW OF HANDS: Most popular title?
Almost twice the number of Fixologists! (Next is Guardians/Envisioneers)
*** About 350 ordered t-shirts
Hope was that when employees wear them, job titles inspire conversations/questions
Provide opportunity to educate others about the Port
Conveniently advertise careers website on the back
So we encouraged them to wear the tees as the site went live
But people didn’t just wear them for one day…
…people wear them frequently on Fridays.
…our HR team wears them at career fairs...
…many of us wore them on Go Red for Women Day.
And then, proving that we’re really NOT what you’d expect – or at least not what I expected – this happened…
…employees started sharing red tee photos from distant places…
Marcel (San Fran) and Dawn (Hawaii)
…while traveling abroad…
Michael in Guatemala
…in other states…
Ellen in Las Vegas
…or around Oregon…
Mike and Terry
…and my colleague Kenny wore his for a special delivery…
Now that we have the new site, I wanted to share a couple other ways that we’re pushing people to it.
Here’s how we’re promoting it on our website
Here’s how we’re using it on LinkedIn…
I include the red box with every job post and try to write a more personable job description.
A passion for creating stunning visual experiences. A love of collaborating with talented writers and designers. A desire to positively impact our region’s future with your professional skills and expertise. If you’ve got an eye for art and a head for business, you’ve got what it takes to be our brand manager.
I also share some of the ways our employees aren’t what you’d expect.
Two of our most popular posts:
On the left is Doug in his Relationship Guru tee, helping with ongoing earthquake relief recovery efforts in Japan.
On the right is Troy, who every year celebrates poet Robert Burns by hosting a “Burns Snack” at his desk.
Troy’s passion for history was also part of a feature series about the interesting things employees do outside of the office called “Beyond the Badge”
Additionally, our new employee Q&As include the question “Our careers website plays with the idea that “We're not what you'd expect.” What can you share about yourself that might surprise your coworkers?”
I also wanted to share a few ways that what started with the careers site is now starting to spread
as we modernize and add real photography to our tools
You’ve seen our existing intranet…
Here’s where we’re heading and how we’re trying to incorporate real employees…
We’ve never had our intranet accessible on mobile
But now we will…
Here’s our existing weekly employee newsletter…
And here’s the direction we’re going
You just saw our current website…
Here’s a look at where we’re heading next…
…and the mobile version…
…and the mobile version…
So, to recap, what has helped us make all of this happen?
FIRST Encourage leadership interest in new technology
If they’re not already interested, find aspirational examples to get them excited about possibilities
Many great ones right here at this conference
Use in-house talent – design and programming -- BUT ALSO brainstorming, creativity
Add polls, use surveys, ask questions – all of this can be done on the cheap
Engage employees to spread message to peers
Will ultimately increase buy-in by throughout process
And if an idea gains traction, keep it going!
I’ll leave you with one last way that we’re not what you’d expect
We have an in-house cartoonist, Blaise!