On-site promotions support “hard to reach” deskless workers in downloading the organization’s engagement platform
Shortly after adopting our Cooleaf engagement platform for their corporate employees, a manufacturer of kids’ beverages and snacks acquired a bottling plant. Understanding that deskless workers are a hard-to-reach demographic, brand leaders knew that their adoption rate hinged on a strong launch. Pre-launch trainings and on-site activations during workers’ shifts were critical to quick downloads, reinforcing leaders’ top goals for the platform: employee safety and productivity.
Positioning the platform as “something for everyone”
Leaders wanted the platform to create consistency across employee roles, corporate or factory floor, with emphasis on better engaging contract workers who staff the bottling plant’s three shifts. To be successful, it needed to reach:
- Managers who reinforce corporate goals, like safety behaviors, and rely on quick-access dashboards
- Bottling plant employees who don’t have access to their phones on the factory floor, and who are held accountable by output metrics, safety protocol adherence and time worked without incident
- Corporate employees who adopted the platform roughly a year prior but still benefit from the platform’s features, including team connections, celebrations and more
Platform considerations
Meeting all audiences’ needs meant not assuming that the platform features corporate staff loved would also resonate with plant workers. The team re-evaluated how workers were represented in the program’s award and recognition offerings, including peer recognition, employee and manager awards, milestones, celebrations and challenges. The check-in also gave program owners an opportunity to make sure the budget was being utilized to the fullest potential.
Launch preparation
For a successful launch at the bottling plant, personalized “teaser” strategies built platform awareness among managers and workers.
- Manager trainings: Leaders offered 2 virtual training sessions to plant managers. Trainers focused on how to use the platform, how to view team engagement via personalized manager dashboards and what types of recognition are the most impactful.
- Pop-up marketing: Branded “coming soon” flyers were delivered to program owners, who posted them in break rooms, around the plant grounds and other high-visibility areas.
Supporting launch day with all-day activations
Given the multiple shift rotations and dispersed workforce, a single kickoff event wouldn’t do, so ITA Group team members were on site all day to support three major launch day objectives.
- Meet face-to-face with employees from 3 shifts to help them download the app, complete registration and participate in a challenge in real-time.
- Understand site operations by touring the plant, leading to long-term program improvements.
- Collaborate with the Director of Manufacturing and the Safety Manager to establish safety and productivity awards that would prove ROI.
Launch (download) party
The HR Team transformed the headquarters' common area into a festive destination for employees to meet with ITA Group staff and receive support while downloading the platform’s mobile app. Decorated tables displayed branded hats as giveaway items while a photo booth and balloon arches caught employees’ attention on their way to or from work. HR leaders encouraged shift managers to bring their employees to the launch party during their shift.
A deskless workforce demanded hands-on launch support
Launch day started at 12 p.m. and continued until 9:15 p.m. to accommodate all three worker shifts, with staff present to support employee app downloads and platform demos, educate how to navigate them, and build excitement for the scavenger hunt.
Platform demos
Employees were shown a quick demo of the platform featuring the recognition tool, profile details and activities sections—their predicted “most-used” features. Employees then scanned a QR code to complete their single sign-on, while at the launch party.
Gamified scavenger hunt
Once in the platform’s app, employees who participated in the “scout & shout” scavenger hunt challenge were able to immediately earn enough points to redeem a $10 reward. This virtual challenge “walked” users through the platform and incentivized attending the launch party, if they hadn’t already, by posting a photo to the platform’s live feed.
Safety and production manager trainings
On-site staff facilitated strategy sessions with safety and production managers to identify high-impact areas where the platform could support key operational goals through enhanced recognition and engagement. These sessions helped align platform capabilities with measurable business outcomes.
Learnings from launch day
The hands-on approach to launch day contributed to:
- Increased platform adoption through personalized support and real-time feedback
- Earned employee buy-in by making the rollout feel collaborative rather than top-down
- Improved morale and visibility for deskless workers, who felt seen and valued
- Enhanced admin confidence in using the platform as a strategic tool, not just a technical solution
Week 1 post-launch results
67%
employee adoption (similar programs achieve 38% at 2 weeks)
31%
active employee participation (similar programs achieve 5.2% at 2 weeks)
275
points redeemed on average (similar programs achieve 4 points at 2 weeks)