BACKGROUND

Jacobs is a global engineering firm with more than 20,000 employees worldwide. For almost 10 years, it has been named one of the world’s most ethical companies by the Ethisphere Institute and a best company to work for. Employee and industry engagement is a major focus for Jacobs. Westmeath works with the corporate communications team on a number of internal and external projects.

CHALLENGE

During a major transition from a legacy performance management system to Oracle’s Taleo, Westmeath partnered with Jacobs. The human resources and communications departments set an ambitious goal of 50% global adoption of the new tool within 30 days of the launch and 80% adoption within 90 days.

SOLUTION

To drive adoption of the performance management system, Westmeath designed an innovative employee engagement campaign called MyJourney. Each employee was given a passport booklet with stamps, which served to remind the employee to elicit feedback from colleagues all year long. In addition to the physical device, Westmeath created a humorous intranet campaign that reminded employees of the new tool. The overall program also reinforced Jacobs’ business priorities.

RESULTS

Employee adoption of the new performance management system was immediate. Employees embraced the passport device and responded positively to the intranet campaign. They were trained, set and revised performance goals, initiated feedback, updated their profiles and completed their annual reviews. The company ultimately achieved universal engagement.