Case Study: Economical Insurance builds a consistent culture of recognition and boosts engagement with O.C. Tanner

How do you consistently grow a culture of recognition across multiple locations

Economical Insurance, one of Canada’s largest property and casualty insurers founded in 1871, operates 2,300 employees across 17 locations and serves more than one million customers. During a 2010 rebrand and demutualization effort leadership identified recognition as a key driver of engagement, but existing practices varied widely by department and site—leaders needed an easier, consistent way to recognize employees plus tracking, reporting and training to understand impact.

Economical partnered with O.C. Tanner to build a customized recognition platform and supported the launch with eLearning for 400 leaders and ongoing communications. Since the program began in late 2011 there have been more than 11,000 eThanks and 400+ awards; the recognition driver rose 7 percentage points and overall engagement grew 3 points. Quarterly metrics and published utilization stats helped sustain the program and provided insight into performance and talent trends.

Economical Insurance

Lianne Buchanan

Manager, Employee Rewards