Harnessing the power of machine learning

Phillips 66 utilized Engagement Boost, a feature of Firstup Orchestration that uses machine learning to enable intelligent content delivery. Rather than blasting a message to every employee at the same time, Engagement Boost intelligently serves notifications to each user based on a personalized formula that factors in their preferred format, as well as the time of the day or week they are most engaged.

For example, if an employee is already set to receive a number of updates on Monday, but none on Tuesday, Engagement Boost will hold fire on any non-critical updates until Tuesday, when the employee is more likely to open and engage with the message.

Phillips 66 saw impressive results after turning on the Engagement Boost function – engagement rates at some of their facilities doubled.

In a recent interview, Laurie Madden, Senior Advisor, Corporate Communications at Phillips 66 explained, “Our initial thinking was, ‘we need to send an email on Tuesday at 3 pm to everyone’. But when asked ‘why?’, I couldn’t come up with a good answer. It made me step back and re-evaluate my thought process around how we send communications. Is there a smarter way to share these?”

While some messages are critical or timely, many are not – “right now” isn’t always right. To avoid digital fatigue among employees, and increase engagement, it is crucial that internal communicators and HR leaders understand the difference.