Outside the box engagement with Whirlpool Corporation

5 Ways an Omni-Channel Approach Helps You Connect with Employees

How can a company with tens of thousands of workers worldwide create a transparent, connected culture?

That was the question Whirlpool Corporation was trying to answer with a global workforce of 92,000. They found that the solution was opening lines of communication from the top down and from the bottom up. To achieve that, business leaders needed to take the lead, starting with the CEO.  

We sat down with Whirlpool Corporation’s Kathy Craig, senior manager of corporate reputation, Angie Seger, director of corporate communications, and Emily Kirchner, manager of NAR communications, to learn how the company improved the employee experience, got leadership involved, and created a positive change in mindset across the business. They’ll share all the details in our new on-demand webinar, including: 

• How this transformation fostered an environment of experimentation, leading to innovative content ideas like using the company app to help deliver an interactive employee experience.
• How CEO Marc Bitzer aligned employees company-wide with Whirlpool’s initiatives by starting his own content channel and using authentic, approachable messaging. 
• Why it takes an omni-channel approach to effectively reach and engage all employees from the manufacturing floor to corporate headquarters. 
• What kind of ROI the organization achieved by improving internal communications and making their company culture more transparent.

Apply the learnings of this global enterprise to your organization. Enter your info on the right.

Speakers:

Kathy Craig

Sr. Manager of Corporate Reputation, Whirlpool Corporation

Kathy Craig thrives in the midst of multiple projects, new ideas, clear and concise communications, and particularly, really great design. Educated and trained in visual communications, most of her career spanned art director and creative director roles leading award-winning teams for both ad agencies and corporate marketing. She joined Whirlpool Corp in 2010, and led the creative team for KitchenAid Small Appliances in the genesis of videos, television spots, packaging, collateral, environmental graphics, recipe development, brand identity and interactive design. In 2015 she moved from the brand to corporate comms, and currently leads interactive communications as Sr Manager of Corporate Reputation with Whirlpool Corporation’s global communications. Her agile team is adept at content creation, the corporate web presence, and manages the people-centric technologies that engage [what had been] a decentralized global workforce. She’s also skilled at coaxing everyone out of the office for an occasional “exhale afternoon” to get offsite for inspiration, motivation, laugh a little harder, longer and deeper…leaving room for new creativity and genius to move in.

Emily Kirchner 

Manager of NAR Communications, Whirlpool Corporation

Emily Kirchner is manager of communications for the North American Region (NAR) for Whirlpool Corporation, where she specializes in immersive and experiential communications. Emily has redefined strategic deployment of the company’s key priorities by integrating her unique theatrical background with traditional business communications. These unconventional activations have led to a significant increase in employee engagement and awareness of their role in driving business results. She is co-lead of the corporation’s employee advocacy efforts and embedded with the Continuous Improvement team. Outside of Whirlpool Corp., she is Public Image Chair for the Rotary Club of St. Joseph-Benton Harbor, managing all aspects of internal and external communications for the club and was named their “Rotary Hero” for the 2017-2018 year.

Angie Seger

Director, Communications – Whirlpool

Angie leads employee communications for Whirlpool Corporation’s North America Region and CEO Marc Bitzer. She spent 10 years in consumer marketing for the company’s flagship Whirlpool brand before joining the global corporate comms team in 2012. Prior to her career at Whirlpool, Angie gained experiences in television broadcasting, advertising, writing, and business to business marketing. Her favorite parts of her current role include the freedom to be creative/unconventional and working with a great team! Outside of work, she volunteers in the community and is in the process of starting up a new bed & breakfast with her husband in Baroda, MI.

Nicole Alvino

Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer, SocialChorus

Nicole is our chief strategy officer and works with executives across our customer base to ensure we are powering communications transformation with true business results. Prior to founding SocialChorus, she was the Founder and CEO of Dermalounge and a pioneer in using new technologies to engage and empower employees before it was a Gartner Quadrant. Nicole started her career in structured finance and corporate development at Enron and Asurion. She has a BS from Vanderbilt University in Economics and Japanese and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.