Caesars Entertainment Corp. Uses Mobile App to Communicate with 50k Employees that Don't Have Corporate Email Addresses
Caesars Entertainment Corporation is focused on building loyalty and value with its guests through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technological leadership. The company manages, operates, and provides services to more than 50 properties in the United States. The brand portfolio includes Horseshoe, Harrahs, Flamingo and more. Within these brands, there are iconic entertainment venues, restaurants that include celebrity chefs, and various hotel attractions. Within the United States and on three continents, each property has its own culture, management structure, and communications challenges.
The Company has nearly 58,000 employees, and approximately 50,000 of them do not have corporate email addresses. The Company has a diverse workforce (from supervisors to food service professionals; from table games dealers to parking and valet attendants) – the vast majority of which do not sit behind a desk with access to a computer or email. Nevertheless, employees need to access information easily and in a way that is convenient. Given the nature of its workforce, Caesars sought to find a way to simultaneously and instantaneously communicate with its employees. However, it was important that the company be able to target its communications to its different employee audiences. For example, the Company needed to be able to provide management information to its supervisors in order to engage with their direct reports and provide top of mind information. At the same time, supervisors and communications professionals need to make sure that employees were not inundated with irrelevant information.
In the spring of 2014, Caesars launched theEMPLOYEEapp, which it branded as CaesarsToday. In doing so, it implemented a property by property deployment. CaesarsToday allows the Company to accomplish the following:
Privacy and security. Only authorized Caesars employees have access to the app. When an employee leaves the company or changes roles within the company, the individual’s information aligns with his or her new role or departure. Those no longer employed by the company are no longer able to access the app and its content. Because many of the Company’s employees do not have corporate email addresses, theEMPLOYEEapp offers a cost-effective solution to provide information directly to employee’s smartphones. Until now, important information had to be posted “back of house” or made available via websites and 1-800 numbers.
Unified Communication. With many brands and locations, theEMPLOYEEapp allows employees to be able to “hear” from corporate management while still receiving localized information relevant to their personal employment and hotel property.
Targeted Communication. Through an organized content folder structure co-developed by Caesars and theEMPLOYEEapp, employees have access to daily and important information specific to their particular job functions and location.
Robust analytics. Caesars uses its employee app to provide employees with easy access to information such as schedules, HR manuals, paychecks and messages from management. Through the analytics platform contained in theEMPLOYEEapp content management system (CMS), Caesars can determine how its app is being utilized as well as what content drives the most engagement. Interestingly, the Company determined through the analytics that the timing of publication of certain information together with payroll or schedules increased the likelihood that other corporate content reached the employees.
Increased Engagement between Employees, Supervisors and the Company. theEMPLOYEEapp CMS allows Caesars to create different groups of employees and to distribute specific and targeted information to each employee classification. An example of Caesars taking advantage of the group functionality can be seen by valet supervisors being able to send push notifications to the home screen of their team regarding parking alerts or large events at the property. This information, which is specific to parking attendants and not relevant other employee groups, like housekeepers, is only delivered to the parking attendants’ apps.
Real Time Communication. theEMPLOYEEapp provides for the instantaneous dissemination of information that HR professionals and supervisors alike can easily upload and send out to their employees.
Alerts. Because CaesarsToday is a native app and not a responsive website, employees have the option to receive push notifications/text alerts that appear on the home screen of their mobile device when new content is added. theEMPLOYEEapp also has a broadcast alert function that is helpful if there is a critical message, emergency or fast approaching health/wellness deadline.
"Caesars Entertainment sought a communications platform that would effectively reach our diverse workforce across all properties, enterprise-wide," said Carolyn Wheeler, director of internal communications for Caesars Entertainment. "Since launching the CaesarsToday app in 2014, we’ve been able to unify our tens of thousands of employees and increase engagement between our corporate team and our valued team members at each property.
"The CaesarsToday app has changed the way we communicate and engage with our workforce through targeted, real time communication," she continued. "It has provided us with better control over how, what and when we communicate to our team members. Moreover, it has made our employees feel more connected to our organization which gives them a higher sense of value. In turn, these feelings have translated into a higher quality of service to our guests."
The Company has nearly 58,000 employees, and approximately 50,000 of them do not have corporate email addresses. The Company has a diverse workforce (from supervisors to food service professionals; from table games dealers to parking and valet attendants) – the vast majority of which do not sit behind a desk with access to a computer or email. Nevertheless, employees need to access information easily and in a way that is convenient. Given the nature of its workforce, Caesars sought to find a way to simultaneously and instantaneously communicate with its employees. However, it was important that the company be able to target its communications to its different employee audiences. For example, the Company needed to be able to provide management information to its supervisors in order to engage with their direct reports and provide top of mind information. At the same time, supervisors and communications professionals need to make sure that employees were not inundated with irrelevant information.
In the spring of 2014, Caesars launched theEMPLOYEEapp, which it branded as CaesarsToday. In doing so, it implemented a property by property deployment. CaesarsToday allows the Company to accomplish the following:
Privacy and security. Only authorized Caesars employees have access to the app. When an employee leaves the company or changes roles within the company, the individual’s information aligns with his or her new role or departure. Those no longer employed by the company are no longer able to access the app and its content. Because many of the Company’s employees do not have corporate email addresses, theEMPLOYEEapp offers a cost-effective solution to provide information directly to employee’s smartphones. Until now, important information had to be posted “back of house” or made available via websites and 1-800 numbers.
Unified Communication. With many brands and locations, theEMPLOYEEapp allows employees to be able to “hear” from corporate management while still receiving localized information relevant to their personal employment and hotel property.
Targeted Communication. Through an organized content folder structure co-developed by Caesars and theEMPLOYEEapp, employees have access to daily and important information specific to their particular job functions and location.
Robust analytics. Caesars uses its employee app to provide employees with easy access to information such as schedules, HR manuals, paychecks and messages from management. Through the analytics platform contained in theEMPLOYEEapp content management system (CMS), Caesars can determine how its app is being utilized as well as what content drives the most engagement. Interestingly, the Company determined through the analytics that the timing of publication of certain information together with payroll or schedules increased the likelihood that other corporate content reached the employees.
Increased Engagement between Employees, Supervisors and the Company. theEMPLOYEEapp CMS allows Caesars to create different groups of employees and to distribute specific and targeted information to each employee classification. An example of Caesars taking advantage of the group functionality can be seen by valet supervisors being able to send push notifications to the home screen of their team regarding parking alerts or large events at the property. This information, which is specific to parking attendants and not relevant other employee groups, like housekeepers, is only delivered to the parking attendants’ apps.
Real Time Communication. theEMPLOYEEapp provides for the instantaneous dissemination of information that HR professionals and supervisors alike can easily upload and send out to their employees.
Alerts. Because CaesarsToday is a native app and not a responsive website, employees have the option to receive push notifications/text alerts that appear on the home screen of their mobile device when new content is added. theEMPLOYEEapp also has a broadcast alert function that is helpful if there is a critical message, emergency or fast approaching health/wellness deadline.
"Caesars Entertainment sought a communications platform that would effectively reach our diverse workforce across all properties, enterprise-wide," said Carolyn Wheeler, director of internal communications for Caesars Entertainment. "Since launching the CaesarsToday app in 2014, we’ve been able to unify our tens of thousands of employees and increase engagement between our corporate team and our valued team members at each property.
"The CaesarsToday app has changed the way we communicate and engage with our workforce through targeted, real time communication," she continued. "It has provided us with better control over how, what and when we communicate to our team members. Moreover, it has made our employees feel more connected to our organization which gives them a higher sense of value. In turn, these feelings have translated into a higher quality of service to our guests."