Conga: Building Culture Through Connection

A global leader in Commercial Operations transformation, Conga is working to drive global commerce each and every day. With major hubs in San Mateo, California; Broomfield, Colorado; the U.K., India, and Australia, Conga’s more than 1,350 employees serve more than 11,000 customers around the world.

After joining two technology organizations into what is now Conga, the company needed to better align Conga’s values with its culture. That led to the creation of the Conga Way, a cultural cornerstone with three pillars: embracing an entrepreneurial spirit, achieving together, and championing the customer.

This case study explores how Conga partnered with Workhuman^® to launch an innovative reward and recognition solution that increases engagement, connects employees globally, and drives the company’s bottom line.

The challenge

The Conga Way was developed to unite people around shared values and foster a strong culture. “We knew the thoughtful use of rewards and recognition was going to be a key strategy to reinforce the Conga Way, and an important cornerstone of our engagement approach,” says Adrienne Alesandro, senior director of colleague engagement and leadership development.

Conga was looking for a global, social, and intuitive recognition platform that could build relationship capital and shine a light on the value of shared purpose.

In looking to up-level the existing program, Citizens had three guiding principles: to modernize the experience, to make the rewards more appealing, and to make recognition easier.

Ideally, a robust peer-to-peer recognition program would help differentiate Conga in highly competitive global talent markets.

In the past, recognition at Conga was ad hoc, consisting of one-off recognition moments that varied widely. Recognition was neither tracked nor socialized, so few people were aware of the great work being done outside their immediate teams. Knowing this, extensive analytics reporting was a must for the new solution.

After experiencing Workhuman recognition at a previous organization, and knowing several of Conga’s customers also use Workhuman, Adrienne was confident in the potential a well-funded, values- based program could have on colleague and customer satisfaction.

The solution

In partnership with Workhuman, Conga launched its first strategic, peer-to-peer recognition solution, Conga Stars. Conga chose Workhuman for a number of reasons, one of the most poignant being “the underlying philosophy of recognition and the understanding that workplace relationships are more than just transactional.”

In addition to recognition, Conga also introduced Workhuman’s Service Milestones^®, Life Events^®, and Community Celebrations^® to encourage Conganeers to celebrate all the moments that matter, not just the ones that happen at work. Colleagues from around the world are recognizing each other’s anniversaries, new babies, marriages, new homes, and more on the Conga Stars platform.

Conga Stars has been especially helpful connecting colleagues working from home due to the pandemic. “The platform and all the celebration moments – big and small – give us a sense of community that we’ve lost with not being able to go into offices as frequently, or at all,” Adrienne says. “It’s a way to connect with others that helps create the social fabric that is so integral to strong cultures.”

Now, Conga has a recognition solution that is easy to use and consistent across teams, departments, and countries. And with the help of Workhuman® iQ, Conga Stars gathers and analyzes real-time data that can be used to improve Conga’s people strategy. Another key feature of the solution is Award Advisor, a framework to help nominators choose the appropriate award level for specific scenarios, creating a more equitable peer-to- peer recognition experience.

The result

Even before launch, Conga’s leaders were working hard to ensure the recognition program would be a success. The project team trained employee ambassadors to support colleagues, managers attended live training sessions, and teasers were sent by Conga executives in the weeks leading up to launch.

To keep momentum going, a pulse survey was sent out one week into the program. The ability to recognize peers publicly, build connections with colleagues, and the added benefit of monetary rewards that can be redeemed for merchandise are just a few examples of positive feedback shared.

“With all of us working remotely, our natural means of connecting and building trust we’re missing. We desperately needed a way to feel seen and appreciated, and Conga Stars gives us a way to do that publicly,” says Ken Asher, senior director, security and compliance. “Conga Stars gives us a ‘public space’ where we can appreciate one another. Each time we use a gift, we’re reminded of the praise we received from colleagues who recognized our efforts and made it possible.”

The enthusiastic adoption of Conga Stars has not slowed following launch. Platform usage and reach has continuously increased, and employees are sharing their appreciation internally and via social media.

“The number of colleagues who’ve voluntarily posted about awards they receive, merchandise they purchase through Workhuman’s e-commerce store, or life events they’ve celebrated has been amazing,” Adrienne says. “It’s wonderful to see people promote Conga Stars unprompted. It really means something to them, and they want to share that experience with their networks and the world.”

How can we help your business?

Find out how Workhuman solutions can transform your business to create your own success story.
Reach out to us!