after adding
Axonify Communications
Improving communication through learning at Heinen’s Grocery Stores
The Ohio-based grocery store chain is using Learning and Communication to
improve frontline service and satisfaction.
95%
participation rate
10.5
avg monthly sessions
per user following
Communications launch
2–3
logins per user
per week, even among
part-time staff
Challenges
The days of loudspeaker announcements like “clean up on aisle two” are distant history in today’s grocery stores. Timely, informative and two-way communication is critical to keeping frontline staff connected and ready to provide customers with great service.
Delivering that level of communication was top of mind for the leadership team of Heinen’s Grocery Stores. The family-owned grocery store chain operates over 20 stores across Ohio and Illinois, employing 3,500 full- and part-time associates.
Driving engagement and connectedness
Heinen’s had already implemented Axonify Learning to deliver microlearning content to its staff. Axonify Broadcast feature quickly became one of the most popular features of the platform across the chain’s stores. Jeffrey Berquist, Learning & Development Manager at Heinen’s Grocery Store, said they were becoming overwhelmed with requests to send out broadcast messages.
“When we were signing with Axonify, our rep told us to imagine the power of communicating to 3,500 people in an instant. That really resonated with us, but we underestimated how much people wanted it and how much we would use it,” Berquist said.
Discovering new opportunities to keep frontline staff
in the know
While Broadcast Messages were helping deliver just-in-time information to frontline teams, Berquist said they began to see more opportunities to improve in-store communication and across Heinen’s locations. One of those opportunities arose in Heinen’s annual associate survey, where “keeping well informed and up-to-date” consistently ranked high.
“We felt like we needed to leverage a greater tool to communicate to our people, so we decided to go with Axonify Communications,” he said.
Solution
With Axonify Learning already deployed across its stores, the Heinen team saw deploying Communication as a way to enhance communication and provide its frontline workers with another reason to sign in.
Berquist said many internal requests were less about learning and more about sharing information—the perfect use case for Axonify Communication.
“Sometimes creating a module isn’t the right way to go. Instead, you can just share information and your people can learn from that. Communication really answered that dilemma for us and just gave us another option on how to engage our people and help them learn,” Berquist said. Getting buy-in for the new tool wasn’t a hurdle.
“Heinen’s has a very people-oriented culture,” said Berquist. “Learning and development initiatives don’t usually face much resistance. If it’s going to help our people, it’s typically a quick yes.”
He added that the team only needed to present the idea to a few layers of leadership. “We took it to our senior leadership team and then to the executive team, and everyone saw it as a no-brainer. While Learning & Development owns the platform, everyone saw value that extended far beyond just learning.”
Creating learning opportunities through
better communication
Heinen’s frontline teams were already avid users of the platform, but Berquist said they were always looking for ways to boost adoption. The Broadcast feature and gamification were key drivers of engagement, and the addition of Communication added even more value.
“Whatever way you’re getting people into the platform, you’re allowing them to experience everything. We took the stance that it would only benefit Axonify Learning because you can learn through communication. It offered us a different avenue to get information out,” he said.
Revitalizing the “Diamond Standards”
When Heinen’s Director of Operations wanted to reinvigorate the company’s “Diamond Standards”, a set of core behaviours that define what it means to be a retail professional, Berquist and the L&D team saw an opportunity to do things differently.
“We wanted to bring some energy and life to these standards, especially for long-time associates who might have started to lose sight of them. So I asked the director how much fun he was willing to have with it.”
What followed was a high-energy campaign combining live in-store video interviews with associates, gamified quizzing and even customer point-of-view walkthroughs.
“We shot from a customer’s view, holding the camera up and walking through the store to show the importance of the experience,” he said.
Associates were stopped in aisles with playful challenges, such as defining internal acronyms for a chance to earn reward points. Berquist said it was one of the most unique things the L&D team had ever done.
“Seeing our people engaged, seeing that excitement build, that’s what made it special,” Berquist said.
“Seeing our people engaged, seeing that excitement build, that’s what made it special.”
Jeffrey Berquist, Learning & Development Manager at Heinen’s Grocery Store
Results
Creating learning opportunities through
better communication
Since introducing Axonify Communications alongside Axonify Learn, Heinen’s has seen a clear shift in how the platform is used and the value it delivers. Axonify Communications has now surpassed Axonify Learn as the primary driver of logins, with frontline associates engaging more frequently and enthusiastically than ever before.
“Adding Communication has benefited the Axonify Learning side as well, because people are naturally getting into the platform more. That has opened the doors to them seeing some of the other features that are available,” he said.
The shift hasn’t just helped associates. It’s fundamentally changed how the Learning & Development team partners with internal stakeholders. What used to be a limited toolbox has evolved into a flexible, end-to-end solution.
“Now we’re able to provide a complete solution to stakeholders for their projects. We can walk them through multiple options and build out a full project plan that truly meets their needs,” Berquist said.
Unlocking real connection
and results
What started as a tool for pushing out updates has become a platform for genuine connection, frontline empowerment and business agility. And the feedback? Resoundingly positive.
“The response that we’ve gotten has been powerful. It’s opened up so many more doors to how we can set our people up for success. People need information in order to be successful at what they do, and this is giving us a direct line to them,” Berquist said.