Case studies

Culina employee engagement levels at 80% since partnering with Personal Group

Culina Group, a subsidiary of the Müller Group, is a food and drink third-party logistics (3PL) specialist offering supply chain support to FMCG manufacturers across the UK and Europe. It is headquartered in Market Drayton and employs around 10,000 people, across 65 depots. Its vast but well-connected infrastructure enables Culina to make around two million deliveries a year. Culina’s employees work from an array of worksites, from small to large depots, and out on the road.

Employer of choice

One of the biggest challenges Culina faces is high levels of staff turnover. Operating in an ultra-competitive landscape, and in a tight labour market, the company decided that positioning itself as an “employer of choice” would help to attract new staff, and ensure existing staff felt appreciated and provided for beyond just a pay packet.

As part of its drive to make Culina a great place to work, the business wanted to invest in an employee benefits offering and provide its workforce with a wide range of value-adding benefits.

Before Personal Group came onboard, Culina did not have an employee benefits programme in place. We were the first employee benefits provider that Culina worked with. Our technical team worked closely with the company’s HR team to gain a deeper understanding of how the Culina workforce operates. The majority of Culina’s employees do not work at a desk or have access to computers. Accessibility, flexibility and versatility were the focus areas.

Upskilling staff with digital skills

Within a matter of weeks, the Hapi platform was ready to be rolled out. We worked closely with the shift managers to launch the platform, providing posters to inform staff of the benefits available to them. We also went into the depots to meet with the employees face to face and show them how to use their new app, which has been very successful amongst workers who weren’t accustomed to using apps.

Amy Thomas, HR administration and systems team leader at Culina Group, said: “Personal Group has supported our staff, helping them to upskill digitally. Often our shift leaders are tight on time, so having Personal Group host workshops on site and teach existing and new staff how to download and use the app has been extremely helpful. In just four months, around fifty per cent of our staff are active on the Hapi app.”

“Since partnering with Personal Group, we have added significant value to employees’ lives without adding a huge cost to the business. The Hapi app has also been a big driver of attracting new talent. Few 3PL businesses offer employees much beyond what they must. We now have a very attractive employee benefits offering thanks to Personal Group. Employees love having the Hapi app in their pocket and the fact that they can access all of the benefits outside of work.”

As of July 2019, 99% of Culina Group employees agree that the organisation’s benefits package has improved, with staff spending over £600,000 on the available retail discounts since the platform launched.

The future and beyond

Currently, over 7000 Culina employees have a Hapi app account, which equates to 80 percent of the workforce. The Hapi app enables staff to access their core benefits, such as a workplace pension, life assurance and a bonus scheme, as well as employee discounts and an employee assistance programme (EAP).

Employees are also able to access Culina Group’s employee reward and recognition perks, such as loyalty awards, employee of the month / year acknowledgements and special achievement awards.

Culina and Personal Group continue to work together as partners to ensure all employees are getting the most mileage out of all the benefits available to them. Culina employees can now add their partners to the Hapi app meaning they will also have access to the benefits.