How Grill’d Boosted Frontline Engagement to 97% with Workvivo
Grill’d transitioned from a fragmented digital experience to a unified, brand-led culture, achieving 97% engagement and bringing their iconic in-person rituals to life for a nationwide frontline workforce.
97%
engagement rate within the first month
95%
average monthly engagement maintained post-launch
100%
average engagement on leadership video content
For Grill’d, the Australian-owned burger chain dedicated to "changing the burger game for the better," the challenge wasn't just about communication.
With over 170 restaurants and a workforce that is predominantly frontline-based, the company struggled with a fragmented digital experience. While they had previously used Workplace by Meta, there was a stark disconnection between the vibrant, high-energy culture and their internal communications platform.
Important company-wide updates were getting lost and restaurant team communication was split between two apps. When Meta announced it was sunsetting Workplace, Grill’d saw an opportunity to do more than just migrate data – they wanted to elevate their entire employee experience.
“The business case wrote itself,” says Emma Bolger, Internal Communications & Engagement Manager at Grill’d. The goal was clear: find a platform that could create a consistent brand experience, unite the team as one, and ensure critical updates achieved the "cut-through and impact" they lacked.
People
6,000
Industry
Food & Beverage / Retail
Location
Australia
Org Size
Enterprise
To get that level of engagement and consistently... is something I didn't expect.
Emma Bolger
Internal Communications & Engagement Manager at Grill’d
Choosing a platform that matched the culture
Grill’d chose Workvivo because it offered a seamless transition and out-of-the-box setup that didn't require building architecture from scratch, allowing for a cost-neutral solution that prioritized employee experience. The implementation focused on bringing "rituals and moments that matter" into the digital space, including customized badges and recognition tools like "Greenshoots" (the Grill'd version of Workvivo’s Shoutouts feature).
“We weren't going to compromise on our team's experience,” Bolger explains. This commitment led Grill’d to extend their project timeline, ensuring the platform had 12 months of previous communications and content migrated over from Workplace, while also perfectly aligning with the Grill’d brand experience – look, feel, and tone – before the approximately 6,000-strong workforce logged in.
Turning engagement into something everyone felt
The launch was strategically timed to coincide with in-person restaurant leadership meetings and was supported by a champion group of leaders and subject matter experts across the company. The impact was immediate and record-breaking. Grill’d achieved an 83% activation rate and 97% engagement rate within the first month.
Workvivo has transformed how Grill'd's frontline workers communicate. Instead of jumping between separate apps for chat and company updates, everything now lives in one mobile-first interface. This integration, alongside the platform’s structure, minimizes communication silos. Whether a team member is flipping burgers in a restaurant or sitting in Support Office, they are now part of the same conversation, viewing company-wide updates and celebrating the wins as one.
The most striking result has been the "cut-through" of video communications. On Workvivo, videos featuring Executive Leaders and other internal team members average 100% engagement, a massive leap from the single-digit engagement seen on general text-based posts.
Workvivo’s Journeys feature has also proven to be a valuable tool in driving education and engagement. During the high-profile Oscar Piastri x Grill’d: Hunger for More campaign, 10% of the entire company completed the educational journey within the first 24 hours.
A valuable tool in driving awareness, facilitating a consistent brand experience and ensuring content cut-through is the Billboards feature. Grill’d uses Billboards to drive awareness of key strategic initiatives, such as campaigns, their reward and recognition program, engagement surveys, and events.
The numbers tell a story of a platform that people don’t just use, but one they own. “To get that level of engagement and consistently maintain it is something I didn’t expect,” Bolger notes. The platform has successfully captured the "human moments" that define the brand, including "Greenshoot Shoutouts", photos of team promotions, and community engagement through their famous Local Matters program.
Building a culture that sticks beyond the screen
Looking ahead, Workvivo is now deeply embedded in Grill'd's communication strategy. The 3% YOY increase in overall employee engagement, measured through Pulse Surveys, is a direct testament to the platform's role in fostering a culture of collaboration and development.
By bringing in-person experiences to life online, Grill’d has ensured that their purpose to "positively impact the lives of their people and their communities through engagement, education, and energy" is felt by every employee, every day. As they continue to expand, Workvivo remains the central hub where the Grill’d team stays connected, recognized, and inspired.