An employee culture change journey
With a strong heritage and history grounded in Mack Trucks, the Hagerstown site faced a unique identity crisis. How do you inspire pride and unify a diverse workforce of over 1,200 people across multiple organization (Group Trucks Technology, Group Trucks Operations, and Group Trucks Purchasing) producing for multiple different brands (Mack Trucks, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Bus, and Prevost Coaches) all under one shared site identity?
Key deliverables:
Brand Strategy, Video Production, Photography, Print and Digital Assets
Developing the strategy: it's all about people
Employee surveys revealed what mattered most to the Hagerstown workforce and their aspirations for community perception. These responses inspired the powerful, all-encompassing phrase "We are the heart and we keep the heart beating," reflecting how employees are vital to both product development and company culture. The campaign launched with a video and a t-shirt design featuring words drawn directly from the survey, which immediately boosted employee pride and allowed this initiative to grow organically into the site identity that continues to be felt today.
Introducing an external web presence
Using the We Are the Heart campaign as a starting point, Hagerstown became the first local production site to have a dedicated page under the volvogroup.com structure. The hierarchy of information was developed and the site was created to serve as an entry point and resource for employees, customer, the community, and potential hiring candidates. Previously, external customers and the community lacked any reference point to learn about the plant and its workforce. The employee story section is the top performing link on the site's landing page.
Show, don't tell (diversity)
Employee story teasers were shared on Instagram and Facebook, with each post linking back to the volvogroup.com/hagerstown page where readers could find the complete stories.
Plant visualization
Using the words from the initial employee survey responses, the We Are the Heart campaign appeared throughout the plant as poster decals installed on the engine and axle line AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles).
Promoting an environmental initiative
Partnering with the site's environmental team, I led an initiative to reduce single-use coffee cups by leveraging the existing momentum of the We Are the Heart campaign. By offering high-quality Yeti tumblers branded with the new site identity, this initiative successfully reduced waste by 3.6 tons per year.
Extending into the community
We Are the Heart quickly became a key community identifier, as seen in this example of an invitation sent to legislators, inviting them on-site to learn more about the plant, manufacturing in Maryland, and to experience the power first-hand by driving a Mack or Volvo Truck.
