Group photo with Tony the Tiger in his formal wear.
What our culture of recognition means to me and my team
This is my team visiting Kellogg’s Global Headquarters.
When I joined Kellogg just over three years ago, I already knew it was special place. I’d worked in sales for several consumer products companies in Latin America and was excited to lead the regional sales team for a large Kellogg customer. What I didn’t fully understand until I joined the company was our unique culture where we make it a priority to let our colleagues know they’re appreciated and valued.
We do this in multiple ways, two of which I’ve been fortunate to experience. First, our Achievers program encourages peer-to-peer and leader-to-employee recognition by allowing anyone to share positive feedback at any time. This recognition is visible to all employees on our global Achievers platform. Second, our annual W.K. Kellogg Values Awards recognize top teams from around our Kellogg world for exceptional business results that reflect our founder’s values.
2019 was quite a year for me and my team. For almost two years, we’d worked very hard to further strengthen our relationship with one of our most important customers. Together, we defined a three-year vision and were seeing the results. As my team and I were hard at work focused on the business, our colleagues were taking notice. I feel honored to have received about 10 Achievers recognitions that year, and my team received many more.
“It was so motivating to get the email messages that say, “You’ve been recognized.” I couldn’t wait to open them and read the comments.”
It was also nice to know that the Achievers platform automatically copied my manager on all the recognitions.
Then something even more extraordinary happened. Our team was nominated and celebrated as a W.K. Kellogg Values Award finalist in Latin America and, soon after, we learned that we’d received the global award, being one of four winners out of over 1,200 nominations! This meant we were all going to Kellogg Company’s Battle Creek, Michigan, headquarters.
This is what a "recognition" in Achievers looks like.
We were greeted by Tony the Tiger, enjoyed a dinner with company executives at Mr. Kellogg’s former home and a large celebration where a foods representing the international winner’s home countries were prepared. Throughout our entire experience, we were made to feel special, important and at home by our leaders and everyone at our headquarters. It was especially meaningful to have dinner with our Executive Committee and learn that they appreciated our hard work and wanted to understand how to best share our successes around the world.
What I learned from my time in Battle Creek is that it doesn’t matter where in the company you work. If you have a clear goal, the courage to follow through and believe in our brands, you can achieve your dreams. This is a lesson I try give my team as well. We talk all the time about their goals within and outside of the company, and I do my best to help them learn, grow and give them the recognition they deserve.
Here are some great pictures from the W.K. Kellogg Awards event!
Kellogg is so focused on its people. We want you to be who you are and will help you succeed. It’s a great place to work if you are open to challenges, willing to act with courage, and want to be part of an amazing team.
