The challenge
A rewards program that was slowing HR down and leaving employees underwhelmed
Brenntag's employee rewards program covered performance awards, milestone recognitions, and a range of engagement activities. But the execution relied entirely on manual processes, with bank gift cards physically procured, distributed, and tracked by the HR team.
An internal assessment made the gaps clear: employees felt recognition was opaque and infrequent, reward choices were uninspiring, and HR was spending disproportionate time on administrative tasks rather than meaningful engagement.
- No transparency in recognition, employees had little visibility into how awards were decided or who was being recognised. Without a platform to surface these moments, recognition remained private and failed to build the culture of appreciation Brenntag intended.
- Unexciting, limited reward choices, bank gift cards were the default reward, practical but uninspiring. Employees showed little excitement around earning or redeeming them, reducing the emotional impact of the recognition itself.
- Manual procurement draining HR bandwidth, HR managed multiple reward programs across vendors, negotiating procurement and distribution for every award cycle. This left little time for strategic people initiatives and made accurate budgeting and reporting a persistent challenge.
- Low social recognition frequency, without a shared space for peer appreciation, recognition stayed transactional. Colleagues rarely celebrated each other's wins publicly, limiting the sense of community and belonging that drives long-term engagement.
The solution
A cloud-native R&R platform that automated the work and amplified every recognition moment
After evaluating multiple solutions, Brenntag chose Empuls, an AWS Partner, for its intuitive UX, AI-led engagement approach, and comprehensive professional services support. The platform consolidated recognition, rewards, perks, surveys, and social intranet into a single, scalable system built on AWS infrastructure.
With workflow automation handling the end-to-end R&R cycle, HR was freed from manual tasks while employees gained a social, interactive platform where every achievement, big or small, became a shared moment.
- Automated recognition and reward workflows, Empuls automated awards and milestones end-to-end. Recognition triggers fired automatically, approvals were instant, and rewards reached employees on time, every time, without manual intervention from HR.
- Social intranet amplifying every achievement, a user-friendly web and mobile app let employees cheer, comment on, and celebrate recognitions as they happened. Even small wins became visible company-wide, reinforcing a culture where appreciation was public and continuous.
- AI nudges driving manager participation, AI prompts and nudges guided people managers to recognise team members at the right moments, reducing the recognition gap caused by busy schedules and ensuring no contribution went unnoticed.
- Professional services for ongoing optimisation, Empuls' Professional Services team worked alongside Brenntag to refine the program over time, sharing insights, adjusting reward structures, and ensuring sustained ROI as employee preferences evolved.
The results
More moments celebrated, less time spent, and a culture that shifted for good
92%
Platform adoption achieved within six months of launch
3x
Increase in social recognition among employees
80%
Reduction in HR time spent on administrative reward tasks
100%
On-time reward distribution across all award and milestone programs
Within six months of deploying Empuls, Brenntag saw measurable transformation across HR efficiency, employee adoption, and recognition culture. What began as an operational fix became a strategic advantage, giving HR real-time visibility and giving employees a recognition experience they actually used and valued.