CADC — Multi-Site Recognition Transformation

CADC Summary — Multi-Site Recognition Transformation

CADC, a 326-employee human services nonprofit spanning 25 locations across 12 counties in central Arkansas, had no visibility into team dynamics and no systematic way to recognize contributions across their dispersed workforce. After implementing an 8-week Give River Season, CADC saw 4-9% improvements across all major culture metrics: connection to coworkers, cross-department support, feeling appreciated by managers, and organizational wellbeing support. The platform gave HR unprecedented visibility into which teams work well together through recognition patterns, while automating survey creation, training development, and reward deployment. Most tellingly, 85% of participants said they want to do another Season—proving the system created sustainable engagement rather than a short-lived initiative.

The Challenge

CADC faced the unique challenge of building culture and recognition across a geographically dispersed organization. With 25 locations spread across 12 counties in central Arkansas, their HR team struggled with:

Before Give River:

• Invisible teams: HR coordinator had never met most employees across the 25 sites
• No visibility into collaboration: Couldn’t see which teams were working well together
• Recognition gap: No systematic way to celebrate achievements across locations
• Implementation concerns: Worried about the time and resources needed to launch a recognition program

Key Pain Point: “With our organization spread across 25 sites serving 12 counties in central Arkansas, I had never really known the people. I couldn’t see who was working well together or what was happening in the field.”

The Solution

Timeline:

• First Contact: Early June 2025
• Decision Made: July 2025
• Pre-Survey: July 13-20, 2025 (30% participation - their highest ever)
• Season Duration: July 14 - September 12, 2025 (8 weeks)
• Post-Survey: Ended September 19, 2025

Implementation:Give River handled the heavy lifting, saving CADC’s HR team significant time:

• Automated pre and post-survey creation
• Email template assistance and weekly challenge development
• River Guide reminders to deploy weekly challenges
• Pre-built training content (River Runs)
• Automated reward deployment system

Give River Features Used:

• Peer-to-peer shout-outs tied to organizational values
• River Runs (micro-learning modules)
• Pre and post-engagement surveys
• Real-time polls
• Recognition dashboard

The Results

Adoption & Engagement:

• 44% participation rate across 326 employees in 25 locations
• 970 drops earned (platform currency for recognition)
• 227 River Runs enrolled with 142 completed (66% completion rate)
• 30% pre-survey participation — the highest CADC had ever achieved
• Platform described as “user-friendly and intuitive”
• Employees enthusiastically engaged with gift card rewards

Measurable Culture Improvements (Pre to Post-Survey):

📈 Feeling isolation/overwhelm less often — Improved by 9%

📈 Connection to coworkers — UP by 8%

📈 Cross-department support (was pre-survey’s lowest metric) — UP by 8%

📈 CADC recognizes and supports my wellbeing — UP almost 6%

📈 Handling stress well — UP 4%

📈 Feeling appreciated by your manager — UP 7%

📈 Connection to the mission (was already the highest metric) — Maintained high average with fewer negative responses

Cultural Transformation:✅ Connection across sites: HR now sees which teams work well together through shout-out patterns

✅ Authentic recognition: Examples include an employee posting about their supervisor and a call center team welcoming a new member

✅ Love spreading: Recognition became contagious across all 25 locations

✅ Culture shift: More positive, supportive environment focused on wellbeing

Time & Resource Savings:✅ Survey creation: Saved time not having to write pre and post surveys

✅ Content development: No need to create training materials (River Runs provided)

✅ Communication support: Help with email writing and weekly challenge creation

✅ Automated reminders: River Guide provided weekly prompts

✅ Reward deployment: Automated system eliminated manual work

Future Commitment:✅ 85% said they would do another Season

Client Testimonials

CADC Leah Sturm, Human Resources Coordinator (HR admin)

“Give River was such a blessing to us — it saved time and made rolling out our recognition program effortless. With our organization spread across 25 sites, I never really knew the people. Through Give River shout-outs, I can now see who’s working well together and feel more connected to the teams. I love seeing the appreciation spread around. It’s truly shifting our culture to be more positive and supportive of everyone’s wellbeing.”

Key Takeaways

Best for organizations that:

• Operate across multiple locations or remote teams
• Need visibility into cross-team dynamics
• Want quick implementation without HR overwhelm
• Seek authentic peer-to-peer recognition
• Need turnkey solutions including surveys and learning content

Timeline to results: 8 weeks

Participation rate: 44% across 326 employees in 25 locations

Survey participation: 30% (organization record)

Key improvements: 4-9% increases across all major culture metrics

Future interest: 85% want to do another Season