Table of Contents
- Most innovative end user adoption program
- Most strategic digital employee experience program
- Aggregation of software adoption program
- Trailblazer in workplace AI program
The Stormies Digital Employee Experience (DEX) Awards celebrates the innovators and professionals who are reshaping how employees engage with technology. These awards spotlight the individuals and programs driving exceptional digital employee experiences in their organizations.
In this article, we’re highlighting the innovative digital employee experience programs recognized at this year’s Stormies award ceremony. Learn more about the excellent achievements of the professionals moving and shaking the Digital Employee Experience at the BrainStorm Stormies this year.
Most innovative end-user adoption programs of 2024
Having an end-user adoption strategy is crucial for successful software rollouts and adoption. In fact, a little over 60% of leaders found poor digital experiences contribute to employees turning in their resignations, according to a WalkMe digital adoption report. High adoption rates mean employees can fully utilize the technology available, making processes more efficient and enhancing overall business performance.
This year, we’re thrilled to spotlight three innovative end user adoption programs driving renewed success across their organizations. Let’s dive into the incredible efforts behind their success!
Ashley Moore – Northern Trust: Driving a multi-channel approach to end-user adoption
Ashley Moore’s forward-thinking approach to end user adoption at Northern Trust highly impressed the judges at the 2024 Stormies Digital Employee Experience awards. Ashley has pioneered a multi-channel strategy for enabling technology adoption, guiding the entire Digital Workplace through product deployments and transition.
Her program covers the full employee lifecycle—from onboarding to everyday interactions—ensuring that every stage of the journey is supported. Ashley introduced creative initiatives like the Digital Workplace Onboarding program, interactive "App-y hours," and ongoing educational resources such as the Tech it Out newsletter. This holistic approach has boosted product utilization and driven long-term software adoption at Northern Trust.
Debbie Burkey – Marathon Petroleum: Driving adoption across the nation
Debbie Burkey's commitment to end user adoption is apparent at Marathon Petroleum, where she uses BrainStorm to ensure employees are fully equipped to embrace digital tools. Debbie takes a hands-on approach, traveling to Marathon locations across the country to promote adoption resources.
She leads employees through personalized learning journeys, enrolling them in relevant courses and providing tailored support to ensure they succeed. Her passion and dedication have impacted hundreds of employees across their digital workplace journeys.
Fatimah Madha – Integra LifeSciences: Building confidence in digital security
At Integra, Fatimah has transformed how employees adopt healthy digital practices, starting from day one. She launched an onboarding experience focused on phishing best practices, which quickly became a hit. A remarkable 98% of new hires reported increased confidence in spotting phishing attacks, setting a strong foundation for security within the company.
Fatimah’s efforts didn’t stop there. She regularly reinforces best practices by following up on phishing campaigns with targeted QuickHelp content, ensuring ongoing engagement and improvement in digital security behaviors. We are excited to recognize her work in driving secure, confident technology use at Integra!
These leaders are redefining digital employee experiences, proving that a strategic approach to end user adoption can yield powerful results.
Most strategic digital employee experience programs of 2024
A well-crafted digital employee experience is more than simply giving employees access to new tools. It’s about ensuring they know how to use them effectively to drive productivity, collaboration, and job satisfaction. According to the Ivanti State of Digital Employee Experience report, a high-quality digital employee experience program positively impacts employee productivity 97%, employee satisfaction 96%, and employee retention by 90%.
We’re excited to share the most strategic digital employee experience programs highlighted at the Stormies DEX awards this year. These programs exemplify the power of creating a connected and empowered digital workplace.
Sue Wagner – Boston Scientific: Bridging IT and HR for a unified onboarding experience
Sue’s contributions to Boston Scientific have transformed the way employees experience technology. Starting in IT, Sue’s passion for training led her to create an innovative onboarding program in BrainStorm, seamlessly blending IT onboarding with career management. Sue's efforts have bridged gaps and increased communication between IT and HR, particularly around digital employee experience technology. Her coordination and scalable thinking proved to have global impact at Boston Scientific, showcasing her ability to envision how tools can enhance the digital employee experience. Sue's partnerships and forward-thinking approach have significantly advanced employee technology experiences.
Sarah Leska & Maddie Breedlove - Essendant: Reimagining learning with BrainStorm
Sarah and Maddie at Essendant took digital training to the next level by rethinking how employees engage with learning tools. Their strategic transition from Cornerstone to BrainStorm has revamped the company’s training experience, improving completion rates and creating a more user-friendly learning environment. By aggregating resources across departments, this duo has driven a more holistic and effective digital learning program at Essendant.
These leaders are proving the value of investing in a thoughtful and strategic digital employee experience. Their efforts are driving positive change across their organizations, making it clear that a strong digital employee experience is key to success in today’s workplace.
DEX programs breaking the mold to aggregate software adoption
With most companies, licensing 103 different software applications, training employees on work tools can be a monumental challenge. Aggregating software training resources is crucial for providing better adoption and streamlining end-user education. This approach not only simplifies the learning process but also strengthens partnerships between vendors and companies, driving seamless software adoption. Centralized platforms, like BrainStorm, make it easier to manage training across different tools, resulting in higher engagement, improved efficiency, and a more empowered workforce.
While aggregating software adoption resources into a centralized location is a new practice, these leaders have built programs at their organizations that have made a big impact on DEX programs at large. Let’s dive into their impactful work.
Anne Rommelfanger – JJ Keller: Centralizing software training for all
Anne has worked to create a better technology learning experience at JJ Keller. Anne has centralized technology resources for end-users on BrainStorm, making technology training at JJ Keller a more seamless experience.
Anne is always working to find new ways to centralize end user training and grow adoption at JJ Keller. Through Anne's strategic thinking, she has not only created better training experiences for employees at JJ Keller but has also improved the training experiences of thousands of other employees around the country.
Thurston Evans - American Express: Aggregating vendors on one platform
Thurston has demonstrated exceptional vision and dedication in aggregating software training for users at American Express. Thurston has advanced progress and centralized training resources, managing multiple applications with innovative thinking to provide the best training experience. Thurston's efforts to integrate BrainStorm with contacts at Movius, Mural, and Webex have significantly enhanced the training landscape. Not only has Thurston inspired software vendors to join this mission, but also motivated many peers to collaborate and contribute to this effort.
Trailblazing AI adoption in the workplace
In today’s tech-driven world, every CIO is focused on how AI can boost business productivity. For companies investing in workplace AI, it’s essential to show a clear return on that investment by driving successful user engagement and adoption.
At the Stormies DEX Awards, we proudly recognized Masco Corporation for their exceptional efforts in AI adoption within their organization.
Ryan Dolney- Masco Corporation: Driving AI adoption and value
In early 2024, Masco partnered with Microsoft to implement Copilot licenses, equipping their workforce with cutting-edge generative AI tools. Ryan Dolney and the Masco team also collaborated with BrainStorm to deploy Microsoft 365 Core and Copilot training packs to boost Copilot adoption. Ryan’s strategic approach engaged users and increased awareness, leading to higher engagement and usage of Copilot among employees. We celebrate Ryan and the Masco team for their trailblazing work in driving AI adoption and making a lasting impact.
If you’re influencing your organization’s digital employee experience, consider highlighting your impact by applying for a Stormies award. The Stormies Digital Employee Experience Awards are a chance to celebrate the groundbreaking work happening in your workplace. Start planning for next year and take your place among these incredible innovators!
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