Econofoods employs more than 1,700 people and has been in the market for over 25 years. The company runs a growing network of retail stores and logistics operations across the Northern Cape and North West regions.
With a catalogue of 2,800+ product lines, the organization supports a wide retail, warehousing, logistics and production network that powers its reputation for consistency, value and service excellence.
With teams spread across retail, logistics and production environments, many not as easily reachable as desk-based teams, Econofoods needed a more accessible way to hear from everyone across locations.
Econofoods turned to CultureMonkey for a listening approach that could reach the entire workforce and deliver a meaningful engagement baseline.
Challenges: Insufficient foundational data to guide long-term engagement
Gaps in reaching frontline employees across roles
Many Econofoods employees work in roles that aren’t as easily reachable as desk-based teams. Leaders needed a way to ensure these frontline groups were equally included in listening efforts.
Absence of baseline data to guide engagement decisions
Econofoods had ongoing engagement efforts, but lacked a structured survey or measurement framework. Without a clear baseline, leaders did not have the data required to guide discussions, identify emerging trends, or plan targeted actions.
Solution: Making listening accessible, inclusive and insight-driven
To strengthen its approach to employee listening, Econofoods turned to CultureMonkey to build an inclusive, insight-driven engagement foundation. As a result, a clearer understanding of workforce experience was made possible.
Giving frontline employees a simple way to voice feedback
Econofoods was able to reach frontline employees through text messages, WhatsApp and QR Code surveys. With CultureMonkey’s omni-channel delivery, Econofoods ensured strong participation and gained better visibility into its workforce experience.
Creating a white labelled survey experience to build trust
In its first organisation-wide engagement initiative, Econofoods designed a survey experience that reflected its brand identity. The familiar, white labelled surveys built trust and helped employees participate with confidence.
Setting a clear, People Science–backed baseline for leaders
With support from CultureMonkey’s People Science team, Econofoods established a clear baseline for its future engagement efforts. Leaders were equipped with deeper insight into driver performance and emerging patterns, helping them plan targeted improvements.
Results Building confidence in organisation-wide listening
The first engagement cycle gave Econofoods a grounded view of employee engagement across roles and locations, revealing what was working well and where deeper focus would help strengthen the overall culture.
- Higher employee participation rate: More than 75% of employees took part in Econofoods’ first engagement survey, giving the organization a reliable dataset to understand sentiment across its workforce.
- Identified priorities for long-term action: Using CultureMonkey’s heatmap analytics across 13+ drivers, Econofoods identified Growth & Development and Social Connection as strong drivers, while rewards emerged as the key focus area.
- Gained deeper context from open-text feedback: CultureMonkey’s sentiment analysis helped surface the themes and emotions within 500+ text comments, giving Econofoods added depth and context behind employee feedback.
- Discovered high internal advocacy for the brand: Econofoods identified strong employee confidence in the brand’s quality and reputation, with a 9+ score for “How likely is it you would recommend Econofoods’ products or services to friends and family?”
CultureMonkey's support during the launch of our first company engagement survey at Econofoods was phenomenal. With their omni-channel reminders through WhatsApp and Text messages, we reached nearly 80% participation. The user friendly platform, detailed reporting and live dashboard empowered us to develop actionable strategies. - Esther Geldenhuys, People Operations, Econofoods