Case Study

Colac Otway Shire Council
Employee Engagement
In the Palm of Your Hand

How a regional council connected 360+ employees — from office to field — with real-time recognition, communication and values-driven culture.

Registration in Month 1

Employees Connected

Values-Linked Recognition

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The Challenge

Bridging the Gap Between
Office and Field

After conducting an extensive internal review with employee surveys, Colac Otway Shire Council identified several key pain points.

📡

Communication Disconnect

A significant gap in communication existed, particularly with field-based employees who didn't have easy access to emails or intranet systems.

🏆

Inconsistent Recognition

Employees felt that recognition wasn't happening regularly, and there was no system to highlight successes in a meaningful way.

🌱

Maintaining Culture

The Council needed a way to consistently reinforce its core values and behaviours across all levels, especially after launching their "What We Stand For" project.

💡

Keeping Values Alive

They needed a platform to keep organisational values top of mind for employees, translating them into everyday standards and daily actions.

The Solution

ShoutOut: One App to
Connect, Recognise & Engage

ShoutOut directly addressed every pain point Colac Otway identified — in a single mobile-first platform accessible to every employee.

Values Brought to Life

Seamless integration of core values and behaviours into the daily work environment. Through the ShoutOut Wall, employees recognise each other's contributions in real-time.

Organisation-Wide Connection

Peer-to-peer recognition helps employees acknowledge achievements and successes, fostering a stronger sense of connection regardless of physical location.

Improved Communication

Instant delivery of important information, company news, and career opportunities. Targeted content reaches specific employee groups — office or field.

Culture of Recognition

A quick three-step process for instant peer recognition. Automatic ShoutOuts for birthdays and work anniversaries ensure everyone feels valued.

Achievements & Badges

Turning Milestones Into
Moments of Pride

ShoutOut's Achieve module lets organisations award custom badges for key milestones, values alignment, and organisational achievements — making every win visible and celebrated.

ShoutOut Star

Recognised by peers for positive contribution

Milestone Maker

Celebrating service anniversaries

Team Player

Outstanding collaboration across teams

Culture Champion

Consistently lives the organisation's core values

Safety Captain

Promoting a safe and responsible workplace

Community Hero

Making a positive impact in the community

🎨

Fully Customisable

Design badges that match your brand, values and culture.

🎯

Goal-Linked

Tie every badge to organisational goals and behaviours.

📣

Achievements Wall

Amplify recognition — making wins visible org-wide.

🎁

Pair with eRewards

Combine badges with digital vouchers employees love.

The Results

Measurable Impact
From Day One

Within the first month, Colac Otway saw transformative engagement metrics across the entire organisation.

Employee Registration

Articles Published

Likes on Content

Real-time Reactions

Engagement Activity Breakdown

Key engagement metrics across the platform

Registration

81%

Values-linked

100%

Articles

875

Reactions

3,824

Recognition Distribution

How recognition is distributed across the platform

Peer Recognition (54%)

Milestone Celebrations (30%)

Leader Recognition (16%)

Engagement Growth Over Time

Monthly engagement trajectory from launch

Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9

ShoutOut Recognition

Article Engagement

ShoutOut is a one stop shop for our employees to connect, engage and recognise each other in a positive way. It is a professional solution that is accessible to all our employees across the numerous local government sites.

— Jo Grainger, Manager of People & Culture, Colac Otway Shire Council

Why It Matters

The Business Case for
Employee Engagement

Research consistently shows that engaged employees drive measurably better business outcomes.

Impact of High Employee Engagement on Organisations

Gallup research: Engaged vs. disengaged business units

+78%

Profitability

−65%

Turnover

+23%

Productivity

−81%

Absenteeism

+10%

Customer
Loyalty

−58%

Safety
Incidents

$450B+

Cost of Disengagement

Annual cost of actively disengaged employees to the Australian economy.

Source: Gallup State of the Global Workplace

3.5×

Revenue Growth

Companies with high engagement grow revenue 3.5× faster than those with low engagement.

Source: Hay Group Research

87%

Less Likely to Leave

Highly engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their organisation.

Source: Corporate Leadership Council

The ShoutOut App provides an accessible engagement tool for our employees, primarily for the recognition of employees on a day-to-day basis while carrying out their duties.

— Colac Otway Shire Council

Key Outcomes

Transforming Communication
& Culture at Scale

ShoutOut has played a pivotal role in transforming how the Council communicates with and recognises its employees.

⚡ Immediate Workforce Activation

80% of all employees registered in month one — a remarkable adoption rate that demonstrated the platform's accessibility and the appetite for connection across the organisation.

📱 Real-Time Field Communication

For the first time, field-based staff received real-time communications — breaking down the information barrier that had existed between office and outdoor workers.

🌟 Values Brought to Life Daily

100% of peer recognitions were tied directly to organisational values and behaviours. The "What We Stand For" framework transformed from a poster on the wall to a living, daily practice.

📲 Mobile-First Access Replaces Fragmented Comms

Fragmented internal communications were replaced with a single, mobile-first platform accessible to every employee regardless of role, location, or technology access.

Colac Otway Shire Council Employee Engagement In the Palm of Your Hand

Bridging the Gap Between Office and Field