Human Resources: “Sweet” Success in Hershey – Enwisen’s AnswerSource Knowledge Center Goes Live in Just Three Months

NOVATO, CA – June 12, 2007 – Enwisen, the leader in on-demand workforce communications solutions, today announced that Hershey Entertainment & Resorts (HE&R) has gone live in just three months with its MyPATH (Personal Access to Hershey) portal, created using Enwisen’s AnswerSource Knowledge Center as the foundation for all content and decision support.

Executing on Portal Vision

“We had a vision to create a portal that would affect a true cultural change in the way we communicate with our 7,400+ employees,” said Myles Miller, Corporate Project Manager for HE&R. “We wanted MyPATH to be a dynamic, easily accessible and easy-to-use resource where members of the workforce could go, on a daily basis, to get the information they needed – when they need it – to manage all of their work and life events.

But, according to Miller, it wasn’t until HE&R saw Enwisen’s AnswerSource Knowledge Center that it found the solution that could help to execute on its vision. “AnswerSource had all of the ‘hire-to-retire’ content and decision support we needed. More important, it is personalized and searchable, so our employees see only the information that is relevant to them. And, it fully integrates with our ESS and eBenefits software that are a part of the portal. Now associates can do all of their work/life events, such as benefits enrollment, in a single session because relevant information and decision support tools are presented in context to the transaction within MyPATH,” said Miller.

Another important feature for Hershey was the fact that AnswerSource is an on-demand, web-based solution. According to Miller, many of Hershey’s employees work “on location” at the company’s hotels and theme parks, so it was vital that they could access MyPATH at employee computer centers at their property or at home, 24/7. Also, because all Enwisen solutions are offered as a Software-as-a-Service model, Enwisen is responsible for all updates to content, including changes in company policies or benefits plans – another Hershey requirement.

Rapid Success and Results

“Working with Enwisen was a rewarding experience,” said Miller. “They delivered the entire solution in just three months, and their project team members went above and beyond to exceed our expectations.”
Pre- and post-launch, the HE&R project team did a thorough marketing campaign, including posters, brochures, emails, voicemails from the CEO and Vice President of HR, and more to make the workforce aware of MyPATH. “Just two weeks after launch, we are already seeing exciting results,” said Miller. We are getting 300 to 400 visitors to the site every day, with ‘word of mouth’ increasing usage on a daily basis. We’re very pleased with this initial response, which we expect to increase significantly when everyone will have to go to MyPATH for this Fall’s first time 100% online open enrollment.”

Next, Hershey plans to deploy Enwisen’s AnswerSource Onboarding to help orchestrate the new hire process for their more than 4,000 seasonal hires every year throughout the entertainment parks and resort hotels.

“Enwisen is very excited to have HE&R as a customer. They are visionary when it comes to embracing Enwisen’s value proposition of improving the employee experience through the creation of a dynamic, personalized and searchable employee portal,” said Barbara Levin, Vice President of Marketing for Enwisen. “HE&R truly represents industry leadership in leveraging technology to affect a shift in the culture of how companies can effectively communicate with members of their workforce.”

About Enwisen

Enwisen – www.enwisen.com – helps employers dramatically improve the employee experience by making “must do” workforce communications more effective, more strategic and less costly.

Our on-demand, personalized and searchable HR communications solutions – for benefits decision support, onboarding, work/life events, employee policies, total rewards statements, manager effectiveness and HR/Service Center staff – are rapidly deployed, provide a broad range of features for significantly less money than traditional communication venues and are maintained by Enwisen.

Our AnswerSource Knowledge Center suite has produced measurable ROI for hundreds of customers, including industry leaders like Yahoo!, Memorial Health Care, DHL, Harper Collins, W.L. Gore & Associates, Hannaford Bros. Cos., Masco and MasterBrand.

We help our customers execute on 4 key business objectives:

1.      Reduce the cost of delivering benefits/HR services while increasing satisfaction and adoption.
2.      Attract and retain talent.
3.      Make managers more effective.
4.      Create a more dynamic employee portal.

About Hershey Entertainment & Resorts

Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company is a privately held company, founded in 1927 when Milton S. Hershey separated his chocolate manufacturing operations from his other businesses. It owns and operates Hersheypark, ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park, Dutch Wonderland Family Entertainment Complex, Hershey Lodge, The Hotel Hershey, Hershey Country Club, Hershey Highmeadow Campground, Hershey Nursery, Hershey Laundry and Textiles, GIANT Center and the Hershey Bears, members of the American Hockey League. For more information call 1-800-HERSHEY (1-800-437-7439) or visit www.HersheyPA.com.