The following blog post contains highlights from our case study, “From field to phone: How Corteva and LRN put culture, ethics, and compliance in the palms of employees’ hands.” To learn more, download a copy here.
Derived from a combination of words meaning “heart” and “nature,” Corteva proudly states its purpose is to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. In June 2019, Corteva launched as a nearly $15 billion organization with over 20,000 employees after three companies—Dow, DuPont, and Pioneer Seeds—came together as one. To get there, the large, brand-new business had the equally gigantic task of organizing three different heritage systems under one cohesive culture. An accessible, all-encompassing ethics and compliance program was going to be key.
Corteva and LRN created the iComply app, a mobile-driven solution housing all the key elements of Corteva’s broader iComply ethics and compliance program. The release of the ethics and compliance app coincided with the official launch of Corteva as a new agriculture company in June 2019, communicating the organization’s values and culture while streamlining the process of providing training, hotline, code of conduct, and policy information. The mobile app helped make the company’s E&C function a more accessible outlet to its global employee base.
“By first asking ourselves ‘How can we use LRN’s tools to solve Corteva’s problem?’ we were able to craft and deliver an effective solution.” —Laura Sanogo, Client Success Manager, LRN
The challenge: Announcing one company, one culture, and one E&C program
As a young company preparing for its entry into the global market, Corteva needed to figure out how to communicate its new organizational structure and values—under one unified brand—quickly to a global employee base of more than 20,000 people. Part of this endeavor would also include a simultaneous launch of the company’s new ethics and compliance program, iComply.
Corteva realized that this roll-out needed to be accessible to their entire global team, from those working at company headquarters to those working, literally, in the field. Their E&C education on reporting concerns, speaking up, and seeking help needed to be available anywhere, at any time. It was also essential that the iComply program reinforce Corteva’s purpose and values to bring their team together. But how could they do that effectively when they had only just started out as a unified organization?
“In the early stages of development, it was important that we learn everything we could about Corteva—how they came to be, preserving the best parts of their history. We knew one app wasn't going to magically unify the culture. But we did know that content in the app could address information relevant to the Corteva brand today.” —de Guise Vaillancourt, Project Manager, LRN
The solution: Connecting global employees to Corteva’s unified brand and values through an engaging mobile app
LRN was in the midst of upgrading a native application tool when Corteva reached out for assistance in getting their iComply ethics and compliance program off the ground. The collective team saw an opportunity to integrate Corteva’s needs into the development process: an ethics and compliance app could be a supplemental tool to get the company started and program launched. LRN proposed a mobile-driven solution to make the company’s E&C function an accessible outlet for communicating core values and streamlining key processes.
The resulting iComply mobile app became a one-stop shop for all things ethics and compliance at Corteva. Employees could access the company code of conduct, hotline, policies, training courses, certifications, and other commonly searched E&C resources—all in the palm of their hands. LRN made further customizations to make the app feel in line with the Corteva brand, delivering a consistent brand identity across the E&C function and wider organization.
“The back-end support we received was fantastic. LRN was able to take their native application tool and adjust it for our brand and organizational needs. I realized during the process of sharing feedback that there was coding, changing scripts, and other work being done behind the scenes to get the iComply app to where we needed it to be. LRN’s support team was—and continues to be—very strong.” —Mike Morgan, Ethics and Compliance Officer – North America, Corteva
The result: A growing tool to guide ethical decision-making and communicate Corteva’s values
In just one year after launch (between May 2020 and April 2021), the iComply app generated 6,900+ usage sessions across 65+ countries and accumulated 2,700 users—more than 12% of Corteva’s workforce. This was a great win not only in terms of adoption (adoption rates of more than 5% are usually regarded as successful for wide distribution), but also in terms of bringing employees together under one Corteva brand.
Since launching the iComply app, LRN and Corteva implemented an admin capability for select members of the ethics and compliance function to change content on the mobile app in real time. The team is also exploring several new features including:
- Push notifications that are targeted based on employee activity in-app.
- Geo notifications, which actively send relevant information to employees when they travel.
- A new iPad format of the app.
“The most successful part of working with LRN, far and away, is the people,” said Corteva’s North America Ethics and Compliance Officer, Mike Morgan. “I have worked with the nicest, most energized team members. They listen to us. I've seen LRN change and add things to their solutions based on suggestions or questions that we raised with them. They're adaptable, flexible, and overall great listeners.”
To get the full details of the mobile app and its results, download a copy of the case study.
