Overview
With a vision of creating a break room that caters to employee happiness and satisfaction, a large food manufacturing plant turned to the interactive music solution that checked every box. To enhance the experience of the well-deserved breaks of its 750 dedicated employees, all showing up and putting in the work six days a week, executives knew it would take a special addition to one of their three break rooms. Having experimented with smart speakers to play music throughout the space, the team quickly realized its employees deserved more say over what they listened to during their time away from the production floor at work. All it took was seeing TouchTunes Unlimited in his Facebook feed, and the plant manager of the plant location had an “aha moment.” A TouchTunes Unlimited jukebox was the answer to breaking up mundane moments and enhancing the break room atmosphere.
Serving as the trial pilot in one of the three break rooms, a TouchTunes Unlimited jukebox was installed in July of 2022, and the results were music to the leadership team’s ears. Within only four days of installation, the jukebox had 500 plays. It was clear this plant location raised the bar by focusing on elevating the employee experience through an interactive technology that sparked a whole lot of fun, created new social connections, and ramped up productivity – all driven by employee choice.
Challenge/Solution
Provide Enjoyment During Breaks
With a six-day work week, employees at the food manufacturing plant were thrilled when the TouchTunes Unlimited jukebox was installed in its break room. Before the introduction of the jukebox, there was no interactive element in this space, leaving it a very one-dimensional place where employees struggled to recharge for their shifts. The plant location is known as a team largely comprised of techies who are in the know about the latest tech tools and advancements. When it became one of the first of 115 plant locations to offer guest wifi to employees, productivity perked up. Even more so, when the modern TouchTunes Unlimited jukebox entered into the mix, it was the perfect addition to the break room as a tech tool that also encouraged fun. Installing the jukebox not only livened up the environment but it spoke volumes to the employees, showing that the company valued their break time enjoyment.
Create a Collaborative Culture
Collaborative workplaces not only make the work day more enjoyable, but they invite varied perspectives, increasing productivity and creativity and improving social connections. And according to research, tools that encourage collaboration are more effective than forcing employees to work together on certain projects. As soon as the TouchTunes Unlimited jukebox was installed at the plant, team members naturally made their way toward the interactive screen. While the jukebox can be controlled via smartphones, employees overwhelmingly choose to walk up to the screen and select songs together, chatting, laughing and sharing input as to which song should play next.
Liven Up the Break Room Space
Leaders can encourage employees to feel energized and appreciated through their words and accolades all day long. Still, there’s something special about demonstrating gratitude to employees by investing in the right workspace benefits and creating meaningful experiences for employees to share. While many employers strive to implement employee appreciation programs that retain talent, this large plant location upped the ante further by letting the futuristic jukebox do the “talking,” and the solution naturally flowed through a more lively break room area. Tell an employee to dance it out, and they’ll look at you like you’re crazy, but take your smartphone and hit play on a jam like Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” or Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” to flow throughout your team’s environment, and the movement and laughter are sure to follow. That’s exactly what the plant manager did from his nearby home one day, and a mini dance party ensued – the perfect pick-me-up.
Results
The results were instant, and the smiles and laughter served as proof. With six days of work in a week for these 750 plant employees, it was sheer joy to see the smiles on their faces when they entered the break room the day the TouchTunes Unlimited jukebox was installed. Refreshing, inspiring and motivating are just a few words used to describe the environment. While many employees were familiar with the jukebox and started playing songs almost immediately, there was a group of employees who were eager to learn how to use the smartscreen – which didn’t take long. The curiosity around the flashy screen did all the “work,” and employees' only task was to hit play and enjoy. Not to mention, when they learned they could also control the tunes from their smartphones, they were pumped.
Within one week of installation, personality began to permeate through the break room, with the majority of music genres selected at this plant location being Latin and classic rock, and that eventually led to one of their first curated playlists being a mix of just that. What’s next for this food manufacturer's location? The goal is to take the tunes from break times to the production floor so interactive music can be enjoyed all throughout the workday.
This manufacturer's location is only 20 miles from corporate headquarters, allowing top executives to frequent their plant easily, and the jukebox has been showing off to these execs, causing quite the chatter at headquarters. The location team is always thrilled to share how they’re utilizing technology in processes, and now TouchTunes Unlimited is adding this trendy tech enhancement to their culture. The president of the culture division, overseeing 43 locations, recently visited the plant and enthusiastically said the jukebox was simply, “an awesome addition.”
