Quick Summary:
Learn how Birkman helped Dillard’s improve teamwork, employee engagement, and development across nearly 300 store locations by strengthening mentor relationships through better personality fit. This case study shows how Dillard’s used Birkman to create more meaningful connections across a large, dispersed workforce, helping employees better understand themselves, work more effectively with others, and grow through a more intentional mentorship experience.
What you’ll find inside:
- How Dillard’s used Birkman to strengthen employee engagement across a large national workforce
- How the company built a one-year mentorship program based on personality fit
- How better mentor-mentee matches improve connection, learning, and development
- How increased self-awareness supported stronger teamwork and collaboration
- How employees found greater meaning and contribution through the mentorship experience
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Challenge
Dillard’s, one of the nation’s largest fashion retailers, employs more than 40,000 people across the country. With such a large and geographically dispersed workforce, the company faced a common challenge: how to create stronger employee engagement at scale and help people feel more connected to their work. The organization needed a way to build more meaningful development experiences, strengthen relationships across locations, and give employees a greater sense of purpose within the business.
Action
As Dillard’s explored ways to improve engagement and development, the company’s finance director discovered The Birkman Method. In a crowded assessment marketplace, it took effort to build internal support for choosing Birkman, but that changed quickly after leaders experienced the value of a Birkman feedback session firsthand. Once management saw the depth of insight Birkman could provide, Dillard’s implemented The Birkman Method within its talent pool through a one-year mentorship program. Mentors and mentees across the country were paired based on personality fit, using Birkman data to identify behavioral compatibility that could support stronger learning, connection, and a more positive overall experience.
Result
Using Birkman data to guide mentor-mentee pairings helped Dillard’s create stronger relationships across its mentorship program and improve the quality of the experience for participants. The more intentional matches supported trust, connection, and learning, allowing employees to better understand themselves and the people they worked with. As a result, the program helped foster greater self-awareness, stronger team dynamics, and a deeper sense of meaning in employees’ work. Through those stronger relationships, employees were able to grow personally, contribute more effectively, and feel more engaged in the organization.
Key Outcomes
- Improved employee engagement across a large, distributed workforce
- Created stronger mentor-mentee matches using personality-based insight
- Increased self-awareness and understanding of others among participants
- Strengthened teamwork and team dynamics across locations
- Helped employees find greater meaning and purpose in their work
- Supported personal growth, development, and stronger overall contribution
Your Next Move
If you are looking for help reducing turnover using the power of Birkman, we can help. Check out our team building program and schedule a consultation.