Harnessing Data and Strategic Targeting: How CF Industries Transformed HR Communications

The Challenges

Before Poppulo, HR communications at CF Industries were challenging to manage and difficult to measure. Most updates went out as mass emails through Outlook, with limited branding, no targeting, and the same content sent to everyone. That meant employees often received messages that didn’t apply to them, which made it easy to tune out and hard to build real engagement with important company benefits and programs.

With the company’s thoughtful approach and investment in Total Rewards and employee engagement, the HR comms team developed a strategy to make communications more effective, measurable, and better aligned with business priorities.

We knew we wanted to evolve. Many employees were missing out on valuable information simply because we couldn’t personalize or prioritize what they received. Without targeting or data, we were guessing at what worked, and that wasn’t sustainable for the role communications needed to play in supporting our broader goals.

— Jasmine Konkin, Global HR Communications Manager, CF Industries

The Solution

After considering its options, CF Industries chose Poppulo to evolve internal HR communications into a strategic, data-driven function. The company’s Global HR Communications Manager, Jasmine Konkin, launched a flagship channel—HR News—as a key vehicle for delivering timely, relevant, and engaging content tailored to employee needs across geographies and roles.

The Objectives of HR News:

• Boost awareness and engagement with the company’s Total Rewards program
• Connect employees across sites and countries to build culture and community
• Reach employees where they are—from manufacturing, distribution, and office settings
• Customize stories for the diverse needs of employees across the U.S., Canada, and the UK
• Amplify employee voices to drive better engagement

Now armed for the first time with powerful analytics, targeting, and design tools, the team began to deliver communications that were not only more relevant but also measurable, enabling constant refinement and stakeholder reporting.

With Poppulo, we’re not just sending messages—we’re learning from every campaign. The data shows us what connects, what doesn’t, and how to keep improving.
—Jasmine Konkin

The Results

Since adopting Poppulo, CF Industries has redefined HR communications as a strategic lever, one that actively shapes employee experience, strengthens workforce engagement, and brings communications into closer alignment with business priorities.

This shift has been especially powerful in supporting the company’s Total Rewards program, helping more employees understand and value their benefits, and retain top talent.

Talent Retention: Highlighting the Value of Total Rewards

To retain the right people, CF Industries needed a clearer, more consistent way to communicate the full value of its Total Rewards program. Through targeted communications powered by Poppulo, the HR team has been able to:

• Position Total Rewards as a differentiator in retaining talent, with clear, compelling communications tailored to different job families and locations.
• Use analytics to identify and close engagement gaps. This ensures that all employee groups, including deskless workers, understand and interact with the benefits available to them.
• Drive measurable increases in awareness and participation, including a 90% engagement rate at one site and 100% year-on-year growth in uptake of a key financial advice offering.

With the ability to put the right message in front of the right people CF Industries is not just offering a competitive benefits package, it’s making sure that employees now see it, understand it, and use it.

Highlighting the Voice of the Employee to Build a Culture of Belonging & Inclusion

Beyond programs and policies, CF Industries knows that real engagement comes from making people feel seen, heard, and appreciated. With Poppulo in place, the HR Communications team is positioned to highlight employee stories and experiences in a genuine and personal way.

From shout-outs to inclusive messages tailored for different teams, communications are more thoughtful, relevant, and people-focused. One standout moment came when an employee shared how the Best Premium health benefit helped his family during his wife’s serious illness. His story brought the program to life and helped build trust, especially among frontline workers.

By sharing stories like this, the HR team is helping people connect to something bigger. These efforts are also supported by Poppulo, which makes it easier to:

• Run recognition campaigns and cultural initiatives that are meaningful to local teams, thanks to content that’s tailored by location and tone.
• Send messages that support inclusion and connection, helping build stronger relationships across sites.

When the HR team communicates with care and intention, it shapes a workplace where people feel valued, and that has a real impact on how employees experience life at CF Industries.

We’re now able to bring our culture to life in new ways. From Total Rewards to recognition and employee voices, our communications reflect who we are and who we’re striving to be.

— Emma Hubler, HR Communications Specialist, CF Industries

100% Year-on-Year Growth in Financial Advice Program Participation

CF Industries’ financial advisory benefit—offered in the U.S. and Canada—was previously underutilized. But by aligning HR communications with the company’s commitment to financial stewardship, the team transformed awareness into measurable action.

With Poppulo, the HR team:

• Used targeting and segmentation to engage underrepresented locations and employee groups
• Framed financial wellness as part of CF Industries’ broader goal of responsible financial stewardship
• Achieved a 100% increase in participation from 2022 to 2023
• Exceeded engagement benchmarks in 2024 by refining messaging and timing through open and click-through data

By clearly communicating the value of financial tools and resources, HR communications significantly increased benefit uptake while reinforcing one of CF Industries’ core corporate priorities.

We use data to target populations that are underutilizing the service, focusing on the locations where this is happening so that we can target deeper communications, or try new ways of getting their interest.

— Jasmine Konkin

Quarterly Reporting that Builds Stakeholder Confidence

The HR Comms team delivers quarterly communications updates to HR leadership, covering:

• Poppulo Analytics: Open and click rates, broken down by team and location
• Content popularity: Based on employee interaction and feedback
• Forward-looking recommendations: Informed by data trends and program performance

For example, the HR team has been able use Analytics to report a 70% newsletter open rate across all distribution centres—a high success rate for a cohort of deskless workers. Another initiative has also proved successful: at one site where engagement rates were low, the HR team actively encouraged staff to open the newsletter to find answers to their questions, and engagement rates shot from 25% to 74%—highlighting impressive employee interest in relevant, targeted content.

The quarterly cadence of reporting has increased stakeholder visibility and trust in the communications function, enabling better collaboration and strategic planning.

With Poppulo, we have the clarity and control we needed. We’re no longer guessing or struggling with outdated tools. Now we’re delivering the right messages to the right people and making confident, insight-driven decisions that actually move the needle and prove the value of what we do.

— Jasmine Konkin

Conclusion

With Poppulo, CF Industries has turned HR communications into a core driver of business value. Whether it’s engaging employees with Total Rewards, elevating financial wellness programs, or building culture across borders, the combination of targeted messaging, real-time analytics, and authentic storytelling has proven transformational.

The HR team now operates with more credibility, confidence, and clarity, delivering not only relevant information, but also real, quantifiable results that are aligned to business goals.

Poppulo has made our work so much more efficient and effective. It’s simple and easy to use, but also powerful—it helps us meet employees where they’re at, which has been a huge driver of engagement. And it’s also strengthened how we demonstrate value to our stakeholders.

— Jasmine Konkin