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Hobart Service Transformed Culture Through Personalized Connection

Image shows a certificate of Hobart Service's 2025 Brandon Hall Gold Award.

Hobart Service has been a well-known name in the commercial foodservice equipment industry since 1897. However, a recent employee experience survey revealed two priorities: a hunger for professional development and a need for greater transparency in communication.

Rather than letting that feedback sit on a shelf, Hobart partnered with Center for Internal Change to launch a leadership development program that would eventually earn them a Gold from Brandon Hall’s Excellence in Action Award for Employee Engagement.

The Strategy: Creating a Shared Language

Image shows the Everything DiSC Model map. The map has four distinct areas on a circle. The top left hand corner is green with an upper case 'D'. On the top right is a lowercase 'I' that is shaded red. Below it, on the bottom right hand side, is a blue area with an uppercase 'S'. To the bottom left is a yellow area with an uppercase 'C'

At the heart of Hobart’s strategy was to use Everything DiSC®. 

The goal of the program was simple: give every leader the tools to understand their own work style and, more importantly, the styles of those around them.

They accomplished their goal by using the following rollout plan:

  1. Leadership First: Hobart began by training people leaders, including district managers, through five targeted sessions. They focused on teaching how to interpret DiSC profiles to foster inclusive, high-performing teams.
  2. Visible Cues: To maintain momentum, Hobart introduced visual DiSC blocks for employees’ desks. These served as quick, daily reminders of how a colleague preferred to communicate, reducing misunderstandings and building empathy.

Embedded Processes: DiSC didn’t remain a one-time workshop; it was woven into the company’s fabric, becoming a core component of language, performance reviews, and personalized coaching.

Results That Spoke Volumes

The impact of this “shared language” was almost immediate. 

An 80% decrease in helpline calls between 2024 and 2025. This dramatic drop signaled that employees and managers were now equipped to resolve conflicts and navigate interpersonal challenges independently.

Furthermore, the program achieved:

  • 90%+ Approval: Over 90% of leaders rated the workshops as highly valuable for team alignment and conflict resolution.
  • 100% Recommendation: Every single participant recommended that the workshops continue for future teams.

Universal Utilization: The company achieved a 100% utilization rate in its recognition program, proving that engagement was no longer a buzzword but a reality.

A Gold-Standard Future

Today, the culture at Hobart is defined by inclusive leadership and operational efficiency. 

What started as a response to survey feedback has blossomed into a scalable, sustainable professional development engine.