Hy-Vee’s use of the communications solution Zipline “came about because I realized that as a retail grocer, we weren’t structured well to be able to speak to our people,” says Edeker. “And so honestly, Retail Zipline was just a program that we went out to find because we realized we’re not able to speak to our people in a way that we should be able to speak to our people on a daily basis. I also learned right away that video was better than voice, that if they could see me say it, our people liked it a lot better than just hearing me say it. So, in the initial days, I was leaving voice messages that were 10, 15, 20 minutes long each night, telling everybody that we’re going to be OK. And then I evolved to video on my cell phone. … And then Zipline came along as a way that we could easily get it to everyone instantly.”

As for the effect that Zipline has had on his ability to share information with associates, Edeker, who’s been CEO for 10 years, wishes “I would have had it year one. We would be such a better company if we had, because I could just tell everybody every week what’s really going on. … For the most part, we are such a better company because of how we communicate today.”

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