“Our absolute goal is for our employees to become more engaged and, thus, more successful. Engaged employees enjoy their work more and perform better. Oneteam offers us the ideal solution to boost engagement with and among all franchise entrepreneurs and employees.”
Sander Vleut, Franchise Consultant at Kwalitaria
Introduction
Kwalitaria is one of the most progressive cafeteria formulas in the Netherlands and part of the Food Franchise Company (FFC), a leading franchise organization in the Netherlands. Kwalitaria has more than 2500 employees spread across 135 locations.
We spoke with Anna van Doorn (HR employee), Mika Bloemink (Graphic Designer), and Sander Vleut (Franchise Consultant). They work together in a project group that improves communication, engagement, and satisfaction within FFC. In this conversation, they share how Oneteam has helped them bridge the communication gap and improve employee engagement.
The problem we solved
- Bridging the communication gap between HQ, the franchise entrepreneurs, and the deskless employees.
Summary of the results
- From one-way communication from the head office to interactive communication flows throughout the organization;
- Able to communicate instantly with the entire organization;
- 78.8% adoption rate;
- Improved communication between entrepreneurs and employees;
- Oneteam is used for internal communication, onboarding, eLearning, and events;
- A stronger employer brand thanks to Oneteam;
- A solution that meets the needs of the younger workforce.
The challenge
What challenges did you have before using Oneteam?
Sander: We are a franchise organization with 135 locations, and we were previously only able to connect with our franchise entrepreneurs. While we also have more than 2000 employees whom we simply could not reach. This led to a communication gap between the head office, entrepreneurs, and employees.
Anna: It was always one-way traffic from us (FFC) without possible communication between entrepreneurs and employees. As a result, everyone was very focused on their own branch, and the employees actually knew nothing about the rest of Kwalitaria.
Mika: That's a shame, as we are a very large and fun organization to work for. We could not convey that feeling to all entrepreneurs and employees.
What were the consequences for the business?
Mika: The communication gap led to dissatisfaction among the entrepreneurs, who didn’t feel heard due to the one-way communication. The satisfaction surveys we conducted internally also showed this.
Sander: Regarding the employees, we simply could not reach them at all. Ideas from the shop floor are very valuable, but there was no way to collect them. Suppose an employee had an idea for a summer promotion; for example, we could not share it within the organization. In addition, we wanted to educate our employees and ensure everyone is aware of new products, campaigns, or formula principles. Better informed and trained employees enjoy their work more and generate more revenue.
Anna: We also wanted to work on our employer branding to give employees the feeling that they are working for the largest and most fun franchise organization in the Netherlands.
Sander: The work is about so much more than just frying fries and croquettes.
What internal communication tools did you use before Oneteam?
Sander: We use our intranet MijnKwalitaria to communicate with our entrepreneurs about various matters, such as clothing, POS systems, and social media posts. Many branches also had WhatsApp or Facebook groups for their local internal comms.
Mika: We also send out a campaign newspaper every quarter, sharing all sorts of things, such as new recipes, highlighting a store, and upcoming campaigns.
Anna: The tricky thing about that newspaper is that it often ends up between the mail and other newspapers being left unread, and we have no insights into how our employees perceive it.
“After an enthusiastic demo, we were immediately convinced that Oneteam was the right solution for us for both internal communication and our digital learning environment.”
The solution
What solutions have you explored, and why did you choose Oneteam?
Sander: We previously worked with another app, which was mainly focused on the learning aspect. The idea was excellent, but the app often didn't work, which was a killer for its use. In addition, we wanted to improve the connection and engagement with our employees, so we started looking for a solution that combines communication and digital learning. After an enthusiastic demo, we were immediately convinced that Oneteam was the right solution for us for both internal communication and our digital learning environment.
How did the implementation go?
Sander: We received much help from Oneteam's Customer Success team, who always inspired us to get the most out of the platform. The challenge for us was that we work with entrepreneurs within our franchise organization, who sometimes cling to their own fragmented systems. So we had to convince them first of the added value of Oneteam.
Anna: We now see that more and more entrepreneurs are actively using Oneteam, which is nice to see. All new branches are making very good use of Oneteam. With the project team, we are also continuously working to further improve the adoption rates.
“Oneteam offers the ideal solution for young employees, as it is an employee app with the ease of use of platforms like Facebook and Instagram.”
The results
What impact does Oneteam have on your organization?
Sander: Our absolute goal is for our employees to become more engaged and, thus, more successful. Engaged employees enjoy their work more and perform better. Oneteam offers us the ideal solution to boost engagement with and among all franchise entrepreneurs and employees. Engaged employees also won't go to work somewhere else for a quarter more per hour. So far, we have paid too little attention to our employer brand, and with Oneteam, we see that we are really making beautiful strides in this.
Mika: With Oneteam, we can quickly and easily share information with the entire organization, which was impossible before. We now also share the campaign newspaper online, for example, and where there was no interaction possible with the paper edition, we now get all kinds of fun reactions via Oneteam. We further see that 78.8% of the invited employees now use Oneteam, which is impressive.
Anna: We also get positive feedback from the entrepreneurs, and a few already proactively work with the events function within Oneteam. Another fun example is that the platform is also used by entrepreneurs when they have a spare coffee machine that someone else can take over, and it is responded to immediately. That's a great example of improved communication with Oneteam.
How does Oneteam help to make your employees successful and engaged?
Anna: Oneteam provides us with a platform to improve engagement, and as Sander already said, engaged employees are more successful. In addition, the platform helps us to strengthen the sense of unity within Kwalitaria.
Mika: We are also working on creating lesson packages. For example, an entrepreneur has made various videos, including cleaning the milkshake machine. We then make a lesson package from that, which contributes to better training and making employees successful. We also notice that competitions via Oneteam work very well for employee engagement, such as an action where everyone could guess how many soft ice creams we sold in a month. The winner won Kwalitaria sunglasses for the whole team.
Why do you find Oneteam the ideal solution for the restaurant sector?
Anna: Oneteam offers the ideal solution for young employees, as it is an employee app with the ease of use of platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Floor staff does not have access to their laptops, but they always have their smartphones with them, so Oneteam offers an ideal solution for always having access to all the important information for work.
Mika: The platform's versatility is also lovely, as Oneteam offers solutions for internal communication, lesson packages, forms, and events. All in one app.
What plans do you have in the field of employee experience?
Anna: We want employees to use Oneteam even more. We want to develop our academy further and use new functionalities, such as the events function, forms, and checklists. This will ensure that we as Kwalitaria become more and more unified, regardless of whether you work at the head office, are an entrepreneur, or are an employee in one of the branches.
“The platform's versatility is also lovely, as Oneteam offers solutions for internal communication, lesson packages, forms, and events. All in one app.”
