“By using Oneteam, we are able to reach all our employees at the touch of a button. We increased employee involvement significantly by keeping our team informed and giving them the opportunity to share their input during fun projects we work on as a team. It all comes together in one platform.” Joan Hoekstra, Hospitality Trainer at WestCord Hotels
About WestCord Hotels
WestCord Hotels, a hotel chain, is a Dutch family business. At the moment WestCord Hotels has 16 hotels situated in the Dutch nature and famous Dutch cities, such as Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Well-known hotels are ss Rotterdam, Hotel Jakarta en Hotel New York. The hotel chain distinguishes itself from its competitors by offering a unique story per hotel. A personalized guest experience is key here.
“We want to give our guests a local experience. We truly expect our employees to embrace their own city and provide a local and personalized service. Surprising and helping our guests is paramount.”
The goal
- Increase employee engagement by centralizing internal communication, onboarding, and e-learning into one platform.
- The goal of WestCord Hotels was to increase employee engagement. Therefore, the hotel chain started searching for an app to connect their employees from their different hotels. The app had to meet the following requirements:
- A platform that allows WestCord Hotels to communicate with all 1500+ employees and replaces existing communication channels: WestCord Hotels want to reach and inform all its employees both on a local and national level. WestCord Hotels used many communication channels, like email, WhatsApp and Facebook messenger. An employee satisfaction survey showed the hotel chain that its employees wanted one single communication platform. Employees did not read their email and they did not like using WhatsApp for work communications.
“Before we used Oneteam our employees were mainly involved with the hotel they were working at. However, we also wanted them to feel part of WestCord Hotels"
- A platform that improves the work-life balance of their employees: employees at WestCord Hotels did not want to use WhatsApp for internal communications. “WhatsApp is perfect to use for conversations with your family and friends, not for work. We were searching for a communication platform that separates work and life.” according to Joan, Hospitality Trainer at WestCord Hotels.
- A platform that gives employer branding a boost thanks to centralized onboarding: WestCord Hotels wanted to make new employees feel at home. Eline, Corporate Recruiter at WestCord Hotels, explains: “We are now able to show a consistent message through onboarding. Some parts we consider very important are a recurring theme for the onboarding now.”
"Our wish was one app, a WestCord employee app, in which all internal communications is centralised per team, hotel and on a WestCord Hotels level. And this app also had to include employee training and dital micro learnings."
Why did you choose Oneteam?
WestCord Hotels was looking into multiple solutions but chose for Oneteam because Oneteam combines multiple modules (such as internal communications, e-learning, and onboarding) within one app. Next to that, Oneteam always thinks along and is always available for questions and help. Oneteam hosts personal webinars for WestCord Hotels. Therefore, Oneteam has always been involved in increase the use of the platform amongst employees.
"Oneteam suits us. We are able to grow with Oneteam.”
The results: engaged and motivated employees at all hotels
WestCord Hotels benefited from the following results thanks to Oneteam’s solution:
- Reach everyone at different locations with one click on the button: the main advantage for WestCord Hotels is the improvement of internal communications. “The way we inform, reach and engage our employees has improved drastically,” says Eline. Joan adds to this: “Thanks to Oneteam we are able to reach all our employees at once with one message. Before Oneteam, we used team meetings and other ways. Now it’s so simple, which is a huge time saver.”
“Thanks to Oneteam we can reach all our employees. That is the most important for us."
- Employer branding and increased knowledge level thanks to onboarding and e-learning: WestCord Hotels is able to turn their staff into fans of their organization. The onboarding module and e-learning module enables employees to learn easily in an efficient and easily accessible way. For example, employees receive now short training about the history of Westcord and the hotel they are working at. Also, they can learn more about HACCP, Wine, Allergies, and allergens. “The possibility to use quizzes and gamification is super attractive for our employees.”
- Effective crisis communication: employees feel the extra need to make use of Flex-Appeal due to the COVID-19 crisis. Joan explains: “During the crisis, fewer employees are physically at our hotels and all communication is digital. We use Oneteam for this. It is important to stay in touch with your employees during a crisis like COVID-19 in order to prevent miscommunications. As well, we are able to spread positivity by sharing pictures, videos, and polls. Something that is very important during this crisis. Oneteam was there just in time!”
- Motivated employees and interconnectedness: WestCord Hotels receives many positive reactions from their employees. They love the fact that the app is a complete solution. “We already notice our employees be more motivated,” tells Eline. “This app contributes to interconnectedness per hotel. Before our employees felt connected to their own department, but now they receive updates from other departments. This is key for their engagement. And that is important for offering a great service.
“Engagement of our employees has increased tremendously thanks to Oneteam.”
