TOOLS is Norway's leading supplier of tools, machinery, personal protective equipment and industrial consumables to businesses in Norway. With 650 employees across 58 stores, they help their customers choose the right products and tailor optimal delivery solutions so that the work is carried out in an efficient and safe manner.
At TOOLS, they are committed to taking good care of their employees, and at Christmas they usually send employees off on their holidays with a nice Christmas greeting. They do this to express their gratitude to each individual employee and to ensure that everyone has a nice start to the Christmas holidays. This year, HR Director Unni Stene and HR Generalist Ingrid Lunna were responsible for the gifts. Ingrid tells a little about what the task means to them.
“Christmas gifts are an important task. Once we have decided to give Christmas gifts to our employees, it must be done properly!”
With 58 stores across the country, the task of Christmas gifts has not been a cakewalk. Ingrid talks about some of the challenges they have experienced in the past.
- A lot of manual work: The gifts were ordered at the head office, and then forwarded to the stores. “We wrapped the gifts and sent them out to 60 different locations. It was a lot of work!” says Ingrid.
- Incorrect shipments: With over 600 employees in stores throughout Norway, it's not easy to get everything right. “Sometimes someone was forgotten, or we had shipments returned because the address was incorrect.”
- Not for everyone: “Gift solutions where you choose between a set of things don't necessarily appeal to everyone,” they say.
“At Tools, we want employees to be able to choose for themselves, completely freely.”
TOOLS was looking for a more practical solution for Christmas gifts when they heard about Glede , and particularly triggered that Glede was a simpler and digital solution. After a quick introductory meeting, the choice for the 2023 Christmas gifts fell on Glede .
More than a working day saved
After Unni and Ingrid got to know each other better Glede , there were several things they particularly liked:
- Nice card and greeting: “We made a nice greeting with our own card and design, customized with our colors and logo!”
- Uploading employee list from Excel file: “We took the list directly from the HR system, and Glede helped customize the file so it was easy to upload.”
- Good support: “We received good support, and quick answers to all the questions we had.”
- Purchase history: Ingrid was invited to TOOLS's company profile in Glede by Unni. “It’s nice that both of us can see the history and usage statistics of all the gift cards we’ve sent through Glede .”
They were also surprised at how much easier it was. Glede did the job with the Christmas presents.
“Compared to last year’s work, we saved at least one full working day by using Glede .”
Buttery soft recipients
Following the mailing, Unni and Ingrid have inquired with the gift card recipients about how it was. The response has been exclusively positive.
“The employees are very satisfied, and think it was a nice and easy way to get a Christmas present,” they say.
They mention some of the benefits for recipients:
- Available on mobile: “It's easy to lose physical gift cards, so there's a greater chance that people will use them when they're digital.”
- Integration with Apple/Google Wallet: “It was easy to add and use the card from Apple and Google Wallet.”
- Can be used anywhere: “It’s nice that they can use it for anything. The employees get it as a gift from us, and we like that it’s up to them where they use it.”
“A colleague used it on a restaurant visit, while others might want to use it on groceries.”
After using Glede for the first time at Christmas, Ingrid says that TOOLS is interested in using Glede in the future, also in connection with birthdays and anniversaries.
