Cegal is one of Norway’s largest technology companies, with more than 860 employees across offices in nine countries. They help customers turn complex IT challenges into digital success stories, with a particular focus on the energy sector.
Maria Lunde is a People Advisor at Cegal and runs part of the company’s onboarding. The team wants every new hire to feel genuinely welcomed and to know Cegal is excited to have them on board. A key part of that is sending a welcome gift one month before their start date.
Maria explains why it matters.
"We want new hires to feel welcome before they even start. So we make it clear we’re looking forward to having them join us. It helps build a good relationship from day one."
For years, the team sent flowers to every new hire. But as the company grew, the admin behind it became overwhelming.
“Sending flowers meant collecting a lot of details up front — full address, apartment numbers, the lot. The whole thing was manual and ate into the team’s time.”
Then Maria spotted a former colleague using Glede on LinkedIn and realised it could solve the problem.
A few things stood out to her right away:
- Saves time — “I could see Glede would cut out the manual work of chasing addresses and arranging deliveries.”
- Donatable — Maria loved that recipients can choose to donate their gift to charity. “That fits our values.”
- Works for everyone — “Flowers didn’t land with everyone, especially the younger crowd. With Glede, everyone gets something they’ll actually use — they spend the gift card wherever they want.”
- Sustainable — “Glede is a sustainable gift card. We work in the energy industry, so acting sustainably is a real priority for us.”
On the strength of that, Maria decided to give Glede a try. She started small — a handful of recipients — and it was an immediate hit. She has used Glede every month since.
Her favourite features
Maria points to three features in particular that make her job easier:
- Gift templates — Maria built a template for onboarding gifts so all she has to do is add the recipient. The result: less time spent, and every new hire gets the exact same gift.
- Custom card — She uploaded her own card design that goes out with every welcome gift. “It makes the gift feel more personal, like it really comes from the company.”
- Scheduling ahead — She schedules onboarding gifts weeks in advance so each one lands exactly one month before the recipient’s start date. That way she can knock out a whole batch in one sitting.
Beyond the features, Maria is impressed by how easy the platform is to use.
Glede is genuinely easy to use. The product is well-built, and that fits how we like to work — with modern tools.
Incredibly easy to do something thoughtful
Since switching, Maria has heard plenty of positive feedback from recipients.
“People love that they can spend it however they want. It’s on their phone, which they always have on them. I haven’t received a Glede myself, but everyone tells me it’s really easy to use.”
One recipient was thrilled to be able to use it on a trip abroad.
Maria estimates the time she spends sending gifts has more than halved. These days, welcome gifts take her at most 15 minutes a month.
She thinks plenty of other companies would benefit from Glede too.
“This works for big companies and small ones alike. It’s so easy you don’t need any training to get started,” Maria says.
Glede makes it incredibly easy to do something thoughtful. Just enter the contact details and hit send.
Want to spread some Glede from your company? Click here to get started — no commitment.
