TOOLS is Norway’s leading supplier of tools, machines, personal protective equipment and industrial consumables for businesses across the country. With 650 employees spread across 58 stores, they help customers pick the right products and tailor delivery solutions so the work gets done efficiently and safely.
TOOLS takes good care of its people, and at Christmas they like to send everyone into the holidays with a warm thank-you. It’s their way of showing appreciation for each employee and giving everyone a nice start to the break. This year, HR Director Unni Stene and HR Generalist Ingrid Lunna were responsible for the gifts. Ingrid shares what the task means to them.
The Christmas gift is an important job. Once we’ve decided to give one, it has to be done properly!
With 58 stores across the country, the Christmas gift job hasn’t always been a walk in the park. Ingrid talks through some of the challenges they’ve hit in the past.
- Lots of manual work: Gifts were ordered to head office and then forwarded out to the stores. “We packed the gifts and sent them to 60 different locations. It was a lot of work,” says Ingrid.
- Misdeliveries: With more than 600 employees in stores all over Norway, getting everything right is hard. “Sometimes someone got missed, or shipments came back because the address was wrong.”
- Not for everyone: “Gift solutions where you pick from a fixed set of items don’t necessarily land for everyone,” they say.
At TOOLS, we want our employees to be able to choose for themselves — completely freely.
TOOLS was on the lookout for a more practical Christmas gift solution when they heard about Glede. The fact that it was simpler and fully digital was a particular draw. After a quick intro meeting, Glede became the choice for Christmas 2023.
More than a full workday saved
Once Unni and Ingrid got to know Glede a little better, there were several things they especially liked:
- A warm card and greeting: “We made a lovely greeting with our own card and design — adapted to our colors and logo!”
- Uploading the employee list from Excel: “We pulled the list straight out of our HR system, and Glede helped us tailor the file so it was easy to upload.”
- Great support: “We got great support and quick answers to every question we had.”
- A history of all gifts sent: Ingrid was invited into TOOLS’ company profile in Glede by Unni. “It’s really nice that we can both see the history and stats for every gift card we’ve sent through Glede.”
They were also surprised by how much easier Glede made the whole Christmas gift job.
Compared to last year’s effort, we saved at least one full workday by using Glede.
Beaming recipients
After the gifts went out, Unni and Ingrid checked in with the recipients to hear how it had gone. The response was uniformly positive.
“Employees are really happy. They thought it was a warm and easy way to receive a Christmas gift,” they say.
They highlight a few of the upsides for recipients:
- On their phone: “It’s easy to misplace a physical gift card, so the chance of it actually getting used is much higher when it’s digital.”
- Apple and Google Wallet integration: “It was simple to add the card to Apple and Google Wallet and use it from there.”
- Spend it anywhere: “It’s great that they can use it on whatever they want. We’re giving the gift, and we like that it’s up to them where they spend it.”
One colleague used it on a restaurant night out, while others might use it on groceries.
After using Glede for the first time at Christmas, Ingrid says TOOLS plans to keep using it — for birthdays and work anniversaries too.
