High workload to employee happiness: how measuring helps Van der Logt Group

The Covid-19 crisis has thrown a lot of things into chaos at many organizations. This also applies to Van der Logt Group, the specialist in consumables for the office, shops and restaurants. Because although we have worked in the office much less in the past year and a half, they have cleverly responded to the crisis and are experiencing enormous growth. They are now looking for 25 new employees. That is why we spoke to Shirley Weijts, Corporate Recruiter at Van der Logt Group, about their use of the 2DAYSMOOD tool and how they could go from a high workload to employee happiness.

The heart on the sleeve

Shirley tells us that they started the 2DAYSMOOD measurements in October 2020. “We sent out a mailing every two months asking how employees were doing, what gave them energy in the past period, whether they encountered anything and whether they had any feedback for us,” says Shirley. It has always been important to her to start a conversation with employees about what they need. Employee happiness is also central to them because it has an essential effect on the functioning of employees.

“But it's very special when everyone says what's going on with their heart on their sleeve,” she continues. “And if they don't, you might miss things, which can decrease employee happiness and you can lose people.” And so they were looking for a tool that would better guarantee the anonymity of their employees. That's how they ended up with 2DAYSMOOD. “It's a wonderful tool,” says Shirley. “This way we get more concrete insights into different departments, how things are going there and whether they need help with anything.”

Also for self reflection

At the same time, it also gives the departments themselves many useful insights: they can see in the team dashboard whether they are well on their way from a high workload to employee happiness. Is it as good as they think it is? If that is not the case, they can immediately see where actions need to be taken with the online real-time dashboard. But it is also a great tool for self-reflection. If an employee is less positive and the team dashboard shows that his direct colleagues are, then the employee can also consult himself.

Once a week they do a mood measurement: this allows employees to indicate which emotion they are experiencing at that moment. This model is divided into 8 emotions on four different levels: engaged, satisfied, dissatisfied and stressed. By measuring this regularly, you get real-time insight into how employees are doing.

From high workload to employee happiness

Over the past year they have been extremely busy at Van der Logt Group. As a result, it often happened that the workload was high and employees had to assist in other departments. For example, people from all departments joined the warehouse to ensure that all orders could be shipped on time. “We unexpectedly started to sell a lot more,” says Shirley. "But luckily everyone had that mentality to help out." To go from a high workload to employee happiness, the experience of a high workload is something they also regularly measure with 2DAYSMOOD surveys.

At Van der Logt Group, they strive to deploy their staff in a sustainable way. That is why they like to start a conversation about how employees see their future. Everyone therefore has a personal development plan. Shirley says: “We want our employees to be able to grow with us, whether in their own position or across the board.” That is why they take a detailed look at the dreams and ambitions of every employee and check whether there is a training, course or training that suits them. “But we do want it to come from employees themselves,” Shirley continues. “If they indicate this themselves, they have also thought about it and they will have more motivation to continue.” After all, the employees are the director of their own learning and development process within Van der Logt Group.

High response rate

The 2DAYSMOOD measurements, and especially the eNPS (employee Net Promotor Score), which stands for employee happiness within Van der Logt Group, are also used as a KPI throughout the organization. There are three objectives within the company on which they want to score at least an 8. Employee happiness is one of these. They currently score even slightly higher on this score: no less than 8.5.

In addition, Van der Logt Group scores very well on the response percentage: no less than 75% of the employees regularly fill in how they are doing. How come? “You really have to let it live among employees,” Shirley says. “We communicate a lot about the measurements because we think it is really important data and we want as many employees as possible to participate in it.”

Make the data transparent for everyone

For example, she regularly writes a message on the intranet about the state of employee happiness. “Then I show an image with the data and I write an explanation to make it clear for everyone,” she says. But she also shares the changes that have been made based on the feedback on the intranet. In this way she shows employees that something is actually being done with the data.

Before the measurement is taken, she also sends a message that the next survey is coming. Van der Logt Groep does the baseline measurement every month, which allows them to quickly see how the organization is doing in the 15 areas of the Employee Happiness Model. “We started this in October 2020 and we are still doing this. We believe it is important to collect as much data as possible to see our progress towards our starting point,” said Shirley. Only then can you really draw conclusions and take action(s) regarding the figures and input that are provided, she believes.

Follow-up of the measurements

In addition to collecting data, it is also important to do something with it. At Van der Logt Group, this is still a challenge that is mainly time-bound. Because they are so busy recruiting new employees, the process from work pressure to happiness at work needs some extra attention. “But we'll continue to engage with employees,” Shirley says. “The most important thing is that they see that we are listening to their feedback.”

In addition, Shirley likes to join the Mastermind sessions of 2DAYSMOOD. This is where several 2DAYSMOOD customers come together to discuss a topic such as sustainable employment practices, working from home or, in this case, hybrid working. “Here I recently spoke to a director of another company, who was more numbers oriented and told me how to translate the data into numbers for management,” says Shirley. “The sessions are extremely inspiring and motivating. It's nice to get inspiration from others every now and then!"

Her tip for other companies that also want to switch from a high workload to employee happiness, and make use of HR analytics? “Keep paying attention to it. It can be very busy from day to day, but keep an eye on how people react to it. Is the response rate still high? What kind of answers are given? And above all, make use of the many different modules that you have available. Your employees are the most important part of your organization, so make their happiness at work a priority!”

Do you, like Van der Logt Group, want to move from a high workload to employee happiness? With 2DAYSMOOD you can measure how employees are doing quickly, simply and innovatively. More information? Take a quick look at how it works!