How to effectively communicate crucial operational information while engaging a diverse workforce across numerous locations? With a branded employee app that allows to efficiently reach & inform all employees
Here's how Restaurant Company Europe (RCE) did it.
Restaurant Company Europe (RCE) is the largest hospitality group in the Netherlands, comprising over 75 restaurants and café locations, including renowned concepts like Loetje, Happy Italy, Stan, Beers & Barrels, Waag in Leiden, and De Vooruitgang in Eindhoven.
Reaching all employees efficiently with crucial operational information was a significant hurdle for Restaurant Company Europe (RCE). Yet, there are two main challenges that demanded the most attention.
Challenge 1. As a large hospitality group with over 75+ locations, RCE struggled to keep its staff informed about various aspects, including: product updates for kitchen staff; marketing campaign instructions; changes in recipes, ordering processes, and such. The traditional methods of communication, such as email, in-person presentations, and printed instructions, were also not sufficient enough as only managers had work emails, hindering information flow to teams. As well as, crucial updates reached employees late or incompletely, leading to miscommunication and improper implementation.
Challenge 2. Besides not being able to properly and quickly instruct employees, RCE were also looking for a way to get their employees more involved and engaged. As RCE was created by a merger of several large hospitality companies, they deal with many different formulas, such as Loetje, Beers & Barrels, Happy Italy and several stand alone locations. Not being able to reach all of colleagues within one platform was an obstacle to keeping people better involved in the developments of RCE as an ‘umbrella’ company. Thus, it is very important that processes run smoothly and employees are well informed. Especially even in a transition period where several companies are being merged.
"Our biggest challenge was how to reach all of our employees to share important operational information efficiently. With more than 75+ restaurant and café locations, Restaurant Company Europe is the largest Hospitality groups of the Netherlands. "
To address these challenges, RCE implemented an employee engagement app - Lekker (which in Dutch, translates to "tasty" or "delicious," so it's a clever play on words), developed by Speakap. The employee app offers a range of features that directly address RCE's needs.
For example, the Pages feature which RCE actively uses to highlight important subjects such as benefits and company culture, making them easily accessible and not missed by employees.
That’s not all - they are also using workforce analytics to compare the usage and involvement of the app between different restaurant concepts to understand how the app is utilized by different teams. With this RCE can gain valuable insights into how different teams across restaurant concepts engage with the platform. This data-driven approach allows RCE to tailor communication strategies for each team, maximizing information retention and engagement.
Lastly, with the Translate Feature, RCE is able to break down language barriers, and make it easier to communicate important information to non-Dutch speaking employees. It also simplifies the process of communication for the company.
“The implementation of the ‘Lekker app’ in our internal communications, enables us to easily interact with our employees on a daily basis, and helps RCE being one strong employer brand for all of our concepts and locations.”
The results are impressive: the employee communications app of RCE boasts an impressive 2600+ users, demonstrating widespread adoption across the organization. The 81% monthly active user rate further highlights consistent information flow and active employee participation. Importantly, employees report feeling consistently informed and equipped to handle their tasks, attributing this to the app’s accessibility and emphasis on timely information delivery.
Beyond its core functionalities, the use of employee app Lekker also fosters a stronger sense of community among employees. Features like group discussions and photo sharing functionalities encourage social interaction and experience sharing. Additionally, the operational nature of the company, where employees would miss important information without the app and leadership initiatives like regional manager advocacy and employee benefit programs play a role in the platform's high 88% activation rate, further solidifying its value for employees.
Looking towards the future, RCE plans to leverage Speakap's capabilities even further:
If you're interested in learning more about how Speakap can help your frontline team, book a demo with us here.