Why Europabank chose Kadonation to optimise their cross-generational recognition programme

Thanking different generations in an appropriate and personal way, in both good times and bad.

In many large organ­i­sa­tions it appears to be an ongoing challenge to bring different gen­er­a­tions together, especially when it comes to appre­ci­a­tion and recog­ni­tion. This challenge is amplified in large companies where, with multiple locations or offices, there is also a physical distance between the different teams. This connection is so important to Europabank that they included it as one of their three core values. Any ini­tia­tives to bridge the gap between the 380 employees, 48 locations and different gen­er­a­tions are more than welcome.

Thomas explains: ​‘We think it’s important to look at the company from as many different angles as possible. For example, we have a group of younger employees who are much better able to look at the company through the eyes of a non-Europabank employee or school leaver. We have to continue main­tain­ing that per­spec­tive if we want to improve the way we work. We notice that financial gestures are becoming less and less important for this young generation, which makes ini­tia­tives like #iktrekhet­mi­jaan (the former Dikketru­iendag, an annual day to campaign against climate change) a breath of fresh air. A simple gesture like handing out soup ensures that other gen­er­a­tions also look at rewards and connection from a different per­spec­tive,’ says Thomas.

Regardless of the difference in gen­er­a­tions, everyone in the company has the Europabank DNA. Thierry agrees: ​‘That DNA is partly the reason I’ve been working for Europabank for 34 years.’ And this impressive career is certainly not unique: Valerie and Thomas have also worked at the Belgian company for 16 and 17 years respec­tive­ly.

What kept Thomas from moving on from his first employer? ​‘The variation and the fact that over time you get the oppor­tu­ni­ty to help shape the company yourself is really valuable,’ says Thomas. One of the areas he is respon­si­ble for is the entire employee journey within Europabank. ​‘Because we think it’s important that people feel good working for us, we notice that they also like to stay working for us. Our voluntary turnover has been at around 5% for several years, much lower than the national average. And that’s something we’re grateful for.’

The good feeling they get is partly thanks to their recog­ni­tion policy. ​‘That policy has remained very steadfast over the years. We have always focused on occasions like Saint Nicholas and certain years of seniority,’ says Thierry. ​‘For a company, tax leg­is­la­tion certainly plays a role here, although there is also room for ad hoc occasions like a summer drink.’

In recent years, they’ve noticed a shift in expec­ta­tions, especially across the different gen­er­a­tions. For example, giving everyone in the entire company a bottle of wine is no longer appre­ci­at­ed. The tra­di­tion­al approach with one type of gift for everyone no longer meets expec­ta­tions, which calls for a new solution.

With the help of Kadonation, focus on a flexible gift that works for everyone.

The solution Europabank found is the Kadonation Gift Card – a gift that brings joy across the gen­er­a­tions and that can be used in a variety of different ways. The fact that it is also quick to buy and easy to per­son­alise using the handy gift platform is an extra bonus for whoever is ordering the gift.

Thierry also speaks positively about the fact they chose the Kadonation Gift Card for the tra­di­tion­al Sin­terk­laas cel­e­bra­tion: ​‘For Sin­terk­laas we used to give a present to our employees and their children and we also put on quite a show. You can probably imagine that it takes a lot of organ­i­sa­tion to go and get the gifts, hand them out and make sure that everyone has got the right gift and that no child has been forgotten. That’s why a few years ago we made a conscious decision to go for the Kadonation Gift Card, which saves us an enormous amount of time and means we don’t have to compromise on the happiness of the recipients. In fact, being able to spend it at more than 90 partners (and charities) is much appre­ci­at­ed by the recipients. Everyone now gets to choose their own dream gift.’

Employees receive their digital Kadonation Gift Card a few weeks before Sin­terk­laas pays them a visit. This gives them plenty of time to buy the perfect gift for their child and means that Europabank is really adding value on the big day, whether it’s on 11 November or 6 December.

Valerie points out that Kadonation supports Europabank not only when it comes to employee recog­ni­tion, but also for its B2B activities. ​‘Our end customers and office managers have been receiving our calendars, gin­ger­bread and various raffles and branded gifts for some time, but we also want to show our appre­ci­a­tion for our traders. We do this through a spon­sor­ship campaign, for which we actively use Kadonation Select.’

As part of this spon­sor­ship campaign they reward their traders with a Kadonation Gift Card of 75 euros per lead they bring in and sign. ​‘We’ve been running this campaign for several years, but over time we noticed problems with the vouchers we were giving out before we came across Kadonation. I used to have to physically pick them up from the shop, so stock management also became com­pli­cat­ed because of the limited validity of the vouchers, etc.’

That was all solved thanks to Kadonation Select. ​‘Since we’ve been giving out Kadonation Gift Cards for our spon­sor­ship campaign, we’ve noticed a 20% growth in new relevant leads,’ reports Valerie.

With close-knit teams and partners, Europabank holds the key to success.

With Kadonation Select, Europabank has found a platform that is ​‘easy to use, offers per­son­al­i­sa­tion options in our own corporate branding and saves us an enormous amount of time,’ says Valerie. ​‘The whole process from thinking of a gift to finding it and getting it to the right place is made as simple as possible. For me, that means a time saving of one day a month for the spon­sor­ship campaign alone.’

This time saving equates to cost savings for the company. With less time spent on the logistics of the B2B spon­sor­ship campaign and the Sin­terk­laas gift, employees can focus on their core activities, which improves overall pro­duc­tiv­i­ty. Valerie: ​‘You also know that everyone will be happy with the gift, which is not nec­es­sar­i­ly the case if you choose something for them.’ Win-win!

​‘We certainly want to continue taking a quality-driven approach in the future. So that we can show that we are there for our employees in both the good times and the bad,’ Thierry summarises. ​‘And soon we’ll be cel­e­brat­ing our 60th birthday, so who knows, maybe we’ll give everyone a nice gift to mark that occasion too!’ Con­grat­u­la­tions on your milestone!

Would you like to save more money, like Europabank? Try the gifting platform Kadonation Select.