LOEB digitalizes their internal communication to their employees with ahead

Until recently, the traditional retail store communicated with its sales staff via a notice board. With ahead, they now can quickly and directly reach to all employees via the smartphone app.

December 16, 2020
Pascal Grossniklaus
Founder & CEO

LOEB - a unique story. Characterized by pioneering work, innovation and creation, as well as the entrepreneurial family Loeb. Founded in 1881 by four brothers in Bern, the LOEB company has now been managed by one family member each for five generations. LOEB employs around 320 people in the department stores in Bern, Biel, Thun, as well as the MAGGS stores and at Eva Kyburz in Zurich.

For LOEB, their vision is: "The most personal department store in Switzerland! We convince our customers with our assortments, with genuine services and with unique personalities - our employees". More than just lip service. With the employee as a central element, LOEB also invests in modern communication in order to communicate with the staff quickly, directly and with a wealth of images at all times.

Challenge

A fast moving retail business, excellence in customer service and, in 2020, COVID-19 protection measures, require daily communication with employees. Since the majority of LOEB employees did not have access to a digital communication channel, such as an intranet or e-mail, it was often difficult to distribute information in a targeted manner. Mostly this was done orally or via a notice on the bulletin board. Since every employee now has a smartphone, LOEB was looking for a solution that could be implemented quickly, was easy to use, and also enabled communication between employees.

Solution

LOEB chose ahead because it covers the important needs for information distribution and integrates perfectly into the existing Microsoft Office365 IT infrastructure. The following features were especially convincing for LOEB:

- Information can be distributed to target groups in a personalized way.

- All employees can be reached.

- Simple integration of external information channels, such as social media.

- With ahead Stories, exciting content can be created and shared easily by employees via smartphone.

Onboarding

The "Intranet as a Service" ahead solution enabled LOEB to implement the intranet without an IT project. This allowed LOEB's intranet team to focus on content and maintenance. Thanks to the user-friendly operation, users and editors quickly found their way around.

Benefits

- More efficiency in the distribution of information, since there is a central communication channel for everyone.

- Fewer inquiries in HR, since employees can find the relevant information on their own.

- Employees feel picked up and well informed.

- The "we-feeling" is strengthened. Thanks to the social features, employees are also more involved and can give direct feedback.

Related blog posts