YoungCapital, one of the fastest growing recruitment specialists in the Netherlands, organises multiple events every year. Aim is to involve employees in the brand and celebrate success together. In this interview, Marko van Tol, project manager Marketing & Communication, explains how the YoungCapital Festival contributes to YoungCapital’s strategic goals, how he organises a multi-day event for 1,300 colleagues and how Momice makes the registration for the festival easier.
Van Tol: “Every year, we organise two big events for our 1,300 employees. A kick-off, where we look back at the past year and look forward to the new year – followed by a party. We also organise the YoungCapital Festival. Last year, we organised this multi-day festival at a holiday park in the northeast of Friesland. In the afternoon there were theme parties and in the evening there was a big festival on site. It’s a proper festival, not a standard company party. Think bars and food trucks and don’t expect a substantive corporate programme. Employees will find their own way.”
The festival will take place this year too. This time, in a castle in Limburg. “Within one day, 830 people registered. That means that three out of four employees is expected to join. People are unanimously enthusiastic about the festival. It is a noticeably vivid topic within the organisation, everybody looks forward to it. The festival adds to the group feeling, the fun factor and it ensures we celebrate successes. The average age of YoungCapital employees is 28: therefore a festival is a great fit.”
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How does Van Tol organise such a festival with an event agency and his colleagues? “Upfront, we test concepts with colleagues. This helps us get an idea whether people like a certain idea. Last year, we gave colleagues the opportunity to shape the festival themselves. 10 of the holiday homes were dedicated to theme parties, organised by employees. We want to involve our colleagues in shaping the festival this year too.”
Visitors of the YoungCapital Festival are very positive. Two years ago, the festival got rated an 8,2 and last year the number went up to 8,6. “We use the surveys to ask how the visitors experienced the registration, update mails, location, facilities, music and the after party. It enables us to organise an even better festival the next year.”
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Primarily, the festival serves as a tool to turn the employees into brand ambassadors. “We want to increase the involvement in the organisation and strengthen the community feeling. From the moment they start working with us, we try to make them familiar with the core and brand value. We invest in this in many ways, but the festival is definitely a prominent example. Thanks to the YoungCapital Festival, colleagues know for sure: We achieve results together and We have fun. Those are two of our most important core values.”
In addition, the YoungCapital Festival helps the organisation to attract employees, says Van Tol. “That’s because there are few companies that treat their employees like this. In that sense, the festival is a great marketing tool. In addition, thanks to the festival, the overall satisfaction rate of our employees is higher. We often research the employee satisfaction, and we noticed the festival has a great impact.”
Remarkably, the hashtag #proudtobeyoungcapital, launched by the company itself, is frequently used by employees – without YoungCapital explicitly asking them to do so. “Colleagues used our hashtag in posts before, after and during the festival. This is really based on their own motivation and I am very happy about it: it means they are proud to be working here. At the festival, we see colleagues become friends and make beautiful memories.”
Van Tol uses Momice for the registration and invitations of the festival. “It makes my work a lot easier and clearer. Momice software saves me time, frustration and energy. I can now automate a lot of work, without having to use separate systems. Especially with such a large group – 1,300 invitees – keeping track of everything manually is impossible.”
According to Van Tol, another benefit of Momice is that the communication has become a lot more professional. “We WOW everyone: the colleagues are positively surprised about how we organise the festival. We want to simplify the registration for them. Previously, we worked with Google Forms and sent emails separately. Thanks to Momice, employees who want to attend the festival have a proper overview immediately. Momice saves me stress and provides a clear overview.”
The YoungCapital festival helps the organisation achieve strategic goals. Not only are the employees satisfied after the festival, it also helps them get familiar with the core values. We achieve results together and We have fun are two elements that become tangible during the YoungCapital Festival. Van Tol uses Momice for the registration and invitations for the festival. That saves him time and stress, and provides professional communication that WOWs the employees.