Return, reset, reboard with Engels

For Engels - Windows & Doors, building means constructing a better future for all of us. From Superstars as Madonna to the girl next door who bought windows and doors at Engels.

Not only do they devote a lot of attention to the durability of their products, the family company also serves their employees with love. After two long pandemic years working from home, they can once again welcome their employees with open arms. And what screams more love than a reboarding gift? Read on to find out how Sunday helped create Engels’ employees feel part of their company culture again.

Engels - Windows & Doors has been creating beautiful places since 1945 thanks to sophisticated windows and door designs. The family business, which has been run by the third generation, will celebrate its 77th anniversary in 2022. Today the Engels group employs more than 200 people, in addition to two production companies (wood in Lokeren and aluminum in Eeklo), it consists of a department for the project market, a private label department and a network of 11 Engels stores. Their very large group of employees consists of blue-collar and white-collar workers, but also representatives, managers, technical profiles and above all, all identities of all ages going from 28 till 65.

To make the company future-proof in the coming years the focal points will be a commitment to social criteria, the environment, society and the consumer. To achieve this they see additional challenges in the areas of sustainability and well-being on the workfloor. Starting with an annual event for all employees thrown by Didier Engels the CEO himself! Didier Engels not only organized the event, he took it all in his stride from behind the DJ Booth.

Together with his brother, they form the famous DJ Duo ‘Hermanos Inglesos’! This year’s theme of the event was the celebration of the general return to the office. And what can not be missed at a party? Gifts! So Sunday created reboarding gifts for all employees of Engels. Guaranteed only happy faces seen on the first days back at the office.

Reboarding is anything but simply flipping on your office’s light switch again. The entire covid pandemic shattered a lot of structures and presented employers and employees with a number of new and unique challenges. Whether your employees were able to work remotely or were on leave, it has been a difficult road for many. That’s exactly why Engels saw an opportunity to ease the gap by surprising their employees with a branded wearable.

Using branded wearables as a means of communication in an action related to or stemming from a company’s policy, helped Engels spread their message in the most impactful way imaginable. “We chose to go with personalized socks because it did fit with the whole theme of “coming back to work”, says Valerie Baeke, Marketing Communication Coordinator at Engels. “Your feet are important and socks are a universal garment. Everyone wears them, everyone can use them at any time and certainly within any job.” Engels’ first goal was actually just to produce something fun. Enplus socks are a rewarding product. “We had been told by other companies that had already worked with you that the socks were high quality and above all being quite popular among employees.”

Since Engels has a wide variety of profiles from blue collar workers to white collar workers, their reboarding gift should fit the needs of every department. It's been a challenge for them to find a gift that suits everyone and that, above all, everyone wants to wear and enjoy. A pair of nice designed socks were the perfect solution. To add the perfect pair of socks to the box, Engels went for two different designs. Each employee received, on the one hand, sports socks and, on the other hand, the regular socks branded in their colors. Next to their brand name, the theme that fitted: The Comeback. For the sports socks they chose to work with a sporty design with the slogan: "Work hard, play harder" on it.

The gift boxes with the two pairs of socks were delivered to the office and set up at the workplace, ready to be handed out at the party. The box was printed entirely in their corporate style with the title of the party “The Comeback” on it. Quite a mysterious look, but then when the employees open it, they actually find a very playful pair of socks in the box.

The reboarding boxes really expressed Engels’ appreciation for the long period of working from home and gave their employees a warm welcome back to the office. As a result, there have been only positive reactions. “The two pairs of designs do create a dichotomy between the different generations, but that gives us the freedom to choose 2 different designs and therefore two options. This way everyone can choose which socks they want to wear. Or they just want them both, even better!“

Engels was left with a surplus of socks after their party. Yet there was no waste, as they had deliberately produced more than necessary. They have been putting together an onboarding package for a while now. In this way, they were able to find out if employees found the socks a fun yet useful gift to not only use as a reboarding gift, but also as an onboarding gift. And as a gift for their clients and stakeholders.

The slogan: "Work hard, play harder" on the socks really matches Engels’ company culture since they had to work extra hard this past year. Yet the summer party was there to get a little more silly, and enjoy each other's company. So the “play harder” part really fits even more within the company spirit.

The video was shared by many people and received lots of positive reactions. Since the video was really made from the employer branding angle, they wanted to give something that is highly visible and yet modern.

Despite the fact that there was a tight deadline for the socks, Engels did not encounter any problems. The order was delivered completely before the deadline, and we also managed to entirely overcome the logistical challenges that came with it.