Aveco de Bondt – Hannah Jansen (Communication Strategist Aveco de Bondt)
Several companies continued under one flag at the engineering and consultancy firm Aveco de Bondt. The company now has no fewer than 430 employees at five different locations. In January 2023, the time came to gather at one location with all employees during the first Aveco de Bondt day. Aveco de Bondt called Windshift to take care of the activity during the day to connect the employees.
Hannah Jansen
Communication strategist
Read the whole story of Aveco de Bondt
Connection thanks to Beat the Box.
With the desire for a team building activity for a large group of employees, Hannah, a communication strategist at Aveco de Bondt, started looking for a suitable partner. "I started looking online for parties that offered this and made a shortlist based on that." The final decision to work with Windshift was a good choice. The Beat the Box activity meshed well with many employees' interest in games working towards the greater purpose of connecting. What exactly Beat the Box is, and whether it has led to more connection, is what we talked to Hannah about today.
We were looking for a way to connect.
"This was the first time all colleagues
came together at one location. Many colleagues had never met each other because
they work at different locations and with different expertise," says
Hannah about the Aveco de Bondt day. "The day occurred in January, so an
outdoor activity was unsuitable. There are also only a few parties that can
provide a game for such a large group." When Hannah came into contact with
Windshift, she quickly became enthusiastic about the game Beat the Box.
"It creates a connection between employees in a very smart way. At first,
they think they are fighting against each other, but later it turns out they
need each other."
What is Beat the Box?
For Beat the Box, the group was divided into
60 teams, each of which had its table with a box. A video was shown on a large
screen with the assignment to crack a code, after which the group got to work.
"Engineers love puzzles," says Hannah, "but I didn't expect them
to be so passionate. It was great to see. They went all out for the win with
their team until they discovered they had the other teams needed to crack the
code."
And what was the atmosphere like during the activity?
As already mentioned, the atmosphere during
the activity was lively and energetic. "Because I was involved in the organisation
of the activity, I did not participate myself, but I enjoyed watching how
passionate people were." Hannah also says that people's characters became
very visible during the activity. "Some held the cards to their chest,
while others just went out to gather information." When it turned out that
a deeper layer was there, and the teams could only crack the code by working
together, the feeling of togetherness and connection arose.
Part of the proceeds went to charity.
Hannah is very excited about working with
Windshift. "The collaboration went very smoothly; Setting up a game for
such a large group is quite a task. They did that very well. Our colleagues
enjoyed the game, and many colleagues got to know each other during the game. It
was truly a shared experience. So Beat the Box has created a connection."
The fact that part of the proceeds went to charity was also a perfect fit.
"Social is one of our core values, and we like to ensure that things
are going well with others. We did not know in advance that part of the
proceeds would go to charity, but this was an extra confirmation that we had
made the right choice."
Aveco de Bondt after the activity
Of course, we also wanted to know the lasting
effects of the Aveco de Bondt day on the employees: "Of course, that is
always difficult to measure. However, we still hear positive stories about the
day and the game—informal chat and greeting each other more often in the
corridors. There is also more awareness of the organisation's size that we are
a large company.".
