The DNA of IGO!

What could be more fun than receiving a gift? Giving a gift, of course!
At least, that is what IGO believes. ‘The Experience of Giving!’ is the motto of our organisation. We believe that ‘The Experience of Giving!’ builds and strengthens relationships. IGO wants to become a global market leader in building and strengthening relationships. The relationship with our employees certainly is one of them. What does working for IGO really mean?

What is it that characterises the mission and vision of our employees and our corporate culture? Which DNA is the basis of the mission and vision of our organisation? Of course the typical IGO employee does not exist. That is because there are too many of us, we differ too much and our work varies too much. Yet there are many characteristics that IGO employees share, which therefore define our corporate culture. These are matters that we are hardly aware of, because they come so naturally, but at the same time they are extremely important for the success of the organisation.

For 70 years now, employees have been providing the basis for IGO's success. Our employees strive for the highest quality and are prepared to go the extra mile. For example, you may come across a spontaneous update on Facebook: employees of the logistics department go to work on a Saturday to ensure timely delivery of the goods to the customer. That strong sense of responsibility and accompanying loyalty characterise employees of IGO. Those are elements of our corporate culture that we are proud of.

Flexibility

The expectations our customers have regarding service and communication constantly change. The customer journey (the experience the customer goes through during the process of purchasing) is ever-moving and therefore ever-changing. This demands a lot from our organisation and, consequently, from our employees. For example, consider a different way of planning and a different way of communicating. That demands much more flexibility from our organisation and employees than it used to. Moving along with the demands of the organisation.

Learning organisation – innovation

Considering the quality that we want to guarantee, it is important that procedures are followed and that we control our processes. To IGO processes are a means to an end. Thinking in terms of possibilities, thinking in terms of solutions. IGO is a large player in the promotional gifts market. But in order to maintain that position amidst all the available technologies and developments in the market, we want to stay one step ahead of the competition. That demands innovation. Innovation does not necessarily mean that we need to invent something new. It is about activities that are aimed at introducing innovations in a company. We encourage our employees to use that elbow room, so that we operate as a learning organisation. Sometimes an experiment will succeed, sometimes it will not, but at least there should be room for it. This way we keep learning. By means of training, but also from each other.

Responsibility

Taking responsibility for your own career is another important starting point. It used to be normal that someone would do the same work throughout the duration of their employment, from the moment of starting their duties to the moment of their retirement. Those days are definitely over, not only because we all need to work longer, but simply also because the work in our organisation keeps changing. That is why it is important that every IGO employee considers their opportunities and ambitions and discusses these with their manager during development or performance interviews. You can regard this as an ongoing process within IGO.

So, as an IGO employee you are in charge of your own career, but you are also expected to show initiative when it comes to work. In our corporate culture, employees’ initiative and ideas are appreciated. So, do you have ideas regarding work improvement, IGO in general or regarding the core values ‘Trustworthy, Honest, Attentive and Ambitious’? We would love to hear them! Because whatever we can do better, we should do better and we could use everybody’s input for this.