Employee recognition is at the heart of daily life at ICA Maxi in Kungälv, where Flourish is used as a tool to support the work environment – enabling employees to acknowledge one another in everyday situations and foster well-being, motivation, and collaboration.
“We need our employees with us to be an attractive workplace. Our success depends on them,” says Nadja Nordén, Employee Development Manager at the store.
Last year, 3,500 recognitions were sent through the system. 484 messages were exchanged in march alone. Examples include: “Great teamwork,” “You make a difference for my well-being every day,” and “Amazing job with the drinks! So nice to have you with us today.” These messages bring joy to both sender and recipient.
“Receiving recognition makes you feel good, and in our industry, having the opportunity to send it digitally is especially important. We’re open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., so not all colleagues meet during a shift.
This is a way to express appreciation even when you don’t see each other – like sending a kind message to someone who worked the evening shift and left everything in great shape for the morning,” Nadja explains.
A strong reputation attracts young talent
In addition to peer recognition, the store invests in social activities both during and outside working hours – like shared lunches, cooking sessions, flower arranging, competitions, or football tournaments. Soon, a large group from the store will be running the Göteborgsvarvet race together. These efforts have paid off.
“We recently attended a major job fair for young people here in Kungälv and saw great interest in us as an employer. We’ve built a reputation locally that makes many young people want to work here, both for the sense of community and because it’s a good place to work,” says Nadja.
Bringing values to life
Community is one of the store’s core values, and for Nadja and her colleagues in Kungälv, it’s been important that the values are more than just words on paper – they should come to life in daily operations. The other two values are Engagement and Well-being – all aimed at creating a healthy work environment where people feel good and want to contribute.
“Our team is one of our greatest competitive advantages. When our staff enjoy their work, it shows throughout the store – in the atmosphere and in how we meet our customers,” Nadja says.
High staff turnover is a known challenge in the industry, and Nadja notes that satisfied employees tend to stay longer.
Encouraging suggestions for improvement
The store also encourages staff to take part in continuous improvement efforts, and all employees are welcome to submit suggestions, big or small.
“We’ve received ideas about everything from new group activities to more practical requests, like needing extra picking trolleys in the store or a place to store umbrellas in the locker room,” Nadja says.
The commitment to employee well-being has resulted in excellent Flourish-scores in terms of workplace conditions and engagement. Nadja emphasises that it’s the team’s collective effort that makes the difference.
“We shape each other’s work environment and our colleagues are absolutely the key to our success,” she says.
Click the button below to learn more about the employee recognition feature.
