Our story

At SMT Shipping, our office staff work from Rotterdam and other locations worldwide, including Poland, Cyprus, Norway, the UK, and the USA. Formally, we don’t have a dedicated HR department, but the vitality and engagement of our office employees are high on the agenda. With the NewU app, SMT Shipping launched its first large-scale vitality initiative. Once we gain more experience organising vitality initiatives for our office staff, we plan to introduce these to all 2,000 employees working at sea.

Our goals

We are a shipping company and also operate in Sierra Leone, where Mercy Ships (an organisation providing medical care via hospital ships) is active. This collaboration immediately felt very natural to us. We didn’t just want to donate money but also engage our employees. At the same time, we were looking for a way to encourage office vitality. That’s how we landed on a sporty fundraising campaign that perfectly aligned with our organisational goals.

NewU in action

The communication was carried out mainly online. Through repeated emails and messages, we shared updates: we counted down to the start date, shared interim progress, and used promotional posters with QR codes for downloading the app. This ensured employees consistently received the same message, which helped maintain their attention. Additionally, at each location, we asked a few enthusiastic ‘ambassadors’ to motivate colleagues and explain the NewU app.

The challenge

“Many of our colleagues are spread across the globe. It’s difficult to motivate everyone personally. Simply appointing an active staff member at each office to help and encourage others made a massive difference!”

Motivating a large group of employees spread across international seas remains a challenge. With this initiative, we hoped to engage employees who wouldn’t normally participate actively. The use of ‘ambassadors’ at each location proved very effective: they led the charge and motivated others to get involved. The result? An impressive €50,000 raised for Mercy Ships! Next time, we might consider implementing a buddy system or pairing colleagues in small teams to help them encourage each other while getting to know one another better.

NewU accounts: 50

“There was a spontaneous sense of competition: I heard that someone went for a walk late at night after noticing a colleague in another country had surpassed them on the leaderboard.”

The enthusiasm among employees was amazing! People posted pictures of their walks, planking sessions, and even their morning SUP outings in Cyprus on the newsfeed. This helped colleagues from entirely different departments get to know each other better. Normally, you only talk to colleagues about work, especially when you’re so far apart. Now, I saw a colleague from Poland walking their dog and another going for a weekend run. The next time you meet, you have a new topic of conversation. Beyond encouraging physical activity, NewU promotes team spirit and connection, which made this initiative an even greater success.

Working with NewU

It’s impressive how the NewU app can transform something as simple as walking or cycling into a fun and interactive game with your colleagues. For us, the feed fostered healthy competition as well as togetherness. We used the NewU portal to collect photos and eventually create a collage to share as a look back at the initiative. The collaboration with the NewU team was also enjoyable: with their tips and promotional posters, we were able to easily communicate the initiative.

Gertwim’s advice

What I’d Advise HR Managers...

"What I would recommend to other HR managers is to ensure you have at least one enthusiastic champion or ‘ambassador’ per location or department. You really need people who can personally engage others in the app or highlight the launch of the initiative. It’s also crucial to provide interim updates. Share short progress updates, funny pictures, and noteworthy milestones to remind employees that the campaign is ongoing.

Then, think of creative ways to keep your initiative exciting. For example, we organised a special ‘weekend challenge,’ where employees earned one euro per second of planking. These quick, quirky activities encourage people to stay active without requiring a major event.

What made a real difference for us was that Mercy Ships (our chosen cause) sent us short videos and photos. I’d strongly recommend finding a way to involve your chosen cause in the initiative. This gives a face to the organisation you’re supporting and fosters even greater engagement among your employees.”