H&M

“Oneteam helps us to motivate, inspire, and develop our colleagues, which clearly contributes to the success of our business.”
– Natascha Poncia-Kilsdonk, Recruitment & Development Manager at H&M

About H&M

H&M is one of the world’s leading fashion brands. In the Netherlands, they employ over 3,000 people spread across stores, distribution centers, and office locations. With such a large and diverse workforce, ensuring smooth communication and continuous development is key to daily operations.

The challenge

Before using Oneteam, internal communication at H&M was fragmented and overwhelming.

Natascha: “We shared too much information in too many ways. There were emails, newsletters, an intranet, a Facebook group, and even internal phone calls. It became almost impossible to ensure that every colleague received the right information at the right time.”

For store managers like Youssef, this created real challenges on the shop floor. “As a store manager, I got a lot of updates from the company that I had to pass on to my team. With a large team, it was very difficult to make sure the right information reached the right people.”

The result was information overload and confusion. Colleagues often didn’t know where to look or which updates were most important. “Our colleagues gave us feedback that it was confusing and hard to separate the must-reads from everything else,” says Natascha. “That obviously affected operational efficiency.”

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The solution

H&M realized they needed to bring everything together into one easy-to-use platform that all employees could access.

Natascha: “We wanted to create an inspiring and relevant communication platform that everyone could use, from stores to offices. Oneteam was the best solution to optimize our communication flows.”

The team also saw an opportunity to strengthen employee development. “We find it very important that people at H&M can grow professionally,” adds Natascha. “The built-in onboarding and e-learning modules in Oneteam fit perfectly with that goal.”

The approach

The timing of the rollout couldn’t have been more critical.

Britt: “We launched Oneteam in March 2020, which turned out to be the same week the first COVID-19 lockdown was announced. Suddenly all our stores had to close. It was more important than ever to stay in touch and keep colleagues informed. The urgency of the situation made everyone embrace the app right away, which really helped with a smooth implementation.”

And adoption on the shop floor was easy too. Youssef: “Oneteam is very user-friendly. When a new colleague starts in the store, it takes me about five minutes to explain how the app works. They can immediately find their way around.”

Today, every H&M colleague in the Netherlands uses Oneteam: store staff, distribution center employees, and office workers.

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The results

With Oneteam, H&M finally has one central platform where all colleagues can find what they need.

Britt: “Oneteam is now our most important communication channel. It’s easy to ask questions and share updates, and it really bridges the gap between our desk and non-desk employees. All the need-to-know and nice-to-know information is now in one place.”

The impact has been significant:

• 96% adoption rate
• 86% of employees use the app weekly
• Engagement peaks during lockdowns, when colleagues stayed connected by joining challenges and sharing updates, even when stores were closed

For store managers, Oneteam has simplified the flow of information. Youssef: “For me, the most important improvement is that I can now filter the updates and only share the relevant information with my team. That makes everything a lot clearer and easier to manage.”

Training and onboarding have also been transformed. Natascha: “With the onboarding module, we can give new employees a motivating, inspiring, and informative start. They get a warm welcome, learn who we are, meet the team, and know what to expect in their first weeks. It really helps them feel part of H&M from day one.”

H&M also uses Oneteam for continuous learning. “We create e-learning modules on topics like security, leadership, and conversation techniques,” explains Natascha. “Some are mandatory, others are optional so colleagues can develop themselves further whenever they want. We asked our managers for feedback, and they’re very positive about how easy and accessible the e-learning is.”

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Looking ahead

After a year of working with Oneteam, H&M is already looking at how to expand their use of the platform.

Britt: “Oneteam keeps developing, and with the new survey feature we can now instantly gather feedback from employees. We can run employee satisfaction surveys and quickly listen to what our colleagues need or wish for.”

Natascha concludes: “Oneteam helps us motivate, inspire, and develop our colleagues every day. That not only makes our people happier, it also makes our business stronger.”