Van Gelder groente & fruit

“Oneteam helps us communicate faster and more consistently with our operational colleagues, without creating extra workload.”
– Patricia Prikker, HR & recruitment at Van Gelder

About Van Gelder groente & fruit

Van Gelder groente & fruit is a Dutch family-owned company with more than 70 years of experience in potatoes, vegetables and fruit. From its main location in Ridderkerk and several distribution hubs across the Netherlands, Van Gelder delivers fresh produce every day to hospitality businesses, caterers and healthcare institutions in the Netherlands and Belgium.

The company employs around 250 permanent staff and about 80 temporary workers. They work across production, warehouse operations, transport, office and procurement. There are also several depots where only drivers are based. Because of this spread across roles and locations, not everyone sees each other regularly. That makes good internal communication important, but not always straightforward.

The challenge

Before using Oneteam, internal information was shared through occasional newsletters or verbally on the work floor. That worked reasonably well for colleagues in the office, but much less for people working in production, warehouse and transport.

“Office colleagues naturally hear a lot,” says Patricia, Corporate Recruiter at Van Gelder. “You sit next to each other, you overhear conversations. But people in operations work their shift and then go home. It’s easy to miss context or background behind certain decisions.”

There was also no fixed rhythm to communication. “We tried to send a newsletter about once per quarter,” explains Stefan, Marketing Specialist at Van Gelder. “But if there wasn’t much to share, it sometimes took longer before anything went out.”

The structure of the organisation played a role as well. With multiple departments, locations and depots, many colleagues rarely crossed paths. Drivers working from depots, for example, hardly ever visited the main location and had little to no contact with colleagues from other departments.

“We wanted to avoid people feeling like they were working on separate islands,” Patricia explains. “Sharing information better helps people feel more connected and prevents small misunderstandings from building up.”

The goal was clear: make information easy to share, easy to access and available to everyone, without adding extra pressure to managers.

The solution

The choice for Oneteam came directly from that need to improve internal  communication. The platform had been suggested earlier by a colleague, after which Patricia, Brigitte and Stefan became jointly responsible for setting it up and keeping it running.

At first, the idea was that managers would share updates themselves. In practice, that turned out to be hard to maintain. “Our managers are mainly focused on keeping the operation running,” Patricia explains.“In that reality, posting updates quickly drops down the priority list.”

Instead, Patricia, Brigitte and Stefan took on a more active role. They regularly check in with different departments to see what’s going on and what’s worth sharing. Based on that input, they post updates themselves and keep a steady flow of information going. This way, news reaches the whole organisation and the timeline stays relevant and varied.

The results

Since Oneteam was introduced, internal communication at Van Gelder has become much quicker and easier. Information no longer needs to be saved up for a newsletter and can be shared as soon as it’s relevant.

“Before, we waited until there was enough information,” Patricia says. “Now we share an update right when it happens.”

On average, around two posts appear on the timeline each week. “We’re quite conscious about the mix,” Stefan adds. “It’s not only serious updates. We also share fun and lighter messages. That makes it more appealing for our team to open the app and have a look at what’s new.”

The content includes organisation-wide updates, staff initiatives, news from the Experience Center and a recurring format called Employee in the Spotlight. Each month, one colleague is introduced using the same set of questions. “That way, you really get to know people you don’t work with every day,” Stefan explains.

There is also a digital coffee corner where employees can post messages themselves, even when they’re not work-related. This creates an informal space within Oneteam, without turning the platform into a stream of noise.

Interaction is growing naturally. Colleagues often use a 'high five' to react, and written comments are used more selectively. “Quick reactions feel very normal for a lot of people,” Stefan says. “And the conversations that start in Oneteam usually continue later on the work floor.”

Onboarding through Oneteam is intentionally kept short. New starters receive an introduction to Van Gelder, its history and how the organisation works. The actual onboarding happens on location, as many roles require physical presence. “What matters is that everyone starts with the same context and background story,” Patricia explains.

That Oneteam has found its place within the organisation is also clear from new hires. “Sometimes colleagues who are still in their probation period ask when they’ll get access to Oneteam,” Patricia says. “That’s when you know people are talking about it.”

Conclusion

For Van Gelder groente & fruit, the value of Oneteam lies mainly in its simplicity and speed. The platform fits well with an organisation where many colleagues work in operations, in shifts or across different locations, and where information can otherwise easily pass people by.

“It’s about our team knowing what’s going on and knowing where to find information,” Patricia concludes. “Oneteam helps us organise that in a practical way.”

By bringing communication together in one central place, Van Gelder can share information when it matters, without relying on fixed communication moments or putting extra pressure on managers. Oneteam isn’t a goal in itself, but a practical tool that fits the daily rhythm of Van Gelder: a fast-moving organisation where clear communication simply needs to be well organised.