Van Oys

“Oneteam is our central hub where all communication comes together. We can easily share updates, new colleagues introduce themselves, and everyone stays up to date. It brings both clarity and connection.”
– Simone Böhmer, HR & Culture Manager at Van Oys Maastricht Retreat

About Van Oys

Van Oys Maastricht Retreat is a five-star superior hotel in the rolling hills of South Limburg. With 130 employees working across seven departments, the hotel is alive around the clock. Some colleagues start their day early in housekeeping, others work a late shift in the restaurant, and a few finish their night as porters welcoming guests in the early hours.

The challenge

When Simone Böhmer joined as HR & Culture Manager in September 2024, the hotel was still in development. Teams were yet to be formed, departments had to be set up, and key systems needed to be selected. One of the first challenges was: how will we keep all of our colleagues connected once we open?

“In a hotel like this, you have so many different shifts and departments. One person might start at seven in the morning while another only comes in at eleven at night. Colleagues do not automatically see each other,” Simone explains. “That is why communication has to be well organized.”

The team quickly realized that they needed one central platform. They did not want scattered WhatsApp groups or endless email threads where information could easily get lost. Instead, they wanted a single, structured place for updates, documents, questions, and introductions. “We were simply looking for one place where everything comes together,” says Simone. “Somewhere people know they can always find what they need.”

The solution

Because Simone had already worked with Oneteam with a previous employer, she knew exactly what the platform could offer. She suggested it right away. “I had good experiences with it before, so I knew it would be the right fit for us,” she recalls.

Her colleague Bart only needed to look at the website before he was convinced. “This is exactly what we are looking for,” he said immediately. After an introductory call and a quick cost check, the choice was made.

What mattered most was finding a platform that was not only suitable for sharing updates, but also for storing documents, creating department-specific chat groups, and adding photos with ease. It also needed to integrate with their HR system, ensuring that the employee list stayed up to date automatically.

“With WhatsApp, you can easily forget to remove former colleagues from groups, which quickly becomes messy. That was something we wanted to avoid,” says Simone. “Thanks to the HR integration, the synchronization happens automatically. It saves time and keeps everything tidy.”

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The approach

The implementation of Oneteam began at the start of 2025, well before the official opening of the hotel. This gave the team two months to set up the platform without pressure from day-to-day operations.

An HR intern coordinated the rollout, gathering documents, creating chat groups, and preparing updates. Meanwhile, department managers were still finalizing their procedures, menus, and onboarding materials, which could be added directly to Oneteam as soon as they were ready.

“We were still developing everything, and that actually worked out perfectly,” Simone explains. “The platform grew alongside the organization. Because everyone contributed, it felt like something we built together.”

The results

Since the opening, almost all communication has run through Oneteam. New colleagues introduce themselves on the timeline, updates and schedule changes are shared instantly, and staff dinners are organized through the events feature. “At the beginning, we still used paper sign-up sheets,” Simone laughs. “Now everything is digital. You can immediately see who has signed up and send reminder to the ones who haven't replied yet. It's so much easier and clearer.”

Colleagues especially appreciate that they can choose when to open the app, instead of being bombarded with endless notifications like in WhatsApp.

There is also room for the fun and social side of work. Birthdays are celebrated, sparking spontaneous reactions that make things feel more personal.

Simone uses the dashboard to keep an overview of who is active, who has signed up for events, and where follow-up might be needed. “We have one main timeline for general updates and separate chats for each department. It works really well.”

On top of that, short surveys are automatically sent out to check in with colleagues. “We are still growing, but Oneteam already feels like a natural part of our daily work.”

Conclusion

For now, Oneteam is mainly used for sharing information, but there are plenty of plans to expand its use.

In the near future, Van Oys wants to use the platform for performance reviews and feedback conversations as well. “This way, managers can easily see which conversations still need to take place, without us having to send reminders.”

Although the hotel has only just opened, Oneteam already feels like an integral part of the organization. “It is clear, easy to use, and fits perfectly with the kind of employer we want to be. Everything is in one place, and everyone knows where to go. It gives us peace of mind. And in such a dynamic environment, that is incredibly valuable.”