Office Olympics: Absoluta
And the winner of the 'Office Olympics' trophy is:
Absoluta
Just about all major Dutch banks, Bol.com, PostNL - these are not the least of these customers of Absoluta. They all find the largest business-to-business platform for their food, gifts and flowers. From overtime meals for their employees to Christmas hampers and dates to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles: they go there for everything. And the best part is: it is a well-organized team of young people who fix it all. Britt van der Molen started out as a service desk employee, but (almost) flew straight on to a position with more responsibilities. For six months now, Teamlead customer service flowers & gifts has been adorning her name tag. "If you indicate what you want and show what you have to offer, almost anything is possible at Absoluta."
Is Absoluta the rightful winner of this trophy?
"Oh, definitely! Absoluta is an incredibly cool company to work for. When I started here a year and a half ago, I immediately fell head over heels. It was busy. We were on the eve of the holidays, and we were heading for a new lockdown. That meant gifts, gifts, gifts and more gifts. In this period companies did everything they could to give their employees a boost. Such a peak is very special at Absoluta. The vibe that prevails here is indescribable. All together we go for it, one team and one task. And when we are successful, we celebrate hard. Just as important!
Beautiful Britt! What marks does Absoluta get from you?
Clients and jobs: 9
"At Absoluta every day is different. New clients, new suppliers. Always shifting gears to make it a little better or more beautiful for the client. In corona time we have grown enormously. Then the gifts and flowers branch was added. It all changes so quickly and so fast. You have to switch gears all the time. That makes me happy! For KPMG we recently made a large delivery of custom-made, fully personalized Museum Annual Cards. I then know: everyone who works for that company will soon have a Museum Annual Card from us in their wallet. That's very bold, isn't it?"
Culture and colleagues: 10
"The average age at Absoluta is between 25 and 30. Amongst ourselves we treat each other as friends. In the period before Christmas and New Year the atmosphere suddenly changes. In a positive sense though! That is by far our busiest period. We know then: we really have to fight. That gives such a team feeling. Every evening we eat together, we really make the best of it. Very special. And if another team needs help, we're happy to help out. It's also fun, by the way, because you get to know the company really quickly that way."
Working hours and workplace: 8
"Peaking hard also means: vacationing hard. In the busy periods, often around the holidays, we often work overtime. And that's not bad at all: the vibe is so special. You can't imagine what happens then. You can then use the overtime as time for time. In practice, it means that in the summer I can do whatever I want. In a manner of speaking, of course. In my time with Absoluta I have been in so many great places. Did I mention that we also have lots of vacation days?"
Drinks and parties: 10
"Yes, haha, where to start? We have our own ADE, namely Absoluta Dance Event. Then you can also bring friends. I find that incredibly cool. My friends back home often hear about my colleagues, who are also friends. It's great that the two worlds come together in this way. What else did I see in a year and a half? Skiing in Austria, rafting in the Biesbosch, a balloon trip. And great Friday afternoon drinks, but perhaps every company has those. We celebrate successes with champagne, one of the colleagues sabres the bottle. The cork, with the date and the deal on it, gets a nice spot on our wall of fame."
Opportunities for advancement: 8
"In my case, the question of whether you can grow at Absoluta is not such a difficult one, haha. I quickly noticed that I needed more of a challenge. My supervisor reacted super cool to that. When the opportunity arose, I could move on to what I am doing now. After just one year, no less! That I get that opportunity is typical of how things work at Absoluta. Sonja (co-founder Absoluta, ed.) said to me: you can be anything you want, there are plenty of opportunities. As long as you work hard and show what you have to offer. I did, and look where I am now. I'm super proud that I've already managed to do this."
Want to know more about Absoluta? Check out this link.
Text: Iris van den Boezem
Video: Fable Film