4.500-5.000
Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany
Recreation & theme parks
Plopsa is an international theme park group with locations in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Together, the parks employ nearly 5,000 people, although that number fluctuates significantly throughout the year. During July and August, the parks operate at full capacity with a large number of seasonal employees, while staffing levels are considerably lower during the quieter months.
Of those 5,000 employees, only a small part works in an office, around 150. The vast majority work in the parks every day, on the front line, often without access to a dedicated computer.
In this interview, Maxime Bruneel (HR Generalist and Intranet Administrator) and Robbert Eggers (IT Platforms Manager) explain how Plopsa used Involv Intranet to roll out its first central communication platform across all of its parks.
An analogue company without a central overview
Before Involv, we had no intranet. Internal communication relied on printed posters designed by our marketing team, displayed in poster frames, restrooms and information boards. Plopsa had always been a very analogue organisation, with a strong preference for paper-based communication.
The biggest challenge was visibility and reach. We are not based in one building but spread across multiple parks in three countries. A poster displayed in De Panne would never automatically reach colleagues in Hasselt or Germany. Information often travelled from one email to another, passed from person to person, until the original message gradually became diluted.
We also had no way of knowing whether employees had actually seen a message or whether it had reached the right people.
Why we chose Involv Intranet
When we decided to digitise our internal communication, one requirement was non-negotiable: the solution had to be built on Microsoft and SharePoint. We are a Microsoft-driven company, and that was one of the key deciding factors during our search.
In addition, the solution needed to support single sign-on and integrate with the users already managed in our Active Directory, allowing us to easily control who had access to what.
What really set Involv apart from standard SharePoint was the mobile app. Most of our employees work in the parks and don’t have a laptop, but they do have a smartphone. If we wanted to reach them, the app had to do most of the work, including push notifications, which have since become indispensable for us.
It was equally important that we could fully extend our own Plopsa branding across both the intranet and the mobile app. Involv made that possible. We spoke with several other vendors at the beginning of the project, but we quickly decided to move forward with Involv and started testing the platform.
Involv Intranet in practice
The implementation went very smoothly. We hardly had to explain how the intranet worked to anyone. A short welcome tour during the first login was all employees needed.
The features we value most are:
- News articles and push notifications are our most frequently used communication channel, complemented by documents and the employee directory.
- The mobile app reaches employees who never work behind a computer.
- Our own look and feel has been carried through the entire platform, making it feel immediately familiar.
- Messages can be pinned and supported with multiple reminder notifications
- We can measure exactly how many employees have viewed each message
A good example was the final K3 performance. We received a limited number of buy-one-get-one-free tickets at very short notice, too late to create a visual or distribute the offer by email. We published the announcement on the intranet, sent a push notification, followed up with two reminder notifications, and within just a few days almost every ticket had been claimed.
Maxime Bruneel
HR Generalist and Intranet Administrator
Without Involv, we’d fall back on the old, analog way of working and that means missing employees all over again. Push notifications and reporting have become so second nature to us that we simply can’t do without them anymore.
Involv has also strengthened the connection between our parks. Employees at headquarters occasionally visit Germany or Hasselt, but someone grilling sausages here may never have seen the park located 600 kilometres away. Through the intranet, employees can now see what’s happening across all locations, learn who works there, and discover new ideas. One of our parks even adopted a laser show concept after seeing it shared by another park on the intranet.
What it has delivered
Involv intranet has become the bridge between our headquarters and every frontline employee. Even colleagues in Germany or Hasselt whom we have never met in person have become familiar faces. At staff events, people now recognise each other because of the intranet.
Robbert Eggers
IT Platforms Manager
In the past, we could never say whether a message had actually reached our employees. Today, we can show exactly how many people have seen it. When our CEO asked what we were actually achieving with the intranet, we were able to present concrete numbers for the first time.
Above all, the intranet has made our communication much more efficient. We can target messages to the right park or the right audience instead of distributing generic posters and hoping they reach the right people.
Would we recommend Involv Intranet?
Absolutely, especially for organisations where many employees rarely work behind a computer. Before Involv, our communication was hanging on the walls. Today, it’s in every employee’s pocket.
Would you like to see how Involv could work for your organisation? Watch our demo video or schedule your introduction call.
