Circle K has always been at the forefront when it comes to digitization and streamlining internal processes.
Through digitalisation, streamlining and good planning, Circle K reduces the administrative staff with 50% by using Tappin's digital solution - the event app.
Digital solutions make it possible to have seamless dialogue and information sharing both before, during and after the event. All participants find all information in one place, which simplifies the day-to-day life of the organizer and Circle K's employees receive the right information at the right time.
Since 2012, Circle K and Tappin have had a collaboration where Circle K, which Tappin is both proud of and humbled by.
Circle K has a hundred-year history in Norway, as Norsk Brændselolje A/S with the brand names MIL and BP, Norsk Olje as (Norol), Statoil Norge AS and Statoil Fuel & Retail AS (Statoil) and now Circle K Norge AS (Circle K) .
Today, Circle K is owned by a world-leading player in fuel and retail, Couche-Tard Inc. ("Couche-Tard") with headquarters in Laval in Canada and is present in 26 countries, with 14,200 stores of which there are approximately 124,000 people employed by Circle K. In Norway alone, Circle K has over 3,000 people working at the stations, filling stations and offices throughout the country.
Circle K uses Tappin's Event app at local and global events. It is particularly important to have a digital solution for the Global Top Leader Meetings, where participants from all over the world meet, and have many activities that run in parallel, where one of the keys to success is having seamless communication to all the participants.
"We wouldn't be Tappin's app except for a single event - and I actually don't know if it would have been possible to carry out those events with the setup we have today without Tappin," says Director Global Events. Svein Arve Strand "
There are many challenges when communicating effectively with all employees, and meeting the different expectations from all employees.
How to communicate seamlessly with all participants at an event when employees are divided into different groups with different programs, and what happens when unforeseen changes occur? How do you reach out to all employees as organizers to the participants in question and provide relevant updates?
How to set up a seamless arrangement that has exactly the look & feel Circle K wants?
The questions are many and Circle K - through its Global Event Manager Svein Arve Strand - found solid solutions to the challenge where the key to success is the following:
"We plan that all dialogue and communication will go via a communication channel which is Tappin's digital conference solution. There is everything from pre-reads, i.e. documents to be read in advance, information along the way, and not least making information available very quickly afterwards, so that it can be used further by the individual managers in their part of the organisation. By having all the information in one place, it minimizes e-mails with questions both before and after the events," says Svein Narve Strand.
"Furthermore, the following elements are important that we always work with - and Svein Arve mentions the following:
- Circle K's design is important and everyone should be able to recognise.
- We have even used the event app for branding by name and logo change from Statoil to Circle K. During the event itself, the logos and colors on the stage changed from Statoil to Circle K, and in no time everything was changed to Circle K, including all content in the event app which was a reinforcing factor.
- Information flow is the key to success and meeting employees' needs is important - and here we use the app to post everything from teasers, videos, pre reads to ensure that the employees also have time to familiarize themselves with the material before a meeting and not least have time to look forward to the planned gatherings.
"Tappin's solution is feature-rich and one might rather ask questions about which functions are not available" - says Svein Narve and smiles, and goes on to list a number of the functions he uses.
- In Tappin's solution, we can manage the information as a group, which means a lot to Circle K - as the different groups often meet in different places at different times, so that the individual group gets the information they will participate in tailored to them, which is valuable.
- During the program, updates are posted so that there is no information overload, but the right information at the right time. For example, when it is dinner - more information about this comes up and is pushed out via SMS.
- We see Tappin's solution as a hub where employees get access to all content and important information that they take with you on to their teams and employees, such as prereads, information along the way and not least all information that is entered afterwards.
"As an organizer, we no longer need to tell you about the program, where the bus departs from, etc... everything is in the event app, and you can therefore use valuable time that was previously used for pure information for mingling and networking"
What value does the technology create for Circle K?
Webinars and hybrid are here to stay!
We put together the various functions and possibilities to the fullest.
Circle K has a number of webinars and it is not always that the time suits everyone, so we record the broadcasts so that it is available afterwards.
Often these are webinars that are part of the run-up to an internal leadership program - and we therefore choose to send teaser videos in the event app, and in this way we ensure that everyone is 100% up to date for the meetings,
The secret behind success is to use the technology to the fullest and to mix the different elements to achieve seamless dialogue and an optimal participant experience.
"Circle K streamlines the implementation and reduces event personnel by approx. 50% by using Tappin's event app, and we receive fewer questions before, during and after the event. It has been almost impossible to implement with the complexity we have without using Tappin's digital platform," says Svein-Narve
A good collaboration with Tappin is decisive
"Circle K has collaborated with Tappin since 2012, with nothing but good experiences. The solution itself is one thing, but equally important are the people they have worked with
We find that Tappin is quick and service-oriented - and working with Circle K, which is a demanding organisation, where things happen "last minute", different time zones mean that you have to turn around outside of working hours, and here we see that Tappin always delivers . They deliver and are positive in every situation, and are solution-oriented at all times. Working with a partner who has such an attitude is vital for us. I really appreciate such collaboration and feel that when Tappin works with Circle K, they are part of the organization and contribute to Circle K being successful with its events" concludes Svein Arve Strand - Global Event Manager Circle K