Taking employee motivation to the next level

WINTERSTEIGER drying and disinfection lockers deliver genuine added value to everyday life at work. Having dry workwear is essential for people who work in challenging climatic conditions and in physically demanding jobs. We spoke to Sabrina Kronberger, HR Manager at WEINBERGMAIER GmbH. WEINBERGMAIER employs 250 people in total and manufactures high-quality food products. The employees working on the production line wear their own work clothes. Some of them work under very harsh climatic conditions. This means that when it comes to workwear, a high level of comfort is vital for employee motivation. WINTERSTEIGER installed a total of 8 Tantum shoe dryers in the production area at WEINBERGMAIER.

 

Sabine, your employees in production have to wear work clothes as part of their day-to-day work. To what extent does your company value comfortable workwear?

As you rightly say, work clothes are a part of everyday work at our company. Employees wear them the whole time they are at work. Having work pants that don’t fit properly, a jacket that doesn’t keep you warm, or a T-shirt that gives off an unpleasant smell can really affect how you feel at work. And for those employees who spend much of the day in refrigerated and deep-freeze warehouses, having dry and, in our case, warm boots is obviously vital. Workwear, for us, is an integral part of our employer branding – we want to create a working environment in which everyone feels good.

 

Your company obviously attaches great importance to the well-being of its employees. I imagine that you also seek to maintain a high level of employee motivation with a variety of benefits. What else do you offer your employees besides the usual fruit basket to enhance their well-being at work?

Don’t get me wrong – so-called soft benefits like providing free fresh fruit play an important role in this context. They all contribute to a relaxed atmosphere during breaks, allowing us to switch off for a few minutes. However, I see the benefits directly linked to an employee’s actual work as being far more important. Things that make our work easier, that help us to focus on the task at hand.

The drying panels are a perfect example of this. Our employees wear their work boots every day. If they don’t feel comfortable in what they’re wearing, how will they be motivated to perform their tasks for an 8-hour shift? The drying panels give us the opportunity to offer our employees real added value in their day-to-day work.

 

Is this something that you highlight to applicants to show that you offer more here than most other companies?

We see it as a holistic package – we don’t want to base the well-being of our employees on one aspect. Some may prioritize flexible working hours, others may want their workplace to be easily accessible, and others may value working in a modern environment. We have received very positive feedback on the drying panels, particularly from our long-standing employees. Therefore, with the Tantum, we have not only invested in providing benefits for potential new employees, but above all for our existing staff, who really appreciate the quality of the working environment.

 

Many thanks Sabine!