Preparation
I was surprised that when I joined the company in the middle of October 2019, the only topic that was on was Christmas. The Christmas campaign was already introduced and everyone’s attention was drawn towards the challenging time. Obviously, the main goal was to sell. During frequent company meetings, all employees were reminded of the goal, even if their departments were not closely related to sales or marketing. To be honest, in the beginning, I found the atmosphere a bit stressful. My opinion changed when I was introduced to Christmas perks; the company, even though demanded a lot from the employees during the peak time, at the same time providing many additional benefits to unload the stress (e.g. massages, juice bars, sweets).
Anticipation of complications
While sales were going up, and everything looked like going just according to the plan, first mentions of complications were presented. Several, complex and unexpected problems on the production side occurred and the threat that the products will not be delivered to customers on time began. The Content Marketing department in which I was working, had to mobilize when hearing the news. In a very short time, we had to prepare many versions of content to be published, in case of any scenario, together with copywriters, designers, country-specific teams. It was the first time I got to see how well-coordinated between-team collaboration can be, but this was still only the beginning of the peak.
The actual outbreak
The problems with production and delivery started quicker than it was expected and were actually more severe. The company realized that very likely there is a chance that not all the ordered products can be delivered for Christmas. The threat was spotted also by the Dutch press.
The Spirit of Albelli
Albelli employees were faced with a difficult situation right at the start of the Christmas holidays. When we were all asked by the company for additional help I was not surprised, but I was with no doubt surprised by the general reaction. A list of volunteers that wanted to help by taking additional shifts (often already during their days off) in the factory and customer care department was filled out in less than an hour. Many employees worked voluntarily during a weekend or on actual Christmas Days, either from the office or remotely. Everyone stayed flexible and willing to help out in these difficult times.
I have to be honest I never expected to see so much spirit in a company that usually does not face rush and media problems. Experiencing the peak, and the peak crisis, at Albelli, taught me how important is the atmosphere and feeling included in the company. Hard work made people come closer together and solve the problem in the best possible way but it would not happen if people did not feel belonging to the company. In my opinion, Albelli did a great job taking care of its employees and it with no doubt paid off in the most difficult time.
Aleksandra