As the company evolved, so did its needs, and Kentro needed a swag vendor that could scale accordingly. While handling swag for a group of 100 employees was effective at the time, it became increasingly complex as the company grew. Since swag was purchased in bulk, gathering sizes and color preferences for over 500 employees became time-consuming and difficult. Packing parties became the only way to ship swag at scale, with employees stuffing envelopes and packing boxes.
To improve this process, Felicia decided to seek a more scalable swag solution that could accommodate the company’s growth and rebranding efforts. “We needed our swag vendor to be as flexible and able to grow as we were.”
After the idea of a company shop was suggested internally through Annual Pitch Day, Felicia went through months of thorough research and spreadsheets. During her research, she discovered Stadium’s on-demand swag capabilities, and she quickly recommended the platform to her leadership team.
With a company shop, Felicia no longer needed to purchase swag in bulk, gather sizes, or manage inventory. Before Stadium, swag distribution meant hours of manual work. On one occasion, gathering sizes for an order of 35 golf shirts still took a week to complete. With Stadium, that became a thing of the past. Additionally, Stadium’s Peace of Mind Protection gave her reassurance by allowing her to easily swap sizes, which had always been a limitation with bulk swag.
On-demand also offered greater flexibility, as it allowed employees to “redeem on their own time,” making it convenient for Kentro’s distributed workforce.
Beyond swag, Stadium has simplified recognition by automating gifting for employee milestones. Felicia set up three automations for 1-, 3-, and 5-year anniversaries, ensuring employee milestones are always celebrated. By integrating with her HRIS, gifting truly runs on autopilot, as employee information is automatically pulled. “It’s been super seamless and hands-off. All I have to do is go in and create a new automation. I don’t have to ask for a distribution list or ask for sizes.” Felicia appreciates that Stadium’s reminder emails to gift recipients eliminate the need for manual follow-ups, saving even more time.
Kentro employees have also been enjoying Stadium! “Out of 800 employees, I’ve only got positive praise.”
Consolidating swag under Stadium has also been an incredible time saver. Before Stadium, designing swag and getting samples used to take roughly 40-50 hours every quarter. Today, it takes around 10-20 hours, which is a 67% reduction.
Beyond the numbers, having swag that showcases the Kentro brand and sparks conversation is priceless. “It’s not just a name change. Our culture and everything else have evolved. As we grow, we want to ensure that people represent our brand in the right way. I’ve been on calls where people have asked about my hoodies, and it just sparks a conversation.” One employee even noted, “It’s not swag. It’s a uniform.” That simple remark says it all–swag sparks pride, strengthens culture, and powerfully promotes your brand.
To promote employee development, she’s looking to reward employees with points for completing specific courses.
As the year comes to a close and the holiday season approaches, she is planning to gift points to different teams as part of Kentro’s end-of-year morale gifting.
Kentro
Felicia Weigel
Communications Manager
