“Stadium stood out to me because it made global gifting simple, inclusive, scalable, and cost-effective.”

Michelle Diefenderfer

Background

As a global automation platform, Workato needed a more inclusive and efficient way to recognize employees across continents.

Michelle Diefenderfer, Director of Administrative Operations, leads these efforts–overseeing everything from employee engagement to event logistics.

Before Stadium, Workato’s employee gifting relied on bulk swag and multiple vendors, often resulting in customs and fulfillment issues and limited global reach. This led to inconsistent fulfillment and limited reach across regions like India and the Philippines. “We had swag stored both in the office and with vendors, but that setup often led to customs issues and all the challenges that came with global shipping.”

Pain Points

  • Lacked global reach
  • Needed a centralized shop
  • Wanted swag beyond bulk
    • 350

      Orders Placed
    • 10+

      Shops Created
    • 25+

      Countries Gifted To

    Our Solution

    As Workato employees began requesting more company swag, the idea of a company shop emerged. After a Google search, Workato discovered Stadium and its global, on-demand capabilities–something previous vendors didn’t offer. “We were consolidating multiple swag vendors to one or two. While I knew on-demand swag existed, I didn’t know of a supplier who could do it.”

    Workato launched its first on-demand company shop with Stadium. Stadium Shops offered the flexibility to create an unlimited number of shops for different use cases. Each shop was uniquely branded, creating an engaging experience for recipients, whether they were employees or customers receiving a gift.

    Thanks to on-demand swag, Workato was able to offer more premium brands and the gift of choice. “Being able to offer on-demand swag has been a game-changer. With bulk swag, we’d typically have to choose lower-tier items to keep costs down. However, most employees want top-tier brands like Nike, Adidas, and others, which typically cost more. With on-demand, we can offer employees the freedom to choose from the premium brands they love.”

    Workato

    Workato now uses Stadium Shops for both internal and external gifting. Internally, Workato gifts for birthdays, company events, and work anniversaries at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year marks. Additionally, gifting is used to reward company initiatives, like Workato Cares, where employees compete to see who has the most volunteer hours at the organization each year. The winner receives points to a shop, using gifting as a simple but effective way to celebrate impact.

    Externally, Workato uses shops to engage partners and customers. Whether it’s showing general appreciation or rewarding customers for completing a G2 review, their shop offers a flexible way to keep gifting ongoing, global, and engaging, no matter the occasion.

    Results

    With Stadium, Workato turned global gifting from a time-consuming, manual process into a unified and scalable experience. “I only spend 20 minutes working on gifting initiatives. If I were doing this on a weekly or monthly basis, I’d save a couple of hours a week on managing, reporting, and uploading.”

    Stadium has also enabled Workato to include all employees in their global gifting. “For us, APAC is a huge region. Shipping to India and the Philippines were my two biggest pain points prior to Stadium, but Stadium has helped a ton. We also have employees who have relocated to certain areas within Europe that would have been challenging to source, but with Stadium, everyone gets to be included.”

    Employees also appreciate the ability to choose their own swag. “Our employees were already proud to represent Workato, but having swag they can actually choose makes them even more excited about it.” That flexibility extends beyond just products–many employees now choose to donate their gifting funds. “A lot of employees have said they’d rather donate their birthday funds than receive a gift. I love that Stadium offers that flexibility and gift of choice.”

    Customer support has also been a standout. “Stadium’s customer support has been so great and consistent. I can send them an email asking for assistance and get an answer within two hours that it’s done.”

    Marketing Tip

    Keep your swag fresh. Rotate swag designs throughout the year and launch event-specific swag or limited drops to keep employees engaged.

    Stadium Tip

    Shops can truly flex for all your needs. Whether you create one shop and repurpose it or create a different shop for each occasion, don’t overlook the power of a shop.

    Onwards & Upwards

    Workato is now exploring ways to use Stadium beyond HR, enabling sales and marketing teams to recognize prospects and customers–all through the same global platform. “Right now, it’s just my team–but it’s about to grow, as Stadium is flexible enough to accommodate all teams.”

    Company Overview

    Company Name:

    Workato

    Sender Name:

    Michelle Diefenderfer

    Job Title:

    Director, Administrative Operations

    Features Used

    • Stadium Shops
    • On-Demand Swag
    • Donations
    • Catalog

    Teams Involved

    Used by:

    HR

    Customer Photos

    Shops Created