We have some news. And believe us… This has never happened before in the history of Het Westland. Our current truck, used to transport all our beautiful green plants, has been with us for quite a while now. How long? We can’t even remember anymore. Time for a new one then! But… What will it be like? We chose that in a rather special way.
The new specs
Besides simply being a more modern vehicle, in which our master driver Rodney can cruise more comfortably, it is also a bit longer. In our old truck it was sometimes a matter of squeezing and juggling to transport everything properly, but now all the trolleys can be loaded into the space in the same way. That way they stay secured better, which is a lot safer and nicer for our plants!
The colour
We could of course reel off a whole list of the various gadgets and gizmos of the new truck. But what the outside world will mainly be dealing with is the appearance. And that is precisely what caused quite a bit of discussion within Forever Plants.
The colour of the sides and back of the truck is an important part of the branding, and there were several options for it. The truck could be white, like this website and the rest of our house style. But it could also be in the dark colour, in which the colours from our logo are reversed, a negative in other words.
Some colleagues, including Rodney, thought the negative looked really nice. But then, does it actually fit the house style well? And who is going to make a decision about that? Will it be Rodney, or someone else after all? After all, it is about the image of the entire organisation…
And then?
Then something wonderful happened. Something that has never occurred before in the Westland (as far as we know) when it comes to a new truck. A meeting was scheduled that people could voluntarily attend to cast a vote on the two options. Even the designer of the logo and house style was invited to contribute her ideas.
With a turnout of around 25 people, there turned out to be quite some enthusiasm to get involved. The method for making the final call? Voting! Before the voting round, various colleagues first presented the pros and cons of both decisions to the group as neutrally and objectively as possible.
The verdict was reached: the dark version. It looked tougher. It would stand out more. And Rodney would be over the moon with it.
Why does this matter?
At Forever Plants we try to involve people in decision-making as much as possible. By being transparent about it, we let our colleagues understand what is going on, they feel more connected to the organisation and can thereby make the right decisions for FPG.
Ideally we don’t just tell them the decisions, but also let them make them. Which this has been a great example of.
Spot it
The new truck will be arriving soon and can be admired in the Westland region and towards Aalsmeer. If you spot it, will you let us know what you think of it?
