Canadian HR Reporter

32 www.hrreporter.com savings on products and services they want and need. Those car rental companies leveraged their partnership with Venngo to reach more people in need and, in doing so, they began to shift the company in this crisis to become an organization that helps deliver the necessities of our new normal. Kondwani Mwase has seen Venngo change a lot since mid-March. The marketing director at Venngo has been watching as his company writes a new story for itself in a fast-changing world. Through those first weeks of anxiety when companies rushed to fill a desperate need, he and his team saw how crucial their role had become. In subsequent weeks, they've cemented their place as a key facilitator for people, helping them get the products and services they need to adjust and deliver some of the perks that will ease our transition into a new normal. "Before this pandemic, we prided ourselves in our ability to help users get more out of life," Mwase says. "Now it feels like we are an even more key facilitator, getting people things that they need. We Venngo's teams of brand success managers are predicting what needs are arising among their users and reaching out to the brand partners equipped to deliver those services. From a social distance, they're maintaining strong relationships with those vendors using frequent video calls and support to make sure the relationships they need stay strong. Some of those vendor partners are even using Venngo to connect them with other vendors and services they need to transition their businesses to the new normal. Mwase has been floored by the myriad ways Venngo's vendor partners have stepped up. He says so much of that generosity and extra effort has been a product of the relationships Venngo cultivates. "We're really big on relationships," Mwase says. "And we're really big on this concept that, in order for our business to work, everybody has to win. The customer has to win, the merchant has to win and the organization has to win. Those relationships allow us to have unique offers in market and allow us to drive real value to our end users with a special benefit." He says that, through those relationships, Venngo's partner organizations have been motivated to do the right thing. They're asking how they can contribute, how they can share what they have to keep the economy moving and providing people with what they need. Mwase says that, universally, Venngo's partners don't want to sit on the sidelines through this. They want to step up and help where they can. They're doing that. Venngo is also seeing a need to provide help to its brand partners. Economists have estimated that as many as a quarter of Canadian small businesses will close because of the pandemic. The retail, travel and hospitality industries are especially hard-hit, and they happen to be industries where Venngo has developed deep relationships. Mwase says its partnerships are delivering now for the end user and for the vendors. Venngo can approach a restaurant or a clothing retailer and say, "If you want to switch to delivery, we can give you a platform to reach so many more customers." That's the sort of lifeline struggling small businesses need. Mwase sees, too, the connection between the survival of those businesses and the character of Canadian neighbourhoods. "A big anchor in our business is the ability to help people get value from things that are within their neighbourhood," Mwase says. "We've done some research that has been grounded both in the States and in Canada that shows that, while a lot of people do shop online, a lot of people still shop within their neighbourhood… Because of that, we've really leaned into locals. "We know that the pandemic is a challenge for the businesses we work with and the millions of Canadians they employ. Doing what we can to help keep those businesses afloat is something we feel as a responsibility. Hopefully, we can contribute to lowering that number, even by just telling their neighbours that those businesses exist. Nobody knows what the future will look like, but we want to be there to help." CHRR don't mean the most crucial needs like shelter, but we're starting to provide what people might need in this new world." Venngo's not just riding its new position passively, though. It sees a need for work-from-home equipment, so it is leveraging relationships with electronics stores to provide simple gear in high demand such as keyboards, a second monitor and noise-cancelling headphones. It sees a need for educational entertainment as kids stay home from school, so it is using a strong relationship with Samsung to offer Samsung Kids to its members. Venngo has built partnerships across the country with local businesses, restaurants and neighbourhood eateries over the years. Local content and support for community businesses has always been an important component of WorkPerks programs, and Venngo teams are reaching out to local businesses to help their transition to delivery and takeout services, offering Venngo's users a taste of the normal they knew before this outbreak. "Before this pandemic, we prided ourselves in our ability to help users get more out of life. Now, it feels like we are an even more key facilitator, getting people things that they need." Kondwani Mwase, Marketing Director at Venngo WORKPERKS LEADERSHIP SERIES

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