Global engineering technologies company Renishaw surprised its employees this Christmas with a festive hamper that maps out the company’s UK locations with locally sourced products from the areas where its main offices are located.
Almost 3000 Christmas hampers were carefully prepared by Renishaw’s Human Resources team to include festive treats such as cake and chuntney from Gloucestershire, salve cheese and waffles from Wales, sweets from Yorkshire, shortbread and oatcakes from Scotland and real ale from the Lymestone Brewery in Stone, Staffordshire.
“The festive hamper was historically meant as a treat to be shared with family and friends to celebrate the end of another year,” explained Hannah Hind, Personnel Administrator at Renishaw. “This is exactly what we wanted to recreate for our employees. Instead of using pre-ordered hampers, we involved local and independent UK companies, most of a relatively small size, to whom an order of 3000 or so products can make a positive impact on business.
“Sourcing locally for corporate Christmas hampers is a fantastic way to help local companies in the run-up to the festive season, and there are other advantages as well. The quality of the products is remarkable, you get better value and the hampers almost take on a personality of their own.”
“The one challenge we always have when ordering the Christmas hampers is estimating the number we will need, because we employ almost 3000 people in the UK and are always growing,” revealed Hind. “Luckily, we found an easy way of getting around it. We usually prepare more hampers than we need and any spares go to local charities, disadvantaged children and homeless shelters.”l awards, including eighteen Queen’s Awards recognising achievements in technology, export and innovation.