Workwear as part of Reila’s fast-growing employer brand.

In recent years, Reila has grown rapidly – from a cash management operator to a new player in the security sector in spring 2019. Reila aims to renew the industry and challenge the traditional perceptions that especially surround security work. According to Reila’s HR Director, Sami Juntunen, a Reila security officer is above all in a customer service role. They are there to help and, at the same time, to ensure that customers and staff feel safe and comfortable. The spirit of Reila comes from its employees. The company’s role is to make that good feeling possible.

To accelerate rapid growth and recruit new employees, a strong employer brand is essential. When security services were launched in 2019, very few people knew about Reila – even within the S Group, although Reila is part of it. Within just a few years, Reila’s employer brand has been built. The company’s explosive growth is also reflected in its staff numbers: in five years Reila has expanded from a 60-person company to one employing nearly 700 people.

 

 

With the company’s growth, it became time to completely rethink the workwear. Reila wanted to stand out from the competitors and was looking for a partner who would create clothes that employees would prefer. When we got to know Medanta, we quickly felt that this was the operator who would create something new and good for Reila employees, says Sami. A thorough survey was carried out and the clothes were designed from the users' perspectives. This took time, but Reila wanted to do the groundwork carefully.

How were users involved in the design?

When operations first began, there was no time to think about workwear – a quick, practical solution was chosen instead. The old workwear received a lot of feedback, which served as a wake-up call that something needed to be done. The first step was to collect wishes and feedback from employees.

Based on that, a collection was created together with Medanta, with the key factors being:

• fit, breathability, and ease of care

• work-specific details such as pockets, a phone holder, an equipment belt, knee pad slots, reinforcements, and compliance with industry regulations

• appearance – how the clothes look

• responsibility and sustainability of the garment

 

 

When the models were presented to a group of employees and they were able to try on and touch the clothes. The presentation was so positively received that we realised we were going in the right direction. After that, piloting began, based on which the final refinements were made to the models.

Anssi Ruokokoski was the designer of Reila's collection. Anssi was inspired by the fact that a humane and friendly approach was sought for a profession that is traditionally quite difficult to approach. "Of course, I went to different places to observe and see what the guards look like. I understood the requirements for flexibility and comfort in workwear. And that there are many rules for their workwear that had to be taken into account in the design."

We wanted to design a collection that is responsible and compact workwear. The collection is also completely unisex and works for everyone. A new material, Medanta Heavysmart, was also innovated for this collection - because a completely new type of flexible, yet highly durable material was needed.

 

 

Reila Palvelut Oy is a fully domestic company belonging to the S Group, which provides cash management and security services to companies, communities, the public sector and consumers throughout Finland.

• Almost 700 people from Reila
• Provides services to over 2,000 locations nationwide
• Excellent recommendation index 67 (NPS)