How THE ICONIC Supercharged Productivity with Gemini and OniGroup
THE ICONIC stands as one of Australia and New Zealand’s leading fashion and lifestyle platforms. With over 2 million active customers, THE ICONIC is beloved for its curated assortment of over 1,500 local and international brands and a seamless and inspiring shopping experience.
“Onigroup’s training has lifted awareness and day‑to‑day engagement with the Google AI features in our Workspace license. Courtney and Domenic were a joy to work with, tailoring every segment to our context. Since the sessions, usage has surged - the tools feel low‑friction and productive”
OniGroup is THE ICONIC's trusted Google Workspace Premier Partner. OniGroup has worked closely with THE ICONIC through several Google Workspace projects, including finding opportunities to consolidate their technology spend into the powerful capabilities Google Workspace provides.
More recently, THE ICONIC has initiated a multi-week training program for all staff to upskill in AI tooling. A significant pillar of THE ICONIC’s AI strategy is to use the tooling provided in their Google Workspace licence to help increase staff efficiency and productivity. OniGroup was introduced to plan and deliver in-person training to THE ICONIC’s staff on the full breadth of AI capabilities provided in Google Workspace.
While a core group of "AI Champions" were leading the adoption of AI tooling with THE ICONIC, it was crucial that all staff gained the knowledge and confidence to utilise the carefully selected toolset provided to them. THE ICONIC’s training program addressed 2 key challenges. The first being aligning all staff with THE ICONIC’s AI governance policy and selected toolset; eliminating shadow IT use cases of AI. The second key issue addressed was minimising the gap between power users of AI and other staff. If all users could become familiar with AI, then together THE ICONIC team could share impactful use cases and develop new ways of working.
Before training, AI usage within Google Workspace was largely limited to meeting recordings and sporadic use of the Gemini side-panel. Many users were unaware of the full breadth of AI capabilities at their disposal within Google Workspace and still completing tasks with manual processes.
OniGroup delivered live, in-person training to over 300 head office employees. The training was designed to provide staff with a solid understanding of each AI tool and its potential, offering tailored use cases specific to THE ICONIC's business needs that they could implement immediately. The training covered practical applications for:
The training program had an immediate and significant impact. THE ICONIC saw a 66.7% increase in daily active users of the various AI capabilities within Google Workspace.
The introduction of Gemini.google.com was a notable success, with staff generating over 1,339 interactions within just one week of the training.
Perhaps the most dramatic change was in the use of Gemini in Google Sheets. THE ICONIC saw a nearly 40% uptick in its use, with particular interest in the new =AI function.
Following the training, staff continued to build on this momentum, applying their knowledge of AI capabilities in Google Workspace to share new use cases with one another in a dedicated chat space. A breakout use case came from the Finance department, who launched a comprehensive NotebookLM knowledge base for mandatory training, tailored specifically for the Accounts Payable (AP) and Accounts Receivable (AR) team at THE ICONIC. This centralised resource now provides detailed guidance on compliance, internal controls, and risk management, with a key focus on financial integrity and cybersecurity. To cater to diverse learning styles, THE ICONIC used NotebookLM’s various formats, including mind maps, videos, podcasts, study notes, and interactive quizzes to help enhance their training.
The success of the program was captured by AI champion and Senior Agile Delivery Lead, Urs Kemmann.
Onigroup’s training has lifted awareness and day‑to‑day engagement with the Google AI features in our Workspace license. Courtney and Domenic were a joy to work with, tailoring every segment to our context. Since the sessions, usage has surged - the tools feel low‑friction and productive”
