Driving a Constant Conversation Culture

Inconsistent business processes and multiple outdated HR systems were hampering the company’s ability to effectively serve and manage records for their geographically dispersed workforce. Followmont implemented Oracle HCM Cloud to automate existing processes and reduce paper based and manual activities. The end goal was to create a continuous feedback culture and provide a mobile platform that would be assessable by all employees, ultimately creating an agile work environment. But to drive these changes, connect their people and embrace their new digital way of working required Followmont to introduce a single voice into their organisation, that would play a key role in their roadmap strategy. Communic8 was able to effectively deliver this and went beyond the scope of their implementation project.

From its small office beginnings in 1984, Followmont has grown to 18 company-owned regional depots with 850 staff and a network of local contractors that collectively travel more than 85,000km and move more than 3,000 tonnes per day.

Like most industries, the transport and logistics industry has been increasingly affected by a sharp surge in new innovations and technologies. Apart from driving skills, the top priority skills in the transport industry now include operational skills, compliance, health and safety, and digital skills.

Followmont has moved with many technology changes in its 35+ years of operation. It was now time to overhaul the company’s communication channels to provide a mobile communication platform that would be accessible by all employees – an important consideration for a geographically dispersed workforce that is literally on the move.

As part of a complete HR digital transformation, Followmont’s ultimate goal was to combine these challenges and create an agile work environment.

Followmont’s People & Change Lead, Renee Dumble explains how the key drivers of the technology change came from the employees themselves. “We had received feedback from our people via our annual employment survey that they wanted more communication and transparency from the business. We also wanted to create a continuous feedback culture and provide a mobile platform that would be accessible by all employees”.

The implementation of the Communic8 platform provided the solution that Followmont Transport was looking for, heralding in a new way for the company to communicate. The outcomes have not just been about improving communications, but also making the company’s management accountable.

“We saw Communic8 as a tool to not only help us through our digital adoption phases and the rollout of each project, but also as a continuation as to how we more effectively communicate changes to the business, exchange knowledge and receive feedback”, explains Renee Dumble.

During the digital adoption workshops, our implementation partner helped Followmont to identify the project’s key stakeholders, branding approach, and targeted communication messages that needed to be pushed out. “We received expert guidance and worked in partnership with our digital adoption specialist to really segment our audience and organise targeted messaging to make sure we were communicating the right content to our people”.

The digital, pre-configured communication templates on the Communic8 platform has been a key enable of change for Followmont. The company can now view analytics in real time and amend communications accordingly. This has ensured success in the broader implementation of the digital HR modules which has seen a positive uptake due to the awareness that was able to be generated from the outset of the project.

“Having such a diverse team across various locations throughout Queensland and New South Wales who also work different shifts was always going to be a challenge for us. Having mobile functionality meant that we were able to get a wider message out to all our staff. Communic8 really helped us bridge that gap”, explains Renee Dumble.

Followmont Transport has now been using Communic8 beyond the digital HR implementation project and the feedback they’re receiving from their employees has been continually reinforcing the company’s transition to a digitally adoptive culture.

“Being able to personalise the messages from our managing director means that staff are feeling more connected to business-critical matters”, says Renee Dumble.