How Royal Den Hartogh Logistics Centralizes Internal Communication

Written by Team Speakap | Jul 11, 2024 11:13:57 AM

Discover how Speakap's employee communications app helped Royal Den Hartogh Logistics centralize internal communication & improve employee engagement.

The success of Royal Den Hartogh Logistics relies heavily on its employees feeling connected, appreciated and kept in the loop. Achieving high engagement is often a challenge in the logistics and supply chain industry. With employees working varied schedules and in different environments, from office settings to on-the-road delivery, it's easy for communication gaps to arise and for employees to feel disconnected.

This is where an employee communications platform becomes critical rather than optional. We spoke with Erik Groen, the Process & Project Manager at Royal Den Hartogh Logistics to explore how their adoption of Speakap has improved their internal communication and enhanced employee engagement.

The Challenge:

How to centralize internal communications while improving employee engagement for a deskless workforce in logistics?

Royal Den Hartogh Logistics, a global leader in providing safe supply chain solutions for the Chemical, Gas, Polymer, and Food industries, relied on a mix of communication channels like personal narrowcasting, inside magazines, emails, WhatsApp, Viber, and even hard copies. This approach led to some serious issues:

Messages were often left unread or unclear due to language barriers
Finding information was complicated
The use of WhatsApp, for example, resulted in a more blurred work-life balance for employees

Erik Groen, the Process & Project Manager at Royal Den Hartogh Logistics, summed it up well: 

As a family-owned business, it’s crucial for everyone to feel part of the bigger group. But with the fragmented communication approach, our employees felt disconnected. We knew we had to change that.

The Solution:

A centralized employee experience platform to consolidate various forms of communication

Royal Den Hartogh Logistics decided to try something new. They ran an A/B test, comparing their old communication methods against Speakap, an employee communications platform. The difference was night and day. It wasn’t long before the results were clear: Speakap was a hit.

We soon noticed that colleagues find Speakap clearer and that it works way better.

Erik Groen, Process & Project Manager at Royal Den Hartogh Logistics

Why Speakap?

Here’s what made Speakap stand out:

Single platform: Finally, all internal communications were in one place, making it easy for everyone to find the information they needed.
Real-time updates: Employees could access documents and updates online instantly, making them feel more connected and involved.
Better engagement: The ease of responding to internal news boosted engagement significantly.
Easily accessible on work devices: The app is available on driver tablets, ensuring that non-office staff stay in the loop without needing to use their personal devices. Not every driver has a smartphone with mobile data, with Speakap, Royal Den Hartogh Logistics can make the app available on driver tablets. Erik explains, “The customized Speakap app is installed on our Driver Tablets. If a driver doesn’t want to log in on their own device, they can use the Driver Tablet. They receive both job information and internal communications on the same device.”

The Results:

Real stories and real impact with Speakap

Speakap is proving to be a valuable tool for Royal Den Hartogh Logistics, boasting a monthly user retention rate of 78%.  Over 50% of the app users actively engage with the content, highlighting a strong interest in the platform. Here’s how Royal Den Hartogh Logistics have been using Speakap:

To share all kinds of information, from introducing new colleagues to updating safety protocols. Posts about colleagues often got the most engagement, highlighting the strong sense of community. For example, when a young colleague got her truck driver’s license, she received congratulations from colleagues all over.
Speakap also streamlined how they communicated location-specific rules like parking, attire, and safety protocols. The Dry Bulk division found it especially useful, sharing and storing important info within the app. Drivers could easily find what they needed using Speakap’s search function.
To help colleagues get the most out of the platform, Royal Den Hartogh Logistics introduced "Tim the Trainer," an AI host within Speakap. Tim provided step-by-step instructions for various tasks, which colleagues found incredibly helpful.

How does Royal Den Hartogh Logistics measure the success of the platform?

Royal Den Hartogh Logistics uses various methods to measure the success of Speakap. Erik shares, “We use Compass to measure the results and use the information on meetings with the specific teams. On the one hand to show them what the interest & interaction is and on the other hand to share examples of other teams to inspire.”

In areas where Speakap was widely adopted, Royal Den Hartogh Logistics noticed better engagement and information retention among non-office colleagues. Drivers were even posting updates within their teams, showing real commitment and enthusiasm.

Speakap has changed the way we communicate for the better. It’s made everything so much clearer and brought everyone together in one place. Now, our team is more engaged, and everyone feels part of the bigger group.