Evergreen Shipping Agency has reported unprecedented employee engagement since its move to remote work, enabled by Avaya technology.
The company's roll out of the Avaya Cloud Office by RingCentral communications and collaboration platform has led to record levels of customer service availability as the shipping industry navigates supply chain disruption and port congestion.
Evergreen Shipping Agency is a local container carrier that operates ships and twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) worldwide. When remote work was mandated in 2021, Evergreen sought to transform the way its employees engage with work through a reimagined collaboration system - a move Sam Read, junior vice president for Evergreen Shipping Agency, said was spurred by a former platform's limited capabilities.
Read says, "Our previous collaboration system was unstable and would often cut out during calls between customers and employees. We needed to ensure customers were getting a superior experience as 90 per cent of our staff transitioned to remote work. The smooth release of cargo depends on effective communication with our documentation and importation departments - as well as high levels of security and compliance on our part.
The cloud-based Avaya Cloud Office platform enabled Evergreen's staff to work remotely and securely, with access to consolidated 'office in a pocket' capabilities, including video conferencing, messaging and calling. Read says this increased engagement between colleagues, and the transition was completed with minimal disruption to Evergreen's processes, with flow-on benefits for customers.
He says, "The face-to-face interaction offered through video conferencing has really strengthened inter-departmental collaboration to a degree we've not seen before - so much so we've now totally transformed the way we operate, with remote work as a permanent fixture. Our staff can now enjoy greater flexibility, while our customers can contact staff outside the traditional working day.
"Plus, we can instantly add new agents to take on increased workloads when needed. Previously we had to wait up to two days for this to happen.
"Indeed, the increased customer service availability has played a part in easing the port and supply chain congestion issues that have been impacting the entire shipping industry.
Read also says insights from the platform's data analytics functionality have helped Evergreen gain a new level of visibility into its operations, providing insights into where and how the customer experience can be taken to greater heights.
He continues, "We now have a treasure trove of advanced insights into the customer experience we're delivering, which has given us a new ability to address the unique needs of customer. And this information is helping us make better business decisions - like increasing headcount in departments when required, or introducing staff training in areas the data revealed required improvement.
Evergreen implemented Avaya Cloud Office with consultation and support from cloud communications firm and Avaya partner, Captivo, which delivered system integration and staff training to Evergreen's local workforce.
Peter Nejaim, director at Captivo Australia, says, "The whole world relies on successful movement of cargo by sea, and the shipping industry has perhaps felt the impacts of supply chain delays more acutely than any other. With our team's expertise, Evergreen was able to make the transition to remote work without compromise to the customer or employee experience.
Jeremy Paton, team engagement solutions Lead Asia-Pacific (APAC) at Avaya, says, "As the shipping industry navigated the unchartered waters of the last few years, it was crucial Evergreen's employees required access to smooth, efficient and reliable collaboration to provide certainty and transparency to customers. We're thankful to play a part in easing these operations, and ensuring Evergreen's staff can do their jobs with flexibility and effectiveness.
