Digitalisation
A continuous improvement process
Employee feedback
Taking time to reflect and receiving feedback from our employees provide important information on how we as a Company can continue to develop and improve.
Gearbulk aims to digitalise and optimise work tools and processes, and this requires a digitally fit workforce. To asses Gearbulk’s status on the subject, 30% of Gearbulk’s managers and employees joined a digital fitness assessment globally in Q1 2019.
A global employee survey was completed in August which yielded an amazing response rate of 89 percent. The overall result showed a score of 78 on satisfaction and motivation and an 85 on loyalty.
Based on the feedback received through both of these initiatives, an action plan was developed and launched during the “Closing the Loop” seminar. This action plan will remain a compass for the organisational development through 2020-2021and is also reflected in many of the 2019 activities.
"Closing the Loop: The Customer in Focus" Seminar
In October 2019, Gearbulk hosted a seminar in Bergen called Closing the Loop: The customer in Focus. The two-day program was centered on how Gearbulk should focus on our customers, understand their needs and future priorities and how we as an organisation need to change and adapt to deliver what is required in the current shipping environment.
Embracing digital to enable agility
Agility is the key to success in digital transformation. It stems from the ability to work quickly, seamlessly and efficiently.
Gearbulk recognises this, and in 2019 several strides were made in positioning the Company to realise our strategic objectives of digitalisation and optimisation of processes, thus setting the foundation for Gearbulk to become more proactive in providing the best experience, solutions and services for our customers.
A digitalisation action plan was launched during the Closing the Loop Seminar which highlighted the necessity of creating a comprehensive digital work space that would foster a culture of collaboration, enhance productivity, encourage innovation and increase transparency.
To achieve this, Gearbulk announced the decision to fully implement Microsoft Office 365. In November 2019 a dedicated project team was established to begin working on the implementation plan, platform structure and way forward for Office 365, with the intention to launch within Q1 2020.
Transformation Officers
The Transformation Officer initiative was a result of the Closing the Loop - The Customer in Focus Seminar.
The goal was to establish a diverse team with a passion for collaboration, digitalisation and discovering new and improved solutions for how Gearbulk conducts our business.
Once established, the main priorities of the team will be to drive business initiatives in agile manners, increase cross-functional collaboration, find joint solutions to current business challenges, speed up decision making and enhance innovative thinking in the organisation.
An application process was held towards the end of 2019, which was open to all employees, and we aim to kick off the initiative at the start of 2020.
“You've got to start with the customer experience & work backwards to the technology” - Steve Jobs
Communication
Communication can sometimes be challenging for any organisation. Gearbulk recognises this and is working diligently to improve this aspect. With the right technology, these challenges can be easily addressed and vastly improved, which is why the Office 365 implementation is top priority.
Given our focus to adopt more digital and sustainable processes, the traditionally printed internal magazine was fully replaced by a new intranet, Gearbulk Connect, that is more modern, engaging, content rich, easy to use and fully integrated with the work flows offered by Office 365.
By doing this, we can ensure that important Company news and other various topics such as project initiatives, strategic objectives, awareness campaigns and organisational developments is circulated in a timely, accessible manner to all employees. Currently the intranet is only available to shore employees; however a project has commenced to evaluate the possibility of bringing this capability to the vessels.
