Introduction: Modernizing HR Communication Across a Regional Workforce
For a company like Ensign Energy, a global drilling and energy services provider, effective communication is critical. With employees dispersed across oil rigs, trucks, and remote sites from border to border, coast to coast, managing communication for a workforce of over 3,000 is no small feat. Add in the complexities of pre-employment, benefits enrollment, and day-to-day HR queries, and the challenges multiply.
Kim Page, an HR leader at Ensign Energy, took it upon herself to modernize the company's communication processes. After struggling with inefficient methods that left her working 18-hour days, she discovered MessageDesk—and it was a game-changer.
“MessageDesk literally has moved mountains for us,” Kim said. “I tell people all the time: this platform is my holy grail of holy grails.”
Challenges: Juggling Inefficient Processes and Limited Tools
Before MessageDesk, Kim relied on her personal phone to manage daily HR communication. She texted job candidates and employees manually, often juggling over 100 hires a month. Drafting responses in her phone’s notes app and copy-pasting them into messages became a tedious, time-consuming process.
“Imagine texting 100 people a day from your personal phone,” Kim explained. “I had to copy and paste messages from my notes app. It worked, but it was far from efficient. And if someone was out sick or on vacation, I had no way of knowing what was going on. I needed a better way.”
This inefficiency extended to critical tasks like benefits enrollment and safety updates. Emails often went unread, and physical mailers were thrown out. Kim needed a solution to engage employees more effectively, especially those in the field without easy access to email.
Solution: How MessageDesk Simplified and Centralized Communication
Kim found MessageDesk after a late-night search. “One night, I was clutching my pearls over the inefficiencies and just thought, ‘There has to be a better way,’” Kim recalled. “MessageDesk was the second or third result on Google, and I decided to give it a try. Within a week, I knew this was the solution we needed.”
Despite initial hurdles like the A2P 10DLC carrier registration process, Kim was determined. “It was such a vital tool that I paid for it out of my own pocket for over a year while we worked out some internal issues. That’s how much I believed in it.”
With MessageDesk, Kim implemented key features that revolutionized her HR operations:
- Pre-Saved Templates: “Those templates, sweet Lord, they saved me,” Kim said. “I can adjust them as needed, but now it’s just a matter of picking a template, personalizing it, and hitting send.”
- Broadcast Messaging: During open enrollment, Kim sent out a text broadcast. “Within 30 seconds, my benefits manager called me saying, ‘What the heck did you just do? People are responding immediately!’”
- Shared Inbox: Kim enabled her benefits team to monitor messages, ensuring no employee query went unanswered. “It’s a huge team effort now, with multiple eyes on the conversation.”
Results: Time Saved, Engagement Boosted, and Happy Employees
The results of using MessageDesk were almost immediate:
- 25+ Hours Saved Weekly: Automating repetitive tasks and using templates freed up significant time for Kim and her team. “What used to take 10 minutes per candidate now takes 30 seconds,” she explained. “Multiply that by 50 people a week—it’s like gaining an entire workweek back.”
- Enhanced Employee Engagement: Open enrollment broadcasts saw instant responses. Out of 1,800 employees, only about 200 opted out. “That’s a huge improvement over emails that nobody reads,” Kim noted.
- Happier Employees: “The guys out in the field love it. They can get the information they need quickly without it hanging over their heads while they’re working.”
Kim’s efforts also had unexpected benefits. “I’ve had employees respond to texts with emojis and even blow kisses,” she laughed. “It’s made communication personal and engaging.”
Kim’s commitment to MessageDesk was clear when she decided to pay for the service out of pocket during a period of internal budgeting issues. “I knew how much this tool was saving me and my team,” she said. “I wasn’t going to let it go, even if it meant covering the cost myself. It was a lifeline.”
This dedication paid off when Kim began to see the long-term impact. “I’ve gone from working 18-hour days to a manageable workload. And the proof is in the pudding. When someone says, ‘HR never reached out to me,’ I can pull up the messages and show them exactly when and how we communicated.”
Future Plans: Expanding MessageDesk’s Impact
Kim sees even greater potential for MessageDesk at Ensign Energy. She plans to:
- Implement Keywords and Autoresponders: “We could use a keyword like ‘APPLY’ to make it even easier for candidates to start the hiring process.”
- Leverage QR Codes: “Imagine a QR code on job sites or in trucks that employees can scan to connect with HR instantly.”
- Streamline Group Messaging: Kim is working on segmenting contacts into more targeted groups, like regional managers or specific departments.
Conclusion: Why Kim Recommends MessageDesk
For Kim, MessageDesk isn’t just a tool—it’s a game-changer. “I tell everyone: this platform is life-changing,” she said. “If you’re struggling with communication, whether it’s pre-employment, benefits, or day-to-day operations, MessageDesk will save you time, reduce your stress, and make your team more productive.”
As Kim puts it, “It’s not often that you find a tool that makes such a profound impact. MessageDesk has done that for me, my team, and Ensign Energy.”