Acadian Companies
Interact houses vital information for all Acadian employees and broadcasts are used to make critical announcements in a timely manner.
Book a demoNo. of users
1,000 – 10,000
Vertical
Healthcare
Location
US
Employees
4,000+
Service fleet
400 ambulances, helicopters, & aircraft
Since its founding in 1971, Acadian Ambulance has grown to provide healthcare support, education, and emergency and non-emergency transportation throughout Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Tennessee
Our intranet kept us together, in more ways than one, as a company and as a family. This experience taught us that immediacy, transparency and accessibility were vital in all aspects of our employee communication, and our intranet enabled us to do all of that.
Challenges
When the coronavirus pandemic was declared, Acadian couldn’t just shut down. Its ambulance and air transport divisions were critical parts of the healthcare response in the areas they serve, and Acadian’s frontline medics were continuously exposed to COVID-19. They needed fast access to the most up-to-date information and communications at all times.
In other parts of the company, support employees were forced to work from home, many for the first time in their careers. It was an unexpected and unplanned change that most were not prepared to take.
All of this presented extreme challenges to Acadian’s workforce. They required immediate communication of protocol changes and critical information, and it became clear that their intranet—Acadian Central—would be the key to getting this information to employees.
Solutions
To meet the company’s challenges, Acadian used its intranet to do three things:
- A designated content area was created and made robust through up-to-date policy documents, processes, video announcements, and more. Acadian also used Interact’s Broadcasts feature to send emails and SMS alerts each time a new or updated piece of critical information was added. Text (SMS) alerts were key as they were sent directly to remote employees’ mobile devices and were typically read faster than email.
- When the company was under threat from a reduction in its income, Acadian expanded its online offerings and moved into several other services. The speed of these changes meant that it was critical that employees became aware of these new services and protocols immediately. Through Interact’s software, all employees were able to access information easily.
- Despite rapid changes in the workplace, Acadian ensured that employee morale remains high and employees remain engaged with the company, no matter where they are working. The feedback Acadian has received indicates that its communication methods work for employees.
Benefits
- Reaching a frequently offline workforce requires planning, but Acadian manages this through Broadcasts and by making the intranet an essential tool in employee work patterns.
- Employee tracking is done through the intranet to ensure that Acadian maintains a healthy workforce – keeping peers and the community safe.
- Through the use of videos, articles, and other forms of comms, Acadian drove adoption up and has seen an enormous number of repeat visits.
