Meat+Poultry - March 2021 - 53

along up-to-the-minute information on closures
and reopening dates, updates on corporate,
state and government policies, and the ongoing
coordination of worker safety and training.
" Manufacturing in many ways is still a
traditional way of working, " said Daniel
Sztutwojner, chief customer officer, Beekeeper,
Zurich, Switzerland. " Because much of the
work is still done by people, there's significant
leverage in making the front line safer and
more productive. "

" CONNECT THE UNCONNECTED "
Increasingly, those seeking to close the
gap between operational systems and
communication channels are turning to digital
methods such as Beekeeper. Created with a
mission to connect the unconnected front-line
employee, Beekeeper uses a secure platform
that's accessible by mobile and desktop
devices. With approximately 75% of employees
in possession of a smartphone, using Beekeeper
is as easy as downloading the customizable
application programming interface (API) to
a personal smartphone, making an employee
reachable from the first day of hire to as long as
they remain with the company.
Digitizing the front line through a mobile
app offers customizable access to information,
processes and other systems, according
to Sztutwojner. The secure cloud-based
software-as-a-service (SAAS) offering features
an open API, allowing users to establish
unique communication streams and a flexible
administrative structure that's General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant and
HIPPA Secure.
In order to make the system more relevant
to front-line workers, Beekeeper prioritizes
alignment with different stakeholders,
including the plant and location manager, and
integrates with internal IT operations.

CASE BY CASE
Implementation of Beekeeper typically
begins by looking at use cases and then
working internally with corporate on business
objectives and communication strategy. This
might begin with a goal to digitize one or two
paper processes and digitizing information
from the bulletin boards to avoid congregation
in light of social distancing concerns. Digital
messaging can also shorten or eliminate the

need for daily standup meetings while still
allowing for the tracking and completion of
tasks. Sztutwojner suggested other valuable
processes for digitization could include
employee requests for protective gear and a
daily health checklist.
" Initially there can be a barrier; this is
the first time to give mobile tech to the front
line, " Sztutwojner continued. " This involves
a top-down and bottom-up approach, and
sometimes those plant and location managers
are surprised to be included, but for a rollout
to be successful, we need to understand what
they need. "

The Beekeeper
mobile app allows for
customization, while
providing the opportunity
to communicate with
employees in various ways.

ENHANCING COMMUNICATION
Although ongoing internal research found
employees rating communications as effective,
Seaboard Foods, recently recognized they
could do better, especially in a crisis. With
most of its employees working production jobs
in plants or on farms, many had limited or no
access to a work computer, said David Eaheart,
senior director of communications and brand
marketing with Seaboard Foods, based in
Merriam, Kan.
In search of a way to enhance and support
company and personal communication,
Seaboard Foods adopted Beekeeper in
December 2015, internally branded as SBF
Connect. Knowing most of its 5,500-plus
employees already had a phone, Seaboard
saw a way to provide easy-to-use electronic
communication, enabling employees to post
and provide feedback with little technical
support and oversight from the corporate
communications department.
Launch of SBF Connect was combined
with the holiday gift box distribution and a
contest where employees could earn prizes by
downloading the SBF Connect app and posting.
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