Bringing a traditional crane sector into the future
In the traditional crane industry, McLeod Cranes stands out—not just for its dedication to customers, but for how it tackles old problems with fresh solutions. This family-owned business, led by Managing Director Scott McLeod, is committed to creating a business that’s ready for the future.
“As a small business owner and particularly as a family business owner, one of the things that I’m trying to do is set the business up for future generations,” says Scott McLeod.
Faced with rising costs, labour shortages and declining construction demand, McLeod Cranes knew it needed a change.
“With massive inflation in the industry, we see that costs are rapidly increasing. We need to look at how we can become more efficient and communicate better within our organisation,” says McLeod.
Once reliant on pen and paper and outdated systems, McLeod Cranes turned to Slack to modernise its operations.
Job bookings made simple and more efficient
Job bookings used to be a big headache for McLeod Cranes. The process was slow and required constant back-and-forth calls and emails between dispatchers and crane operators to chase down information. Another challenge was keeping track of all communications for jobs involving three different departments—hiabs, cranes and transport. Information often got lost or delayed, leading to rework and inefficiencies.
With Slack’s Workflow Builder, job bookings that used to take days are now done in just under 60 seconds. By automating the workflow with a simple form in Slack, McLeod Cranes made it easier for different departments to work together.
“With Slack, we now have a booking form that takes about 30 to 60 seconds to fill in. It’s simple, and you can get a job done with everything you need,” says Chelsea Stewart, a dispatcher at McLeod Cranes.
This change means they can respond to clients much faster and get more done in less time.
“With Slack, we now have a booking form that takes about 30-60 seconds to fill in. It’s simple, and you can get a job done with everything you need.”
Hassle-free weekend rostering on Slack
Weekend rostering at McLeod Cranes was a hassle before implementing Slack in the business. The team spent hours on the phone trying to reach operators for their availability.
“Before Slack, communication was nearly non-existent,” says Rob Curtis, a Hiab Operator at McLeod Cranes.
Operators often missed calls because they were on site. This led to endless callbacks and confusion among dispatchers.
“We used to call operators time and time again, trying to get hold of them to see if they were available. When they missed the call, they’d call back and get a different dispatcher, leading to endless conversations about what we were calling about,” says Stewart.
Slack’s SimplePoll integration has changed all that. Instead of making countless phone calls, the team uses a poll on Slack where operators can indicate their availability with a quick yes or no.
“Rather than calling out operators for weekend availability, we now use a simple poll integration on Slack, and it takes all the work out of it,” says Chelsea Stewart.
This approach saves time and reduces frustration for everyone involved. It’s a much more efficient way to handle rostering, freeing up time and making the whole process smoother and less intrusive.
“Slack has fixed the break in communication between us and dispatch. It brought the whole team together, allowing us to work under one umbrella with no information missed,” says Curtis.
“Slack has fixed the break in communication between us and dispatch. It brought the whole team together, allowing us to work under one umbrella with no information missed.”
Team collaboration and training made easy on Slack
Thanks to Slack channels, team collaboration and training are easier at McLeod Cranes. With transparent communication in channels that are visible to everyone, McLeod Cranes can tap into the wealth of knowledge within the team. Experienced operators can easily share their expertise with newer team members to help train them for future jobs.
“We have so much knowledge throughout the fleet, and we’re able to create channels and invite people who have the experience,” says Stewart.
Specific channels for different topics or projects ensure smooth information flow and keep everyone informed. This has made communication easier and created a more cohesive and supportive work environment. It also keeps everyone engaged and informed regardless of age or experience.
“Even our oldest worker of 72 can use Slack,” adds Stewart.
Future-proofing the business with Salesforce
The integration between Salesforce and Slack is already making work more productive for McLeod Cranes.
By providing all departments with a centralised view of customers and cases, the team can work together to deliver even better customer experiences.
Currently, McLeod Cranes is rolling out Salesforce Field Service, which will allow it to capture detailed information and better statistics on asset and staff utilisation. And with all this valuable data accessible in Slack, it will be faster and easier to dispatch the right operator with the right truck for the right job.
“Salesforce Field Service and Slack working together will bring the quality of the information onto one platform. And that’s just going to improve our productivity,” says McLeod.
