Resources > Success Stories > Port of Auckland
Across land and sea
At Port of Auckland, keeping people connected across the harbour, terminals, shifts, and offices is critical. See how VMG Connect has supported the Port in building a more connected employee experience — helping communication, recognition, and community reach employees across the business day to day.
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All Success Stories > Port of Auckland
Port of Auckland never really stops.
Across the harbour, terminals, offices, shifts, and operational teams, people are working around the clock to keep goods moving and the port running. In that kind of environment, communication can’t rely on everyone sitting behind a desk or checking email throughout the day.
The Port first partnered with VMG Connect during the rollout of Workplace by Meta, moving away from a more traditional intranet and email-led approach toward a more connected and accessible communication experience across the organisation.
From the beginning, there was strong support from the Port’s leadership team around creating a more open and connected culture — one where communication felt more direct, visible, and two-way across the business.
Carrying Momentum Forward Through Change
When Meta later announced Workplace would eventually be retired, the Port team had already built strong momentum. The move to Workvivo became less about replacing a platform, and more about continuing to build on the communication culture that had started to take shape.
Today, Workvivo is the Port’s primary internal communication platform, helping centralise updates and reduce reliance on personal email. But the real value has come from the way people across the Port now communicate, share information, and participate day to day.
Communication That Works in the Real World
Across the business, the platform now plays an important role in how people communicate, share updates, recognise one another, and stay connected day to day.
Real Talk from the Top: Leadership communication is more visible and direct. CEO Roger Gray’s regular video updates help people across the business hear what’s happening in a more immediate and human way — whether they’re in the office, out on the harbour, or working night shift.
Safety First, for Everyone: In an environment where health, safety, and wellbeing are critical, Workvivo has made it easier to share important updates and keep key initiatives front and centre across the organisation. During Safety Week, the platform played an important role in helping conversations, updates, and recognition reach teams across the business.
Celebrating People Across the Port: Recognition has become more visible too. Teams can celebrate wins, acknowledge effort, and share moments that might once have stayed within a single crew or shift. It’s helped create more opportunities for people across the Port to recognise and celebrate one another day to day.
Simple Ideas, Genuine Participation: The Port’s “Snap It Up” campaign has become a great example of how simple ideas can drive strong engagement. The initiative gives unwanted office items a second life by letting employees claim them through a post — generating hundreds of comments and encouraging participation from employees who hadn’t previously engaged on the platform.
Bringing Port Life to More People: From cultural events to welcoming new employees, the platform helps share moments happening across the Port — connecting operational and office-based teams through updates, photos, and conversations that help people feel included, even when they can’t be there in person.
These moments matter because they reflect the strong sense of community that already exists across the Port whānau, while giving people new ways to connect beyond their immediate teams or shifts.
Shaping the Next Phase of the Employee Experience
As the platform became more embedded across the business, the focus naturally shifted too. More recently, VMG has been working with the Port team on ways to make the experience even more useful for employees — from improving onboarding and engagement through to shaping the platform into a more effective resource hub for operational teams.
What started as a move away from a traditional intranet has become a communication platform people across the Port genuinely use day to day — helping teams stay informed, recognised, and connected across the business.
It’s been great supporting the Port team on this journey, and rewarding to see the connected Port whānau continue to grow and thrive on Workvivo.
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We’d love to share what we’ve learned helping organisations like Port of Auckland create communication experiences that work in the real world.