Baseball team the Altoona Curve stays connected at home and away on 8x8

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The Altoona Curve is a Minor League Baseball team and Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Founded in the late 1970s by Bob Lozinak, the team has welcomed over seven million fans to watch them play regular season, playoff, and exhibition games at Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona, PA. The Altoona Curve is currently owned by Diamond Baseball Holdings.

"8x8 was easy to implement. All people had to do was download the app. The rollout took us maybe two or three days, and we had no issues"

- Nate Bowen, General Manager, The Altoona Curve

"8x8 was easy to implement. All people had to do was download the app. The rollout took us maybe two or three days, and we had no issues"

- Nate Bowen, General Manager, The Altoona Curve

"8x8 was easy to implement. All people had to do was download the app. The rollout took us maybe two or three days, and we had no issues"

- Nate Bowen, General Manager, The Altoona Curve

"8x8 was easy to implement. All people had to do was download the app. The rollout took us maybe two or three days, and we had no issues"

- Nate Bowen, General Manager, The Altoona Curve

The Challenge: Support for a “home” and “away” workforce

During home games, the number of Altoona Curve staff increases from 26 to 250, with many employees working 12+ hour shifts to attend to pre- and post-game tasks. But when the team is away, core employees don't need to be in the office all day, or even every day.

So, the organization wanted to give employees a break by allowing them to work remotely when possible. The sales team in particular often had to wait in the office for a customer who may or may not call, which was not an efficient use of their time. However, the Curve’s on-premises communications system could not support this level of flexibility.

“We needed a solution that allowed people to easily communicate both inside and outside of the office,” recalls Nate Bowen, General Manager of the Altoona Curve.

The Curve contacted its IT partner, Link Computer Corporation, for help. Link assists the organization with any technology needs, so the Curve had full confidence in its partner’s guidance. “Link is always a big help to us in finding technology solutions,” says Bowen. “We trust them to recommend the best products, and in this case, they steered us towards 8x8.”

Cloud-based 8x8 was perfect for the Curve’s hybrid workforce. Also, 8x8 offered an all-in-one platform with voice, video, and messaging, and other features that could boost efficiency and collaboration.

The Solution: Cloud features that save time and effort

In late 2019, the Altoona Curve implemented 8x8 Work across the organization. Every regular employee got the 8x8 Work app on their desktop and phone, and the organization’s other phones around the building (such as those in locker rooms) were connected to 8x8 as well. The process was quick and smooth. “8x8 was easy to implement. All people had to do was download the app. The rollout took us maybe two or three days, and we had no issues,” says Bowen.

Once everyone was up and running, the new system was very well received, and some features became instant favorites. For example, the sales team loved 8x8’s digital user experience. Instead of physically looking up and dialing numbers, all they had to do was click on a number on their 8x8 dashboard to initiate a call. “It definitely speeds up the process and allows them to accomplish more in a shorter period of time, which is something we're always trying to do,” says Bowen.

Other employees loved the voicemail transcription feature, where users get an email with a voicemail transcribed. This saves them the time and hassle of dialing into a voicemail system (and remembering their password) and makes the process of replying more efficient.

8x8’s messaging feature has been a big hit both internally and externally. Various internal teams can now chat and collaborate easily regardless of their location inside or outside of the office. Graphic designers on one floor can instantly collaborate on projects with marketers on another floor, which helps tremendously during tight deadlines. The Curve also enables fans to message the sales team with inquiries about things like unused or extra tickets, providing a much faster and better customer experience and another time saver for staff.

The Results: Business continuity, greater efficiency

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the Altoona Curve was ready. The organization was already using 8x8 when remote work became a must-have rather than a nice-to-have. Moreover, the team didn’t know from month to month whether or not they’d be allowed to play any part of the season, which added even more uncertainty. “From the business side, we didn’t miss a beat. We were able to keep the staff connected and we conducted all our normal staff meetings across departments on 8x8,” says Bowen.

Similarly, the sales team doesn’t miss a message now that customers can use text to communicate, which is a boon to the business. Bowen says, “As soon as we switched to 8x8, we started receiving text messages before we had even informed people that they could reach us that way. So who knows how many messages never got through with the old system.” And with 8x8, employee’s personal phone numbers stay private.

Overall, Bowen has seen greater efficiency and employee happiness across the organization since switching to 8x8. “People have to love what they do to work in sports. But we learned that our employees value their time more than their salary. And the ability to give them time back has been the biggest benefit to our organization.”

The Results: Business continuity, greater efficiency

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the Altoona Curve was ready. The organization was already using 8x8 when remote work became a must-have rather than a nice-to-have. Moreover, the team didn’t know from month to month whether or not they’d be allowed to play any part of the season, which added even more uncertainty. “From the business side, we didn’t miss a beat. We were able to keep the staff connected and we conducted all our normal staff meetings across departments on 8x8,” says Bowen.

Similarly, the sales team doesn’t miss a message now that customers can use text to communicate, which is a boon to the business. Bowen says, “As soon as we switched to 8x8, we started receiving text messages before we had even informed people that they could reach us that way. So who knows how many messages never got through with the old system.” And with 8x8, employee’s personal phone numbers stay private.

Overall, Bowen has seen greater efficiency and employee happiness across the organization since switching to 8x8. “People have to love what they do to work in sports. But we learned that our employees value their time more than their salary. And the ability to give them time back has been the biggest benefit to our organization.”

The Results: Business continuity, greater efficiency

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the Altoona Curve was ready. The organization was already using 8x8 when remote work became a must-have rather than a nice-to-have. Moreover, the team didn’t know from month to month whether or not they’d be allowed to play any part of the season, which added even more uncertainty. “From the business side, we didn’t miss a beat. We were able to keep the staff connected and we conducted all our normal staff meetings across departments on 8x8,” says Bowen.

Similarly, the sales team doesn’t miss a message now that customers can use text to communicate, which is a boon to the business. Bowen says, “As soon as we switched to 8x8, we started receiving text messages before we had even informed people that they could reach us that way. So who knows how many messages never got through with the old system.” And with 8x8, employee’s personal phone numbers stay private.

Overall, Bowen has seen greater efficiency and employee happiness across the organization since switching to 8x8. “People have to love what they do to work in sports. But we learned that our employees value their time more than their salary. And the ability to give them time back has been the biggest benefit to our organization.”

The Results: Business continuity, greater efficiency

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the Altoona Curve was ready. The organization was already using 8x8 when remote work became a must-have rather than a nice-to-have. Moreover, the team didn’t know from month to month whether or not they’d be allowed to play any part of the season, which added even more uncertainty. “From the business side, we didn’t miss a beat. We were able to keep the staff connected and we conducted all our normal staff meetings across departments on 8x8,” says Bowen.

Similarly, the sales team doesn’t miss a message now that customers can use text to communicate, which is a boon to the business. Bowen says, “As soon as we switched to 8x8, we started receiving text messages before we had even informed people that they could reach us that way. So who knows how many messages never got through with the old system.” And with 8x8, employee’s personal phone numbers stay private.

Overall, Bowen has seen greater efficiency and employee happiness across the organization since switching to 8x8. “People have to love what they do to work in sports. But we learned that our employees value their time more than their salary. And the ability to give them time back has been the biggest benefit to our organization.”

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