How SPG brought SharePoint to their frontline with Blink

Meet SPG

Specialized Packaging Group (SPG) manufactures industrial packaging for a wide range of industries across North America. Following several acquisitions, SPG set out to bring distinct businesses — and cultures — together under one roof. The reality on the ground: roughly 75% of employees work on the production floor and don’t have company email or regular desktop access. Communication is the backbone of culture — and SPG needed a way to make it flow to everyone, not just the desk-based few.

The challenge: One company — and a lot of people offline

SPG tried the usual suspects:

• SharePoint for an intranet — solid for storing documents and collaborating on files, but gated by licenses, logins, and desktop habits
• Newsletters — useful but episodic, delaying critical updates
• Kiosks — often down, rarely a priority for IT to fix, and not a daily habit for operators
• Unofficial channels — WhatsApp and Facebook groups filled the gap, creating security and governance risks

The outcome was predictable: HQ could publish, but the frontline didn’t see it. Employees reported they “didn’t know where to find” key resources — benefits, policies, holiday calendars, handbooks — and site leaders lacked an easy way to communicate with their own teams.

All this landed as SPG kicked off a broader culture effort. If the goal was one SPG, comms had to reach everyone — and invite them to speak back.

Why Blink: A way to make SharePoint work for everyone

SPG’s requirements were clear:

• Mobile-first access for every employee — without issuing laptops or email accounts
• Two-way communication — an authentic, social experience, not a bulletin board
• Central and local — headquarters messages at scale, with site-level and functional channels for relevance
• Tight alignment with SharePoint — keep the system of record for files, surface the right content in Blink, and avoid duplicating work

During evaluation, several vendors looked like “reskinned SharePoint” — still too complex, still desk-centric. Blink stood out as the delivery and engagement layer that complements Microsoft: SharePoint remains the repository; Blink becomes the front door.

Key capabilities that mattered:

SharePoint Connector

Link a clean folder structure once, then publish files into Blink hubs and posts. Edits in SharePoint update automatically in Blink — even if a file is renamed.

Language support

Make the same policy or handbook available in English, Spanish, and French from one Blink entry point.

Targeting and feeds

Get the right update to the right teams, and make it feel natural to consume on mobile.

“We needed a tool where we could communicate to every employee — easily accessible to everyone of whether or not they had a company account.”

^{— Daniel Galeana, Vice President, Human Resources, SPG}

Unlocked: A simpler, safer, more social SPG

Implementation — HR and IT, together

IT was a partner from day one, shaping criteria and vetting security. When it came time to connect SharePoint, SPG’s IT team worked directly with Blink counterparts. The setup was straightforward: establish an “intranet” folder in SharePoint with functional subfolders, then map those to Blink hubs/pages. No additional Microsoft licenses were required for frontline employees to access linked files via Blink.

Governance without the grind

Subject Matter Experts update documents in SharePoint; Blink reflects changes automatically. HR, IT, and functional leaders can be delegated access to their folders — no Blink admin rights are required to keep content current.

Rollout — local champions first

Before launch, a pilot team of plant managers, HR partners, and selected “power users” got early access to Blink, provided feedback, and became champions on day one. Positioning mattered: Blink was introduced as a helpful channel, not a mandate — and objections about personal devices were minimal.

Content that actually lands

• Central essentials — benefits, handbooks, holidays, and policies that live in SharePoint, surfaced through Blink posts and hub pages
• Local relevance — the highest engagement comes from site-level updates: new-hire welcomes, birthdays, town halls, recognition, and “what’s happening this week” posts
• Two-way cues — comments and reactions build comfort with open communication and help leadership see where to lean in

Adoption and engagement

SPG reports 92–93% of employees have downloaded and use Blink, with 75-80% of enrolled employees regularly active. Surveys shortly after launch confirmed the appetite for even more local updates — a signal SPG is acting on by nurturing site-level comms cadences.

Looking ahead: Solving problems with deeper functionality

Blink has become the common channel for the entire organization — frontline and desk-based teams alike — while SharePoint continues as the file system of record behind the scenes. Next up, SPG is doubling down on:

• Local comms rhythms, empowering plant managers and HR to post updates frequently, in their voice
• Continuous feedback loops, using comments, quick polls, and periodic surveys to steer content
• Scalable governance, keeping the SharePoint folder structure aligned to Blink hubs so new content routes itself, rather than becoming a side project

Daniel’s advice to leaders in a Microsoft world?

• Start with the audience, not the tech. If most employees aren’t on email or desktops, a desktop-first intranet won’t cut it.
• Treat Blink as the engagement layer on top of Microsoft — don’t rebuild your repository; surface it.
• Bring IT in early to streamline security reviews and integration.
• Seed local champions before launch — they set the tone, model the behavior, and drive adoption where it counts.