Shiny demos don’t guarantee adoption.
You can buy a tool that looks amazing in a pitch meeting. Then watch it gather digital dust a few months later because it doesn’t actually work for your company.
Asking the right questions up front avoids that frustration and a ton of wasted budget. It helps you find a solution that supports both employee communication and engagement — and fits seamlessly within your tech ecosystem.
Doing some software shopping? To find the right employee communication app for your organization, here are the 10 questions you should be asking.
Choosing an employee communication app: A 10-question checklist
1. Will every employee actually use this?
Okay, so priority number one is finding an app that your employees will embrace. Because if a good chunk of your workforce fails to get on board with your new software tool, you’re not getting good ROI.
The right app is:
- Intuitive. Employees can pick it up and start using it without having to trawl through a manual first.
- Accessible. It should be easy for every employee to log in, even on older phones or with patchy internet connection.
- Free from friction. Everything just works — whether that’s search functions, voice calling, or integrations with other tools.
When assessing an app, keep your least tech-savvy employee in mind. If you think they’d use (and maybe even actually grow to love) this app, you can be confident it’ll work for the rest of your team.
2. Does it work for frontline teams?
A major benefit of an employee communication app is that it’s available on smartphones. So you can land messages with your hardest-to-reach employees — those who don’t sit at a desk all day.
To find the best solution, look for tools that understand and accommodate the realities of frontline work, including:
- Shifts and staggered schedules. The best apps support both real-time and asynchronous communication so employees can check in at a time that works for them.
- Busy schedules. With search, personalization, critical reads, and bite-sized content, the best apps let you share vital information in a format that’s quick and easy to digest.
- Frontline access requirements. Deskless staff don’t always have a corporate email address or access to a shared portal. They should be able to log in easily from their smartphones.
- Frontline vs. desk-based experience. Don’t accept one experience for office-based staff and another for frontline employees. Your app should have the same features and functionality across both desktop and mobile apps.
Ultimately, any frontline communication app has to be mobile-first and secure but accessible on personal smartphones. It also needs to provide an exceptional digital employee experience across all devices.
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3. Can it replace multiple tools?
If you’re relying on a patchwork of communication tools, your staff are probably feeling the strain. They’re spending nearly 4 hours each week — and 1,200 clicks per day! — toggling between apps. Or bugging IT because they forgot one of many sets of login details (again!).
The best employee communication apps don’t exist in a silo. They streamline your comms tech stack by combining essentials — like real-time messaging via chat, company-wide updates on a news feed, and documents in a content hub.
The best of the best go even further. They act as an all-in-one employee experience app and intranet platform, with personalized content pathways, employee recognition, and easy access to other workplace systems.
Think about the tools you’re currently using and how many of them your shortlisted apps could replace. Because the fewer tools you use, the easier and more streamlined work becomes.
4. How easy is it to manage and govern?
The front-end of an app can work like a dream. But what’s going on behind the scenes? You need to look beyond the glossy exterior to the nuts and bolts of the admin experience.
When an app is complex to manage and govern, the comms team ends up calling on IT. This creates a bottleneck. And it leads to stale content, clunky processes, and frustrated employees.
To ensure the best user experience and continued engagement with your employee communication app, you need clear permissions and content controls. You also need tools that make it easy to add, update, and personalize communication content.
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5. Is it secure and compliant?
Security is another top consideration when choosing an employee communication or employee experience app. You want a solution that meets enterprise-grade security standards, with security built in, not bolted on.
So look for things like:
- End-to-end encryption, in transit and at rest
- Secondary biometric authentication
- Function fencing, so workers only have access to the tools and controls they need
- Automated user provisioning, so it’s easy to add, manage, and remove users as necessary
If you work in a particularly regulated industry, like healthcare, you should also look for compliance with industry-specific security laws.
But bear in mind: heavy-handed security can harm the user experience, pushing your employees toward makeshift solutions, like WhatsApp.
So it’s all about getting the right balance. A good software provider should help you find that balance, achieving the best possible security while also ensuring a simple and streamlined experience for users.
6. Does it support two-way communication?
Internal communication is most effective when it goes both ways. The C-suite and managers speak to employees. But employees have the opportunity to respond.
A good employee communication app gives your organization the tools it needs to maintain a dynamic conversation:
- Instant messaging tools, for 1-to-1 and group chat
- A news feed where employees can react with comments, emojis, and GIFs
- Employee surveys and quick-fire polls
- Video and voice calling
- Interactive live streaming
Choose tools that support two-way internal communication, and you give employees a voice. That means stronger workplace connections, better collaboration, and employees who feel seen and heard.
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7. How quickly can we launch?
Time-to-value is important. The right app should be quick to deploy and easy to scale across multiple teams.
If you’re considering building your own comms app, know that this often requires months (or even years) of developing, testing, and iteration. So buying a ready-to-go tool is often the quickest solution.
Today, prebuilt doesn’t mean compromising on the end result. You can incorporate custom branding and tailor app features and functionality to the needs of your organization. You get speed, scalability, and best-in-class technology.
Ask providers about timescales so you have a clear idea of the setup and launch process. Here at Blink, most of our clients go live within 6 to 12 weeks.
8. Will it integrate with our existing systems?
A great employee communication app isn’t just a one-stop shop for internal conversations. It can also act as a digital hub, reducing friction and making life easier for employees in the process.
That requires strong integrations with the existing software you use. And single sign-on technology to give employees access to that software from one unified dashboard.
When you integrate an app into your digital ecosystem, employees can use it to tackle tasks like:
- Swapping shifts with coworkers
- Checking their paystubs
- Clicking a news feed post to go straight to online compliance training
- Completing a safety report on the go
- Submitting a time-off request
- Viewing customer details via your CRM
The result? Your employee communication app becomes a comprehensive employee intranet. A place where staff can catch up with the latest company news — of course.
But also a place where they can learn, receive recognition, give feedback, and access all the tools they need to do their jobs well.
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7. How quickly can we launch?
Time-to-value is important. The right app should be quick to deploy and easy to scale across multiple teams.
If you’re considering building your own comms app, know that this often requires months (or even years) of developing, testing, and iteration. So buying a ready-to-go tool is often the quickest solution.
Today, prebuilt doesn’t mean compromising on the end result. You can incorporate custom branding and tailor app features and functionality to the needs of your organization. You get speed, scalability, and best-in-class technology.
Ask providers about timescales so you have a clear idea of the setup and launch process. Here at Blink, most of our clients go live within 6 to 12 weeks.
8. Will it integrate with our existing systems?
A great employee communication app isn’t just a one-stop shop for internal conversations. It can also act as a digital hub, reducing friction and making life easier for employees in the process.
That requires strong integrations with the existing software you use. And single sign-on technology to give employees access to that software from one unified dashboard.
When you integrate an app into your digital ecosystem, employees can use it to tackle tasks like:
- Swapping shifts with coworkers
- Checking their paystubs
- Clicking a news feed post to go straight to online compliance training
- Completing a safety report on the go
- Submitting a time-off request
- Viewing customer details via your CRM
The result? Your employee communication app becomes a comprehensive employee intranet. A place where staff can catch up with the latest company news — of course.
But also a place where they can learn, receive recognition, give feedback, and access all the tools they need to do their jobs well.
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9. Can we measure impact and ROI?
To get the most from your mobile-first employee app, you need to know what’s working and what isn’t. And to do that, you need analytics.
Find out what analytics and reporting features come with your shortlisted apps. Consider the internal comms metrics they allow you to track.
And expect more than just the basics. A good app won’t just provide data on platform usage and message read rates.
It’ll show you how internal comms KPIs relate to employee engagement, sentiment, and turnover. It’ll allow you to segment data by team, department, and manager. And it’ll present data in a way that’s super easy to understand and act on.
Clear analytics help you improve internal communications. They also help prove the value of employee communication to leadership, so you can justify continued investment in comms strategy and tech.
10. Does it feel human?
The final question to ask before choosing an employee communication app. Does this app feel familiar and fun? Or is it cold and corporate?
Employees are more likely to use your app when it offers the same consumer-grade experience they enjoy on apps away from work. If it lets them communicate in ways they’re used to (and in ways they enjoy).
Operational updates are important. But your app should also make space for informal, authentic connection. Tools like video stories, coworker communities, voice and video calling, live streaming, and employee-generated content make that possible.
Give people a modern social experience, where they can show up as their real selves, and engagement is sure to follow.
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The right employee app makes all the difference
Choosing an employee communication or employee experience app isn’t just about features or fancy demos. It’s about finding a tool your team will actually use — one that fits your workflow, feels intuitive, and makes work more connected, engaging, and human.
Ask the right questions up front. Consider the full scope of the app — the more functions it performs, the more value it brings to your team. Look beyond shiny user interfaces to the day-to-day employee experience.
When you do, you don’t just add another tool to your tech collection.
You get a solution that supports company culture, employee productivity, engagement, and retention. You build a space where employees can easily access the information they need and the connection they crave.
Employee communication app FAQs
#1. What is the best platform for employee communication?
Blink is a top choice employee communication app. It combines mobile-first access, real-time messaging, a news feed, a content hub, and deep integrations — all in one user-friendly experience.
#2. How do you choose an employee communication app?
Find out what your organization wants from an employee communication app. Create a shortlist of solutions. Look at reviews and case studies. Request demos.
Then, ask yourself the 10 questions above. Focus on adoption, functionality, integrations, security, and two-way communication. This will help you find the best employee communication platform.
#3. What are the benefits of an employee communication app?
An employee communication app lets you reach employees on the go. This is ideal for frontline employees who can’t always access an email platform or desktop intranet.
Pick a consumer-grade app, and you give employees a communication tool that feels easy, natural, and enjoyable to use. With a news feed and instant messaging tools, multimedia content, and two-way communication channels, they can take an active part in company conversations.
#4. What are the key features of an employee experience app?
The best employee experience platforms create a curated and cohesive employee experience. They combine internal communication tools with employee recognition, learning and development, well-being, and other workplace software. This creates a streamlined and supportive experience for all employees.
Blink. And find an employee communication app that fits your organization.
