Blink vs Microsoft Teams (2026): the frontline buyer's guide

Think of your four top employees. 

According to data, there’s a good chance that one of them will quit this year. 

In 2021, 25% of employees quit their jobs.

Think about it: you track customer happiness to avoid churn. So, if you want to hang on to your workforce, you need cold, hard data.

That's where employee satisfaction metrics come in. By keeping an eye on these, you can spot a small problem before it becomes a big one.

And best of all, there isn't a sea of data points to muddle over. Here are the only 4 employee satisfaction metrics you need to know.

What is an employee satisfaction score? 

It’s hard to quantify sentiments — but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. 

You can take a combination of data points related to your employee’s satisfaction and get a clear picture of how happy your workers are. 

With an employee satisfaction score, organizations can make adjustments to ensure their workers are engaged, and therefore 17% more productive than their peers.

Happy employees stay longer and are more likely to recommend their job to their friends. 

How to measure employee satisfaction 

You can measure sentiment by finding out the following employee satisfaction metrics. 

1. Employee net promoter score 

Find your employee net promoter score (eNPS) by asking a simple question from your employees: 

On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend working at this organization to others?

This metric gives you a clear picture of how your employees feel. 

To turn the results into actionable insights, divide your respondents into three categories: 

• Promoters: Answered nine or ten.
• Passives: Answered seven or eight. 
• Detractors: Answered six or below. 

Gather insights about what you’re doing well from your promoters and what you could improve on from your detractors. 

Learn more about your passives to understand how to convert them to promoters. 

2. Absenteeism rate

The absenteeism rate measures how often employees don’t come to work due to unexpected sickness or other causes. 

Divide the number of absent days from the total number of working days in a given period — excluding holidays, vacations, and weekends. 

The average absence rate in the U.S. in 2020 was 3%. Use this number to get a benchmark for your organization. 

A high absenteeism rate across your organization could be a sign that your employees are feeling burnout. They may be overworked and stressed, making them more likely to get sick — or simply call in for a personal day. 

Try to optimize your employees’ workloads, improve your work culture, or provide tools to make their jobs easier. 

3. Employee satisfaction index

Sometimes the best way to understand how satisfied your employees are is to ask them. That’s what the questions in an employee satisfaction index aim to do. 

There is no mandatory set of questions, but the most common questions include: 

• How satisfied are you with your current organization? 
• How well does your current workplace meet your expectations? 
• How closely does your current role match your ideal job? 

Answers should be given on a numerical scale. ‘

You can make questions more specific to get a sense of your workers’ satisfaction with various aspects of their jobs — salary, coworkers, and duties. 

Consider adding your satisfaction questions to a larger survey. 

4. Turnover

Turnover is a measure of how many employees leave your company in a given period. It is a strong tell for how satisfied your employees are since happier employees are more likely to stay at an organization.

Calculate turnover by taking the total number of separations in a given period and dividing it by the average positions. Then multiply the result by 100 to find a percentage. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average turnover in 2020 was 57.3%. This includes both voluntary and involuntary turnover.  

Guru breaks down the average turnover by industry.

If your turnover is higher than your industry average, it’s likely your employees are unsatisfied.

Final thoughts: the 4 employee satisfaction metrics you need to know

To keep your employees engaged, happy, and productive, it’s important to actively track their overall satisfaction in their roles. 

You can do this by surveying your employees and gathering their feedback. With the data guiding your way, it’s easier to zero in on what you can do to improve your organization. 

Movement is your bread and butter. The movement of goods. The movement of passengers. But when it comes to the movement of information, transit and logistics organizations have it tough.

Reaching employees who aren’t tethered to a desk isn’t always easy. These employees don’t tend to have a company email address. And they don’t have easy access to desk-based tech and tools. This means they can’t access the traditional intranets that many organizations still use.

If you’re anything like thousands of transit and logistics companies up and down the country, you may be experiencing an employee communication gap. And this causes no end of organizational headaches.

Frontline managers bear the brunt. They already juggle competing demands. But they also spend a big chunk of their workday relaying messages between the C-suite, HR, and frontline workers.

Remember, every minute a frontline manager spends sending out comms or fielding inquiries is another minute diverted from delivering speed and quality.

Frontline workers suffer, too. When internal communication is patchy, they feel less connected to their organization. And less satisfied with their jobs.

You can put an end to these headaches with effective workplace communication. It’s a bridge that connects HQ with your transit depot, warehouse floor, and drivers. A solution that eases a frontline manager’s workload and helps you better reach transit and logistics employees.

In this article, we explore all the ways you can develop effective workplace communication in your transit or logistics organization. So buckle up and let’s take a closer look.

Importance of reaching your transit & logistics employees

When the people within your organization struggle to communicate effectively, it isn’t simply an inconvenience. Poor employee communication can cause serious problems for your company. Problems like inefficiency, employee disengagement, and staff churn.

Luckily, the converse is also true. Prioritize communication and find ways to reach your transit and logistics employees and there are valuable business benefits to be gained.

You improve manager efficiency

Currently, managers spend a lot of time using ineffective methods to reach employees.

They stick paper memos on the depot noticeboard. They make phone calls. And they take on the role of messenger, carrying information between HR, leadership, and frontline employees.

When you make employee communication more effective, managers get valuable time back. They can get messages out quickly and effectively. So they have more time to focus on other tasks.

You empower your frontline

Good employee communication empowers your frontline. You help them thrive in their roles and feel connected to the larger mission. You put the tools and resources they need at their fingertips.

For example, employees find it easy to get the latest company updates. They can also access information on their shift schedule and pay stubs. And get support from managers when they need it.

You boost staff happiness and retention

Focus on communication and you make your workplace friendlier and more connected. Managers and leadership can communicate with employees. But employees can also communicate with one another. And they have a direct line to decision-makers

This connection supports engagement, which supports employee loyalty. When an organization has good internal communication, staff are less likely to leave.

We know that it’s difficult to hire frontline staff right now, in both transit and logistics organizations.  Labor shortages are impacting a company’s ability to operate and turn a healthy profit.

Engaging your employees better — with the help of effective internal communication — makes it more likely that they’ll stay working for your organization.

8 strategies to improve how you reach your transit & logistics employees

We know how important good employee communication is to a frontline organization. So let’s take a look at all the ways you can achieve it.

Use an employee app

Some of your transit and logistics employees sit at a desk. But many of them spend their days on the road or on the warehouse floor, away from the office.

These frontline team members don’t necessarily have an employee email address. And they very rarely have access to a work computer. This makes them hard to reach — particularly if you’re using traditional, desktop-based communication tech.

A mobile-first employee communication tool, like a frontline app, bridges the gap between head office and frontline workers.

A few standout features?

An employee app doesn’t require an employee email address or a desk-top device. Employees can access all company comms securely via their smartphones.

An employee app is easy to use. Its interface is like that of popular social media apps. So employees find it intuitive to use and adoption tends to be high.

An employee app is a one-stop-shop. Employees get everything from pay stubs to shift schedules, co-worker messages to mandatory updates. All in the palm of their hand.

An employee app is effective. Updates and tools are available for employees to access at a time and place that suits them. So fewer messages are missed.

Implement regular meetings

Whole-team meetings help you to create an open dialogue. Employees get up-to-speed on the latest company news. Managers can answer employee questions. Everyone feels more connected to co-workers and the wider organization.

You can also use meetings to find solutions to problems. When you have a full range of perspectives and priorities in a room, it’s easier to make decisions that work for everyone.

Regular meetings are an important tool in internal communications. But they’re not always easy to arrange for transit and logistics teams. When everyone is working different shift patterns – across many locations – implementing whole-team meetings is a challenge.

There are a couple of ways around this.

You can rotate the time and location of meetings so employees on a fixed shift pattern aren’t always missing out. You can also keep meetings short and sweet to maximize the number of people who can attend.

And don’t forget to harness the power of tech. Virtual meetings are just as valuable as in-person meetings. As long as everyone is able and encouraged to give real-time input.

Provide training opportunities

Continuous training gives employees the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to excel. It helps employees to make better decisions and provide better service. It also helps your organization to comply with safety regulations.

But frontline employees often miss out on training opportunities.

According to McKinsey research, 20% of frontline employees says that their employer offers no resources to adequately prepare them for advancement opportunities. And 65% say they are unsure or unaware of how to achieve career advancement.

Employees feel more engaged — and therefore more receptive to company comms — when they feel valued, enabled, and supported.

As well as offering role-based training equitably to both frontline and desk-based teams, you can use training to support your comms goals in the following ways:

• Teach new hires about company culture and communication norms
• Offer training on the communication tools you use
• Incorporate training on company goals and how an employee’s role supports them

Training makes employees better at their jobs. But it can also help them to feel more connected to their work and the wider organization.

Establish feedback loops

A one-way conversation, where we can’t get a word in edgewise, is no fun. We’re happy to listen – but we want our voices to be heard, too.  

It’s no different for company communications. The most connected and engaged organizations welcome two-way conversations between employees and leadership.

Of course, top-down communication has its place. Leaders need to share company updates and essential information with employees. But ideas, queries, and opinions need to flow in the other direction too.

You can encourage more bottom-up communication from your transit or logistics employees by creating feedback channels. Try to run:

• Pulse surveys: to get a snapshot of how employees are feeling
• Annual surveys: to gain in-depth insight into the employee experience and benchmark your performance

If you don’t have survey tech that frontline employees can use, suggestion boxes are an alternative. You could also run a regular schedule of 1-2-1 meetings so employees can speak up about any issues they’re facing.

Just remember that facilitating regular, anonymous feedback is only the first step in the process. To ensure employees get involved with your feedback program, you need to establish a feedback loop.

This means telling employees what their feedback has revealed — and any changes you plan to make. You can then give them further updates on the actions you’re taking and the results they’re producing.

Promote transparency

Trust is the foundation of positive internal communication. Employees are more likely to engage with your comms when they trust in what you’re saying. And they’re more likely to be transparent in their own communication when they have your example to follow.

So how do you make your employees more trusting? It all starts with transparency in the way you share information.

Transparent communication helps employees to understand leadership logic. When they understand the reasoning behind decisions and changes, they’re more likely to get behind them. And when you’re honest about challenges and problems, they may also be able to offer helpful solutions.

Ultimately, when employees can count on open, valuable communication like this, they’re less likely to avoid noticeboard memos and the company emails that land in their inbox.

Transparent employee communication is easier when you have the right communication channels — like town hall meetings, a frontline app, and regular 1-2-1s. Training can also help managers and employees to embrace a company culture where sharing information is the norm.

Recognize your employees

Recognition is a form of employee communication that fosters connection between employee and employer. It helps to create a positive work environment with high morale and engagement.

If you feel you could do more to recognize employees, start by thinking about your company culture. What are the behaviors you want to see in your organization?

Then align recognition with these behaviors, celebrating and rewarding employees when they demonstrate them.

Here are a few ideas for ways you can weave recognition into your day-to-day:

• Celebrating work and personal milestones
• Peer-to-peer recognition (where co-workers get to highlight the successes of their peers)
• Employee of the Month awards
• Public recognition via employee communication channels

By offering regular, timely recognition you motivate employees to do a great job. And by recognizing employees publicly, you inspire their co-workers to follow suit.

But it’s not just about performance and productivity. Recognition feeds your internal communication efforts, too.

That’s because engaged employees are more likely to read and respond to company messages. And because recognition helps to strengthen workplace relationships. Show that you value one another and open, trusting, effective communication becomes a whole lot easier.

Support collaboration

Collaboration supports internal communication — and vice versa. That’s because collaboration translates into all the following:

• Effective knowledge sharing: when employees have the right communication channels, they can share insights and learning with other team members
  
  
• An aligned organization: when your teams work together, you align employees around company goals and objectives
  
  
• Improved problem-solving and decision-making: two heads are better than one, so when employees regularly share ideas and perspectives you end up with better solutions and decisions
  
  
• Strong relationships: employees who work together develop stronger relationships and find it even easier to communicate and collaborate in the future

You can encourage collaboration by celebrating collaboration when you see it. You also need easy-to-use communication channels that break down silos. This means frontline teams can work together, even when they’re physically apart.

Imagine a bus driver comes across a patch of black ice on their route. With a clearly defined, mobile-first communication channel, they can quickly and easily alert other drivers to the hazard.

With good collaboration, everyone’s work gets safer, easier, and more satisfying. And employees have the support they need to be better at their jobs.

Offer clear internal communication channels

Think about how your organization communicates with employees in the here and now. You and your teams might be using some (or all) of the following:

• An intranet
• Noticeboards
• Phone calls
• Emails
• Word of mouth
• A suggestion box
• Personal messaging apps
• Town hall meetings
• 1-2-1 meetings

These communication channels don’t meet the needs of every employee within a transport or logistics organization.

Drivers and warehouse workers don’t always have access to a company email address or the company intranet. It’s pretty much impossible to schedule a town hall meeting that everyone can attend.

Some of these methods of communication are also unreliable and inefficient. Memos on a noticeboard are quickly out-of-date. Individually calling employees about their shifts takes up a lot of manager time. And messaging via personal apps isn’t always secure.

A modern intranet or employee app is a more effective alternative. When you put a clear communication channel in place — and train employees in how to use it — you cut the noise.

You also reap the following benefits:

• You create one source of reliable information so employees learn to trust company comms
  
  
• Managers spend less time on comms because they can quickly and easily reach all employees on the same communication channel
  
  
• Frontline and office-based employees get equal access to internal communication – no one is left out of the loop
  
  
• Employees get targeted comms, relevant to their roles, so they’re much less likely to ignore the messages you send

Get more internal communication inspiration. Read: The top 5 internal communication trends you need to know in 2024

Blink for transit & logistics

Blink is an employee app built for frontline organizations. It helps transit and logistics companies to achieve better communication, connection, and efficiency. It also acts as the digital front door for your organization. 

Communication

With a built-in newsfeed, messaging function, and content hub, you can achieve effective company communication. You can share your mission and acknowledge top performers. Managers can post mandatory reads, conduct 1-2-1s, and direct communications to specific regions, sites, and departments. All while avoiding information overload.

Connection

You help to combat driver loneliness with employee chat, employee surveys, and an engaging, personalized news feed. You bring connection to solitary roles and help employees to feel seen, heard, and appreciated.

Efficiency

With Blink, you connect frontline staff to management and resolve issues faster. Staff are empowered to file accident reports and outage updates. Managers replace time-consuming paper-based processes with digital ones. Leaders also get valuable data and reporting features that allow them to visualize communication flow and further improve their comms strategy.

A digital front door

Via Blink’s user-friendly dashboard, employees can access all the apps and tools they use. Shipment details, shift schedules, digital order forms, health and safety notices, training materials, pay stubs. With the Blink frontline app, you put everything at the fingertips of every employee.  

Blink case study: Stagecoach bus company

UK bus company, Stagecoach, has already put Blink’s frontline app into action. They needed a way to connect their 21,000 bus drivers and improve staff engagement.

Thanks to Blink they have:

• Reduced staff turnover by 26%
• Increased employee satisfaction by 46%

And with 89% of drivers opening the employee app an average of six times per day, they’ve managed to reach the majority of their frontline workforce each and every day.

Read more about Stagecoach and Blink here. 

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"A good leader will always …"

How you complete that sentence could speak volumes about your leadership skills.

Good leadership in the workplace is crucial for the long-term success of your business and superb employee experience.

In fact, there's a 1674% chance of an employee having a strong perception about your leadership when you connect them to their purpose, accomplishments, or each other.

Great leaders inspire and motivate their team members. But it's easier said than done. 

Being a good leader can be challenging. It takes a lot of practice and focus. But like any other skill, you can learn to be an effective leader.

If you don't know how to be a good leader, you're in luck. We'll explore 10 qualities of a good leader to give you tips to become a strong leader at work.

What makes a good leader in the workplace?

A good leader engages in open communication, motivates their team members, leads by example, listens to feedback, and is open to new ideas in an ever-changing workplace. 

Anyone can sit in a corner office and boss people around, but there's more to effective leadership than that.

Learning the traits of a good leader will help you significantly impact your company's success.

With that in mind, here are 10 attributes of a good leader and how to use them effectively to your advantage.

1. Good leaders engage in open communication.

Employees want to be heard — whether it's an issue that needs resolving or ideas they believe would improve the business or better serve clients.

When you don’t communicate well with your team, they may feel discouraged, resulting in poor morale and lower production. Project.co shared that 35% of businesses have lost an employee due to poor communication. 

The best leaders customize their communication styles to suit each situation and team members' preferences — which means they take the time to learn which communication mode each team member prefers. 

Do your employees prefer email or phone conversations? Or maybe face-to-face? 

You can also use a straightforward mobile app like Blink to turn your employees into a close-knit group by enabling communications between them.

Effective communication decreases misunderstandings and employee errors, builds trust among team members, and improves morale. Pumble backs that up, stating that effective communication can increase a team's productivity by 25%.

As long as it's done respectfully, you should maintain a work environment that promotes honest communication.

You can also encourage open communication by:

• Promoting a judgment-free environment since your employees are likely to give their opinions more often when they don’t fear discrimination.
• Giving undivided attention to your team members when they’re speaking.
• Asking your employees for suggestions to increase their engagement. You'll aim to implement employee engagement strategies that work.
• Asking (not demanding) your employees to do stuff for you.

2. Great leaders encourage professional and personal development.

One of the most critical leadership qualities you can have is nurturing your staff by giving them personal development opportunities.

That can include anything from leadership training or teaching them a new skill to encouraging them to pursue a passion that inspires them in and out of the workplace.

In 2021, Lorman shared that 70% of employees are likely to leave their current job to work for an organization that invests in employee growth and development. 

Employees value learning opportunities, so it's no surprise that companies with successful training programs typically see a significant increase in employee retention. 

Picture a company culture where every team member receives training according to their interests. In such a case, every employee will feel you care about their goals, dreams, and overall well-being. 

When that happens, your employees will go above and beyond to help you achieve your goals and vision.

Here are four strategies you can use to encourage professional and personal development in the workplace:

• Encourage mentoring and coaching between managers and employees.
• Identify and develop soft skills such as time management, active listening, and delegation.
• Implement cross-departmental training programs to increase the efficiency of your entire company.
• Use a learning management system (LMS) to streamline employee training.

3. Successful leaders lead their employees by example.

One of the characteristics of a good leader is their ability to ‘walk the talk.’

Here’s an instance of a true leader leading by example:

Jane is a manager at a local bank with a team of seven employees (you can pretend that’s Jane and her team in the above picture). She shows up to work a few minutes early to plan her schedule. 

When her team starts to arrive, she greets them warmly and inquires about their families.

She then calls her team members into a morning meeting. And instead of leading with her plan, she gives each person a chance to voice their ideas. She appreciates their input and asks them to create proposals to bring their ideas to life.

When it’s time to start working, Jane attends to clients like the rest of the team.

As a result, Jane gets high levels of employee engagement since she demonstrates that she’s invested in her team's initiatives and business.

Leading by example means guiding your employees through actions instead of words. The saying ‘do as I say, not as I do’ has no place in today’s world.

Nowadays, employees want to see your actions match what you say. That means showing them what’s required instead of just telling them.

Here are four ways to lead by example:

• Be a role model to your employees by walking the talk.
• Give clear instructions to your staff. 
• Avail yourself to answer questions your employees might have.
• Make employees feel part of the team by letting them know why you're giving them specific instructions.
• Use respectful words like ‘please’ when giving instructions to your team members.

4. Strong leaders give constructive feedback to employees about their performance.

Employee feedback is an incredibly effective tool. Offered well, it can grow your employees, strengthen bonds between staff and managers, and improve trust levels. 

“We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.”
— Bill Gates 

Direct, honest feedback is the best way to steer your team in the right direction.

Don’t wait for monthly or quarterly assessments to give your employees feedback. Give them right after an event has occurred. It will have the most significant impact on their performance.

Here are four tips to help you give employees effective feedback that gets the results you need:

• Give individual feedback privately.
• Avoid sandwiching corrective feedback between two positive feedbacks. It will create confusion, undermine the feedback, and decrease trust levels.
• Focus on your employees' behaviors (what they do) rather than their personality traits (what they’re like).

5. Secure leaders ask for feedback from employees about their leadership style.

The saying goes: there’s always room for improvement. That’s especially true when you're a good leader. 

Who can point out these growth opportunities better than your employees? 

After all, they work with you every day, so they know your strengths and weaknesses. 

“Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions.”
— Ken Blanchard

However, getting honest feedback isn’t always easy.

Employees may feel awkward revealing their true thoughts. They may not want to offend anyone's feelings or face future consequences for harsh criticism. That may cause them to give you fluffy feedback or avoid the request.

Use these tips to ask your employees for feedback and increase the likelihood that they give honest, actionable feedback:

• Ask your employees specific questions instead of vague questions such as, “What do you think?”
• Tell your staff not to hold back on their feedback and make them feel they’re doing you a favor by being honest.
• Give them time to think about your questions and develop helpful answers.
• Ask employees about what you can do better in the future rather than what you did wrong in the past.

6. Transformational leaders are open to change and new ideas.

Change is hard — even if the change is for the better. Successful leaders are aware of this and don't pretend otherwise. 

They also understand that embracing change with the right mindset is critical to creating an environment where change is integral to their company's DNA. 

A great leader never wants to be the smartest person in the room. They surround themselves with a team of experts with more ideas and experience without feeling threatened. 

And when these experts are led well, they can be a powerful force in driving strategy, making changes, and enhancing the company's bottom line. They’ll perform at a high level with little oversight and push you to grow continually.

“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”
— Steve Jobs

Whether you're leading a team of two or five thousand, below are four ways to embrace new ideas and get your employees on the ‘change-wagon’ faster:

• Surround yourself with a committed team of experts.
• Understand why you need the change and clearly express the desired outcome.
• Include your employees in decision-making from the get-go to strengthen their commitment to change.
• Make sure your beliefs and behaviors support the change. Be resilient, persistent, and willing to step outside your comfort zone.

7. Effective leaders set clear employee goals and delegate work.

A good leader makes sure their employees are doing what they’ve assigned them to do to achieve the company's mission and goals. 

The instructions you give should be measurable and quantifiable. Use existing data to develop a baseline for employees to do their best work. 

Moreover, 2021 research by Bi Worldwide showed that 31% of employees said their manager set attainable goals for them, but they weren’t challenging. So be sure to have goal-setting discussions with your employees to set goals that will challenge them to grow. 

An effective leader also knows what tasks to delegate. They know they can’t accomplish everything alone, so they assign tasks to team members they’re confident will complete them. 

As a result, they empower and boost their employees’ morale. And in the process, they free up their time to focus on what will yield the highest returns and grow the business.

Here are three tips to help you delegate tasks to your team members:

• Look for opportunities to delegate tasks based on your teams' strengths and weaknesses.
• Walk your employees through the project you're delegating and clarify when you need it done.
• Give continuous feedback and be specific on what they did well and what they need to improve on.
• Aligned with implementing employee experience strategies and positive employee lifecycle

8. Great leaders are passionate about their work.

A good leader has the right motivation and passion. They’re not driven by money or prestige but genuinely want to inspire others to do their best.

Passionate leaders increase productivity and make sure workers are committed to the company's values, mission, and vision.

“A great leader's courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.”
— John C. Maxwell

Most successful leaders have a passion (not a job) and know how to rally others around that passion. 

In short, passionate leaders lead with heart.

Here are seven qualities that set passionate leaders apart from the crowd:

• They're open-minded and respect differing opinions.
• They have a positive attitude and superb problem-solving skills.
• They’re great communicators and listen with the intent of genuinely understanding rather than advancing their agenda.
• They're future-focused and capable of engaging others to achieve their goals.
• They look at the big picture and embrace challenges.
• They're risk-takers and put in the hard work to execute ideas. 
• They're self-aware, surround themselves with like-minded people, and sustain collaborative relationships.

Your ability to inspire, motivate, and create a magnetic vision needs commitment and perseverance. But it’s worth the effort, whether your goal is productivity, employee retention, or project management.

9. Successful leaders have a positive attitude even when things go south.

Most people tend to associate good leadership with smooth sailing. 

After all, what can go wrong if you build and nurture a great team and generate excellent ideas? 

…. a lot.

But whether it's a minor misunderstanding or a significant error, how you handle a negative situation reveals a lot about your emotional intelligence and leadership abilities.

“Great leadership usually starts with a willing heart, a positive attitude, and a desire to make a difference.”
— Mac Anderson

When things go south, your words and actions as a leader are critical. Here’s what you can do during those times:

• Take time to evaluate the situation and know what the problem is.
• Face the problem with positivity and look for solutions.
• Be flexible and adaptable and make adjustments along the way.
• Remain persistent and determined to solve the issues.

10. Good leaders are always learning.

All successful leaders have one trait in common — a hunger for learning. They enroll in relevant online courses, read great books, use the best tools, and constantly improve.

Great leaders have an innate sense of curiosity that often drives them to learn more, which helps them perform better for their businesses and provide personal fulfillment.

“Leadership is not an expertise. Leadership is a constant education.”
— Simon Sinek

Learning helps great leaders challenge their assumptions and bring clear understanding to the table. 

In contrast, failure to keep learning means you won't adapt to the ever-changing work environment. And depending on your industry's competition, this can be a significant issue that spells the death of your company.

Here are three ways to keep learning and become a better leader:

• Embrace an open mind to see things from different perspectives.
• Read relevant books, industry publications, and blogs.
• Take advantage of consultants, personal networks, industry events, and other organizations and learn from them.

How to be a good leader at work: your checklist

1. Openly communicate: Make sure your team always know what's going on and what is expected of them.
2. Develop your team: Push each team member in their personal development. Make sure you each team member has a clear and robust personal development plan.
3. Lead by example: Easier said than done, but be the example your team can learn from. Show them the type of employee you want them to be.
4. Give constructive feedback: Don't be afraid to give constructive feedback. 1-1's are normally the place for this.
5. Ask for feedback: You won't always get things right, and not everyone will agree with you. Ask for feedback from your team on your management style and how you can improve.
6. Be open to change and new ideas: If a team member has an idea or a new way of doing things, be open to it. Don't stick to the way things are just because "that's how it's always been".
7. Set goals & delegate: You can't do everything on your own, give your team responsibility and delegate tasks appropriately. This can help with point 2 as well.
8. Show your passion: If you love your job, show it. This passion can be infectious and help motivate your team.
9. Keep positive: Things won't always go to plan, but you can weather the storm. Keep positive and let your team know you have their back with whatever road bumps you hit.
10. Don't stop learning: Your development also doesn't stop. If you want to lead by example you need to make sure you are up to date with the latest techniques and strategies for your role.

Wrapping up: What makes a good leader in the workplace?

Most people aren’t born with the ability to get things done and inspire others every day. And that’s okay — you don’t have to be born with that ability to succeed.

Although it takes time to be a good leader, you can learn strong leadership skills. But like any other skill, it takes a lot of practice and focus. 

Just keep in mind it also requires you to grow and engage your team. Blink’s Employee Engagement App can help you keep employees engaged and connected. Try it out today. 

Cut through the noise with attention-grabbing internal communications

We’ll come clean. The idea that humans have an 8-second attention span is a myth. But — as with any enduring story — it’s a myth with its roots in truth.

In a technological age, we’re bombarded with more information than ever. And people looking to convey a message — be they marketers, influencers, or internal comms teams — have very limited time to grab our attention.

As such, the 8-second rule provides a useful frame of reference when designing employee communications content, particularly if you’re aiming to engage frontline workers or Gen Z employees, who prefer short, snappy instant messaging.

By drawing employees in quickly and effectively, you’re more likely to land critical messages. You cut through the noise and improve engagement across your internal communication channels — plus, you help to build a more captivating workplace culture.

Here, we explore all the ways your internal communication strategy can stop the scroll with attention-grabbing internal comms.

The attention economy at work

How many notifications do you get on your smartphone each day? Between news alerts, personal instant messaging, and work memos, there’s a lot of information competing for our attention.

To stand out, your internal communication app needs to adopt the tactics of the most effective players in the game. We’re talking social media platforms, with their rich multimedia content and addictive algorithms.

These platforms provide ample inspiration for internal communicators. They also establish employee communication expectations.

Away from work, employees are used to content that is dynamic, interactive, and concise. They’re accustomed to mobile-first communications and content that attracts their attention in a split second.

This is the challenge for internal communications teams. How do you replicate that experience and level of engagement in the digital workplace? How do you make sure your content is seen, read, and remembered?

How to create attention-grabbing internal communications

To make your employee communications heard above the noise, you need modern internal communication tools with content that attracts employee interest within seconds. Here’s how.

Make your content snackable and visual

Short-form content is everywhere these days. And it tends to resonate well with modern employees.

Workers don’t always have time to read a long, text-based email, scan a PDF, or try to navigate your dense company intranet. Plus, this type of communication and document-sharing are unlikely to spark employee interest anyway.

With bite-sized content, employees can read and digest need-to-know information on the go. Think snappy company news feed posts, pulse checks and employee surveys, and employee recognition shout-outs — all in a single platform with a user-friendly interface.

Visuals are also key. They help you say more with less and, because they appeal to our senses and emotions much more effectively than a plain text document, they’re a surefire way to foster an engaged workforce. Try incorporating micro-videos, carousel posts, and behind-the-scenes photos into your company comms.

Hook ‘em with your headlines

With just a few seconds to convince employees to view your content, you need headlines and subject lines that do much of the heavy lifting.

Your headlines should be short and simple. They need to provoke curiosity without resorting to clickbait tactics — and they should hint at the value employees will gain by reading further.

To craft engaging headlines:

• Keep it short and specific. Use a maximum of 40 characters in your subject lines. And ensure your headlines accurately reflect the rest of your content.‍
• Adopt an employee-centric mindset. Make employees the hero of your headlines. Figure out what is most important to your workers, then lead with that.‍
• Avoid corporate language and jargon. Use simple, easy-to-understand language and your headlines will be more engaging and quicker for employees to digest.
• ‍Create urgency or intrigue. When crafting urgent updates, mention upcoming deadlines to improve message open and read rates. Also, pique employee curiosity by hinting at what lies within.

Here are a few examples of high-impact internal message headlines:

Create a sense of exclusivity and intrigue

• Not this: What you need to know about the new product launch next week.
• But this: Be the first to see our new product!

Empower action and counter known hesitations

• Not this: Please fill out the latest employee engagement pulse check survey.
• But this: Have your say — share your feedback in minutes.

Focus on clear benefits with simple language

• Not this: Sign up for our newly implemented training programs to improve your productivity. 
• But this: Career goals unlocked! Discover new training programs.

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Embrace the Stories format

The Stories format has been popularized by Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. It provides an easy way to share short-form video content, a current favorite among social media users, in a way that highlights human connection.

The beauty of this type of video format is the ease with which you can create it. It doesn’t have to look polished and professional. In fact, DIY, smartphone-filmed content has an air of authenticity that boosts employee engagement and trust, particularly with Gen Z employees.

When exploring this format with your internal communication tools, you can feature daily updates, employee recognition and spotlights, and even shift announcements. Make Stories available on mobile and give your deskless employees a quick and engaging way to access the latest company content, too.

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Make your communications a two-way conversation

Interaction and engagement go hand in hand. So — to create compelling internal comms content that positively impacts the employee experience — you need to prioritize two-way communication and team collaboration.

You can do this with the help of key features like:

• Polls and quizzes. Quick, easy, and engaging. Polls and quizzes allow you to gather instant employee feedback and insights while giving employees the chance to make their voices heard.‍
• Emoji reactions. A simple way for employees to interact with your news feed content, emoji reactions allow them to express opinions and show support on company updates.‍
• Employee-generated content. The ultimate in interaction, employee-generated content is sure to attract the attention of co-workers and offers a centralized platform for employee content creators too.‍
• Manager video updates. Leadership and management posts break down barriers and make comms more personal, particularly if you throw in the occasional Q&A. 

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Harness the power of FOMO and urgency

The best marketers understand consumer psychology. They know what makes prospective customers sit up, take notice, and take action.

Internal comms teams can harness this psychology to maintain high levels of employee engagement across communication channels. Here are a few ideas:

• Time-limited content. Content — like Stories — that disappears after 24 hours is great at grabbing employee attention. It also encourages regular use of your employee app or internal communications platform, because employees don’t want to miss out on the latest company news. A quick video from the CEO, a behind-the-scenes look at an event, or a snapshot of a team milestone feels more valuable when it’s only available for a limited time.‍
• A sense of urgency. As with the 24-hour news cycle, regularly posting real-time updates creates a sense of urgency. Employees want to check in with your internal comms to find out what’s new. Deadlines are also effective. So launch limited-time challenges — and use time-sensitive language like “now,” “today,” “don’t miss out,” and “last chance” — to spark interest and encourage participation when it comes to urgent updates.‍
• Exclusivity. We’re drawn to content that creates a sense of prestige. So offer “sneak peeks” and “first looks” at new products, initiatives, or instant messaging from leadership. Positioning messages to employees as exclusive makes employees feel valued and part of an elite group. It also taps into employees’ natural curiosity and desire to stay in the loop.

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Adopt a mobile-first approach

The best internal communication tools are mobile-first. They make it easy for employees to comment, react, and participate in real-time conversations.

For a mobile workforce without desktop access and for Gen Z workers who live on their smartphones, mobile-first communication approach supports quick social interactions without a significant time investment. 

Make your internal communication platforms available on employee smartphones and you also have the option to use push notifications — the ultimate attention-grabber.

But be careful — don’t overdo it. To prevent notification fatigue, reserve alerts for priority messages and allow your employees to customize their notification preferences, particularly when it comes to lower-stakes content like internal newsletters and direct messaging.

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Measure, learn, and iterate

When adapting your comms so they catch the attention of employees, it takes more than guesswork. You need to measure your success by tracking engagement metrics, views, and interactions.

You can also make like your marketing team by A/B testing your internal content. Switch up images, thumbnails, colors, headlines, and calls to action to find and roll out the most eye-catching options.

Using the data on employee behavior and gathering feedback you get from your internal communication tool — along with real-time feedback from employee surveys — you can evolve your internal communications strategy to better spark the interest of employees.

Does your comms content meet the 8-second rule?

Attention-grabbing internal communications are short, visual, interactive, and mobile-first. They communicate key information — and draw recipients in — in a matter of seconds.

In a time when it’s hard to maintain the edge in the attention economy, content like this stands out. It helps you share important information and urgent updates with employees and keep everyone on the same page.

Not only does this foster more effective communication, it also improves the employee experience. When people feel informed and connected to their organization, they enjoy higher levels of employee satisfaction.

So do you accept the challenge? Will you strive to meet the 8-second rule with your internal comms? 

Audit your current content, explore the capabilities of your internal communication software, and experiment with new formats to find out what works for your entire organization. Because, by going beyond old-fashioned, text-based comms, you stand to make a big impact on your audience and create a more engaging company culture.

Blink. And craft attention-grabbing internal communications

Missed our last Quarterly Unlock release? Catch up on the details here!

Welcome to the May 2026 edition of the Quarterly Unlock — your inside look at what’s new in Blink and how it helps teams communicate more clearly, connect more easily, and get more done.

This release is built around a simple idea:

As organizations grow, they need more control — over when content goes live, how their teams connect, and how their employee experience looks and feels. Blink should be the platform that makes all of that easier, not harder.

Here’s what’s new.

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#1. Hub as the command center

Your Hub is only as useful as the content inside it. This quarter, we’re giving teams more control over how that content is created, scheduled, and surfaced.

Scheduled publishing

Timing is everything in internal comms. With scheduled publishing, teams can now set exactly when Hub content goes live — and when it expires.

• Plan campaigns and seasonal updates in advance
• Publish and archive content automatically
• Remove the need for manual intervention on time-sensitive updates
• Keep your Hub current without extra admin overhead

Whether it’s a benefits enrollment reminder, a policy update, or a seasonal campaign, scheduled publishing means the right content is always live at the right time.

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Draft pages

Teams can now prepare Hub content in draft before it’s ready to publish — building in a review step without rushing to get things live. Multi-editor support is coming soon, making it possible for teams to collaborate on pages in real time.

Featured content and Hub content carousel

New features including collapsible sections, featured content, and a Hub content carousel in the Feed give admins more flexibility to organize and showcase content — making it easier for employees to find what matters and harder for important updates to get lost.

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#2. Frontline-first communication

Frontline teams can’t always stop what they’re doing to type a message. This quarter, we're making it faster and easier to connect — in the moment, wherever work happens.

Voice and video calling

Blink now fully supports native voice and video calling across mobile and web. Teams can move from message to conversation without switching apps or using shadow IT like Whatsapp to connect. 

• One-to-one and group calls, all within Blink
• No need for third-party tools
• Works on mobile and web
• Protects employee privacy by keeping calls inside the platform

For frontline workers who rely on their phones to stay connected, this is a direct line — without the personal number.

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Mobile live streaming

Leaders and frontline managers can now start and run live streams directly from their phone. No studio. No production team. Just a fast, native way to reach distributed teams in the moment.

• Stream from anywhere, on any device
• Bring announcements, updates, and leadership moments closer to where work happens
• Keep frontline teams informed in real time

SAP SuccessFactors notifications

SAP SuccessFactors notifications are now deep-linked, taking employees directly from a notification to the task that needs their attention — no extra navigation required. This brings enterprise investments to the frontline with simple, mobile-first access so they can take action without relying on their manager every time.

#3. A more configurable Blink

Every organization is different. This quarter, we’re giving customers more control over how Blink looks, works, and fits into employees' daily workflows.

Feed and Hub widgets

New and enhanced widgets — including a Feed carousel, Hub carousel, and featured Hub content — give customers more control over the Blink experience. Whether you want to surface key content, spotlight important updates, or create a more polished home screen, the tools are there.

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Featured post improvements

Featured posts now support carousel options, improved image handling, livestream and VOD content, and better treatment for text-only posts. The result is a more flexible, more engaging way to put critical content front and center.

Save Feed posts for later

Employees can now save Feed posts to come back to when they have time — no screenshots, no endless scrolling. Saved posts are easy to find, easy to act on, and help reinforce Blink as the single destination for everything work-related.

Custom taglines

Organizations can now add a custom tagline to employee mini profiles — a simple but meaningful way to personalize the experience and reflect how your organization works. More details coming soon.

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Account claim process

Getting every employee into Blink just got easier. The new account claim process lets employees verify their identity and claim their Blink account using a few pieces of information — no email address or existing contact details required. It’s designed for hard-to-reach workers who’ve historically been difficult to onboard, and gives organizations a more flexible, more inclusive path to full activation. More details coming soon.

New post settings

Making sure the right message lands in the right way just got simpler. The new Importance picker replaces a confusing mix of Priority, Pin, Feature, and Important toggles with one clear choice when creating a post — so the most-prominent placement in the Feed always matches the most-urgent intent. Admins spend less time second-guessing which setting does what, and employees see a Feed where the prominent posts are genuinely the urgent ones. More details coming soon.

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What this Unlock means for your team

For employees

• More relevant, timely content in the Hub
• A faster, easier way to connect with colleagues
• More control over how they engage with the Feed

For leaders and comms teams

• Scheduled publishing takes the pressure off manual timing
• Live streaming puts leadership communication in everyone's pocket
• Featured content tools that actually do the work

For IT and operations

• Deeper SAP SuccessFactors integration
• A more configurable platform that fits how your organization works
• Native calling that keeps employee data private

If you're a customer, reach out to your customer success manager to discuss participation and enablement options.

If you're exploring Blink, book a demo to see how the May 2026 Unlock brings communication, connection, and action into one place.

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At Blink, I am responsible for the ongoing success and happiness of our wonderful customers 🚀

I lead our brilliant global Customer Success and Customer Support teams. Together, we nurture our customers in every way possible. We work collaboratively with our customers and all the internal teams at Blink to ensure our users are getting the absolute best value out of our transformative SaaS platform.

I was born and raised in Camden Town, London. I left the capital to go to university but Camden is where my heart lives so I came straight back once I graduated!

I studied Anatomy & Physiology at the University of Manchester and my plan was to kick-off a career in Healthcare 🏥 After months of work experience at the MRI Hospital in the Oncology Gynaecology Department, I came to the realisation that a career in Healthcare sadly wasn’t for me. However, my respect, appreciation, and gratitude for how incredibly hard the nurses, technicians, doctors, surgeons, and supporting staff work on the frontline skyrocketed.

When I left University, I no longer had a career plan which was scary. All I knew was that I loved people – helping, communicating, and supporting people. So, I literally typed ‘jobs for people who love people’ into Google to see what opportunities came up! Recruitment was the top result and that’s how I fell into my first role 💙

My first job was a hybrid Business Development and Recruitment Consultant role within a large corporate company. I learned very quickly that a hardcore Sales role didn’t suit me and I wanted to have more of a positive and influential impact than I could within that corporate environment.

This is when my journey into working in start-ups began. I joined a small technology recruitment start-up whose mission was to change the way companies recruit for their product and engineering teams. I worked my way up from Talent Manager to Account Manager where I had my own portfolio of customers that I was responsible for. I worked with companies including Cazoo, MADE.com, dnata, Emirates Holidays, and many more to help them design, advertise, interview, and hire for their product and engineering teams.

When the opportunity arose to work for a company whose purpose is to make the work lives of the frontline easier, happier, and more connected, I leaped at the chance.

I joined Blink in November 2019 as the first-ever Customer Success Manager. I was responsible for all of our customers throughout their post-sales lifecycle. I single-handedly managed customer support, implementations, and customer success for all our customers.

Since then, we’ve grown from just me to three established global teams: Customer Success, Customer Support, and Implementation. I’ve had the extraordinary opportunity to build my own teams, create our ways of working, take on increasing levels of responsibility and accountability, and achieve glowing success with our customers.

Now as Head of Customer Success, my role is much more strategic and focused on the leadership of my team.

There are three main reasons why I love what I do. The first is the people. I get to work with incredible people internally and externally every single day.

The second is the challenge. I’m learning, growing, and developing at a rate that I didn’t think was possible! And the best thing is that I get to share this with those around me, particularly my team.

The third is our mission. We’re all working together to make the working lives of the frontline easier, more efficient, more connected, but most importantly give them their voice and let it be heard.