How to Calculate Employee Retention Rate (With Examples)

Boston, MA — May 18th, 2026 — Blink, the leading employee experience platform for frontline workforces, today announced it has raised $17 million in funding from Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI), the growth equity fund affiliated with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). Blink also announced a new global partnership with Shake Shack following a successful integration of its workforce management solutions.

As restaurants – and frontline-driven industries more broadly – continue to navigate high employee turnover, margin pressure, and an increasingly complex operating environment, Blink is helping organizations address some of their most persistent workforce challenges. By improving employee communication and engagement, Blink enables teams to stay connected, informed, and aligned – driving higher staff satisfaction, reducing turnover, and increasing overall productivity. Blink’s frontline workforce solutions empower employees to access critical company information, tools and communicate seamlessly across teams, from corporate to frontline staff, all in one unified platform. In 2025, adoption of Blink’s self-service employee tools, which enable team members to swap shifts, access pay stubs, and have more agency over their work, grew 300% year over year, and employees opened the Blink app seven times a day on average to stay informed, efficient, and connected.

“We are excited to partner with Danny and the EHI team and believe that their commitment to delivering Enlightened Hospitality is more relevant now than ever,” said Sean Nolan, Founder & CEO of Blink. “We also are thrilled to launch with Shake Shack, an industry leader who shares our commitment to a strong corporate culture that begins on the restaurant floor.  As we embark on this next chapter of growth, we look forward to partnering with forward thinking brands who are empowering their people to win in this competitive market”

Blink will use the funds to invest in its product and engineering teams and drive continued innovation across its AI-first platform, while also accelerating its go-to-market strategy to reach more customers across the hospitality industry and beyond.

“I have always believed that Enlightened Hospitality – the ethos that when you take care of your people, your people take care of your customers – is how to create sustaining success in any business" said Danny Meyer, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Enlightened Hospitality Investments and Founder of Union Square Hospitality Group. "Blink’s technology puts people first by making sure team members are equipped and supported so they can, in turn, deliver their very best. Blink’s smart technology will help shape the future of restaurants." 

Blink IQ, the company’s AI workforce insights platform, gives management real-time insight into trends such as workforce feedback, productivity, sentiment, and turnover to help companies identify issues early, take action fast, and improve both engagement and operational performance.

“At Shake Shack, everything starts with our people. The energy in our Shacks and the Enlightened Hospitality our teams bring to life each day are what make us special,” said Luke DeRouen, Chief Communications Officer at Shake Shack. “As we continue to grow, we are focused on giving our teams simple tools that keep them informed, connected, and engaged. Blink will help us do exactly that, enabling a more connected and consistent experience across our Support Center and Shack teams.”  

Blink works with some of the world’s most recognized hospitality brands across the restaurant and hotel industry and continues to expand across verticals, including retail, transportation, healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics. In 2025 alone, the company added over 700,000 users in the hospitality sector.

By centering the platform on the employee experience, Blink helps restaurants streamline operations, strengthen culture, boost retention, and elevate every guest experience. To learn more about Blink, visit www.joinblink.com.

To learn more about this partnership, read the announcement on Business Wire and Kristen Hawley’s exclusive coverage in Expedite here.
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About Blink

Blink is the mobile-first employee experience platform that connects your people, systems, and culture in one super-app. It bridges the digital divide between deskless and desk-based workers, supercharging employee communication and engagement at industry-leading companies like Shake Shack, McDonald’s, Domino’s, Booking.com, Dollar Tree, Nokia, easyJet, JD Sports, Carrefour, and Stagecoach. Blink is the top-rated Employee Communications Application on Gartner Peer Insights and a Leader in the G2 Grid for Best Employee Engagement Software. Learn more at joinblink.com.

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About Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI)

Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI) is a value-added strategic growth equity firm affiliated with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). The firm was formed to leverage the brands, businesses and team at USHG to identify and invest in scalable businesses with proven category leadership and a commitment to building an employee, customer and community-focused culture. EHI partners with portfolio companies to provide strategic direction, operational experience, increased visibility and access to relationships to drive growth with our portfolio partners. EHI manages over $550M of committed capital and primarily focuses on hospitality and related technology businesses, but will also invest in other hospitality-related companies that share an employee, customer and community-focused culture.

Internal communication isn’t just about messages — it’s about impact

Too often, internal comms teams focus on sending the right messages through the right channels. But what if that’s not enough?

With workplace expectations evolving — especially among Gen Z and Millennial employees — internal communications leaders need to do more than inform. They need to engage. Influence. Inspire action.

That’s where the 3 C’s of internal communication come in: Curiosity, courage, and catalyst.

“We know that with younger generations, it’s so much more important for them to feel that they are a part of things. Old fogies like myself, you just get your head down, do the work, hope that you get a paycheck… It’s so different these days.”

This framework, developed by author and keynote speaker Shola Kaye, transforms internal comms teams from messengers into strategic influencers. In a recent podcast, the Blink team sat down with Shola to explore the 3 C’s — why they matter and how comms leaders can put them into action.

Let’s break it down.

Curiosity: Don’t make assumptions right off the bat

The first C you need in your internal communications toolkit is curiosity.

Curiosity prevents us from making assumptions, which get in the way of empathy. By being curious, we get to know and understand the people around us.

“If you want to engage people, you’ve got to really know who you’re speaking to. What is on their minds? Where are they coming from? Because otherwise, how will you know how to pitch your content?”

That means listening before you speak. And creating a company culture of psychological safety where employees feel confident that their thoughts and opinions will be taken on board.

Why it matters:

Too often, comms teams assume they know what employees want or need — but a strong company culture of employee engagement starts with listening.

It’s also worth remembering that internal comms trends and employee expectations are always evolving. What worked last year might not work today. So it pays to stay curious, listening to the voices of your target audience on a continuous basis. 

How to apply it:

• Use pulse surveys and real-time employee feedback loops. Uncover what’s resonating and implement two-way communication practices. Be sure to acknowledge and act upon employee input or employees will start to doubt the process.

• Let employees shape your internal communication strategy. Ask them: What’s missing? What do they need? How do they like to receive company communications? You can then craft more effective and engaging messages.

• Create conversational hooks. Ask informal questions. For example: What did you do on the weekend? What’s a great movie you watched recently? This creates conversational hooks, which lead to connection, trust, and collaboration within the workplace.

• Go beyond small talk. Ask “big talk” questions. Instead of simply asking “How are you?” try asking, “How are you feeling about these changes?” These deeper-level questions encourage meaningful dialogue and bottom-up communication.

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Courage: Own your voice so people can’t help but listen

Internal communications teams are the unsung heroes of the workplace. It takes real courage to be the voice of a company — sharing tough news, listening to hard feedback, and taking bold risks to build a better employee experience.

“To be empathetic, you’ve got to open yourself up to what is going on for someone else. That can press buttons. It can be triggering. It can be exhausting. So it takes some courage to develop empathy and this level of communication in the workplace.”

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Courage means having difficult conversations in the knowledge that you’ll come out the other side “stronger, better, more confident at communication.” It means taking your comms beyond the internal communication tools, styles, and channels you’ve used traditionally to deliver something more engaging and authentic.

Why it matters:

Internal comms teams often walk a tightrope between corporate messaging and employee advocacy.

But great communicators don’t just share what’s safe — they push for transparency, honesty, and authenticity. They speak in an open, human way that sets the tone for the whole organization.

How to apply it:

• Advocate for direct, no-BS communication. Employees respect transparency over corporate jargon so don’t be afraid to speak honestly, as long as you approach tricky subjects with tact and sensitivity.

• Take a stand on employee well-being and inclusion. Don’t sit on the fence. If it matters to your workforce, it should matter to senior management. Clearly communicate your business goals and what your company stands for.

• Encourage business leaders to be real and visible. Align your internal communication plan to where senior leaders are on the “audacity scale.” For one C-suite member, that might mean recording a video message or running a listening tour, while the more gregarious may be happy to run a Q&A session with employees.

• Be open to new channels and formats. For comms leaders, courage can mean experimenting with new internal communication channels and formats. Video updates. Mobile-first and social tools. Insta-grade storytelling. You don’t always know how these changes will go down with employees. But the reward may be worth the risk.

Catalyst: Make change happen

Being a catalyst for change is easier than you might think. Asking the right questions at the right time — and directing employees toward the collaboration tools and resources they need — can be all it takes.

However, to be an effective catalyst, inspiring others to do and be more, you need to put the other C’s — curiosity and courage — into action first. 

“If we’re being empathetic and truly listening to others, we start to learn what they need to grow, to move forward… So then we can step into this role of catalyst to help facilitate that growth.”

Why it matters:

Internal comms isn’t just about informing employees. Done right, your internal communication strategy can inspire action. It can cultivate a motivated and engaged workforce. It can drive cultural change.

Effective communications help employees feel more connected and valued — and engaged in the company’s mission. And when employees understand how they contribute to organizational goals, they become more invested in their own growth and development, too.

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How to apply it:

• Turn communication into action. Don’t just inform. Invite employees to share ideas in town hall meetings or employee surveys. Provide clear steps and resources that make it easy for them to shape company culture.

• Set an inspiring example. Leverage storytelling to highlight employee success stories, frontline employee contributions, and company impact. Show, don’t tell — using formats like short videos, photos, and quotes — how individuals are driving change.

• Amplify unheard voices. Actively seek out perspectives from underrepresented teams, then amplify their contributions and elevate them as internal influencers so they reach a wider audience.

• Champion new digital tools. Be the change you want to see. Advocate for technology that makes internal communication more accessible and inclusive. Think mobile-first apps, AI-powered chat tools, and one-stop digital hubs. 

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Put the three C’s into action for next-level internal comms

Curiosity, courage, catalyst — three simple words that provide a blueprint for next-level internal communications. The 3 C’s can help you take your internal communications strategy from a function to a force for connection and change.

By staying curious, you uncover what truly matters to your workforce, across all generations. By leading with courage, you create space for honest, impactful conversations. And by stepping up as a catalyst, you empower employees to shape their futures — and that of the organization.

A survey conducted by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses reported that 66% of respondents considered leaving their job due to the pandemic.

At first glance, it may seem like the pandemic is what caused frontline workers to feel burned out and leave their jobs, but Amanda Bettencourt, Ph.D. of the association, says,

“This was the stress test for an already stressed system.”

The employee experience for frontline workers has been overlooked for a long time. Finally, businesses are paying attention to how to improve internal communication for their frontline workers.

The truth is that frontline workers love creating a good customer experience. Matthew, a Registered Nurse at Denver Health, says,

“I love what I do. I chose this profession because I wanted to be on the frontline doing this, and there’s nothing else I want to do.”

But how can businesses make the work experience better for frontline workers?

Keep reading to learn how to motivate frontline employees and support them so they can do what they do best – taking care of your customers.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Benefits of empowering frontline staff
• How to improve internal communication on the frontline
• 1. Make communications accessible to everyone
• 2. Personalize communication
• 3. Make it easy to give and view feedback
• 4. Create a single source of truth
• 5. Streamline manual processes
• 6. Provide ongoing training opportunities
• 7. Ask frontline employees for their ideas
• 8. Check in regularly and in person
• 9. Celebrate achievements
• 10. Put yourself in their shoes
• Final thoughts: how to improve internal communication on the frontline

Benefits of empowering frontline staff

Many frontline workers love the work they do. Their job satisfaction comes from helping patients and creating a positive impact on customers.

Tina Cummings, Materials Technician at Baystate Noble Hospital, explains,

“We get a sense of accomplishment doing our part to keep folks safe. We find the supplies that they need and get it to them as quickly as possible.”

When your frontline staff feels connected and empowered, they can focus on delivering an excellent customer experience.

But, if your frontline workforce feels unsupported and unheard, employee morale can plummet and lead to burnout and a higher employee turnover rate.

If you want to improve customer satisfaction, it starts by caring for the employees who interact with customers and patients every day.

How to improve internal communication on the frontline

1. Make communications accessible to everyone
2. Personalize communication
3. Make it easy to give and view feedback
4. Create a single source of truth
5. Streamline manual processes
6. Provide ongoing training opportunities
7. Ask frontline employees for their ideas
8. Check in regularly and in person
9. Celebrate achievements
10. Put yourself in their shoes

1. Make communications accessible to everyone

According to a Frontline Employee Workplace Survey conducted by Yoobic, one in three frontline employees feel disconnected from the company. During the COVID-19 pandemic, companies had to make fast changes to business strategies and operations.

While these changes often affected frontline employees, they didn’t feel included or well-informed. More than 75% of respondents say that receiving internal communications through a mobile app would make them feel more connected to HQ.

2. Personalize communication

Including frontline employees in internal communications is an excellent start, but it won’t solve the problem entirely. More messages don’t automatically equate to higher employee engagement. You need to make sure that your messages are meaningful to frontline employees.

When you communicate significant changes to essential workers, make it easy to understand how any new initiatives will affect their daily work. Anticipate possible questions from frontline employees and answer them in your original message. This should be a key part of your internal communication plan anyway.

For example, if you’re implementing COVID-19 precautions in-store, let employees know how you’ll be supporting them with signage or website updates so they feel supported.

3. Make it easy to give and view feedback

Some initiatives look great on paper, but they don’t work in real-time with customers.

Ben Davis, a social worker in New York, told Time Magazine of a time when top-down pandemic precautions like remote contact made it more challenging to work and connect with individuals who suffer from mental illness symptoms like paranoia.

What seemed like a good idea at first was ineffective and became the source of concern for many frontline workers.

According to Davis,

“It was all very different and very confusing. I don’t know how well he – a patient – understood that I was doing it to help keep him safe.”

In this case, Davis’s feedback was heard. His team implemented changes focused on the long-term protection of frontline workers, such as allowing them to stop administering medication if gloves run out.

Employees on the frontline can feel frustrated if they don’t have access to the resources they need to do their jobs.You must give frontline workers a place to provide feedback and ensure they see that the feedback has been taken and processed.

4. Create a single source of truth

Consider using a mobile app to deliver your intranet or knowledge Hub so your deskless employees can access the right resources.

5. Streamline manual processes

A whopping 71% of frontline workers feel bogged down by repetitive manual tasks and paperwork. One part of motivating frontline employees involves letting them focus on work that creates impact, such as working with customers.

It may sound small, but spreading your admin work across multiple platforms means your frontline workers have to log into several websites to take care of repetitive work.

Respect your frontline workers’ time by consolidating administrative work into a single portal and automating manual processes.

6. Provide ongoing training opportunities

There’s a direct connection between growth opportunities and employee retention. Team members who see a future with your company are more likely to stay engaged and experience high levels of job satisfaction.

During onboarding, show your frontline workers there’s a clear path to growth in your company. Then, make sure they can easily access resources to help them build the skills they need to advance.

For example, clinic receptionists can develop skills to become Medical Assistants and then continue to advance to higher Medical Assistant levels (MA II, MA III) to earn a higher salary.

7. Ask frontline employees for their ideas

Take time during meetings to let people provide an overview of their projects, goals, and progress.

When dealing with customer feedback issues, you can also show your frontline staff you value their expertise by asking for their opinions and suggestions. Use polls and surveys to stay tuned into the customer experience through your frontline workforce.

8. Check in regularly and in person

Too many business leaders underestimate the importance of frontline workers. A grocery store bookkeeper describes his experience to New America as, “bosses come through. They don’t speak to you. They think they’re better than you…We are the ones that are helping you make this money.”

Leaders must schedule regular site visits, but you have to remember to acknowledge on-site and remote employees and genuinely listen to them.

Treat site visits as an opportunity to build relationships with frontline staff, show them that you’re there for them, and reinforce the idea of teamwork.

9. Celebrate achievements

Employee recognition is an integral part of motivating frontline employees. Take time to celebrate work-related achievements like promotions and personal milestones such as birthdays and anniversaries.

10. Put yourself in their shoes

Learning to empathize with your frontline workers creates a better work environment for everyone. Don’t assume the challenges you face in the office are the same your remote employees deal with every day.

Instead of making assumptions, ask your frontline employees questions about their experience and really listen when they tell you. Use questions like “How can I make it easier for you to get your work done?” to get actionable feedback from your frontline workforce.

Lead by providing support and proactively removing the obstacles that make it difficult for frontline workers to succeed.

Final thoughts: how to improve internal communication on the frontline

How many businesses could survive without their frontline workers? And still, they’re often overlooked and misunderstood.

Learning to motivate your frontline employees through empathy, communication, and support can transform your customer experience and overall business. Discover employee engagement for modern workforces with Blink today.

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Frontline workers make up 80% of the global workforce. They play an extremely vital role in many industries across the globe.

But 60% of frontline employees say they’re unhappy with the technology they use at work.

Unfortunately, this stat makes perfect sense. Workplace tech has traditionally been built with office-based workers in mind. So it tends to fall short for the frontline.  

Some companies still use a traditional intranet. And others use a patchwork of different HR and IT apps. These tools may work well for desk-based employees. But they cause three common problems for frontline workers:

• Limited access to tech. Frontline employees don’t have regular access to a computer and don’t always have a company email address. This means they rely on noticeboards, personal apps, and/or shared company computers to access the information and tools they need.
  
  
• Access to poor quality tech. Frontline employees have access to a system that does some things, but not others. They can access tech tools via a mobile device but features are limited and the user experience is lacking
  
  
• Access to too much tech. When employees use lots of different apps via lots of different interfaces, it creates as many problems as it solves. This piecemeal approach can cause friction and tech tool disengagement

Frontline organizations need streamlined tech that works for every employee. As Ian Gordon, former President of Administrative Operations at Elara Caring, said in an interview:

“Being a frontline worker can feel like you’re on an island by yourself, and the solutions that you need must be quicker and more succinct. You can’t spend a lot of time signing in and navigating. You need to get to your answer now.”

Currently, deskless workers waste time and productivity on tasks that could be streamlined. For example, finding their training documents, communicating with managers, or simply tracking down last month’s pay stub.

Thankfully, there’s a solution. A modern intranet takes into account the realities of today’s distributed workforce. It’s a mobile-first tool that provides the same seamless digital experience for both frontline and desk-based employees.

Here, we explore how the right type of technology can benefit your frontline employees and your organization. We also reveal the three features you should be looking for when choosing frontline tech.

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Benefits of a modern intranet for frontline employees

When your frontline has access to the right tech, everyone stands to gain. Let’s take a look at the benefits – for your organization and employees – of a mobile-first employee app.

Higher levels of productivity

When frontline employees don’t have the right tech, they waste a lot of time on tasks that could be streamlined.

They have to call their manager on the phone when they want to change shifts.

They have to use the shared computer on their lunch break to respond to a company survey.

They have to leaf through a paper handbook to find an answer to their question.  

A modern intranet helps frontline employees complete tasks quickly and easily. This means productivity for your organization improves. 

Streamlined workflows

A modern intranet helps streamline the workflow of every employee in your organization, not just those on the frontline.

That’s because frontline employees can use self-serve functions. They can view their pay stubs, launch an assigned L&D module, and request time off. Employees can book shifts and report faults or accidents. They can also chat with their managers via messaging features.

This helps to streamline the work of your frontline workers. But it also helps HR teams and frontline managers. They get fewer queries and fewer phone calls because frontline employees can achieve so much more using the right tech tool - removing the barrier to access and allowing your HR teams and managers to focus on the work they are meant to be doing. 

Tech tool efficiency

The best modern intranets integrate with the software you already use for your business. It's not about adding another tool to your tech stack to be siloed, but increasing access to all of the other tools you already rely on. So employees can access all tech tools from the same, familiar interface.

When workplace tools are intuitive and easy to access, employees spend a lot less time looking for the resources they need. They also spend less time trying to remember different login details. A single click, a single password, and they’re in.

Learning and development

A modern intranet or employee app makes it easy for employees to access vital resources. Like workplace policies, guides, and training materials.

This means new hires get up-to-speed quickly. They can access all onboarding materials via their smartphone. Existing employees also find it easy to weave L&D into their usual workflow.

With access to resources that help them work smarter, not harder, employees become more effective and productive in their roles. 

Improved internal communication

Good internal communication is the backbone of any organization.

Without it, trust in leadership suffers. And with it, engagement and loyalty increases. Employees in organizations with effective communication feel more connected to their jobs. 

But we know that frontline teams usually don’t enjoy the same level of communication and connection as their desk-based co-workers. 

Frontline employees tend to spend very little time at HQ and often spend their days working alone. So they risk missing out on: 

• Vital company updates
• Co-worker collaboration
• Recognition from managers
• Opportunities to make their voice heard

The right tech helps to bridge the gap. It improves employee communication by connecting frontline workers to their co-workers, head office, and company culture.

Real-time communication

Information is often outdated by the time it reaches frontline employees. It’s hard to spot memos on a crowded noticeboard, and it’s easy to miss an important update in a long thread of messages. 

The best modern intranets solve this problem by supporting real-time communication.

Employees can use newsfeed, group chat, and 1-2-1 chat functions to get up-to-the-minute information.

Managers can send smartphone notifications to highlight vital updates. They can post a video of today’s company standup. They can also create and pin mandatory messages to the company newsfeed, ensuring that essential information cuts through. 

With access to relevant, timely information like this, employees make better decisions and solve problems more quickly.

Two-way communication

Top-down communication is useful for establishing company culture and sharing updates. But for truly effective internal communication, information needs to move in all directions.

Modern intranets support peer-to-peer connection. Co-workers can interact via the newsfeed or chat functions. They can recognize a peer’s hard work. Or wish their work bestie a happy birthday.

The intranet also supports bottom-up communication. With a newsfeed, direct messaging, and company-wide surveys, you give frontline employees a voice.

This makes a positive difference to the employee experience. Employees who say their voice is heard at work are 4.6x more likely to give their all.

Collaboration

Imagine a frontline care worker has come across a great article about elderly care. How does that person share their new insight with other frontline workers in other locations?

Perhaps they’ll mention the article to the co-workers they physically cross paths with. Or send a link to the small group of people in their work WhatsApp chat. 

But you really amplify the reach and impact when that care worker can post the article to the company employee app.

The right tech tools allow frontline teams to share the knowledge they gain when they’re out in the field. They can share best practices and collaborate with other employees, even though they’re not based in the same office environment.

Empowerment and engagement

When employees feel empowered and engaged at work, they’re happier and more productive. They provide better customer service and produce better results. They’re also less likely to look for a job elsewhere.

Employee engagement relies on strong employee communication, development opportunities, recognition – and the right tech.

The wrong tech can be a big drain on employee engagement. When workers use slow, inefficient, and ineffective digital tools, it adds friction and frustration to their work day. So implementing a modern intranet can help with all the following. 

Empowering employees

With a company super-app at their fingertips, frontline employees are empowered to make informed decisions and take a proactive approach to their work.

Thanks to user-friendly employee communication channels, they can report safety or equipment issues. They can share their knowledge. And they can access company resources exactly when they need them.

A modern intranet also empowers employees to progress in their careers. 70% of frontline workers are interested in career progression opportunities. But they don’t always get the resources or support they need.

Via an employee app, you can give frontline workers easy access to L&D information, new job opportunities, and any available employee development activities. 

Engaging employees

The right frontline tech helps you to improve employee engagement. It allows employees to engage with co-workers and company culture. And it mirrors the experience provided by employees’ favorite social media apps.

A newsfeed. Likes, comments, and shares. Pulse surveys. Digital 1-2-1s. A searchable company library. A modern intranet with a user-friendly interface creates an experience that employees are excited to use and keep using.

The best frontline tech also offers personalization, another thing that helps to level up engagement. Employees can switch up their dashboards to put their preferred features first. Or prioritize their newsfeed to focus on posts that are most relevant to them. 

Retention and attraction

Frontline teams experience high levels of churn. A McKinsey study found that 45% of frontline workers planned to leave their jobs within the following 3 to 6 months.

Workplace technology is an important part of the puzzle. 78% of deskless workers say they consider the technology at a company when deciding whether to take a job there.

When you equip frontline workers with the right tech, you show your employees that you value them and care about their experience.

You also provide communication channels that support a better employee experience. You allow employees to give feedback and build stronger relationships with co-workers. This makes it easier to hold onto existing staff – and to attract new talent too.

Choosing the right tech for frontline employees

Some tech solutions – like the traditional intranet – don’t fit the realities of frontline work. So what should you be looking for when choosing tech for frontline employees?

The best frontline tech:

• is a one-stop-shop
• offers an intuitive user experience
• has a mobile-first design

Let’s look at these features in a little more detail.

It’s a one-stop-shop

Currently, many organizations are at risk of app overload. 37% of frontline workers use five or more apps every day. But 39% say that apps aren’t actually helping them in their work.

A patchwork of workplace tools means workers have to learn different interfaces and remember lots of passwords. Tech complicates their workflow instead of simplifying it.

The best modern intranet brings together all the software you use. It acts as a digital front door for your organization.

Behind this door, employees find everything they need to do their jobs. Tools for communication, operations, training, shifts, collaboration, and HR. It’s all available via one interface and a single login.

Tech that acts as a one-stop-shop reduces friction in frontline employee workflow. It also drives adoption for your existing tools, improving the ROI on the software you’re already paying for.

Supercharge your frontline with an employee super-app

It provides an intuitive user experience

Investing in the best frontline tech is pointless if you can’t persuade employees to use it. So you need tech solutions that can prove high usage and adoption rates.   

Bear in mind that 56% of deskless workers are using personal tech tools instead of workplace tools. As well as posing security risks, this illustrates a really important point when choosing frontline tech.

Your chosen solution has to compete with the user experience (UX) provided by the most popular social media platforms. So you need tools that offer an intuitive, friction-free UX.

These intuitive tools don’t have a steep learning curve. Instead – because they’re so similar to the apps your employees already use out of work – employees can pick them up and start using them with next to no training.

Because they’re so easy to use, these apps provide clear employee benefits from the get-go. This helps to drive organic app adoption and ensures a higher proportion of your workforce downloads and uses your intranet.

It’s a mobile-first solution

Frontline workers don’t sit at a desk. They don’t always have a company email address, let alone a company computer. Therefore, any workplace tech you choose must be available via a mobile device.

The best solutions have a mobile-first design. They’re not tools designed for desktop with an app added as an afterthought. Instead, they offer the same great features and user experience on a smartphone as they do on other devices.

This allows frontline team members to stay up-to-date with company news, book time off, or look at their shift schedule while they do their daily work. They can access workplace tools from any location, at any time.

Blink: an employee app for frontline workers

The Blink employee app is a modern intranet for a modern frontline workforce. Our app acts as the digital front door for your organization. 

It provides access to the tools and systems your entire workforce needs day to day. And it integrates seamlessly with the software you already use. So employees can access all workplace software using one secure single sign-on (SSO).

As a mobile-first solution, Blink provides the same great user experience on smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. Frontline workers have exactly the same access as their desk-based peers to company culture, co-worker connection, and workplace resources. 

If you’re looking to improve the frontline employee experience, connect your workforce, and increase productivity, frontline tech is a great place to start. 

Book a Blink demo. Or discover how Blink works for people teams by reading our recent article: Transforming HR teams with the help of a frontline app.

Meet Theo Booth, our solutions engineer based in Boston. Theo has been an integral part of Blink for nearly 3 years, leaving his mark not only through his impactful work but also by introducing everyone in the office to Tony’s Chocolate bars, now a beloved staple.

When asked what drew him to Blink initially, Theo emphasized the appeal of being part of a small, flexible team dedicated to making a difference in people’s everyday lives. Describing Blink as an environment that is exciting, challenging, and rewarding, Theo likes the dynamic opportunities that Blink offers.

Now, let's dive deeper into Theo's journey at Blink.

Theo, what's a project you are proud of from your time at Blink?

One of my proudest achievements at Blink has been my involvement in enhancing our payslip management system. We now have multiple ways of consuming, generating and making them easily accessible to our users at the click of a button.

It's incredibly rewarding to know that our efforts directly improve user experience and operational efficiency.

What's one thing you're excited about for the future of Blink?

I'm particularly excited about Blink's growth trajectory. We're consistently taking on larger clients, which brings new complexities and challenges.

Can you tell us about a recent initiative or program launched at Blink that you found particularly exciting?

One initiative that stands out is "Blink for Everyone." This program underscores our commitment to making a positive impact beyond our immediate business objectives. It's great to see Blink contribute to initiatives that aim to make the world a better place.

Why Blink?

It’s fast paced, exciting and every day is different. With everyone moving towards the same goal and challenging each other at every step, it is an extremely interesting place to work and grow.

In conclusion, being part of Blink isn't just about a job—it's about being part of a community that values growth, impact, and collaboration. Theo is excited about the future and the opportunities ahead as we continue to evolve and innovate in the realm of technology solutions.

Join us in shaping the future of technology and impacting lives. Explore career opportunities at Blink today! https://www.joinblink.com/careers

Every internal comms team has a content calendar.

It’s packed with company milestones, product launches, quarterly updates, and maybe even "Employee Appreciation Week”. But for a significant proportion of your workforce, it’s largely irrelevant.

Because what it doesn’t capture is the other calendar. The calendar of frontline operational reality — of shift changes, policy updates, roster gaps, and the months where teams are working flat out just to cope with demand.  

Effective frontline communication planning means overlaying this unofficial calendar on top of the official one. Let’s explore how.

What the "official" internal comms calendar misses

Before you can build a better comms calendar and improve frontline employee communication, you need to understand how the standard employee communication strategy falls down for frontline workers.

In many organizations, there’s a gap between the content comms teams plan and what frontline workers actually need to hear. Here’s why.

It reflects business priorities not frontline concerns

The typical internal comms calendar is organized around what the business wants to say — launches, milestones, strategic updates.

This can be useful for frontline employees. But they also need other information: what’s changed, what to focus on, how to do the job well today.

It doesn’t treat operational updates as comms

Operational updates are often shared through manager cascades or notice boards rather than through official comms channels. That makes it easy for messages to be delayed, diluted, or missed altogether.

These updates rarely make it onto the content calendar because nobody thinks of them as “comms”. But for frontline workers, these are the comms that matter most.

It assumes stability in an unstable sector

Frontline environments are subject to change. Last-minute rota gaps, unexpected site disruptions, safety updates — these aren’t planned weeks in advance.

Internal communications that are entirely pre-scheduled leave organizations without the space for unplanned moments. But these are the times that most require a comprehensive comms response.

It ignores emotional cadence

Different times of year bring different levels of frontline fatigue, stress, and morale. A piece of content that lands well in October may land very differently in the first week of January.

The standard comms calendar rarely accounts for this — which means messages are written and scheduled without enough consideration for the emotional and operational context in which they land. 

Read more: Insta vs. reality: The frontline communication gap

The unofficial comms calendar: Month by month

Want to incorporate frontline comms into the official comms calendar? Here are the kinds of comms your frontline teams need throughout the year.

January

Staff shortages are still playing out. Annual leave has depleted teams. New policies roll in with the New Year. And motivation is at its lowest point of the annual cycle, with employees experiencing back-to-work blues and post-Christmas financial pressures.

The official comms calendar arrives with vision statements and annual goals. But on the floor, people are simply wondering whether they can get through the week without any surprises.  

What frontline workers need: Stability, not inspiration. Clear guidance on any policy changes. Reassurance that leadership understands what the frontline is feeling. Well-being signposting. Manager check-ins.

February

February, with its grey weather and flat energy, is a month when comms teams tend to go quiet because there’s nothing obvious to communicate. But this is a really crucial time for comms to step in and lighten the mood.

What frontline workers need: Consistency. Recognition. Peer-to-peer connection. You can prompt employees to interact with news feed content, celebrate colleagues, and start conversations with people beyond their immediate shift.

March & April

The new financial year usually means new targets, policy updates, and process changes. 

This is when a significant volume of important information needs to reach the frontline — and there’s a risk that change communications get missed or filtered imperfectly through manager cascades.

What frontline workers need: Repetition. If you haven’t said it five times, it hasn’t landed. Effective change communication for frontline workers means repeating the same information in multiple formats, across multiple touchpoints, with clear channels for questions and clarification.

Summer

A time of holidays and heat. Shift swaps spike, coverage gets unpredictable, and project and production targets shift. New or temporary staff are onboarded quickly. 

In this environment, comms that were drafted three weeks ago may bear little resemblance to what’s actually happening on the floor.

What frontline workers need: Speed and self-serve. Updates that reach workers at the right time. Updated policies and procedures available via a searchable knowledge hub. Team messaging tools for new hire questions.

September

Back-to-school season reshapes team availability. Parents may struggle to juggle work around strict pick-up and drop-off times. Students are leaving or joining. Teams are reconfiguring at the same time that new routines are being established. 

What frontline workers need: Coordination. Shift schedule comms. Reconnection with teammates after summer breaks through the people directory and communities.

October & November

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the festive season are all on the horizon. That means increased consumer spending and increased pressure on frontline workers across sectors. 

During this time, hiring ramps up, training is a priority, and expectations of worker output increase.

What frontline workers need: Personalization and prioritization. When everything competes for attention, nothing gets through. This is the time for careful segmentation — making sure frontline staff only receive updates relevant to their role — and for comms that connect individual effort to the bigger picture.

December

A time when many frontline organizations are working at maximum operational intensity. Workers are tired, with limited mental bandwidth. But they need to maintain momentum until the festive break. During this time, stress levels are high, mistakes are more likely, and attention is a scarce resource.

What frontline workers need: Brevity and clarity. This is not the month for lengthy updates or complex policy docs. Every piece of content should be short, sweet, and to the point. Push employee recognition at this time, too — it works wonders for morale.

The types of communication frontline workers are most likely to respond to

The frontline content you choose to share will vary depending on the month. But there are some frontline communication best practices you should try to weave into your comms calendar all year round.

Personal and timely beats corporate and scheduled

A message that arrives just at the right moment carries more weight than a perfectly crafted scheduled update. Frontline comms planning should build in space for reactive, real-time communication alongside pre-scheduled content.

Peer-to-peer comms matter as much as top-down

Frontline workers return to internal comms channels when they provide space for co-worker connection. So enable and amplify peer communities, recognition, and knowledge-sharing to create a sense of engagement and belonging that top-down messaging alone can’t achieve.

Recognition in the moment beats the end-of-quarter shoutout

By the time a quarterly recognition email arrives, workers have long forgotten the specific moment you’re referencing. Recognition that’s immediate, specific, and visible to the team has significantly more impact on morale and engagement than delayed, generic praise.

Interactive comms beat passive messaging

Content that employees can respond to, react to, and participate in generates more engagement than broadcast updates. Polls, questions, short-form video, and news feed content that invites a response are more engaging and more memorable.

Multimedia beats a page of text

Frontline employees work busy shifts. They don’t have a ton of time during the workday to check in with company comms. 

For this reason, the best messages are short, succinct, and put the most important information first. They also use images and video to convey a lot of information in a short space of time.

Comms planning for frontline workers: How to build the internal comms calendar they actually need

Understanding the unofficial calendar is the starting point. Building it into your internal comms strategy requires a few practical shifts.

Overlay operational moments onto your comms plan

Map seasonal peaks, policy change cycles, onboarding waves, and predictable points of stress alongside your standard content calendar. 

For each moment, ask: what do frontline workers need to know, feel, or be able to do at this point in time? Then, craft communications based on your answers.

Give managers the tools to communicate without becoming a bottleneck

Managers are the last mile of internal comms — but they can’t carry the full weight of operational communication without support. 

Pre-written talking points, timely manager-only briefings, and clear escalation channels help managers communicate effectively without creating delays or distortions.

Segment your audience

A warehouse operative, a new seasonal hire, and a shift supervisor have very different information needs. A frontline communication strategy that treats the whole workforce as a single audience will underserve all of them. 

Segmentation — by role, location, tenure, and shift pattern — means every employee receives communication that’s hyper-relevant to their current situation.

Frontline communication planning made easy with Blink

Building an internal comms calendar that works for frontline workers requires careful planning. But executing that plan can feel hard without the right comms infrastructure.  

A desktop intranet that shift workers never log into. A bulletin board crowded with paper notices. A manager cascade that creates confusion and bottlenecks. None of these channels provides effective support for a new and improved, frontline-focused comms schedule.

Instead, you need internal communication software built with the frontline workforce in mind. Only then can you deliver effective frontline comms and a better frontline employee experience.

Blink is a unified mobile-first platform designed around the realities of frontline work. It provides:  

• A personalized news feed so you can deliver targeted content to the right employees at the right time
• Push notifications for urgent operational updates
• A searchable knowledge hub for self-service information
• Recognition and survey tools that make employees feel valued and heard
• Analytics that show comms teams what’s landing — by team, location, and time of year

Blink gives you the tools to plan, deliver, and continuously improve frontline communication — all in one place. So you can turn your comms calendar into something frontline workers actually see, use, and rely on.

Blink. And build an internal comms calendar fit for a modern frontline workforce.