Employee retention schemes for employers

The average person will work 35 hours per week. That adds up to 84,365 hours over their lifetime. Yet just over one-third of employees (34%) are engaged, and 16% are actively disengaged in their work and workplace.

If you’re reading this, the chances are you want to make sure your employees don’t feel like they are wasting a large portion of their life at work. We’ll do our best to help you do just that.

In this handy guide, we’ll break down the key steps you need to take when creating an employee engagement strategy.

From understanding why your organization truly needs an employee engagement strategy, to the actionable steps you can take to create your own strategy, we’ll cover everything you need to know right here.

Why you need an employee engagement strategy

Creating an employee engagement strategy can seem daunting, but it’s important for any business. Having a strategic approach to your employees’ happiness and engagement will help you retain top talent, keep them motivated and productive, and ultimately grow your business.

Effective employee engagement strategies will outline exactly how you are going to improve employee engagement within your organization, allowing all team members to stay on the same page when it comes to their roles and responsibilities.

In short: by creating an employee engagement strategy, you can strategically work to improve your employee engagement. And with improved levels of engagement, come a number of organizational benefits, including: 

• Higher Productivity: Employee engagement is closely linked with productivity. Engaged employees are more motivated to do their best work and achieve their goals. In fact, research has shown that engaged employees are up to 202% more productive than disengaged employees.
• Reduced Staff Turnover: Low employee retention is costly and disruptive for any business, and one of the most decisive factors for employee retention is employee engagement. Engaged employees are less likely to leave their job, which reduces the need for costly and disruptive staff turnover.
• Improved Morale: A happy workforce is a productive workforce. When employees feel engaged and valued, they are more likely to be happy at work and less likely to experience stress or burnout. As such, a staff engagement strategy can motivate employees and improve morale, job satisfaction and overall company culture.
• Greater Loyalty: An engaged employee is more likely to be loyal to their company, in fact 90% of workers said they are more likely to stay at a company that takes and acts on feedback: AKA one that engages them. They are less likely to look for jobs elsewhere and are more likely to recommend their company to others. Therefore, the right employee engagement strategies can drive your staff retention rates and encourage employees to stay with your company for longer.

Employee engagement strategies & business types

What your employee engagement strategy needs to consist of will change depending on your business type. For example, a software company will need to focus on ways to motivate and engage product designers and developers in order to compete for top talent in a competitive Silicon Valley environment. A healthcare organization, on the other hand, will need to come up with innovative ways to engage their nursing and medical staff to combat physician burnout and the growing nursing shortage.

What's important is that you provide your workforce with strategies that are designed for them specifically. Ultimately, your strategy will depend on the type of employees you have, the unique challenges facing those teams in your market, their day-to-day tasks, and how your organization operates as a whole.

Employee engagement for the frontline

Creating an employee engagement strategy can be especially important for frontline organizations. With 80% of the global workforce working on the frontline, it’s important to have strategies in place that will help keep these workers engaged, productive and motivated.

Additionally, employees in frontline positions often have more direct contact with customers and are more likely to represent the company to the public. As such, it is important for these employees to be engaged and motivated, so they can provide positive customer service experiences.

Frontline staff engagement strategies might involve providing employees with accessible digital tools for employee engagement, offering transparent and frequent communication, or emphasizing the importance of customer feedback.

Remember: whatever strategies you use, it’s important to tailor them specifically to your industry, business type and workforce.

How to create your employee engagement strategy

In order to have engaged employees, you need a plan in place, outcomes in mind, a clear outline of responsibilities and a culture that takes participation seriously. You also need a toolset available that is able to execute your plan, close distances, track results and simplify operations. 

To make this a little easier to understand, we've broken the process down into 7 simple steps.

1. Define - Your purpose, values & mission

Defining your own purpose, company core values, and mission statement is a crucial step in creating your employee engagement strategy. In fact, when teams know your goals and expectations of them, they are 2.8 times more likely to be engaged in their roles, according to research from Quantum Workplace.

By clearly articulating what you stand for as an organization, you can align your staff with these values and give them a reason to be invested in the success of your business in the long-term.

To ensure that all employees are on the same page here, you should provide an easy-to-access Hub containing all company policy and procedure documents, along with a thorough onboarding process for new hires.

2. Listen - Conversations and research

Direct, two-way conversations and further research into your employees’ needs and wants will help you to create a more personalized engagement strategy, making this a core step in the strategic process. One way to do this is through pulse surveys.

Pulse Surveys are short, regular surveys that ask employees about their engagement levels and how they feel about their work. This can help you to identify any areas where your employees may be struggling, and can help to ensure that your employee engagement strategy is constantly evolving.

Whether it’s through surveys, focus groups, one-on-one interviews or anonymous staff feedback tools, gathering data and hearing directly from your employees can give you valuable insights into what they need from an engagement strategy, and help you identify your organisation's key engagement drivers, in order for staff to stay engaged at work.

3. Review - Analyze and plan

Once you have gathered data from your employees, it’s time to analyze this information and determine what action needs to be taken. You may find that certain areas of your workplace are in need of improvement, or perhaps a company-wide change is necessary to boost employee engagement.

Whatever the results of your employee research, it’s crucial to identify specific targets and actions that will make your plan a success. What’s working, what's not? Are there specific issues that need to be addressed? What are your engagement goals as a business leader?

Key goals for your employee engagement strategy could include:

• Lower staff absenteeism
• Better employee retention rates and lower turnover
• Improved productivity
• Enhanced employee motivation and happiness 
• Increased customer satisfaction 
• More positive organizational culture.

By reviewing and analyzing the data you have gathered, you can gain a clear understanding of how to better engage employees in order to achieve these goals. This will help you to build a more effective employee engagement strategy that your employees want to respond positively to.

4. Commit - Actions speak louder than words

Strategy is important, but actions always speak louder than words. Employee engagement strategies that work, only work if you plan to back them up with core actions, processes and real change.

Below, we have outlined some key ways to commit to your employee engagement strategy. By truly committing to all of these actions, you can bring your employee engagement strategy to life and start seeing real results.

Tools & technology

Digital tools are essential for any organization looking to boost engagement. By providing your employees with the right tools, you can make it easier for them to connect with each other and with your company. This can help to improve communication and collaboration within your team, leading to higher job satisfaction, and a more engaged workforce.

There are a variety of different digital tools that you can use to engage your employees, including great employee engagement apps, online chat software and team collaboration tools.

It’s also important to consider using technology with frontline-specific features in deskless organizations. With 52% of frontline workers claiming they would leave their job over tech tools, better digital commitments are clearly needed here. By providing your employees with tools fit-for-purpose on the frontline, you can ensure that your employees feel supported and engaged no matter where they are in the organization.

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Recruitment 

Assuming that you have already begun the process of gathering data and analyzing it, you should now begin to take actions across the board in order to improve employee engagement. One way to do this is through better recruitment practices.

People who match your ideals and company culture, who will add value, and who are onboarding engagement are more likely to be engaged employees. Therefore, it is important to take care in the recruitment process, and to ensure that you are hiring people who will be a good fit for your company. You can use interviews, personality tests and job simulations to get to know a candidate better, and to see how they would fit into your team.

It is also important to provide a thorough onboarding process for new hires in order to establish a culture of engagement from day one. This can help them to feel welcome and comfortable in their new role, and can help them to learn about your company policies and procedures.

Communication

Regular communication is key to keeping employees engaged. Employees need to feel like they are part of the bigger picture, and that their voice is heard. By establishing a regular communication schedule – whether it be through Secure Chats, email, newsletters, team meetings or other methods – you can ensure that your employees are kept in the loop.

It’s also important to have a clear internal communications strategy in place. This should outline who is responsible for communicating with whom, and what methods will be used. This will help to ensure that everyone is on the same page, and that important messages don’t get missed.

It’s important to tailor communications to the needs of your employees. For example, if most of your employees are frontline workers who don’t have access to a computer, you may need to adjust your communications methods so that they can be accessed on mobile devices – think mobile employee engagement apps. You may also need to consider using different methods for different departments or locations within your company.

Surveys

Although surveys are important when drafting your strategy, it’s also important to gather feedback from your employees on a more regular basis if you want to walk the walk of employee engagement. By conducting regular Employee Surveys, you can get a sense of how your employees are feeling at any given time – and if things need to change.

An employee engagement survey can help you to gather valuable data and feedback from your employees, which you can use to improve your strategy. You may want to consider including questions about work-life balance, employee engagement initiatives, training and development, and other areas.

Frequent surveys are a great way to get ongoing feedback from your employees and to see how they feel about various aspects of their job or the company as a whole. You can also use surveys to measure the success of your employee engagement strategies, obtaining valuable insight into what is working and what needs to be changed or improved.

Managers

“Leadership has an important role to play when it comes to employee engagement, and this is especially important given nearly half (45%) of workers say leadership is “minimally” or “not at all” committed to improving company culture. In fact, 78% of employees confirmed that any change to culture needs to be driven by the CEO.” — Jeff Cates, CEO of Achievers.

For business leaders, mid-level management is often the first step towards employee engagement. By ensuring managers are supported from the top level, given the budget, training, tools and support they need, you can set them up for success as well as help to create a culture of engagement across your entire organization.

Effective managers have many important roles when it comes to employee engagement. They are responsible for setting expectations, holding people accountable, and providing feedback. They are also responsible for coaching and mentoring their team members, as well as helping to resolve any issues or conflicts that may arise.

5. Measure - Analyze and report

To measure the impact and see if their employee engagement activities and strategy is working, businesses should use employee engagement analytics via the right tools, at the right time.

It’s important to use analytics at different points throughout your engagement strategy, as this will help you to gain valuable insight and data that can be used to adjust what is working and improve the areas that need improvement. For example, you may want to analyze employee satisfaction levels before implementing a new training program, or track engagement levels over time to see if your initiatives are working.

There are many different types of analytics tools that you can use to analyze and report this data, for example Blink's Frontline Intelligence tool. Our powerful analytics offer insight into the people and relationships that make your organization tick. 

By analyzing data from people, places, and things on a regular basis, you can gain real-time intelligence into your employee engagement strategy that you can use to better support and understand your workforce.

6. Reward - recognition & progression

When used effectively, recognition can be an extremely powerful tool for improving employee engagement. Employees need to feel appreciated for their efforts, and recognition is one of the best ways to show your most engaged employees that you appreciate them.

However, simply giving employees a pat on the back isn’t enough – recognition needs to be meaningful, memorable and measurable. By taking the time to recognize employees in a meaningful way, you can show them that you truly value their contributions, and make them want to engage and contribute more.

There are many different ways to recognize employees, and it’s important to find what works best for your organization. Some popular methods of recognition include offering Kudos or Employee Recognition, awards ceremonies, Feed shout-outs, gift cards or vouchers, and thank-you notes.

It's also crucial that you back up recognition with opportunities for growth and career development. This may include promotions, opportunities to learn new skills, a stronger compensation and benefits package, or simply more responsibility. By providing employees with opportunities for growth and progression within the organization, you are helping them feel valued and motivated to continue performing well.

7. Repeat - Regular check-ins and adjustments

To truly maximize the impact of your employee engagement strategy, it’s important to take a regular and systematic approach. This means that you should regularly check in on key metrics, analyze the data you gather, and make any necessary adjustments based on what you find.

Stay on top of your engagement. Track key metrics such as employee satisfaction and engagement levels, and conduct regular check-ins to analyze the data you gather. This will help you make any necessary adjustments to your strategy in a timely and effective manner, ensuring that your employees are engaged and motivated at all times.

Final Thoughts

At Blink, we provide the all-in-one solution to employee engagement. Designed for the frontline, our easy-to-access, intuitive employee engagement app delivers real-time data and communications, actionable insights and intelligent recommendations.

Inspiring engagement in your employees has never been easier. With our powerful analytics tools and customizable recognition programs, you can gain valuable insight into your workforce and take the steps needed to boost engagement levels across the board.

Whether you’re looking for a way to track employee performance, improve communication and feedback, or simply create a more positive work environment, Blink has everything you need.

Get started today

As year two of the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end, many consumers and businesses wonder what the new normal will bring. 

Are social distancing policies and mask mandates here to stay? Nobody can say for sure, but there’s no going back completely to a pre-pandemic world. 

Frontline workers will bear the brunt of constant policy changes as we work towards a new way of working and living. Healthcare workers who faced unprecedented workplace risks are now battling symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome such as chronic anxiety, reduced social lives, flashbacks, and nightmares.

That’s why businesses must prioritize employee mental health and wellness, particularly on the frontlines, to protect their employees and make it possible for them to keep doing the work they love. 

The costs of ignoring frontline worker wellness

You can’t afford to ignore employee mental health, especially on the frontline. 

During the pandemic, frontline health care workers reported stress, anxiety, frustration, and exhaustion as the most common symptoms of poor workplace mental health.

Matt Peterson, a nurse in the Sanford Health pulmonary unit recalls, “​​[I]t would be a struggle to fall asleep at times. I would be very wired… and that doesn’t really go down when you get home; it takes several hours.”

As employees struggle with burnout symptoms, job performance, engagement, and morale begin to plummet and many employees choose to leave.

Losing employees takes a toll on your business. Every time you need to replace a frontline employee, you spend money on recruiting, onboarding, and training. And your workplace environment can suffer from lost productivity, engagement, and more customer service errors that happen when you hire someone new. 

Instead, you can avoid this cycle by taking care of your existing employees and prioritizing their mental health at work.

Benefits of investing in employee mental health

Investing in employee mental health on the frontline creates a positive impact for your team, your customers, and your business as a whole. 

Rikke Bräuner is the Nordic diversity and inclusion lead for EY, and believes:

“Mental well-being transmits positively across an organization  —  just as it can have a negative impact if an individual on a team does not thrive. That is why it is so important for us to focus on mental health and how we find purpose and balance in our working life  —  both in our organizational culture and leadership philosophy.”

Specifically, the benefits of prioritizing mental health include:

• Higher attendance rates
• Better work quality
• Improved productivity
• Increased employee retention
• Better customer experience

When you take care of your frontline workers, you empower them to take better care of your customers. 

7 ways to improve frontline employee mental health 

Now that you know the benefits of investing in mental health on the frontline, here are seven steps you can take to create a work environment that empowers your team to perform their best and find a purpose they can connect to at work. 

1. Invest in employee well-being

One of the best ways to improve employee mental health at work is by providing tools that promote well-being, self-care, and stress management.

Wellbeing is a state of positive physical and emotional health where your employees feel a sense of purpose and can manage their stress in productive ways. 

You can support your frontline employees by offering benefits such as access to mental health services, gym subscriptions, and meditation apps. Investing in mental health resources promotes better work-life balance and improves employee engagement while at work.

2. Consistently collect feedback 

Having a sense of connection and purpose is vital to employee mental health and engagement at work. But frontline workers often feel disconnected and excluded from the company.

Ditanya Rosebud, a nursing home cook and hostess, describes the feeling like this:

“The company shows no compassion. We are just another body. That’s it.”

She loves her work and caring for patients, but her disconnection from the organization is demoralizing. 

Make sure your frontline workers feel a sense of teamwork from headquarters by leveraging mobile solutions for internal communications and recognizing the work they do. 

3. Provide mental health training to managers

When managers receive training on mental health in the workplace, their employees are more likely to use the mental health resources that the company provides. Without managerial involvement, employees may worry that using mental health resources will hurt their growth potential at work.

It’s not enough for human resources to stay up to date on the latest mental health research. You need to educate and empower frontline managers. 

Think of them as your internal frontline workforce.

Try creating a mental health training course that teaches managers to identify red flags and discuss mental health support options with their team.

4. Identify your business’s mental health risks

Don’t just implement a blanket mental health initiative and call it a day. Get practical and focus on the most significant wellness risks in your business.

For example, does your business require long hours or night shifts? Is the work physically taxing? Are employees putting their health at risk by going to work? 

Find out the primary mental well-being issues facing your frontline workers and address them head-on. You can use these red flags to help you identify which mental health programs have the most benefits for your employees. If your business requires night shifts, you can provide resources about adjusting to them by managing sleep patterns, diet, and social life.

5. Normalize conversations about mental health

Frontline businesses have a long-standing tradition of sweeping mental health issues under the rug. Jennifer Feist, a health care worker advocate, told the California Health Care Foundation,

“It is a well-established premise in health care that you do not seek mental health care, you just don’t.”

You can’t address an employee’s mental health concerns if you don’t know about them. And changing the stigma around mental health conversations must come from the top. 

See if you have leaders who are willing to discuss their personal experiences or bring in guest speakers. 

Most importantly, continue to prove to your frontline workers that you’re eager to listen, and talking about their mental health challenges won’t put their careers at risk.

6. Scan for signs of low morale

Don’t wait for employee mental health to reach a critical state before you tackle it. Be proactive and look for signs of low morale and poor mental health conditions on the frontline.

Patterns such as an increase in absenteeism, higher turnover, and staff complaints all mean there could be low morale at work. And when productive employees start to slip in their performance or withdraw from team members, that means they could be struggling with mental health problems. 

Wherever you see signs of mental health-related issues, check in with your employees to find out what’s going on in their lives and see how you can improve their work experience. It’s better to find out early and take action than to discover problems after someone has quit. 

7. Ensure safety in the workplace

Unsafe work environments are another risk factor when it comes to employee mental health. Employees are constantly worried about workplace accidents or exposure to illness or harmful chemicals. They’re also more likely to experience low morale and even symptoms of anxiety.

Rebecca, a nurse from Albuquerque, recalls watching hospital management lock up N95 masks. She told NBC, "It's really demoralizing to see someone lock them up in front of you knowing that you might need one of those," she said. "The whole scene was very symbolic of how all this was going to go down.”

Instead of expecting frontline workers to risk illness or injury at work, show them you value their well-being by establishing safety procedures for employee mental and physical health. 

Final thoughts: 7 ways to improve employee mental health on the frontline

Changes like these take time. You can’t revamp company culture overnight, but you can start right now. 

There are many elements of the new normal you can’t control. But you can choose to make prioritizing employee mental health part of your company’s future. As an employer, you have the opportunity to create a working environment where your employees can thrive because they have a sense of purpose and belonging.

It’s up to you to decide what kind of leader you want to be. If you make it your responsibility to support your frontline workers, you’ll see that investment rewarded in several ways, from the customer experience to your bottom line. 

Learn more about employee engagement solutions from Blink and start making frontline employee health part of your new normal today.

Spoiler alert: Employees don’t count down the days until the next company update hits their inbox

But the next episode of their favorite TV show? That’s a whole different ballgame. Millions of people cleared their schedules to watch the Succession finale — or to binge the whole of The Bear in one sitting.

So what do these shows have that internal communications don’t? It’s not just good writing and compelling characters. It’s the way TV structures its stories to keep people coming back for more.

Internal comms can steal these tricks to make messages stickier, more memorable, and worth tuning in for. From the pilot episode to the spin-off, here’s how to make your employee communications essential viewing. 

The pilot episode — hook them early

A pilot episode sets the tone for a TV series. If it falls flat, viewers won’t bother tuning in again. But hit all the right notes, and you’ll have your audience excited for the next installment.

The same goes for your internal communications. The experience employees get when they first encounter your messages shapes how they’ll engage with them — or ignore them — in future.

So, for new hires, comms related to the onboarding process should feel polished and well-produced. Give employees pre-first-day info that sets the scene. Then, deliver a steady stream of timely updates to get familiar with your communication platforms, your workplace, and their coworkers.

When it comes to launching new platforms and digital tools, treat the roll out of a new employee intranet or internal communication tool like a premiere event. Tease the launch with trailers, countdowns, and even a launch party. And make pilot content so strong that employees are blown away by their very first platform experience.

Action! Review your onboarding messages and launch campaigns. Are they as exciting and focused as a Netflix pilot? If not, refine them — think strong storytelling, quality design, and a tone that makes employees want to tune in for the next update.

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Cliffhangers keep them coming back

“Just one more episode?” That’s the power of a cliffhanger.

The best TV shows don’t give everything away in one go. They create buzz and suspense by hinting at what comes next — leaving you hanging with a surprising reveal or creating excitement with a sneak peek of the next episode.

In internal comms, you don’t need to hold back crucial information to build suspense. But you can use this technique to spark anticipation:

• Tease upcoming events. Drop a short trailer for a CEO town hall, a product launch, or a training session.
• Share the headline. Drop a compelling stat, quote, or insight ahead of a big announcement or change management initiative.
• End with a “next week on…” Close company newsletters or updates with a glimpse of what’s coming next.

These TV tactics build excitement for your next content drop. They can encourage employees to subscribe for updates or sign up for further details — and that means a bigger audience when your primary content lands. 

Action! Take a closer look at your employee communication content schedule and look for places where you can share “coming soon” content. You’ll make employees feel like they’re part of an unfolding story — not just at the receiving end of a random collection of broadcasts.

Binge vs. weekly drops

Some TV fans love the ritual of a weekly release. Others prefer to binge the whole season in a weekend. Your employees are no different.

• Bingeable comms work for employees who want to consume a lot of info in one sitting. That might be a full training module, an annual company strategy deck, or a comprehensive how-to guide.
• Short, steady updates suit busy employees (particularly frontline workers) who need snackable updates they can read between tasks. Big ideas are broken down into bite-sized snippets with the help of visuals and clear copy. 

The smartest internal communication teams blend both approaches. A box-set drop for complex topics paired with regular micro-updates to keep messages top of mind.

Action! Review your comms cadence. If everything you send is a dense “season drop,” break it up with lighter, more regular touchpoints. You’ll keep your audience engaged and informed without overwhelming them.

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Spin-offs shine a light on new characters

Where would the TV world be without Frasier or Better Call Saul?

Spin-off series show us what life is like for one character within an ensemble. They help audiences see familiar characters with a fresh perspective, getting to know their motivations, worries, and wins.

Apply this tactic to your internal communications strategy and you bring your organization together, while also boosting comms engagement. When you highlight lesser-seen people and departments within the company, you give teams the insight they need to collaborate more effectively.

So hand the mic to your delivery drivers, your engineers, or your payroll team. Champion an internal creator culture. And create department crossovers, where marketing and operations, or HR and finance, join forces for a joint update.

This original content is something employees don’t expect — and don’t tend to ignore.

Action! Run a quarterly “takeover” week, where a different department owns internal comms. It diversifies voices, keeps content fresh, and helps employees see work and the workplace from different perspectives.

The watercooler moment

The “red wedding” in Game of Thrones. The final episode of The Sopranos. That super-tense Stranger Things scene when Max faces Vecna to a soundtrack of Kate Bush.

The best TV moments become watercooler moments — both in person or on social media. They spark chatter, memes, and inside jokes. They go beyond the screen to build connection and a sense of belonging among their audience. 

Internal comms can do the same, by:

• Creating an emotional connection 
• Inviting employees to interact

Relatable, authentic content about real people creates an emotional connection. So spotlight employees and customers in stories and shout-outs. Encourage leaders to share behind-the-scenes moments. Don’t be afraid to use humor or memes to land a message.

But remember that content alone isn’t enough. The conversation has to flow both ways. Encourage employees to join in. Ask for their input and highlight their intranet contributions. Welcome their ideas and champion an internal creator culture. 

Action! Encourage interaction on your corporate communications channels. Launch a poll, invite employees to share their comments under a company news feed post, or get them to create their own content from scratch. Digital channels feel more like a community when they’re built on two-way communication.

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All killer, no filler

Sometimes a TV writing team seems to run out of ideas, and you’re stuck sitting through a filler episode. It’s dull and forgettable, it doesn’t move the story forward, and it makes you much less likely to tune in next time.

The lesson for internal communicators? To keep the attention of your audience, avoid filler content at all costs. Ensure that everything you send out deserves its place in your core comms channel. Every piece of content should either:

• Inform (share something useful)
• Inspire (motivate action)
• Connect (build company culture and employee communities)

If it doesn’t do any of those things, skip it.

Also, make every piece of content visually engaging. Videos, infographics, images, polls — Insta-worthy content keeps employees glued to your internal communication platform, making it easier for you to make messages cut through.

Action! Use intranet platform analytics to see which content drives the most (and least) digital engagement. Double down on the hits, learn from the misses, and keep your audience coming back for more.  

Anthology vibes — standalones that fit the bigger story

Variety keeps things fresh and interesting — and a standalone story can make a big impact on an audience. Think Black Mirror. Every episode is self-contained but the series works because each installment contributes to a bigger theme.

Apply the same principle to your internal communication plans. Each campaign, post, or announcement should feel complete on its own — clear, valuable, and with a call to action.  At the same time, it should tie back to the wider company story. Every message should reinforce the internal behaviors, corporate values, and company culture you want to build.

Action! Define three to four cultural story arcs for your comms this year. Then map every message against them. That way, even standalone content contributes to the bigger narrative, creating a coherent and engaging employee experience.

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Make your comms less corporate memo, more shiny streaming service

TV shows succeed because they understand their audience, structure stories to keep viewers coming back, and mix variety with consistency.

Internal communications can do the same. From pilot episodes that hook new hires to spin-offs that highlight unsung heroes to watercooler moments that spark conversation — every message is an opportunity to boost employee engagement.

So treat your internal communication strategy like a hit TV series. Done right, employees won’t be second-screening, half-watching while scrolling their phones. Instead, they’ll be invested in your stories. They’ll tune in, interact, and feel part of something bigger.

Microsoft Teams dominates the modern office. But the shop floor, the warehouse, the care home is different territory. Teams handles meetings, files, and chat for desk-based knowledge workers with a depth that's hard to match. Frontline and deskless workers need something else, and most organizations now run both. Here's how the two compare on the things that actually drive frontline adoption.

The short answer

Pick Microsoft Teams if your entire workforce sits at a desk, you're standardized on Microsoft 365, and your priority is meetings and file collaboration.

Pick Blink if your workforce is primarily frontline, you have high turnover, and you need adoption above 80% on mobile.

Who this comparison is for

Most companies searching "Blink vs Microsoft Teams" are already running Teams for their desk-based employees. That's the right call. Teams is excellent for knowledge workers.

The real question isn't which platform is better. It's which platform is right for which workers.

Frontline and deskless workers, the people in your stores, warehouses, hospitals, factories, and delivery fleets, have fundamentally different needs than someone sitting in front of a laptop all day. They often don't have a corporate email address. They check their phones between shifts, not Outlook. Their workplace is loud, physical, and fast-moving, and the tools they'll actually use need to match that reality.

This page breaks down the differences for frontline teams and explains why the two platforms are increasingly deployed together rather than in competition. For broader context on choosing the right stack, see our guide to internal communication tools for distributed workforces.

Quick comparison

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Pricing as of April 2026. Microsoft F1 and F3 pricing is subject to increase effective July 1, 2026, per Microsoft's published pricing.

Does Microsoft Teams work for frontline workers?

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Technically, yes. Microsoft offers frontline-specific licensing through its F1 and F3 plans, and Teams includes a Shifts feature for scheduling and a set of targeted frontline capabilities under its Frontline Hub. Source: Microsoft Teams for Frontline Workers. For a wider view of options, see our roundup of Microsoft Teams alternatives for frontline teams.

There's a gap between what's technically available and what actually gets used.

Teams was designed for knowledge workers. Its interface reflects that. Channels, threads, tabs, and a navigation model that assumes someone familiar with Microsoft Office. For a warehouse operative or a retail associate checking their phone between customers, that interface creates friction. As one CIO in manufacturing put it: "Microsoft Teams is not a great experience for manufacturing employees. They do not want it on their phone."

There are structural barriers too. Frontline workers often don't have corporate email accounts, and Teams requires a Microsoft account to function. The F1 license, Microsoft's lowest-cost frontline option at $2.25 per user per month, restricts Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to read-only mode and provides only a limited mailbox. The F3 license at $8.00 per user per month unlocks more, but both are due for price increases in July 2026. Source: Microsoft 365 frontline pricing.

None of this is a flaw in Microsoft's strategy. Teams wasn't designed for the frontline. It was designed for the office. That's a different brief, and Blink. exists to fill the gap Teams wasn't built to close.

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What Blink is built for

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Blink is a mobile-first employee experience platform built specifically for frontline and deskless workers. Every design decision starts from the same premise: most frontline workers don't sit at a desk, don't have a company email, and need something that works the way their personal apps do. For more on why this matters, see our piece on frontline digital inclusion.

Onboarding takes minutes. Workers join via QR code with no email address or IT account required, which matters in high-turnover environments like retail, hospitality, and logistics.

The core of the platform is a social-style news feed that frontline workers actually read and respond to. Blink customers consistently reach 90%+ workforce adoption. JD Sports hit 87% adoption in 10 days. easyJet runs Blink. across more than 20,000 employees. McDonald's, the NHS, Domino's, Stagecoach, and Chick-fil-A are on the platform. Source: Blink customer stories.

Beyond communication, Blink. handles digital forms, surveys, document access, recognition, and single sign-on to the tools workers actually need, all from one app that fits in a pocket.

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Blink vs Microsoft Teams: key differences for frontline teams

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1. Onboarding and IT overhead

Rolling out Microsoft Teams to frontline workers means provisioning a Microsoft account for every person. That requires IT involvement, takes time, and creates ongoing work as frontline turnover happens. When 30% of your warehouse staff turns over in a year, that's a real IT overhead.

Blink flips this. Workers join via QR code. No email address, no Microsoft account, no IT ticket. A new hire can be on the platform in minutes on day one. For high-turnover industries, this isn't a nice-to-have. It's what makes adoption sustainable.

2. Mobile experience for non-tech workers

Teams' mobile app was built to complement a desktop experience. Its architecture (channels, threads, tabs, calendar, file explorer) is a direct translation of the desktop interface onto a smaller screen. For someone who uses Teams every day at a desk, that's fine. For someone who's never opened Outlook and uses their phone primarily for social media, it's a different experience.

Blink's interface starts and ends with mobile. The design is deliberately close to what frontline workers already know: a scrolling feed, direct messaging, simple navigation. No training required. One retail manager described it as "the app our store staff actually open."

3. Adoption rates

Adoption is the metric that matters most in frontline communications. A platform a third of your workforce uses isn't a communication platform. It's a channel for the minority who are already digitally engaged.

Blink customers reach 90%+ workforce adoption consistently. Teams frontline rollouts typically land much lower. That gap exists for structural reasons: onboarding friction, interface complexity, and the absence of a corporate email for many frontline workers. For more on the engagement levers behind those numbers, see our guide to deskless worker communication.

4. Communication formats

Teams communicates through channels and threads. For knowledge workers who follow specific projects, that structure works. For a frontline worker who needs to know about a shift change, a new store policy, or a shoutout from their manager, a news feed they scroll through works better.

Blink's social-style feed surfaces what matters without requiring workers to know which channel to look in. It's the difference between broadcasting to the right audience and hoping people find the right thread.

5. Kiosk and shared device support

In warehouses, factories, and some healthcare settings, workers share devices rather than owning them. Microsoft offers a Teams Shared Devices add-on, but it's an additional configuration layer and requires its own licensing. Blink supports kiosk mode and shared devices as standard, with no additional setup overhead. That matters in environments where individual device ownership isn't the norm.

6. Cost at scale

At face value, Microsoft's F1 license at $2.25 per user per month looks affordable. The reality is more complicated. F1 restricts Office apps to read-only, provides only a shadow mailbox rather than a real inbox, and often proves insufficient once organizations try to do more than basic messaging. That forces upgrades to F3 at $8.00 per user per month. Both price points are rising in July 2026.

For organizations with large frontline workforces, the total cost of Microsoft's frontline stack (licenses, IT provisioning overhead, ongoing license management for a churning workforce) adds up differently than it appears on a per-seat basis.

Blink pricing starts at $3.75 per user per month on the Core annual plan, with Pro at $5.00 per user per month and Enterprise pricing for larger workforces. Unlike the F1/F3 split, Blink. delivers a complete frontline experience at a single tier without read-only restrictions or shadow mailboxes. See Blink. pricing for the full breakdown.

7. Working offline and in low-connectivity environments

Factories, construction sites, hospital wards, and distribution centers aren't always well-connected. Blink. is built to work in low-connectivity environments and supports offline access. Workers can read content and use key features without a reliable signal. Teams has limited offline functionality, which can create gaps in environments where connectivity is patchy.

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Can Blink and Microsoft Teams work together?

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Yes. This is the model many organizations are moving toward.

The typical setup: Teams for headquarters and desk-based staff, Blink for the frontline. IT keeps the Microsoft 365 stack it already manages. The frontline gets a purpose-built tool they'll actually use. Neither side compromises.

Blink integrates with Microsoft 365, including single sign-on via Azure AD and ADFS. Frontline workers who do have Microsoft credentials can access Blink. without a separate login. SharePoint content can be surfaced through Blink's feed (if you've been looking at SharePoint alternatives for the frontline, this hybrid model is usually the better answer), and Blink. connects into the broader identity and access management infrastructure your IT team already runs. See Blink. integrations for the full list.

This isn't a zero-sum decision between two competing platforms. A retail organization running Teams for its buying team and Blink for its store staff is using both tools for exactly what they were designed for. Same for a healthcare trust running Teams for administrative staff and Blink. for clinical and care home workers, or a logistics company with a headquarters team on Teams and thousands of drivers on Blink.

The IT team doesn't need to choose. The frontline workers just need something that works.

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Which tool is right for your workforce?

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The third column is the most common scenario for organizations with 1,000+ employees across both office and frontline roles.

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Why the leading choice for frontline teams is Blink

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JD Sports hit 87% adoption in 10 days. easyJet runs Blink across more than 20,000 employees. McDonald's, Stagecoach, and the NHS use Blink. for frontline communication. You can read more of our customer stories across retail, healthcare, and logistics.

If you have frontline workers, Teams alone is a gap. Closing it doesn't mean replacing Microsoft. It means adding the right tool for the workers Teams wasn't built for.

We’ve rounded up the seven top training programs that will help boost morale, foster collaboration, and increase productivity for your staff. From interactive workshops to online employee engagement courses, these programs offer something for everyone.

Whether your team is new or experienced, office-based or deskless, there are plenty of options available to help create an engaged workforce.

So let's dive into what the best employee engagement training programs are, what they offer, and how they can benefit your organization.

Choosing the best employee engagement training courses

A great employee engagement course should provide teams with a comprehensive understanding of how to create an engaged workplace environment. 

It may include a range of topics covering effective communication practices, problem-solving strategies, team-building exercises (that don’t make employees squirm), and more strategies that create highly engaged employees.

They may also offer special features such as a dedicated tutor support service, unlimited online email support, certification upon completion, real-time feedback on learning, resources to help employees create tangible goals and objectives, and interactive tools that can be used in the workplace.

To choose the right employee engagement program for your organization, you should assess and compare who the course is made for and what the content of the course is, alongside the:

• Cost
• Length
• Location
• Credit awarded

By assessing these four elements, you can make a more informed decision about which program is best suited to your team’s needs.

What to look for in employee engagement training for managers

Before you can select a training program for managers, it’s important to know what factors to consider for your leadership team. Employee engagement training is essential for even the most high-performing managers, especially frontline managers, as their impact has the unique advantage of cascading effects throughout their entire team. 

Cost varies greatly, especially given the number of remote learning and development options available. While eLearning courses are typically more affordable and easily worked into a manager’s schedule, in-person courses offer the benefit of interaction, personalized feedback, and, often, more in-depth practice.

It’s also important to consider whether you, your C-suite, management teams, and HR professionals value certification or credit hours for the time undertaken. The accreditation may add value and incentive for course engagement, as well as the name of the institution offering the training. 

Two common HR management organizations that accept credit hours for professional certification are SHRM and HRCI. 

You should also consider whether your managers will feel more compelled to complete the learning experience offered by a big name like Harvard to make up for the additional expense.

Additional considerations for choosing an employee engagement program

If you have a frontline workforce, be sure to look for a program that can be easily accessed on mobile devices or through an app with audio lessons available. This will ensure employees can access the course anytime, anywhere, helping you bridge the frontline connection gap.

Additionally, consider the size of your organization and budget. If you have a large team, you may want to look into programs with bulk discounts or offering free training resources. On the other hand, if you’re a smaller business without many resources, eLearning courses may be more cost-effective due to their convenience and lower investment needs.

With digital inclusion now crucial to the modern workplace, it's important to assess the ease of use and accessibility of any courses you choose. Are they easy for team members to access and navigate, or do they require any specific software?

Now that you know what to consider before selecting a program for management let’s go over some of the best employee engagement training programs available today.

The 7 best employee engagement training programs

1. Gallup engagement champions

Workplace advisory and polling group Gallup offers a Creating an Engaging Workplace for Engagement Champions course to help anyone in a leadership position foster a more engaging workplace and support higher productivity. 

The course's primary focus is educating higher-level leadership on how to best help their mid-management increase team engagement. There are also practical takeaways for HR professionals or managers themselves.

Cost: $3,000. 

Length: Two days.

Location: In-person and virtual.

Credit: The in-person course earns professional credit hours from HRCI (14.5) and SHRM (14.5).

2. Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie is a well-known continuing education provider that offers several management courses, including a virtual course called A Manager’s Guide to Sustainable Employee Engagement. 

The six-hour course focuses on actions managers can undertake that inspire workers to put forth their greater discretionary effort. The emphasis is on practicing emotional empathy that delivers a long-lasting culture of engagement.

Cost: $699.

Length: Three two-hour sessions.

Location: Virtual.

Credit: It offers professional credit hours — 5.5 HRCI (5.5) and SHRM (5.5).

3. LSA Global

LSA Global’s employee engagement training personalized course focuses on accountability, change-readiness, and engaging purpose (ACE) as the foundation for a greater level of engagement and business clarity. 

Cost: Available upon request.

Length: Two-day workshop.

Location: In-person.

Credit: None.

4. DecisionWise

Engagement technology provider Decision Wise offers an online engagement training program called Engagement Magic. 

The training covers the importance of employee meaning, autonomy, growth, impact, and connection for engagement and educates learners on fostering these attributes through various employee engagement strategies. 

Cost: $150.

Length: One day.

Location: In-person and virtual.

Credit: None.

5. Harvard Professional Development 

Harvard’s The Positive Workplace: Building Employee Engagement and Satisfaction course focuses on giving managers the tools to help workers through times of stress. 

There is a large emphasis on building positive company culture through effective communication and conflict resolution. 

Cost: $2,895.

Length: Two consecutive days.

Location: In-person.

Credit: Credit towards Harvard’s Certificate of Leadership Excellence in Leading Teams.

6. eCornell

Cornell’s online educational division strategic engagement course is ideal for managers looking for more training in the quantifiable aspects of employee engagement. 

The course teaches methods of measuring employee engagement, like employee engagement surveys, and guides managers through building engagement initiatives to combat disengagement based on organizational data.

Cost: Available upon request.

Length: Two weeks, two-to-five hours per week.

Location: Virtual.

Credit: Credit towards Cornell’s Strategic Human Resources Leadership Certificate.

7. LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning offers various employee engagement training courses for managers through its catalog of user-generated lessons. 

Self-paced pre-recorded lessons like this one on Employee Engagement are a highly accessible training resource for organizations of all sizes. 

Cost: $34.99 for a single course or $19.99/month.

Length: Varies.

Location: Virtual.

Credit: Online certification and continuing education credit to SHRM (1.25) and HRCI (1.25).

The value of employee engagement training for managers

According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report, just 31% of employees in the US and Canada are engaged – and that's the second-highest in the world! As such, it makes sense for implementing engagement strategies to be one of your organization’s largest retention priorities. 

Typically, most think of across-the-board engagement tactics like benefits, salary, and advancement opportunities. But when it actually comes down to increasing everyday engagement and profitability, as Gallup explains, the best bet is focusing on some of the most critical players in your team: your managers. 

They understand each employee’s career goals, strengths, and opportunities for improvement. Managers help shape the culture that can make or break an employee’s experience. 

Despite their essential role in increasing the number of engaged employees, few managers are naturally good at navigating the nuances of managing people. 

Why? Well, we know that many managers make their way to a management role because of experience in their industry (as practitioners) rather than their experience leading people. 

They might be a very experienced warehouse manager, but if they haven't got years of experience managing other warehouse managers, then this kind of training can add a huge amount of value in increasing team-wide employee engagement.

With nearly 70% of frontline leaders expressing interest in developing their leadership skills, a lack of this training can cause growing leadership development gaps in your organization. 

On top of this, without training to improve the specific leadership skills required to be a strong manager, there can be potentially disastrous consequences when it comes to engagement and overall employee retention. 

In fact, after surveying 3,000 American workers, GoodHire found that 82% of them said they would potentially quit their job because of a bad manager. For that reason alone you may want to consider management employee engagement training as part of your wider L&D efforts.

After all, if you can train managers to increase employee engagement, then you can unlock all the key business benefits that come from having a more engaged workforce, making employee engagement training for managers well worth the investment.

What’s next for frontline managers? 

Choosing the right employee training method and investing in the right technology are crucial actions for business leaders wanting to boost engagement.

Hopefully, this guide gave you a better understanding of the considerations to keep in mind when selecting an employee engagement training program and highlighted some of the best ones available today.

After equipping your employees with the right training programs, the next step is to seek the best tools in the industry. Blink’s mobile-first frontline engagement super-app is the perfect all-through tool for any organization wanting to boost employee engagement.

With a suite of features designed to connect your entire workforce, Blink can help your business drive optimal performance and engagement from every member of your team.

With Blink’s Content Hub, employees and managers can access any training documents and company procedures from the palm of their hands, making any employee engagement training initiatives more effective and accessible for you in the long-run. 

Get started today with a free demo.

Employee recognition programs can be one of your top tools in the war for talent. Done right, they increase employee retention, build workplace morale and have a major impact on productivity.

If you’re new to employee recognition, don’t worry – the principles are simple. Ultimately, your employees like to be thanked for all the work they put in. If you do this, they will be happier and work more productively. 

You might have some form of employee recognition in place already, such as bonus schemes. Right now, however, it pays to go a little deeper with your employee recognition processes. Here’s what you need to know about recognition and rewards in the workplace. 

Employee recognition programs: what are they? 

There are quite a few definitions of ‘employee recognition’ floating around right now. We like Perkbox’s for its simplicity: 

“Employee recognition is when a company acknowledges its staff for great work.”

It’s that easy. An employee recognition program is any set of processes you have in place to facilitate this. This could be: 

• Peer to peer gifting schemes
• Employee award ceremonies
• Formalized career pathways and regular salary review schemes
• Target-based financial bonus schemes

Why do you need employee recognition programs? 

‘Underappreciation’ has always been a key driver of high employee turnover and low employee engagement. If you take your employees for granted, they are more likely to leave and less likely to perform well at work. 

On the other hand, a simple ‘thank you’ just once per month to your employees doubles employee engagement, halves risk of them leaving and triples the likelihood of them sticking with you in the long term. 

And if that’s the impact of one ‘thank you’, imagine how much positivity a fully thought-out employee recognition program can do!

When you make the effort to thank your employees for their hard work, you: 

• Create a positive work environment where everyone feels valued 
• Incentivize staff to go the extra mile and boost their performance
• Reduce absenteeism – and, just as importantly, reduce presenteeism
• Increase employee engagement, job satisfaction and productivity

Why employee recognition programs are so important now

Recognizing your employees keeps them with you. And that’s more important than ever. 

‘Lack of appreciation’ has consistently been named as a major reason behind so many people quitting their jobs right now. In fact, a recent survey found it to be the second most popular reason for quitting, behind inadequate pay. 

With a record number of open vacancies in the US right now and major competition to fill them, you can’t afford to be letting talent go – particularly when employee recognition programs are so effective for relatively little input. 

It’s the small things that make a difference, now more than ever. 

Ideas for employee recognition programs 

Different types of recognition are appropriate for different occasions. Only recognizing employees at key workplace milestones (e.g. anniversaries, promotions) isn’t enough. 

Instead, aim to create a staff recognition program that works as well for everyday acts of recognition as it does for those big occasions. You could try: 

• Monetary rewards: this doesn’t have to be a big end of year bonus or salary increase! Smaller, more everyday options include extra days of PTO and meals on the company or a personalized t-shirt with your logo design.
• Public recognition: shout outs on the company app, wall of fame, on social media or at a company award ceremony are all good options here
• Private recognition: creating a peer to peer gifting system builds camaraderie and good feeling. Keep a stock of vouchers, chocolates and bottles of wine that employees can send to their colleagues to thank them
• Celebration of lifetime events: show you care about your employees as people by celebrating their life milestones – cakes and collections for weddings, birthdays and new family additions are always appreciated

Use these ideas as a foundation to build on. Add in the big work milestones – the salary increases, the bonuses, the promotions – and you’ve got a program that makes your employees feel appreciated every day, not just on special occasions. 

How to create an employee recognition program 

According to Gartner, a well designed employee recognition program can increase productivity by around 11%.

To achieve this, it’s worth spending a little time establishing what your (and your employees’) needs are here. Gathering requirements early will help ensure the effort you spend on your employee recognition program pays off in the long term. Flawed requirements trigger 70% of project failures, so it’s worth spending the time here. 

Here’s a quick five step plan for doing this: 

1. Survey your employees

Different things work best for different workforces. For example, a stable, long-term workforce might appreciate recognition of birthdays, marriages and kids, but a workforce made up of short-term contractors might be less invested. Create a survey to gauge opinion on how your employees want to be recognized. 

2. Find the tools that would work for you

For remote and mobile workforces, an employee app with recognition features might hold the key to success. Take that survey info on how your employees want to be recognized, and get started on figuring out which tools you need to do that in your specific environment. 

3. Identify your stakeholders

This shouldn’t be difficult – every department in your organization has an interest in retaining top talent and improving productivity. Put together a committee with representatives from each of these groups to guide the implementation, perhaps headed by your HR/People Team experts.  

4. Define your budget for employee recognition

In an ideal world, you’d have an infinite amount of cash to show your employees just how brilliant they are – an HR manager can dream, eh? 

Unfortunately, we live in the real world and this might not be – no, definitely won’t be – achievable. Resources are finite, so you really need to make your case — finding a senior sponsor will help you maximize your chances of a decent budget. Remember: senior execs are broadly numbers people. Show them the real, tangible difference employee recognition programs have on productivity, retention and engagement for best results. 

5. Identify your metrics for success

Once implemented, how can you tell your employee recognition program is working? 

Identify some changes you’d like to see, and set some progress targets around these. You might want to see fewer people leave, for example, or fewer ‘lack of appreciation’ answers on those all important exit interviews. Keep tabs on your progress towards these and tweak your approach as necessary. 

The best employee recognition apps

Here are some of the best employee reward and recognition apps out there right now. 

Blink

Our Colleague Recognition feature is an easy way to make your employees feel valued in a meaningful, personalized way. Anything worth remembering, recognizing or celebrating can be posted to your company news feed in seconds! 

Nectar

Nectar is an all-in-one employee rewards platform that incorporates social recognition, awards, challenges, milestones, discounts, and other kinds of perks.

Reward Gateway

Reward Gateway’s employee recognition features are part of a wider employee engagement suite. With a focus on continuous recognition and celebrating daily success, there’s plenty of scope to build out your program.

Bonusly

Bonusly is simple. You give out points for good performance. Your employees can redeem these for a reward of their choosing – or hard cash, if that’s what they prefer. 

Motivosity

Motivosity’s ‘Thanks Matters’ card is an innovative way of rewarding employees. Like Bonusly, you assign points for great performance. These points directly translate into cash, which employees can access via a special Visa debit card. 

Kazoo

Kazoo’s employee recognition features sit nicely with the app’s overall employee engagement focus, and emphasizes a diverse rewards scheme that works for each employee – choose from experiences, custom swag, gift cards, charity donations and more.

Final thoughts on employee recognition programs 

‘Recognition all day every day’ should be your goal here. It’s about the atmosphere it creates as much as the award certificate or gift voucher your employees go home with at the end of the day. 

Keep your employee reward recognition program simple, meaningful and relevant. It’s not always about the big gestures. Remembering a birthday, putting in a good word with the boss or simply taking the team out for dinner after a difficult deadline can have a huge effect on morale – don’t dismiss their importance. 

Blink makes it easy to recognize great performance. Book your free demo today!