How Domino's transformed their internal communication strategy

The line that launched a thousand eye rolls — and how to counter it.

“Can you just send this out?”

Six words that send a chill up any internal communicator’s spine.

And a phrase that indicates how many organizations still view the internal communications team. As glorified messengers, not strategic partners.

This mindset is harming the effectiveness of internal communications and the business outcomes that are linked to it. Think employee experience, retention, and productivity.

Because today’s workplace is noisy. And sending out messages without strategy only adds to that noise. Messages get lost. People switch off. It gets even harder for comms to cut through. 

This was a hot topic in Blink’s recent webinar — Human internal comms: Fueling engagement with authenticity. And here, we’re going to dig a little deeper into why the comms function is so routinely misunderstood — and what we can do to fix that.

Internal communications: The most undervalued strategic function

Internal communication (IC) has long been overlooked and undervalued. And too many communicators are still kept on the sidelines. 

According to recent Gallagher research, 27% of internal communicators say they lack leadership buy-in and are left out of decision-making. They’re relegated to a supporting role rather than a strategic one.

But internal communication sits at the heart of company culture, change, and connection. It’s a direct line to employee experience — especially for frontline employees with limited digital or face-to-face contact.

And let’s be clear: It’s about more than churning out information. Internal communicators shape meaning and build trust. They develop effective ways to really reach and resonate with your workforce.

And this is important. Because your people receive a staggering number of employee communications. Over on the webinar, the panel shared the fact that people receive 121 business emails every day and switch between tools and tabs nearly 1,200 times.

“Internal comms […] are fighting against this noise. People don’t want more information, necessarily. They want more meaningful information and meaningful connections.”

— Blink

Simply “sending this out” does a disservice to employees, organizational goals, and the morale of your IC team.

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How we got here: What’s holding comms back?

So why have some IC teams ended up simply distributing messages rather than crafting a narrative? Here’s what’s standing in the way.  

A misunderstanding of the role

In too many organizations, internal communicators are seen as wordsmiths — a team who’ll polish a piece of text before sending it out to employees. This perception can be hard to shake and leaves IC wading through admin tasks rather than forging strategy.  

Lack of leadership buy-in

Without the backing of the C-suite, the comms team is brought in late — often after decisions are made. This leaves little room for IC to shape the company story or influence outcomes. The impact IC has on business objectives is also underestimated so it’s hard for teams to secure the budget and support they need.

Lack of tools to measure strategic value

It’s a catch-22. Comms teams struggle to get investment for modern tech tools. But without these tools — and their data analytics — it’s hard to prove the worth of IC and justify investment. You need data to show how IC supports big business goals.

Too reactive, not proactive

Many IC teams get stuck in a reactive cycle — publishing company news and chasing approvals. They don’t get the breathing room or support they need to step back, align with business objectives, and plan a comprehensive internal communication strategy.

Siloed working

If internal communications is isolated from HR, IT, operations, and line managers, they miss opportunities to align and embed strategy and share employee feedback. Cross-functional collaboration is impossible and teams miss out on the insights others within the organization can provide.

The cost of staying in your lane

Fail to break free from the messenger role and there are a bunch of risks to contend with. These include:

• Information overload. When messages are delivered without strategy — or a sense of the wider narrative — employees become overwhelmed and switch off from internal communications.  
• Poor employee engagement. Messages don’t feel consistent, relevant, or interesting. Employee engagement suffers, along with employee retention, productivity, and satisfaction.
• IC burnout. Communicators struggle to sustain their morale. Those who enjoy collaborative relationships with the C-suite have 2x better well-being than those with transactional relationships.
• Misalignment. Poor internal communications lead to measurable losses for your organization. These include project delays, compliance issues, and lost productivity.
• Frontline connection gap. Without a clear strategy, deskless workers get stuck with paper notices or word-of-mouth comms.
• Missed impact. If you’re treated like a service desk, your influence is capped. So you find it hard to support business objectives in the way you know internal communications can.

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Redefining the role: What internal communications should look like

A tactical internal communicator wears many different hats. Here’s what a new and improved strategic role should look like.

A strategic partner

Comms teams deserve a seat at the table. When you get a say in company strategy, you can better manage company changes and crisis communication. You get greater control over tech tool selection and have the intel you need to drive company-wide alignment.

A trusted advisor

You act as a comms guru for your organization, training leaders and managers to show up in the right way, on the right communication channels, at the right time. You guide them in open communication and empathy, giving them an effective blueprint to follow.  

An EX designer

When comms gets tactical, you can craft the employee experience journey, rather than simply delivering touchpoints. You can connect messages to meaning more effectively, ensuring that EX talking points are backed by policy and action. 

A community builder  

You don’t just send out top-down messages. You develop interactive, two-way comms that spark conversations and fuel employee engagement. Think polls, Q&As, employee-generated content, and content that inspires comments, likes, and shares.

A creative powerhouse

The best internal communicators aren’t satisfied with sending out text-heavy emails and documents. They keep their finger on the pulse of internal comms trends and create attention-grabbing, short-form, social media-inspired content. We’re talking images, photos, videos, graphics, and short snippets of text.

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So what now? How to shift from executor to strategist

Ready to level up? Here’s how you can move beyond messaging to deliver an internal communication plan with real impact.

Say no to being the messenger

Crafting effective internal communications means knowing when to say no. As Tiffin Jernstedt — former chief communications officer and internal communications expert — puts it:

“You have to say: We know everything that’s going on in the organization and your message doesn’t fit today.”

You can’t send everything. Your job is to prioritize. To help people within your business understand what matters most right now — and how messages fit within a broader narrative, that day, that week, and that month.

Need help pushing back? Try one of these approaches:

• Ask: What outcome are you trying to achieve with this message?
• Suggest: I think that message is most suited to this channel.  
• Offer: We can help shape this message to make it land — but we’ll need to rework it slightly.  
• Explain: We track comms engagement closely. Here’s why timing matters.

Bring data to the table

Authentic internal communication doesn’t just inform. It inspires, connects, and builds trust. To prove that, track internal communication metrics, like these ones:

• Content read rates
• Employee response time
• Behavior change
• Platform adoption rate
• Employee satisfaction
• Employee engagement

Then, link these metrics to overarching business objectives. If you can prove the ROI and impact of your employee communications, you can make the case for a more strategic role.  

Build cross-functional allies

Team work makes the dream work. 

Foster positive working relationships with your HR, ops, and IT teams. You can work together toward shared goals and get well-rounded insight into what employees need.

Not sure where to begin? Start small:

• Start a recurring cross-functional meeting to think through EX gaps and opportunities
• Ask key stakeholders what they wish more employees knew
• Help a frontline leader share a success story
• Share data between departments to build a detailed picture of EX

Push for better tools

The best internal communication tools support you to deliver rich, multimedia messages. They provide the channels and functionality you need to win employee attention, craft compelling journeys, and encourage interaction. 

These digital tools also give you reporting and analytics tools that help you make meaningful internal communication improvements, while also proving your impact and justifying a more strategic role. 

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Raise the bar — and your voice

Internal communications deserves better — and whether you’re a team of one or a team of many, so do the professionals behind it.

It’s time to shift perceptions, get strategic, and fight for a seat at the table. Move beyond simply sending out messages and you can make a real difference to internal communication and the business results that rely on it.

‍Blink. And watch the full webinar here: Human internal comms: fueling engagement with authenticity.

Healthcare. Manufacturing. Hospitality. Whatever your industry, frontline workers are the lifeblood of your company.

Frontline workers know what’s wrong before you do.

They know what delights customers—and what drives them mad. Why customers are buying less, cancelling contracts, moving to competitors.

The problem? Most companies aren’t listening.

Research shows 60% of frontline workers feel their suggestions go unheard. That can be discouraging and lead to disengaged employees. 

That’s why, to get your frontline staff to feel appreciated, you must find ways to improve employee experience. By doing so, you’ll see a drop in absenteeism, safety incidents, and an increase in work quality. 

It’ll also translate to a better experience for your customers. After all, your frontline staff interacts with your clients every day. If they feel better, they provide better service.

The benefits are great, but remember—it all starts with making your employees feel heard.

For that reason, it’s crucial to include your frontline workforce in internal communications. Not by sending ad-hoc corporate comms in their direction. But by creating an internal comms strategy that’s as relevant to frontline workers as it is to desk workers.

With thoughtful, relevant communications at every stage of the frontline employee lifecycle.

The employee lifecycle refers to the employees’ experience at your company throughout their tenure. It starts from the instant they first learn about your company and ends when they exit. 

An understanding of the employee lifecycle can guide you on how to personalize employee experience to match workers’ unique priorities. 

80% of professionals rate employee experience as important or very important, but 59% feel they are not ready to address the associated challenges. That explains why many organizations have a one-size-fits-all approach to creating a workplace experience. 

However, different employees have different needs based on where they are in the employee cycle. Making that distinction is one of the ways HR can improve employee experience. 

Moreover, the duration of the employee lifecycle also depends on whether the majority of your staff is desk-based or frontline. Frontline workers tend to leave at a dramatically higher rate than their desk-based counterparts. 

In fact, most verticals see an average of 50% turnover per year, leading to several disadvantages: 

• Increase in likelihood of data breaches
• No provision for giving digital identity to frontline workers
• Additional schemes and incentivization to retain frontline workers
• Constant hiring, onboarding, and offboarding  
• Decline in loyalty towards the organization

No wonder the employee lifecycle of frontline workers is so damaging and frustrating. It’s unfortunate considering how this turnover can be reduced without making a big hole in your budget. 

Just put yourself in your worker’s shoes—What should the company start doing to improve your employee experience?

Frontline workers aren’t just motivated by money. They are also driven by meaningful work, inspiring work culture, and internal recognition. By implementing an effective internal communication technology and employee experience software, you can have many of them stay longer with the company.

An intro to employee lifecycle management software

Including frontline workers in your internal comms doesn’t just help you garner customer insights; it adds to your bottom line. In fact, a recent Forbes study showed firms that involve 75% of their frontline employees in internal comms achieved more than 20% growth over a year.

As frontline workers also tend to be remote workers—on the field, at the bus depot, at a hospital—the easiest way to bring them into communications is via employee lifecycle management software that reaches them wherever they are. 

In other words: if you can’t bring them into a physical office, bring them into a digital one. Building a better employee experience starts with bringing your frontline staff into the conversation.

This digital platform used to be a desktop-based intranet, but that technology has gone out of date in recent years, especially for frontline workers. 

In fact, our recent research shows that 2 in 10 healthcare employees don’t even know how to use their company intranet. It’s just too sluggish for today’s workplaces.  

While desk-based workers have improved their workflows with technologies such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, frontline workers are stuck with noticeboards and letters.

That’s where modern intranet software fills the gap. It’s built for mobile, but also compatible with desktop devices. Providing a single hub for knowledge sharing and communication makes way for a better employee experience at every step of improving the employee lifecycle. 

What are the employee lifecycle stages?

1. Outreach

The first stage of the employee lifecycle is when potential employees come across your brand and the job vacancy. 

But today’s workers are more selective than ever before. The average number of applicants per job opening has declined from 52 in 2016 to 36 in 2017 and 29 in 2018.

The number of applicants in 2021 increased, but only 30% of these job applications were completed. 

Potential workers don’t express interest just because you have an open position. And they won’t blindly trust the positive references provided by your company. 

Instead, they’ll rely on the PR you have “earned.” They’ll read online reviews, reach out to your current staff members, and check your social media mentions. Improve employee experience, and you’re more likely to read positive posts or tweets.

That’s why your employer branding is crucial at this stage. Your employer brand is how potential and current employees view your company. It’s the image that comes to their minds when they think about your reputation as an employer.

And it can be strengthened with the right communication tools.  

Think about what you would suggest to improve your experience as an employee, and ask your frontline staff for their input.

A modern intranet solution such as Blink can help you ensure that your existing workers are well-versed with all your policies, core values, brand statement, employee benefits, and recent accomplishments. 

ALT: Blink centralizes document sharing to improve employee experience.

This information will shape the messages your employees spread elsewhere on the web through employer reviews, informational interviews, and social media updates. And it’ll help you build a reputation that attracts a talented workforce. 

2. Recruitment

The demand for frontline workers is higher than ever due to the pandemic and great resignation. However, the talent pool has been retiring or retraining for less demanding positions.  

The result is a massive shortage of frontline workers. No wonder 82% of companies struggle to recruit the right people. 

If you want to attract the best talent, demonstrate you know how to enhance employee experience for your workers. You need a concrete strategy that brands your organization as an exceptional place to work. And at the core of this strategy is a modern intranet platform.

Encrypted and fully secure private messaging between members of your hiring team (or any of your workers) should be a priority. Blink offers this and robust form-building functionality that enables your HR division to create application materials tailored to each vacancy. 

3. Onboarding

Most employees make up their minds about staying or leaving an organization within the first three months of joining. 

And given the fast turnover in recent times, it’s important to start on the right foot and look for ways to improve employee experience. One such method is improving the onboarding process. Implementing a structured employee onboarding process is essential to making a good impression on your top talent and shaping them into productive, engaged team members, which will ultimately have a positive impact on employee performance and retention.

Onboarding processes often consist of many meetings and conferences, along with tons of files and folders that need to be reviewed, filled, and submitted to different departments. 

Depending on the size of your recruitment drive, you may also need to create hundreds of new datasets for each hire, increasing the risk of inaccuracies. 

An intranet can help you centralize, structure, speed up, and even automate parts of the process. 

With Blink, for example, you can automate the entire user creation process, eliminate a great deal of overhead, and keep the user profiles always up-to-date.

Not just that, setting up a designated onboarding site with Blink can help you centralize essential training materials and resources. You can also encourage new employees to connect with each other and ask questions using the chat function. 

Another onboarding issue that arises with frontline workers is that many don’t have a corporate email address, let alone a digital identity. That’s why Blink lets you set up accounts for frontline workers without assigning them email addresses or phone numbers. 

The beauty of such a system is that frontline workers can easily access Blink and the data associated with third-party software integrations such as Microsoft 365.

The result? Your company makes a great impression and your workers start identifying themselves with your culture right from the beginning.

4. Training and development 

Learning is another crucial part of the employee lifecycle. However, a common issue for frontline organizations is the difference in the learning styles of workers. 

Let’s take the age factor for example. While older employees may prefer conventional training tools such as seminars, meetings, and paper-based reading material, younger generations are more inclined towards social engagements, texting, and online reading. 

Blink has the tools you need to bridge this gap, all accessible from a single place. For the young crowd, it offers social and gamified training features like badges, kudos, and leaderboards. 

Meanwhile, baby boomers get access to traditional educational formats including video webinars, explainer videos or articles, and printable manuals. 

5. Performance 

This stage of the lifecycle usually requires some ideas to update your employee experience strategy with some new ideas.

After all, a common issue with frontline workers is the lack of well-defined career progression. Many stay in the same role and pay bracket throughout the employee lifecycle, and not necessarily because they want to. 

Workers can feel they have no big, long-term goal to strive for. That affects motivation and engagement while increasing employee turnover.  

Blink can support you here too, by letting you plan concrete roadmaps to aid career growth and promotion milestones. 

Your workers can get a direct line of communication with mentors whose careers they wish to emulate, along with learning materials and best practices to build new skills. 

Employee recognition is the key to engagement, yet 63% of employees don’t feel recognized for their achievements. With Blink, you can monitor workers’ progress and reward top performers. 

Little gestures such as giving a big ‘thank you’ at an online event, or tagging and thanking people in the newsfeed or your organization or department can go a long way. It would also encourage other employees to follow suit.

6. Offboarding 

As much as intranet software can increase employee engagement and slow down your turnover, some employees will still leave. And it’s important for your organization to get a pulse of the exit process. 

According to one study, companies that act on employee feedback have twice the engagement score of those that don’t.

You basically want to know three key things:

• Why are they leaving? Timely feedback can help nip key issues in the bud.
• Did they successfully complete all their exit formalities?
• Do they still have access to any sensitive information?

So Your intranet solution should be ready to handle all these aspects. 

Blink, for instance, automates de-provisioning, eliminating the risk of ex-employees still having access to company data. 

It also helps you organize exit interviews, offboarding checklists, and pulse surveys so you can learn from each employee’s feedback to improve employee experience. 

Final thoughts: Improve employee experience with an optimized intranet

To succeed in the new work era, frontline workers need experiences tailored to their needs at each stage of the employee lifecycle. Whether it’s their first week on the job or last, they need personalized resources, training, and access to key people in the organization. 

Learning how to improve employee experience at each of these stages will help reduce turnover, increase engagement, and lead to happier workers. Understand how employee experience and engagement work together. Don't forget to into account the relationship between employee engagement and employee experience.

Employee lifecycle management can help you deliver a stellar experience to both frontline and desk-based employees. And by adopting a next-gen intranet software like Blink, you’ll increase employee engagement and streamline your worker’s experience.

Ren has been making her mark at Blink for over a year, helping to power our Revenue Operations function with a sharp analytical eye and a strong command of tools like SQL and Python. Based in our London office, she’s been a driving force behind smarter systems, cleaner data, and smoother cross-team collaboration.

We caught up with Ren to hear more about what drew her to Blink, the projects she’s proud of, and how being part of a fast-moving, mission-driven team keeps her inspired every day.

Which Blink office do you work out of?

‍I'm based in the London office.

What is your position at Blink?

‍I work as a Revenue Operations Analyst.

How long have you been at Blink?

I’ve been at Blink for just over a year now!

What initially attracted you to join Blink?

Honestly, it was the product that really stood out to me. I really connected with Blink’s mission of helping frontline employees stay connected. I had previously spent some time working in education as a teacher, so I saw first-hand how valuable something like Blink could be. I remember thinking, “If I had this as a teacher, I would’ve loved it.” That real-world application really sold it for me.

What confirmed I’d made the right choice was during the interview process. I got to meet my future team and was thrown straight into a collaborative SQL task. That experience represented the collaborative nature of the environment at Blink and it immediately felt like a team I wanted to be part of.

What's a project you are proud of from your time at Blink?

Rather than one specific project, I’d say I’m proud of how much I’ve grown my technical skills. I’ve had the chance to work on projects that pushed me to master tools like SQL and Python. It’s been amazing to not only learn those languages but to use them daily and feel confident doing so.

One of the biggest challenges early on was finding the time and headspace to fully focus on that kind of technical development. But as a team, we tackled that by introducing dedicated Hackathon days, which gave us uninterrupted time to solve complex problems and upskill together.

The impact of this has been really rewarding. A lot of the work I’ve done in Rev Ops has helped bring critical data into the hands of our go-to-market teams, enabling them to better connect with customers and prospects. Most recently, I’ve been using SQL and Python to help build out parts of our very own internal “Blink ChatGPT” tool!

How would you describe the company culture at Blink in three words?

I would describe the Blink culture as fun, motivating, and challenging.

Fun because the social side of Blink is genuinely brilliant. We’ve had some amazing team events — from the Crystal Maze experience to crazy boules, an F1 simulator, and even a speedboat ride along the Thames. These moments really help bring people together and build strong bonds across teams.

Motivating because you’re constantly surrounded by incredibly smart, driven people who are all deeply invested in the success of the company. Being around colleagues who genuinely care pushes you to bring your best every day.

Challenging because the pace is fast, and the problems we’re solving are complex. Those challenges have also been the most rewarding and have accelerated my growth more than I expected.

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

I’m really excited to keep seeing us sign big, well-known customers. Every time we bring a large name on board, it’s a huge morale boost across the company. It really shows how strong our product is. A standout for me was when we signed McDonald’s — such an iconic brand choosing us felt like a major moment. I’d like to see us continue to expand into the retail market. Another big fashion brand would be really exciting. It’s a sector where our impact could be huge, and there is a lot of potential there.

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

The first thing that comes to mind is all of the work that has gone into the upcoming summer party. I think it’s going to be an amazing event — not just for us internally, but for our customers too. It’s a brilliant opportunity to bring everyone together, share best practices, and show off what makes Blink such a great platform. Events like this really spotlight our culture and our community.

Since joining Blink, I’ve also had the chance to be part of three customer launches. It’s been incredibly rewarding to meet users in person and see the real impact our platform has on their day-to-day work. This definitely motivates me in the work that I do at Blink.

Why do you work for Blink?

I work for Blink because, as I’ve said before, I believe in the product. I think it’s an incredibly impactful software that helps a huge number of people. Another thing I appreciate is the variety in my role — it keeps the work dynamic and engaging. I get to work across lots of different teams at Blink, from operations to technical projects. That mix keeps things exciting. Plus, the atmosphere here is genuinely great. If I had to pick a favorite team to collaborate with, I’d say the sales team. They’re always full of energy, very motivated and really fun to work with. I’m grateful that I get the opportunity to collaborate with them.

What makes her awesome?

Alison has been with Aggregate for nearly four years, and is Factory Manager for the Concrete Products department.

Alison is that one person you can go to when having a bad day. She’s always so inspirational even though there have been hard times in her life. Even when there are mistakes or hiccups in the factory, she will always bounce back and be the first one to lend a hand or an ear to help in whatever way she can.

With a personal motto of “never stop trying to be better,” she is passionate about breaking barriers to create a future that is inclusive, productive and effective, which is clear in everything she does.

What does she want to do next?

Alison wants to progress onto a Regional Operations Manager Role.

Nominated by: Maxine Tookey, IMS Manager

‍

Looking for a Unily alternative?

Unily is a powerful platform—but for many organizations, it’s overly complex, difficult to manage, and time-consuming to implement. From rigid intranet structures to costly customizations, it often demands heavy IT involvement just to get the basics right.

If you're looking for something easier to use, faster to roll out, and more engaging for employees, you're not alone.

In this guide, we cover the top 10 Unily alternatives—platforms that deliver the same core benefits (communication, connection, and culture) without the complications. Whether you're in HR, Comms, or IT, these options are worth considering for a modern employee experience.

Top 10 Unily alternatives in 2025

#1. Blink (Best overall Unily alternative)

Blink is the employee experience platform designed to eliminate the friction that comes with legacy intranets like Unily. Where Unily often requires months of setup and technical oversight, Blink delivers immediate impact with a consumer-grade UX, built-in tools, and zero learning curve.

Why Blink is the smarter choice:

• No IT bottlenecks: Blink is designed for self-serve teams—get started in weeks, not quarters.
• Mobile and desktop ready: Unlike Unily’s more rigid intranet framework, Blink works wherever your employees do.
• One simple platform: Comms, chat, surveys, document sharing, and app integrations—all in one place.
• Instant engagement: Push updates, target messages, and track results in real time without needing an admin army.

Pros:

• Rapid deployment and intuitive for any user
• Eliminates the complexity and silos of traditional intranets
• Higher adoption and engagement rates
• Streamlined pricing and low total cost of ownership

Cons:

• Fewer deep customization options compared to Unily (by design)

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#2. Staffbase

Staffbase offers an employee communications platform designed for corporate messaging and internal branding. It supports newsletter creation, a mobile app, and intranet functionality.

Pros:

• Strong employee app for internal comms
• Designed for global organizations
• Supports multiple languages

Cons:

• Requires training and onboarding time
• Some advanced features locked behind higher-tier pricing

#3. Firstup

Firstup is focused on employee journeys and automated campaigns. It’s especially suited for organizations with complex audience segments and large enterprise needs.

Pros:

• Advanced audience segmentation and targeting
• Automation capabilities for content delivery
  

Cons:

• May require dedicated resources to manage campaigns
• Less intuitive for smaller or mid-size companies
  
  

#4. Simpplr

Simpplr positions itself as a modern intranet platform with a clean design and AI-powered search. It’s focused on streamlining communication and enabling a sense of belonging.

Pros:

• Strong content discovery and search tools
• Integrated org charts and people directories

Cons:

• Pricing can be steep for growing teams
• Limited mobile functionality compared to other platforms

#5. Workvivo

Designed to blend communication with culture, Workvivo gives employees a platform to share stories, celebrate wins, and stay informed. It supports both leadership updates and peer-to-peer engagement. The interface feels familiar to social media, driving higher adoption.

Pros:

• Social-media-style interface
• Culture and engagement features built-in
  

Cons:

• Collaboration and productivity tools are limited
• Can feel more like an engagement layer than a full intranet
  
  

#6. Interact

Interact offers a feature-rich intranet solution with a strong focus on content governance and compliance. It’s ideal for organizations with strict security or industry regulations.

Pros:

• Rich permissions and content management controls
• Good for highly regulated industries
  

Cons:

• Can be complex to configure
• Slower time-to-value compared to more modern platforms
  
  

#7. Haiilo

Formerly Smarp, Haiilo is a social intranet and advocacy platform. It focuses on content sharing, social collaboration, and employee voice.

Pros:

• Social interaction features
• Integrates with Microsoft 365
  

Cons:

• Not a full digital workplace platform
• Focus is heavier on communication than productivity
  
  

#8. Microsoft SharePoint + Viva

If you're deeply invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, SharePoint paired with Viva can be turned into a digital employee experience platform—though it often requires heavy customization.

Pros:

• Seamless with Microsoft 365 apps
• Highly customizable with IT support
  

Cons:

• Often needs consultants or developers to manage
• User experience can feel clunky without Viva add-ons
  
  

#9. Jive (Aurea)

Jive is a legacy enterprise social platform with collaboration, communities, and knowledge-sharing tools. It remains a viable choice for large, complex organizations.

Pros:

• Good for internal communities and knowledge bases
• Mature platform with years of enterprise use
  

Cons:

• Outdated user experience
• Less support for mobile and modern UI
  
  

#10. LumApps

LumApps integrates directly with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, offering a centralized hub for company knowledge, news, and social collaboration.

Pros:

• Strong integrations with cloud suites
• Personalization and targeting features
  

Cons:

• Requires IT involvement for deployment
• Learning curve for admins and content creators
  
  

Final thoughts

Unily has long been a popular choice for enterprise intranets, but today’s workforce needs faster, more flexible, and engaging tools. If you’re rethinking your digital employee experience, platforms like Blink offer a modern alternative that’s easier to deploy, simpler to manage, and proven to engage employees across the board.

‍

Why teams choose Blink over Unily

Unily is a polished, enterprise-grade intranet platform, but its pricing and implementation timelines are built for large, desk-based rollouts. Blink is mobile-first, requires no corporate email, and is used daily by teams at McDonald's, Domino's, and Chick-fil-A — with a rollout that doesn't require an enterprise implementation team. See how Blink compares.

It's time for your annual internal communications check-up.

You’ve invested in an internal communications platform, so you’re good to go — right?

Not so fast.

The technology landscape has evolved rapidly, and so have employee expectations. In fact, research shows that companies with outdated communication tools experience 23% higher employee turnover and 40% lower engagement compared to those with modern, mobile-friendly employee communication platforms.

Modern internal communication solutions are no longer just message boards or email replacements. They’ve become go-to hubs for connection, collaboration, and engagement. The best ones don’t just help your internal communication strategy survive — they help it thrive by providing features that enhance everything from onboarding to day-to-day tasks.

If your employee communication software hasn’t kept up with the times, it could be holding your business back. How can you tell? Here are five key signs that your internal comms platform might be letting you — and your employees — down.

#1. Your mobile experience is MIA

If your platform is a desktop-only by design, it’s time for a reality check. For deskless and frontline employees, mobile access isn’t just nice to have — it’s a necessity.

Think about it: Frontline workers like delivery drivers, retail associates, and healthcare staff are rarely in front of a computer. If your employee communication software platform doesn’t offer full functionality on mobile devices, you’re potentially excluding a significant part of your workforce from critical updates and engagement opportunities.

A truly effective platform ensures that all employees can easily navigate communication channels, tackle daily operations like shift scheduling, access real-time collaboration tools, and get important resources directly from their smartphones.

The gap between desktop and mobile functionality creates unnecessary barriers. Your remote employees or mobile workforce might feel undervalued or left out, leading to disengagement.

To create equity, your platform must deliver the same robust experience on every device, ensuring that everyone stays in the loop — no matter where or how they work.

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#2. The 1990s called — they want their static platform back

Does your employee communication tool feel like an old-school bulletin board?

Today’s employees are growing increasingly familiar with dynamic and engaging platforms like Instagram and Facebook. If your platform isn’t offering key features like short-form videos, interactive news feeds, or user-generated content, don’t be surprised if your updates aren’t getting the traction you want.

The modern workforce expects more than a repository for company updates. They want to feel connected, heard, and inspired. Platforms that incorporate a wide range of features inspired by social media — such as stories, polls, and real-time messaging — foster two-way communication and increase employee satisfaction. Consider short-form videos that replace long email threads, or how you can enable user-generated content to allow employees to showcase achievements or share ideas.

An outdated, static system doesn’t just fail to engage — it can actively alienate employees. By mirroring the tools they already use in their personal lives and providing a user-friendly interface, a modern internal communications platform helps bridge the gap between work and life, fostering a sense of familiarity and connection.

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#3. You’re stuck in a click-a-thon

Ever feel like you need a GPS to navigate between business applications?

If your team has to jump between multiple tools to take employee surveys, respond to polls, fill out forms, or reach the company intranet, you’re wasting time and energy — and so are your employees.

Employees shouldn’t have to open a new app or browser tab every time they need to complete a task. An effective internal communication tool centralizes these capabilities in a single platform, letting users seamlessly deploy and respond to surveys, forms, and polls within the same digital workplace through single sign-on and powerful integrations. Not only does this save time, but it also reduces cognitive load and frustration.

Simply put: The easier it is for employees to engage with company content, the more likely they are to participate. A unified platform creates a frictionless employee experience by streamlining workflows, keeping communications clear, and ensuring that no task gets lost in the shuffle.

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#4. Your platform looks like it belongs to someone else

Your internal communication platform should feel like an extension of your brand. If it’s generic and non-customizable, it’s missing a major opportunity to reinforce your company culture.

From colors and logos to tone and messaging, your platform should reflect your organization’s unique identity. A white-labeled solution ensures that employees see your brand — not someone else’s — every time they log in, reinforcing brand familiarity and loyalty over time.

And customization shouldn’t stop at aesthetics. The functionality and usage of your platform should align with your company’s values and communication goals.

When your platform mirrors your brand identity, it fosters a stronger connection and a sense of community between employees and the entire organization. It shows that you care about creating a cohesive, immersive experience that resonates with your workforce.

After all, branding isn’t just for customers — it’s for your employees, too.

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#5. Insights get lost in a black hole

Do you have any idea what’s actually working? If your platform isn’t giving you analytics on employee engagement, sentiment, and reach, you may be winging it with your strategy.

Internal communication software isn’t a one-size-fits-all endeavor. To truly understand your workforce, you need data-driven insights. Advanced analytics can reveal which messages resonate most, which channels drive engagement, and where improvements are needed. Metrics like click-through rates, sentiment scores, and survey responses provide a clear picture of what’s working and what’s not.

Without these insights, you’re essentially shouting into the void. Modern internal communications tools don't just deliver your messages; they also show you how they’re received. With the right data at your fingertips, you can continuously refine your approach and create communications that truly connect.

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Time for a check-up?

In a landscape where finding talent is competitive and resources can be limited, a healthy internal communication platform isn’t a luxury — it’s an investment in business success. If these red flags sound all too familiar, it might be time for an upgrade.

With the right internal communication tool, you can help you empower your workforce today and set up your workplace culture for success in 2025 and beyond.

‍Blink. And assess the health of your internal comms platform.