Meet Kerry Schumann

So, you already know how digital transformation can improve your warehousing, docking and inventory processes, but are you paying enough attention to digitalization in your run-the-business systems? Here's why you need to. 

Digital technology is making huge advancements in the logistics sector, yet the frontline are still left feeling unsatisfied. By improving not only supply chain capabilities, but also your day-to-day employee management systems, businesses can enjoy a number of unexpected benefits, which we've put together for you in this handy guide.

We'll share some of our frontline employee engagement expertise with you here, as well as the latest research on how digital transformation can help in areas such as recruitment, training and tracking performance. This should help HR leaders see just how valuable digital tech can be when it comes to making their logistics workforce operate better and more efficiently across the board.

What is digital transformation (DX) in logistics?

Digital transformation (DX) in logistics is the use of digital technologies to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and responsiveness of logistics systems in order to better meet the needs of customers and businesses.

While you may be familiar with the growing pressure to digitize your supply chain management and front-of-house systems, many logistics companies are just starting to realize the impact that digital transformation can have on their back-end operations as well.

In order to keep up with today's fast-paced and competitive business environment, HR leaders will need to look at how they leverage employee technology in order to better manage their workforce; recruit and retrain more effectively; and track employee performance and engagement over time. 

By creating a more streamlined, digital and integrated approach to these HR functions, businesses can streamline their operations and better meet the needs of both customers and employees alike.

So for any HR leader looking to get ahead of the competition, it is essential to embrace digital transformation in logistics and use it as a tool to improve operational efficiency, employee engagement, and overall business performance.

Core goals of logistics digital transformation

As business leaders, it's crucial to have clear goals in mind when looking to invest in or implement new digital tools. 

While common logistics and supply chain processes like docking, inventory, digital supply chains, and other front-of-house systems might not be your main focus, digital transformation in logistics can help you improve or manage your business in other important ways. Think project management, team communication, and business planning, just to name a few.

But what specific goals should you be looking to achieve with your run-the-biz logistics DX efforts? Core goals often include:

• Cost Reduction: For HR professionals, this may mean looking for ways to automate processes, reduce employee errors and minimize overhead costs related to hiring, training, and onboarding new employees.
• Improve Communication: One of the main goals of the digital transformation journey is improving communication both internally and externally, with an aim to drive increased employee satisfaction and, ultimately, retention. 
• Customer Satisfaction: Improving customer satisfaction is another important priority for many logistics leaders looking to leverage digital technologies. Whether it's through improvements in product quality and delivery times, or better tracking of customer feedback and requests, maintaining high levels of service can be a key goal of DX efforts in logistics.
• Employee Engagement: One often forgotten goal of DX efforts in the transportation and logistics sector is to improve employee engagement and happiness, which can have a direct impact on your employee retention and productivity levels.
• Increase Profits: While not always a top priority for HR leaders, increasing profits and driving ROI can be another overarching goal of DX efforts in the industry – and this can be a great hook to get buy-in from your IT leaders or CEO. 

While there are many benefits to be had from digital transformation for logistics companies, there are also a number of potential barriers (see image above) and roadblocks that can impede success. For HR professionals, the main challenges will likely include:

• Resistance to Change: One of the biggest challenges faced by any company looking to undergo digital transformation is the natural resistance to change that arises within any organization. This can be especially true in cases where employees feel they are being asked to do more work or change the way they've been doing things for years.
• Company Culture: Another obstacle that can arise during DX efforts in logistics is company culture. If the company's culture is not supportive of change or new technologies, it can be very difficult for any type of transformation – digital or otherwise – to take hold and be successful.
• Legacy Infrastructure: Finally, one of the biggest challenges faced by companies looking to digitize their operations is legacy infrastructure. Many companies have invested heavily in outdated systems and technologies that can be difficult – and expensive – to replace. As such, it often takes a lot of time and effort to upgrade these systems in order to enable a successful DX initiative.

By knowing what you're up against, you can better prepare yourself and your organization for the challenges of digital transformation in logistics. With a clear understanding of your goals and potential roadblocks, you can work to overcome resistance, build a supportive company culture, and upgrade or replace legacy systems as needed.

And with the right approach and mindset, you can leverage digital tools that will help you achieve improved business outcomes and drive higher levels of success for your organization.

Driving digital transformation with frontline workers

Digital business processes impact your frontline team directly, and they need to be included in the transformation journey. Frontline workers are often left feeling like an afterthought, particularly during digital transformation efforts, which can be a huge mistake. 

These workers are the ones who interface directly with customers and clients on a daily basis, and they understand what improvements will make their jobs easier – and ultimately benefit the company as well. As such, it is important to invest in frontline workers when driving supply chain digital transformation initiatives.

For logistics companies, this often means leveraging frontline workers as a source of insights, ideas, and feedback on what technologies will work best for them. For logistics employees, this could include instant communication, on-the-go manuals, direct route information or a familiar social media interface: all features of the Blink Frontline Engagement App.

5 unexpected HR benefits of DX in logistics

1. Reduction in staff turnover

With a real pressure on HR leaders to bring in high-quality candidates and retain their existing staff, one of the most surprising benefits of digital transformation in logistics is reduced staff turnover.

By leveraging new technologies in your business strategy to improve the work environment – such as intuitive systems that are easy to use or improved communication channels – you can help alleviate some of the stresses and challenges faced by your employees on a daily basis. 

52% of frontline workers claim that they would leave their job over tech tools, according to Unleash.ai, highlighting the impact that the right workplace technology has on employee retention.

The right digital initiatives can make your workers feel more valued, appreciated, and supported – thereby helping to reduce turnover rates in the long-term.

2. Better employee engagement

Another unexpected benefit of digital transformation in logistics is improved employee engagement. This can be driven by a number of different factors, such as the use of gamification techniques or employee engagement apps that allow workers to connect with their colleagues and share ideas.

DX for your logistics workforce can also help foster a company culture of collaboration, innovation, and teamwork. By investing in your employees and encouraging them to work together towards common goals, you can cultivate a sense of shared purpose that will help drive greater success for the entire organization.

And with improved employee engagement and loyalty, HR leaders are better equipped to attract and retain top talent, manage performance, and achieve their business goals. Highly engaged employees also achieve 23% more profitability and 43% less employee turnover, Gallup reports, so the impact of upgrading your employee engagement initiatives runs deeper than you might think.

3. More productive staff

In addition to greater employee engagement and reduced turnover, digital transformation in logistics can also help boost staff productivity. In fact, McKinsey reports that well-connected teams see a productivity increase of 20–25%, so if you can target your DX initiatives towards connecting your employees, you could see another unexpected benefit.

With the right tools and technologies at their fingertips, your workers will be able to streamline processes, optimize performance, and improve output. This means better results for you and your organization – as well as increased job satisfaction for your logistics workers as it becomes easier to succeed in their frontline roles.

Whether you are implementing new systems, optimizing existing technology, or offering your employees training and support, digital transformation can help unlock the full potential of your workers and help drive greater success for your business.

4. Improved safety

In the logistics sector, one of the biggest concerns is often worker safety. This can be due to a number of factors, including long hours on the road, heavy lifting and handling of goods, or exposure to harsh weather conditions and other environmental hazards.

With digital transformation in logistics, however, you can help improve worker safety by leveraging new technologies and systems to protect your staff. This could include investing in smart wearables that track location and movement, implementing automated risk assessment tools, or an easy-to-access, Central Hub storing safety procedures and policies.

With this focus on safety, your workers will be more confident about their working conditions and better able to manage any risks that arise. And as a result, you can help reduce workplace injuries and help keep your employees safe, satisfied and healthy.

5. Increase your bottom line

And finally, perhaps one of the most valuable benefits of digital transformation in logistics is an improved bottom line. Whether you are looking to reduce costs, increase revenue, or improve overall efficiency for profitability, DX can help support these goals and drive greater success for your organization.

By leveraging new technologies and systems, you can streamline day-to-day processes, optimize performance and drive retention amongst your logistics workforce, saving on costs related to employee churn and recruitment and boosting your bottom line in the long-term.

Tips to help drive digital transformation in the logistics industry

Here are our top 5 tips to help implement a successful digital transformation in the logistics industry:

1. Create a DX roadmap: A DX roadmap should include an evaluation of existing processes and systems, as well as a plan for implementing new technologies and improving existing ones.
2. Align digital transformation strategy with business objectives: To maximize the impact of your digital transformation efforts in logistics, it's important to align these efforts with business objectives and goals. This will help ensure that you are investing in solutions that can have the greatest impact on your operations.
3. Appoint digital transformation champions: To drive successful implementation and adoption of digital tools in logistics, it is important to identify key champions within your organization who can act as advocates for change.
4. Communicate clearly and often: To help ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page, it is important to communicate your digital transformation goals and strategies clearly and often, as well as work closely with IT or other key departments to troubleshoot any issues or problems along the way.
5. Keep track of your timeline: Maintaining a clear and realistic timeline for your digital transformation journey is essential to ensuring that you stay on track and meet your goals.
6. Use the right tools: Whether it's a digital tool for employee engagement, a new ERP system, or order tracking do your best to ensure it's right fit that will drive performance forward.

By keeping these best practices in mind, HR leaders can help drive digital transformation in logistics, maximizing the impact of these efforts on their organization as a whole.

Accelerate your digital transformation today…

The Blink Frontline Engagement App offers a powerful and easy-to-use platform for improving communication, collaboration, and task management between logistics managers and frontline employees. Whether you are looking to reduce costs or drive employee engagement in your logistics operations, the Blink app can help you achieve your goals quickly and easily.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV1_4ZdjPQ4&ab_channel=Blink

Don't fall behind in the DX movement – get started with Blink today, and start accelerating your digital transformation in logistics! 

With features like Secure Chats for real-time communications, Blink Feed for product updates, and a Central Hub for document management, Blink can help drive increased innovation and productivity throughout your entire organization.

Get started today

Bad communication isn’t just an inconvenience — it’s a business risk.

In a hybrid, fast-changing workplace, outdated internal comms strategies can lead to disengagement, confusion, and missed opportunities.

It’s time to rethink your approach and measure what truly drives success.

Thanks to evolving internal communications software, comms team leaders increasingly have the tools they need to deliver a modern internal communications plan. They can share important company news, boost workforce resilience, and create a strong company culture. 

They can also measure the impact of your internal communication strategies, proving ROI and finding meaningful ways to improve internal comms and achieve your communication goals going forward.

Let’s look at the hard (quantitative) and soft (qualitative) metrics you should be looking at to get a holistic view of your comms performance.

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Key metrics for a modern internal communications plan

Hard metrics

Hard metrics are quantitative. They’re objective measures that don’t rely on opinion or perception. This means they’re easy to measure and track — and they provide clear benchmarks for performance.

Here are the key qualitative metrics you should be using to assess the success of your modern internal communication strategies.

#1. Read and response rates

This metric shows you how often employees open and respond to internal communications. You can gather these metrics via the analytics dashboard on your company intranet.

High read and response rates signal that:

• Your internal key messages are relevant to their target audience
• Your messages contain clear, actionable information
• Employees know where to find internal messages on your internal communications channels

Low read and response rates suggest that employees aren’t engaging with your internal messages — and there are several reasons this could be the case.

Perhaps you aren’t personalizing content to employees in different roles, locations, and departments. As a result, employees receive too many irrelevant messages and have decided — out of overwhelm or frustration — to switch off from employee communications.

Message timing (particularly if you have employees who work shifts), complicated communication channels, and a lack of clarity could also be to blame.

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#2. Platform adoption rates

This metric shows you what proportion of employees are using your internal communication platform. High platform adoption rates signal that:

• You provide effective communications about platform onboarding and training
• Your communications platform is accessible to all employees
• Your platform is user-friendly

Low platform adoption rates indicate that:

• Employees are having difficulty accessing your comms platform. This could be because you have a desktop-based intranet that your frontline employees can’t access easily. Or because it’s difficult for employees to remember the login details for multiple internal communication tools.
  
• Employees don’t like using your comms platform. Perhaps your platform isn’t intuitive to use. Or employees aren’t aware of all the useful communication tools it provides. Or it doesn’t offer the levels of engagement and gamification they’re getting from shadow IT solutions.

#3. Employee engagement metrics

You can track employee engagement by looking at a variety of data, including the following:

• Survey participation
• Attendance at company events
• How often employees interact with your intranet
• Interactions by target audience, team, and location

Low levels of employee engagement are a cause for concern — especially when engaged employees are more likely to be more productive and stay at their company for longer. So this metric is a useful warning sign that your employee experience — both on and off your internal communication channels — could use some work.

#4. User-generated content (UGC) metrics

UGC is a key part of any modern internal communication plan. It’s also a useful way to judge the effectiveness of your employee comms. With Blink analytics, you can see which employees post most regularly — and identify those who rarely interact with your news feed.

You can also track useful metrics like these:

• Number of user-generated posts
• Number of likes, shares, and comments on news feed posts
• Number of unique contributors

There’s a correlation between high levels of UGC and a thriving workplace culture. So if these metrics are low, consider what you can do to build a strong company culture and foster a sense of togetherness.

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Soft metrics

Soft metrics capture the emotional and cultural impact of your employee communications. They uncover the opinions and feelings of your employees, revealing the “why” behind the numbers provided by hard metrics.

Here are some soft metrics that will help you to assess the effectiveness of your internal communication strategies.

#5. Employee sentiment

You can measure employee sentiment with the help of focus groups and employee surveys. Include employees from across your organization and ask open-ended questions like:

• What one thing would improve the internal communication function at [your organization]?
• Which communication channels work best for you and why?
• What could managers do differently to improve two-way communication with their teams?

You can then analyze answers — ideally with the help of analytics software — assessing whether employee sentiment is largely negative or positive and identifying recurring themes. Consider deploying pulse surveys in addition to long-form annual engagement surveys to benefit from more frequent and real-time responses.

#6. Observations of employee behavior

Another way to gather soft metrics is by observing employee behavior.

Perhaps there’s been an uptick in cross-departmental collaboration and engagement. Or maybe there’s been a shift in tone and participation during meetings. It could be that employees are now more likely to reference company values and organizational strategy in their online and offline contributions.

Tracking these changes — across all business units, teams, and locations — gives you insight into how your employee communications contribute to a strong company culture.

#7. Quality of feedback and suggestions

Any modern internal communication plan should encourage employee feedback. So the quality of that feedback is another soft metric you can track. 

Alongside qualitative data — like the number of survey responses and the number of questions completed — you can analyze the depth and constructiveness of the employee feedback you receive.

Assess whether suggestions are feasible and aligned with organizational goals — and whether suggestions are coming from all parts of the organization.

If employee feedback isn’t useful, you could try:

• Rewording your survey questions
• Reassuring employees of survey anonymity
• Ensuring surveys are easy to complete, via each employee’s communication channel of choice (this is especially important for frontline workers!)

Also, be sure to close the feedback loop. Inform employees of your survey findings and proposed actions so they retain faith in the feedback process.

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Bridging the gap: Use hard and soft metrics to assess your internal communications strategy.

When tackling your internal communications planning, combine both hard and soft metrics. This gives you a holistic view of what’s happening within your organization.

Use hard data to validate qualitative observations — and use soft data to provide context for your qualitative findings. Then, break down your data by department, role, and location to identify patterns.

Be sure to make use of advanced analytics software, too. It helps you make quick and easy sense of your data. And you can use it to tie metrics to bigger business goals — like employee engagement levels, productivity, employee retention, and business revenue.

Together, hard and soft metrics give you a deeper understanding of comms performance — and help you make targeted and effective improvements to meet your communication goals.

‍Blink. And modernize your internal comms plan.

Hazard a guess. How many different tech tools do you use at your organization? If you’re anything like the average business, you’ll have a hefty 112 SaaS apps in the mix. 

But what does that mean for the employee experience (EX)? Are these tools supporting employees to do their best work? Or are they adding unnecessary noise and friction to the work day?

One thing’s for sure. With so much of our work now reliant on technology, the digital employee experience is forming an ever bigger part of EX. Slow and clunky tools cause frustration, while user-friendly tools help us achieve a state of flow.

Here, we explain what digital employee experience is. We also offer some examples and a guide on how to improve digital employee experience at your organization.

We’ll be covering the following: 

• What is digital employee experience?
• The difference between employee experience and digital employee experience
• Why is digital employee experience important? 
• Examples of effective digital employee experience
• How to improve digital employee experience
• Challenges to consider when improving DEX
• Best tools for improving digital employee experience 

Ready to level up your tech stack? Let’s dive in.

What is digital employee experience?

Digital employee experience — or DEX — describes the way employees feel when using the digital tools, platforms, and technologies you provide for them.

Workers enjoy a positive digital employee experience when your tech ecosystem helps them to do their jobs well — when it supports easy communication and streamlined processes.

Workers are more likely to complain of a negative digital employee experience when systems are outdated, difficult to use, or overly complex.

Ultimately, we can boil DEX down to:

• The number of tech tools employees are expected to use
• The user interface and user experience of your workplace technology
• How fast, reliable, and responsive your tech tools are
• How well your tech tools integrate with other workplace software
• The level of personalization and customization provided by tech tools
• The support and training employees receive when using workplace tech

The difference between employee experience and digital employee experience

Employee experience (EX) is the way employees think and feel about their time at work. It encompasses every employee touchpoint, throughout every employee work day, and throughout every stage of the employee life cycle.

EX incorporates management and communication styles, how comfortable your workplace environment is, the benefits and perks you offer, and even the relationships between an employee and their co-workers.

Digital employee experience (DEX) is just one element of employee experience. But — because the modern organization relies so heavily on digital tools — it has a big impact on overall EX.  

A video conference tool that lags. An intranet with inadequate search functions. A news feed populated with content irrelevant to you and your team. Poor digital experiences like these harm the employee experience. 

Why is digital employee experience important?

Ivanti, the global IT company, has been creating a report on digital employee experience for the past few years. In 2024, its researchers revealed that 69% of organizations saw DEX as an essential or high priority. This was up from 61% in 2023.

So why is employee digital experience rising up the company agenda? Here are a couple of very good reasons.

Poor digital employee experience causes problems

Let’s look at some more stats from Ivanti’s latest report:

• 57% of office workers say they feel stressed by the number of tech tools they use at work
• 62% say they feel overwhelmed by the need to learn new technologies at work
• 53% say they feel frustrated by their workplace tech at least once every day
• 55% of office workers say negative experiences with workplace technology impact their mood and morale

Poor DEX causes headaches for your IT team too. 86% of IT professionals say poor digital experience encourages employees to use unsafe workarounds.

People use insecure login methods or shadow IT tools because the official software provided causes too much hassle. Your IT team is left to pick up the pieces.

DEX impacts business outcomes

Business leaders surveyed by Ivanti said that high-quality digital employee experience benefits their organizations:

• 97% said that it positively impacts employee productivity
• 96% said that it positively impacts employee satisfaction
• 90% said that it positively impacts employee retention

Workers who have the tools they need to connect with co-workers and complete tasks with ease are happier and do better work.

They’re more engaged, which means they’re more productive. And because they feel tech tools are working with them — not against them — they’re also more likely to stay working for your organization. 

The tech landscape is constantly changing

There are new and more advanced tech tools hitting the market every day — faster, smarter, and more user-friendly than the last.

Workforce expectations around tech are also subject to change. Employees are used to evermore sleek and seamless tech tools at home. And they bring those same standards into the workplace.  

Without a clear DEX strategy, these changes can get the better of your organization. New tools are brought into the tech ecosystem without proper oversight. Old tools start to feel ancient. Employee overwhelm and disengagement become more likely.

To build a tech ecosystem that truly supports your workforce, you need to keep your finger on the pulse, ensuring DEX at your organization keeps up with advances in technology. 

A focus on DEX brings your organization together

In 2025, the workforce is dispersed. 80% of employees work away from a desk. Others are split between the office and remote working locations. And the digital experience isn’t always equitable across these groups.

43% of office workers say it’s not easy to access workplace tools when working remotely. Only 10% of frontline workers say they have high access to the tools, tech, and opportunities they need to connect and advance in their workplace.

When people feel left out, they check out — or leave your organization. But DEX strategy that considers the needs of all employees changes that. It levels the playing field, closes the gap, and builds an inclusive employee experience where everyone feels seen, supported, and connected. 

Examples of effective digital employee experience

So what does good DEX look like? Here are a few examples of effective digital employee experience:

• Frontline digital inclusion. Frontline employees enjoy the same access to workplace tech thanks to mobile-friendly apps, which they can access via their smartphones. Sign-in processes are simple but secure — and don’t require a company email address.
  
  
• Automated onboarding. New hires get access to tailored training materials and resources, delivered at the right time in the onboarding process — plus a chatbot that can answer questions or direct them to new information.
  
  
• Employee self-service. Employees don’t have to submit requests to HR and wait for a response. Instead, they can swap shifts, view their pay stubs, and access benefits direct from a user-friendly digital dashboard.
  
  
• Going beyond email. Modern internal communication channels support employees to chat with managers and co-workers, view a multimedia company news feed, and respond to pulse surveys. These channels help organizations engage sectors of the workforce — like Gen Z and frontline employees — who don’t always embrace email.
  
  
• An integrated experience. Employees don’t have to toggle between tabs or remember lots of different login details. They can access all workplace software from the same dashboard thanks to in-depth software integrations.

How to improve digital employee experience

A comprehensive digital employee experience strategy can make all the difference to your workplace. Unsure where to start? Take a look at these tips for improving digital employee experience at your organization.  

1. Take stock of your tech stack

First things first. Take a wide-angle view of the tech tools your organization currently uses. Look for redundant tools, areas where software overlaps, and features that are currently underutilized.

Also, assess whether any of your tools or platforms are beyond the point of no return. Perhaps you’re still using a legacy system that simply hasn’t kept pace with the demands of the modern workforce.

When auditing your software, don’t forget to seek feedback from stakeholders, including your employees. Their input can shape what stays, what goes, and what needs improving.

2. Streamline tech tools

If you’ve been steadily acquiring new workplace tech without considering its impact on DEX, it may be time to do a little pruning. A carefully curated selection means fewer platforms to maintain, fewer support requests to manage, and a more streamlined experience for employees.  

When deciding what to keep, tech tools that cover as many bases as possible are a good bet. The best tools offer lots of functionality.

They also provide deep integrations with the other workplace software you use. Via single sign-on technology, employees can then access all workplace tools from one familiar dashboard.

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Too many workplace communication tools? Read this: How to simplify your internal comms tech stack

3. Invest in employee-centric software

If you decide to seek out new and improved tech tools, keep the end-user front of mind. Perhaps even include employees when test-driving shortlisted software solutions.

The best DEX solutions feel intuitive from day one. They provide:

• Easy login options
• Simple navigation
• A user-friendly interface that works for every skill level
• Self-help resources that support employees to use the platform

With the right tools, employees can complete tasks quickly and efficiently, without having to take unnecessary steps or wade their way through confusing processes.

4. Go mobile

Want to improve frontline digital inclusion? Then you need mobile-first apps that work just as well on a small smartphone screen as they do on a desktop computer.

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The best frontline tech is designed around the realities of deskless work — and doesn’t require a corporate email address. It gives everyone the tools they need to stay connected, informed, and productive.

5. Offer training and support

Even the most user-friendly tools can feel overwhelming without the right support. You can’t just hand over login details and expect employees to get on with it.

So offer training sessions. Provide employees with accessible, bite-sized tutorials that help them get the most from your software. Appoint software champions who can share their platform knowledge with co-workers.

Also, consider rolling out new software capabilities in stages, allowing employees to get used to one new set of features before introducing new ones. This helps ensure high levels of digital engagement and better software adoption.

6. Make it personal

The best digital experiences are tailored to each employee — their role, team, location, and tenure.

Start by mapping out a few core user personas. Think about the tools and information these users need. Also, consider how, when, and where they work. You can then use this insight to shape everything from the layout of dashboards to the delivery of internal comms.

The right platforms make it easy. They allow you to customize employee journeys and permissions. You can ensure that someone in marketing sees a different homepage to someone in HR, team leaders get access to insights their crew can’t, and nobody is left sifting through irrelevant noise to find need-to-know information.

The more personalized your tech tools are, the more useful — and used — they become.

7. Measure your DEX efforts

The beauty of DEX is the ease with which you can measure it. Most tech tools provide analytics and reports that reveal exactly how employees are using your software and where they’re experiencing points of friction.

You can keep track of metrics like these:

• Adoption rates — the proportion of your workforce that uses a software solution
• App open rates — the average number of times an employee opens the app each day
• Feature usage — which features are used and how often
• Number of support tickets — how regularly your employees have to reach out for software help

Want to dig deeper? Track metrics that relate specifically to the function of your tech tools. For example, you might track content engagement rates within your internal communication tools or your eNPS score within employee engagement software.

It’s also a good idea to segment your findings for different sectors of the workforce. That way, you can find out whether tech tools are having a positive impact for both desk-based and frontline employees.

Challenges to consider when improving DEX

Digital employee experience management is not without its challenges. But understanding a few of the most common hurdles can help you clear them faster. Here are a couple of issues you’re likely to face, plus some strategies for overcoming them.  

A complex, outdated tech stack

It’s tempting to keep piling on new tools. But without a clear strategy, your tech stack can become a tangled mess. This overwhelms employees and causes confusion. Troubleshooting eats into your IT team’s productivity — and tech subscriptions eat into their budget.

Solution: Conduct a regular audit of your tech stack. Identify redundant or outdated tools and work to sunset them. Prioritize all-in-one solutions or apps with strong integrations to simplify the digital landscape. The simpler the system, the happier and more productive your team will be.

Getting senior buy-in

Digital transformation can be a tough sell at the top, especially when ROI isn’t immediately clear. But without executive support, securing the budget and resources you need is impossible. Your DEX efforts stall before they even get started. 

Solution: Build your case with data. Use employee feedback, engagement scores, and productivity metrics to demonstrate the real impact of DEX. Share success stories from other companies and propose pilot programs to get the C-suite on board.

No insight into frontline needs

If you’re only hearing from desk-based staff or leadership, you’re missing whole chapters from the story. Frontline workers often have unique tech needs — and challenges that get overlooked. This leaves critical gaps in your DEX strategy.

Solution: When choosing tech for frontline workers, involve employees early and often. Use surveys, focus groups, listening tours, or quick pulse checks via mobile-friendly tools to gather honest feedback. Design technology and processes with the frontline’s daily realities in mind, ensuring solutions truly support their work.

Employee resistance to change

New tools won’t improve employee experience if no one actually uses them. And employees can be resistant to change, particularly if they feel unsupported or unclear about tech benefits. If they’re reluctant to give new software a chance, it’s hard to build the momentum you need to achieve high levels of platform adoption.

Solution: Roll out new tech thoughtfully. Communicate openly why changes are happening and how they’ll make work easier. Provide hands-on training and easy-access support. Also, champion digital ambassadors who can encourage adoption and boost employees’ software confidence.

Best tools for improving digital employee experience

Ready to start optimizing your DEX? Then the following digital employee experience software may come in handy.

An employee app

An employee app can transform the workplace experience. And it’s a great way to reach frontline employees. They can access an app from their smartphones, without requiring a corporate email address.

The best apps feature tools for employee recognition, employee feedback, and workplace communication. They also provide easy access to all the workplace software your employees need.

From HR self-service to policy documents to company news, an app puts all tools and resources into the palm of every employee’s hand.

A modern employee intranet

To level up DEX for both frontline and desk-based teams, a mobile-first intranet, built for the modern workforce, could be just what you need. 

The best modern intranets aren’t just a repository for outdated docs. They provide a centralized hub for workplace culture, connection, and collaboration — and have a big impact on EX. In fact, there’s increasing overlap between intranets and employee experience platforms, so you can kill two birds with one stone. 

Today’s intranets act as a digital water cooler. They provide personalized and relevant experiences for every employee — and the digital tools you need to share resources, collaborate with team members, onboard new hires, and more.  

Find an intranet that comes with a comprehensive mobile app and you can improve employee experience for every member of the workforce. 

HR self-service tools

Empower employees to manage HR tasks, anytime, anywhere. By making HR self-service tools available digitally, you make life easy for employees and reduce pressure on your HR team.

With secure digital access, employees can view their paychecks, request time off, and swap shifts. They can view their benefits and access wellbeing resources.

Integration with other workplace software makes it easy for employees to access training programs and learning goals too — and to share their thoughts on the employee experience. 

Collaboration and communication tools

The right internal communication tools are a modern workplace essential. You need tools that support a range of different communication preferences.

From video calls to real-time chat to news feeds to modern social tools, the best tech combines a variety of communication channels in one platform.

It provides a link between the C-suite and employees — and allows co-workers to build connections with one another. So you can develop a positive and inclusive company culture.

These days, ticking all these boxes doesn’t mean building an internal comms platform from scratch. Off-the-shelf comms tools now have the personalization, scalability, and flexibility you need to create a platform employees will flock to, without the cost and hassle of a self-build solution.

An employee experience platform

What better way to improve your digital employee experience than with a dedicated employee experience platform? The best employee experience software helps you optimize all areas of employee experience, including its digital elements.  

It supports improved talent management, streamlined HR processes, and better employee engagement. You get the tools you need to recognize employee efforts and promote a positive company culture.

These EX tools also provide the data-driven insights you need to make meaningful improvements to every aspect of your employee experience.

Time to level up DEX: creating a digital employee experience your workforce will love

Digital employee experience is about giving every employee the tech tools they need to feel connected, supported, and set up for success in the workplace.

We’ve seen the numbers. Bad DEX causes friction, frustration, and stress while good DEX has the power to boost employee satisfaction, engagement, and retention.

So what’s next? Start with your people. Find out what they like and dislike about your current tech stack. Identify areas for improvement. Figure out how you can simplify and streamline the digital experience without losing any of the features and functionality your employees rely on.

And if you decide that new workplace tech is a wise idea, take a closer look at Blink.

Our employee app acts as a digital hub for your organization, providing employees with mobile-first access to all the workplace tools and resources you use — and a user experience we know they’ll love.

Blink. And deliver a streamlined digital experience for all employees.

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Pop quiz: Are your working parents set up for success?

Class is back in session for many students across the globe — and working parents are feeling the squeeze.

As kids rush back to their schools and classrooms, so do their parents for a variety of school-related events. School drop-offs and pick-ups. Meet-the-teacher nights and parent-teacher conferences. Kid sick days. Extended school vacations. The list is endless — and for working parents, finding a winning balance between work and family obligations can feel impossible.

Without the right support systems, parent employees are left in an unfair lurch. Half of working parents say that working makes it hard to be a good parent — with 1 in 4 feeling that they’ve been treated unfairly due to having children and half reporting that they’ve reduced their work hours to accommodate their children’s needs.

Just last week, the U.S. surgeon general named parent stress a public health challenge, issuing a public health advisory calling on businesses to put in place training programs for managers of working parents about stress management and work-life balance.

With parents making up nearly half of the workforce, creating a workplace culture where parent employees feel included and valued isn’t just a nice to have — it’s a necessity for personal well-being and long-term engagement and retention.

5 lessons for lightening the load on parents in the workplace

More than ever before, organizations have a moral imperative to support and engage their working parents.

Here are 5 strategies that internal communications leaders can use during this time of transition — and all year long — to support the parents who work at their organization.

#1. Create a parent-centric resource hub on your intranet

The modern company intranet should serve as the one-stop shop for all employee tools and resources — and your parent employees should be no exception.

A good partnership between internal comms, HR, and IT teams will be crucial in bringing a digital hub for working parents to life. By building a dedicated back-to-school section on the intranet, internal comms teams can point working parents to a content hub of resources like parenting guides, school-year planning tools, local childcare options, and educational materials.

To make sure this content gets in the hands of every employee, be sure to use a mobile-friendly hub so it’s easily accessible for employees who work on the frontline.

In addition to creating a digital hub for tools and resources, train and encourage managers to get more involved by empowering their teams with relevant content, from flexible work schedules to mental health resources. Consider why your parent employees would be visiting the intranet and tailor the content fit their needs. Think parenting resources, local school calendars, tips for balancing work and family, and even discounts on school supplies.

#2. Launch a back-to-school communication campaign

Following the quiet downtime of summer, many internal comms teams are now revisiting their communications calendar.

As part of the planning process, identify opportunities to create and distribute content that aligns with the school year and considers the needs of parent employees during the back-to-school season and beyond. Keep your communications engaging and reach every employee by sharing a combination of informative and inspirational content across different internal channels:

• Send weekly emails or messages with helpful guidance or company benefits relating to work-life balance, flexible working options, and time-off policies.
• Highlight stories from parents in the organization on your internal news feed to build a sense of community and shared experience.
• Share tips that parent employees can use at home, like handling back-to-school stress, navigating school events, or managing homework.

And don’t be afraid to get creative! The most important thing to keep in mind is the makeup and needs of your unique workforce. Consider developing interactive content like quizzes, polls, or Q&A sessions to address common challenges or concerns of working parents at your organization, and build personalized advice or resources based on their responses.

#3. Offer flexible work options that meet parents’ needs

Flexibility is the key to helping employees mitigate burnout and better balance their work and personal lives — especially for working parents who are juggling family obligations.

And it isn’t just good for culture, it’s good for business: When working parents are free from burnout, they are 35x more likely to recommend their employer and 20x more likely to intend to stay.

Company policies around flexible hours, remote work, and time off should be well-communicated and easily accessible. Hosting these documents on mobile-friendly work platforms, like employee apps and intranets, makes it easy for parents to review this information and request adjustments while on the go.

Making changes to these policies, such as rolling out a new scheduling platform or updating expectations around working hours? Have an open town hall to share the news and answer questions. Bonus points for hosting and posting the session on a virtual platform so employees can tune in from anywhere or watch later if they can’t attend it live.

Consider leveraging an employee communication platform that includes or integrates with existing digital scheduling tools. This can make it easier for parents to view and adjust their work day around school drop-offs, pick-ups, and other unexpected schedule changes.

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#4. Foster parent-to-parent social networking

For the broader parent community, social media isn’t just a networking tool — it’s a lifeline.

For parents who regularly use social media, 3 in 4 are getting support from their friends on these apps and more than a third rate social media as very useful for making them feel like they’re not alone.

Internal comms can harness the power of social media to create a digital workspace where their working parents feel supported and connected.

If you haven’t already, start by creating a “Company Parents” community or group, designed specifically for your parent employees. This can serve as a dedicated virtual space where parents can connect with each other, share their favorite parenting articles or resources, offer advice, and build their own internal support system.

Within this group, explore different social features — like specialized chat groups for parents with children in a certain age range or in a particular school system — to allow for more personalized and granular employee connection.

Additionally, internal workshops are a great way to facilitate interactive community-building. Host regular sessions on topics like “How to Finally Get Your Work-Life Balance Right” or “Managing Your Time as a Working Parent,” featuring guest speakers who are experts in these areas. Even better if these are recorded and made available as on-demand content.

#5. Recognize and celebrate work-life balance wins

Recognition isn’t just nice to have — it’s becoming a game-changer when it comes to engagement and retention.

Research shows that employees who regularly receive recognition are 2.2 times more likely to go above and beyond their regular duties, and 1 in 3 employees said that more personal recognition would encourage them to produce better work more often.

For working parents, many of whom struggle with burnout and disengagement, a small act of recognition can make a big difference.

Back-to-school season is the perfect time to refresh your approach to employee recognition. Take this opportunity to take a close look at the digital platforms in your virtual workspace and establish a recognition strategy that contributes to a culture of appreciation and support. Post virtual shout-outs on your internal news feed recognizing parents who are putting in the extra effort, particularly during this busy time of year.

By posting spotlights on digital platforms as an internal “Wall of Fame,” other team members and colleagues can interact with the posts and comment their own messages of appreciation — creating a ripple effect of recognition throughout the organization.

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Turn your workplace into an A+ environment for parents

Don’t let the back-to-school blues get your employees down.

By creating a parent-focused communications stream and creating social spaces for parents on digital workplace platforms, internal comms teams can support working parents during the back-to-school season and beyond.

Extra credit for employers who are proactive, empathetic, and inclusive in their internal communications strategies, ensuring that all employees — whether on the frontline or in the front office — feel supported during this time of transition.

What makes him awesome?

Keith has been with Metroline since 1997 and is currently based at the Willesden Junction Garage in London. Starting first as a bus driver, he transitioned to the role of Driving Instructor in 2001 and is now a skilled PCV Driving Examiner.

Keith is passionate about delivering a high-class, professional service whether training others or conducting tests on behalf of the DVSA. New drivers appreciate his empathy, experience, and great sense of humor. Keith is also incredibly supportive of new members in the department, including the very person who nominated him: Andrew Price. 

While he loves the transport industry, his other great love in life is Ipswich Town FC Football Club. When he’s not training new drivers, he’s at Portman Road Stadium cheering on the Tractor Boys in the Premier League.

What does he want to do next?

Continue to improve the standards at which we conduct training to produce the best in class drivers and improve their experience along the way.

Nominated by: Andrew Price, Senior Driver Trainer and Delegate Driving Examiner

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Since joining Blink’s London office less than a year ago, our Data Analyst, Nikita, has already made her mark — tackling data-driven projects, collaborating across teams, and fueling the mission to empower frontline workers. She loves the energy of a smaller startup and finds real purpose in crafting tech solutions that make a positive impact.

Read on to learn how Nikita dove into the world of advanced analytics at Blink, why she’s proud of her work on the AEI tool, and what keeps her excited about the future!

What initially attracted you to join Blink?

I was really inspired by Blink’s mission to empower frontline workers. It was great to see technology being used for such a positive cause. I’ve worked at startups before and really enjoy the energy of a smaller company. Before joining Blink, I was at a slightly bigger startup, but I love our size and find what we’re doing here incredibly exciting.

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

AEI! I’m particularly proud of the Advanced Employee Intelligence (AEI) tool. I’ve been working on it with Izzy for the past few months, and it’s been exciting to provide customers with insights they didn’t have before. This tool offers actionable metrics, and it’s gratifying to see how our data can truly help other organizations.

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

I would say supportive, vibrant and energetic.

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

I’m really excited about the coming year at Blink. We have a lot of great new customers on board, which means there will be even more data to explore. I can’t wait to see the insights we uncover and how they’ll help us continue innovating.

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

I found the recent Frontline Heroes holiday campaign especially meaningful. It highlighted real stories from frontline workers who use Blink every day, and hearing their experiences was incredibly heartwarming. It served as a powerful reminder of the impact Blink can have on people’s daily lives, and it gave me a renewed sense of purpose in supporting our users on the frontlines.

Why do you work for Blink?

I’m early in my career, and one of the biggest benefits of working at a smaller company like Blink is getting exposure to so many different areas — Marketing, Customer Success, Product — you name it. I love the variety and the fact that I can see the direct impact of my work. Plus, Blink’s mission really resonates with me, so it feels great to contribute to something I believe in every day.

I started here as an Operations Support Analyst under Ana (Mason), which was a fantastic learning experience. But as I took on more analytical tasks, especially around the development of AEI, I transitioned into my current role in Data RevOps. I’m finding it incredibly interesting, and being hands on with such an important product is really rewarding.

Given how much I’ve already learned and how the company is evolving, I see myself staying at Blink for the foreseeable future. It’s a prime opportunity to keep growing, and I don’t want to miss out while I’m still soaking up knowledge at this stage in my career. I’m excited to see what new challenges and opportunities will come as Blink continues to expand.

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