Amelia has spent the last two years bringing energy, creativity, and a spark of marketing magic to Blink’s Boston office. As a Senior Marketing Associate, she’s helped shape our presence at events across the US, from high-profile conferences to intimate dinners — and even found time to turn our beloved mascot, Blinkie, into plush toys and Legos.
We sat down with Amelia to talk about what brought her to Blink, the milestones she’s proud of, and what makes the culture in Boston so special.
1. What is your role at Blink?
I am the Senior Marketing Associate at Blink and am based out of the Boston office. I have been here a little over two years.
2. What initially attracted you to join Blink?
I’ve always been drawn to the fast-paced, creative energy of tech startups, and when my former colleague Courtney Hayes joined Blink, she couldn’t stop talking about the mission, the buzz around the product, and how great the team was. That instantly piqued my interest.
At the time, I was still early in my career and looking for a place where I could grow — and Blink offered that in a really exciting way. It felt like a no-brainer. Once I learned more about the technology and how it was solving real problems for frontline teams, I knew I wanted to be part of it.
3. What's a project you are proud of during your time at Blink?
Because I run our events in the US, no two days ever look the same. Every event — whether it’s a major conference, a global webinar, or an intimate dinner — comes with its own unique set of challenges and rewards, so it’s hard to pick just one project. But I’m incredibly proud of how we’ve grown our event presence over the last couple of years. People now expect to see Blink at major industry shows, and they expect us to bring a level of excitement and creativity — and we’ve been delivering on that. From how we look to the quality of conversations we’re having, it’s been a huge leap forward.
On another note, I also somehow became a toy manufacturer on the side! Over the past year, I’ve worked with third-party partners to bring our mascot Blinkie to life as both plush toys and Legos. It’s been a long but fun process, from design to production, and now that they’re in our hands, it’s incredibly rewarding. They’re playful and memorable, and they bring so much joy to our customers, prospects, and the whole Blink team.
4. How would you describe the company culture at Blink in three words?
Supportive, upbeat, and collaborative.
The Boston office has such a special vibe. Everyone genuinely supports one another, no matter their title or role. We help each other grow, hold one another to high standards, and always find ways to bring energy and fun into the day. That kind of culture makes it easy to stay motivated and feel confident in the work you’re doing.
5. What's one thing you're excited about for the future of Blink?
Definitely our global growth. It’s exciting to see new customers coming on board — whether they’re small teams or massive enterprises. Even in just the few years we’ve been in the US market, we’ve seen incredible momentum. Every new logo is a reminder that there’s a real need for what we’re building.
I’m especially excited to see where we go in industries like EMS and retail. We’ve already made an impact, and I think there’s still so much opportunity. Some of the brands we’ve signed recently weren’t even on my radar when I first joined — and now they’re some of our biggest wins. It makes the next few years feel full of possibility.
6. Can you tell us about a recent initiative or program launched at Blink that you found particularly exciting?
I’m really excited about the new voice and video feature we launched. I’m someone who sends voice notes all the time and prefers face-to-face conversations, so this update felt like it was made for people like me. It’s not just convenient, it adds a whole new dimension to how people communicate on Blink. Sometimes a message just doesn’t capture tone or emotion the right way, and this makes interactions feel more human and real. I think it’s going to be a game-changer for our customers.
7. Why do you work for Blink?
The product, the mission, and the people. Blink is solving a real need connecting frontline workers who have been left out of digital transformation. That in itself is meaningful work. But what makes it special is the people behind it. Everyone here is passionate about the mission and genuinely wants to make a difference.
There was actually a moment early on in my first year, during an all-hands meeting. Sean gave a really inspiring update about our progress, and I remember looking around the Boston office and seeing how proud people were. That was when it really hit me that I was part of something important.
Meet our event marketing expert, Amelia!
Amelia has spent the last two years bringing energy, creativity, and a spark of marketing magic to Blink’s Boston office. As a Senior Marketing Associate, she’s helped shape our presence at events across the US, from high-profile conferences to intimate dinners — and even found time to turn our beloved mascot, Blinkie, into plush toys and Legos.
We sat down with Amelia to talk about what brought her to Blink, the milestones she’s proud of, and what makes the culture in Boston so special.
1. What is your role at Blink?
I am the Senior Marketing Associate at Blink and am based out of the Boston office. I have been here a little over two years.
2. What initially attracted you to join Blink?
I’ve always been drawn to the fast-paced, creative energy of tech startups, and when my former colleague Courtney Hayes joined Blink, she couldn’t stop talking about the mission, the buzz around the product, and how great the team was. That instantly piqued my interest.
At the time, I was still early in my career and looking for a place where I could grow — and Blink offered that in a really exciting way. It felt like a no-brainer. Once I learned more about the technology and how it was solving real problems for frontline teams, I knew I wanted to be part of it.
3. What's a project you are proud of during your time at Blink?
Because I run our events in the US, no two days ever look the same. Every event — whether it’s a major conference, a global webinar, or an intimate dinner — comes with its own unique set of challenges and rewards, so it’s hard to pick just one project. But I’m incredibly proud of how we’ve grown our event presence over the last couple of years. People now expect to see Blink at major industry shows, and they expect us to bring a level of excitement and creativity — and we’ve been delivering on that. From how we look to the quality of conversations we’re having, it’s been a huge leap forward.
On another note, I also somehow became a toy manufacturer on the side! Over the past year, I’ve worked with third-party partners to bring our mascot Blinkie to life as both plush toys and Legos. It’s been a long but fun process, from design to production, and now that they’re in our hands, it’s incredibly rewarding. They’re playful and memorable, and they bring so much joy to our customers, prospects, and the whole Blink team.
4. How would you describe the company culture at Blink in three words?
Supportive, upbeat, and collaborative.
The Boston office has such a special vibe. Everyone genuinely supports one another, no matter their title or role. We help each other grow, hold one another to high standards, and always find ways to bring energy and fun into the day. That kind of culture makes it easy to stay motivated and feel confident in the work you’re doing.
5. What's one thing you're excited about for the future of Blink?
Definitely our global growth. It’s exciting to see new customers coming on board — whether they’re small teams or massive enterprises. Even in just the few years we’ve been in the US market, we’ve seen incredible momentum. Every new logo is a reminder that there’s a real need for what we’re building.
I’m especially excited to see where we go in industries like EMS and retail. We’ve already made an impact, and I think there’s still so much opportunity. Some of the brands we’ve signed recently weren’t even on my radar when I first joined — and now they’re some of our biggest wins. It makes the next few years feel full of possibility.
6. Can you tell us about a recent initiative or program launched at Blink that you found particularly exciting?
I’m really excited about the new voice and video feature we launched. I’m someone who sends voice notes all the time and prefers face-to-face conversations, so this update felt like it was made for people like me. It’s not just convenient, it adds a whole new dimension to how people communicate on Blink. Sometimes a message just doesn’t capture tone or emotion the right way, and this makes interactions feel more human and real. I think it’s going to be a game-changer for our customers.
7. Why do you work for Blink?
The product, the mission, and the people. Blink is solving a real need connecting frontline workers who have been left out of digital transformation. That in itself is meaningful work. But what makes it special is the people behind it. Everyone here is passionate about the mission and genuinely wants to make a difference.
There was actually a moment early on in my first year, during an all-hands meeting. Sean gave a really inspiring update about our progress, and I remember looking around the Boston office and seeing how proud people were. That was when it really hit me that I was part of something important.
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This article is part of Blink’s “frontline first” series: content created specifically for leaders of deskless or distributed teams. We know that the job of frontline leadership is entirely different from managing ‘desk-based’ teams, so this is for you and your unique set of challenges.
Every leader in an organization that has frontline workforce has likely experienced the 'Frontline Connection Gap' - it's the root cause of thousands of wasted hours and measurable negative impact on key business metrics like retention and productivity.
But what exactly is this 'gap', and how do you know if your organization is one of the ones experiencing it? And if it turns out that you are, how do you go about closing it (and is it even worth the effort)? In this article, we'll explore all of those questions and give you some simple answers.
What is the Frontline Connection Gap?
In a nutshell, the Frontline Connection Gap is the failure to enable frontline workers to communicate with the same ease, scale and speed as desk-based workers.
If it sounds simple, that's because it is. Think about how the average desk-based worker gets to communicate at work:
Easy access to their co-workers via email, work apps such as Slack and video conferencing tools such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams
Easy access to key information and updates via intranets and cloud-based drives
Easy access to key HR processes such as booking time off and downloading paystubs through tools such as Deel or Workday
Easy access to learning and development through dedicated Learning Management Systems
Easy access to other parts of the organization (including leadership) through shared directories
Easy access to feedback portals through tools such as CultureAmp or Peakon
There's more where this came from, but the key point is that desk-based workers have access to a wealth of people, processes and information within just a few clicks.
For deskless workers, the picture looks very different - let's look at those same areas again:
Limited access to co-workers beyond those in the same physical space, often leading to isolation
Limited access to key information, often still delivered through paper memos as many frontline workers don't have access to a company email address.
Limited access to key HR processes such as booking time off and arranging shifts, which often requires making phonecalls or messaging managers via text and WhatsApp. Processes such as claiming expenses often still involve using paper forms.
Limited access to learning and development, as access to computers is infrequent
Limited access to management and leadership, leading to disengagement
Limited ability to deliver feedback or whistleblow on critical problems
The stark difference in these two worlds all comes down to communications infrastructure (or lack thereof): without continuous access to computers and email addresses, frontline workers are in a world that desk-based workers haven't experienced in more than twenty years.
The impact of the Gap
The way to know if your organization has a Frontline Connection Gap is by seeing if anything 'disappears' into it.
For the best examples of this, look to what your Human Resources team are doing. Let's take Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs as a key case - these critical initiatives are often planned and tracked at board level, and in order for them to be effective they need to impact every single member of an organization. The roll-out of these will often work well for desk-based teams thanks to regular communications such as emails, chat groups, in-person Employee Resource Groups and video calls.
However, getting to the frontline is a different matter. Without reliable channels for communications, People leaders will often find that promoting DEI programs is restricted to a flyer on a noticeboard, curtailing awareness and participation from the very start. In other words, the DEI program has fallen into the Frontline Connection Gap.
So we see just how big a problem the Gap can be: company policies and programs might as well not exist, for all the frontline are able to engage with them. As a result, the impact of the Gap can be felt on almost any core business metric - for example:
Retention drops because frontline employee engagement is low
Recruitment faces challenges as the organization is unable to offer an ideal employee experience
Customer experience is impacted when employees are ill-informed and disengaged
Productivity drops through inefficiencies in processes such as filling empty shifts and inconsistent onboarding and training
Safety is put at risk through failures to communicate critical information at scale
Employee wellbeing suffers as a result of isolation and inability to access support
The list could go on - and it does. If any one of these key metrics looks different in the frontline part of your organization in comparison to the desk-based part, then the likelihood is that you have a Frontline Connection Gap to bridge.
How to close the Frontline Connection Gap
It's important at this point to remember that the Frontline Connection Gap is rarely caused through neglect or intention - in fact, many organizations have tried (and are still trying) to close it. The problem is that the strategies that they employ usually fail, and it's for one important reason: the kind of communications infrastructure that works for the desk-based will not work for the frontline.
A key example of this is using intranets. Many organizations find intranets to be a useful means of sharing information with their desk-based workers, and so attempt to roll these out to their frontline workers through a mobile-based approach. In theory, this should work: most frontline workers have access to a smartphone and are confident enough in using them to download an intranet app.
However, this strategy comes across a number of roadblocks:
Firstly, it requires frontline workers to remember a new login and password (IT teams often find themselves facing high volumes of password reset requests as a result).
Secondly, engagement with intranet apps will usually be disappointingly low - but the reason for this poor uptake will help you unlock the secret of successfully crossing the Frontline Connection Gap (keep reading to find out).
To close the Frontline Connection Gap, there are three simple principles to follow:
Go mobile. With smartphone adoption having reached a critical tipping point, this is a no-brainer.
Consolidate where you can. The more systems and apps you ask a frontline worker to instal, the more you dilute your success. If you're asking your frontline to download and login to separate systems for accessing paystubs, receiving communications, giving feedback and arranging shifts, you're adding friction with every step. Create a single point of access wherever you can.
Put daily value at the centre of your solution. This is the crucial secret behind adoption, and the last mile of closing the Frontline Connection Gap. Busy frontline workers need a reason to engage with HQ, and that's the problem with simply rolling out an intranet on mobile: there's little in it for a frontline worker, so even if they have an app in the palm of their hand, they'll rarely take time out to log in. Success lies in inverting this, by making sure that at the heart of your communications infrastructure are processes that the frontline always need - for example, access to shifts and paystubs. By placing value at the heart of your system, you get the consistent engagement you need to close the Gap (we call this 'Chips and Dip theory'.
Despite the seriousness of its impact, the Frontline Connection Gap is actually a relatively simple problem - which thankfully means relatively simple solutions. If you're ready to get started, check out some of the best solutions on the market over here.
When executives at Nokia Bell Labs brought engineers and scientists together from separate teams, their experiments led to the invention that we know as the vacuum tube.
Since then, the product has transformed hundreds of industries and solidified Nokia’s place in the telecommunications technology space.
The global revenue of their network infrastructure has been increasing by 22% year after year, and for the quarter ending March 31, 2021, it was €1.7B.
That’s the power of cross-functional collaboration. Many of the problems organizations face today need not one, but multiple teams or departments to work with one another. And in a survey of more than 2000 professionals, LinkedIn has identified cross-functional collaboration as a key leadership skill.
That’s why in this post, we’ll take a look at the meaning of cross-functional collaboration, its advantages, and best practices to facilitate cross-functional collaboration at work.
What is cross-functional collaboration?
Cross-functional collaboration refers to the concept of employees from different operational areas of a company working together as a team to complete a project or solve a problem. For example:
Ecommerce website designers, developers, and copywriters may join forces to deliver a cohesive user experience.
Sales, customer support, and marketing teams may engage in cross-team collaboration to create a uniform customer journey.
Manufacturing floor staff and procurement managers may collaborate to reduce excess inventory and ensure stock availability.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Cross-functional collaboration has endless applications and possibilities depending on the business requirements.
Importance of cross-functional collaboration
So why would you want different departments to collaborate? The future belongs to cross-team collaboration. According to Deloitte, “We’re seeing a shift from hierarchies to cross-functional teams. Adopting team structures can improve organizational performance, while not doing so puts you at the risk of falling behind.”
We’ve covered some use cases above but the benefits of cross-functional collaboration go beyond that. These include:
Increased innovation
When you involve people from different parts of the business, you get different points of view. The combination of these unique perspectives can lead to creative ideas for solving problems and lifting production.
Better efficiency
Cross-functional collaboration can make your business operations more efficient. The more different departments collaborate, the more their workflows will evolve and improve.
For example, if a manufacturing company suddenly loses its regular supplier, sales representatives, the ordering department, and the warehouse manager can unite to find a new vendor.
With this cross-team collaboration, they have a high chance of quickly finding a new supplier that satisfies the criteria established by all three of them.
Faster acceptance and implementation of change
When you involve people from different spheres in a change initiative from the beginning, you also get their empathy, buy-in, and trust. And they spread this acceptance to other people in their respective teams.
The result? Everyone’s on the same page, and there are fewer delays in execution. For example, some companies have orientation programs where a new employee is required to spend some time in each department.
This leads to a better understanding of the challenges and decision-making processes in different parts of the business. So whatever team the employee ends up with, he’d still be able to welcome changes introduced by other teams.
Enhanced organizational knowledge
This one’s a pretty obvious benefit of cross-team collaboration. When you collaborate with other departments, you also get to know the tools, processes, and best practices they are using.
The inner workings of a different department help you learn lessons that you can implement in your own team. For example, they might be using a better tool for data visualization which is also cheaper than yours.
Plus, you get a better sense of how your work and the other team’s work fits into the bigger picture.
Ways to streamline cross-functional collaboration
As you can see, solving problems that affect multiple teams or departments goes a long way in giving you an edge against the competition.
You may think that bringing people together from different teams would be easy, since they’re all part of the same company. But that’s often not the case, especially in medium and large-sized businesses.
Different departments may have conflicting agendas, values, goals, and priorities. And these differences prevent them from progressing on cross-functional projects.
So let’s see the core steps you can take to improve cross-functional collaboration in your business.
Have a clear vision
30% of employees worldwide cite inadequate vision as the reason for the failure of projects in their companies.
If that’s the case for regular projects, you can imagine how high it would be for cross-functional projects.
When you don’t share a concrete reason for the existence of a cross-functional project, why would anyone prioritize it over the tasks within their own team?
Be transparent with the teams involved about why you started the project. Tell them why they were chosen for it. And clarify what’s the end goal.
For example, if you are launching an onboarding program with a mentor from each department, the vision could be to quickly transform new hires into long-term assets.
The more open your communication, the more invested different departments will be in the project’s success.
Gather the right team members
How you build your cross-functional team plays a big role in your project’s success.
For example, having a finance expert in the team will be crucial for a cross-functional project that involves cutting energy costs and becoming a more eco-friendly company. Plus, you’ll also need PR experts that can spread the story in news outlets and give the whole thing a positive spin.
When putting together a cross-functional team, also consider the diversity and influence exerted by every member within the organization. People who are well-liked and respected even outside their immediate departments make perfect candidates for cross-functional initiatives.
Clarify roles and responsibilities
Do any of these ring a bell?
“I thought he/she was going to do it.”
“I keep butting heads with someone in the other team doing my job.”
“I am reporting to two managers from different teams with different ideas on what my job is.”
If you don’t clear up the expectations from each cross-functional team member, your team will remain confused about what exactly they should do, and who will carry out each task.
Remember, employees with clarity on their roles report a high level of satisfaction (75%), effectiveness (86%), and productivity (83%).
So when engaging in cross-team collaboration, make sure to clearly organize both individual and collective tasks for your workers. Every employee should know what tasks they are supposed to do on their own, and what is to be done in collaboration with other team members.
Put up roles for everyone else to see
A study of American workers across many industries found that 20% end up duplicating the work of others. The reason? Not being able to reach the concerned coworker.
So while it’s good to clarify roles and responsibilities for each team member, they must also know what everyone else is doing and responsible for. This will help you in two ways:
There will be no repeat or duplicate work. If someone is already handling a task, another person will not take it up.
When a team member runs into a problem or needs some information, they’ll know who to reach out to.
The basic information you should openly display for each team member includes:
Full name
Department name and job title
Role within the cross-functional project
Contact information
A great way to streamline this process is to use an employee directory. Blink, for example, is an internal communication app that offers this feature.
It lets you create a directory where information about each worker can be displayed. Plus, employees can search or reach anyone in the directory via instant messaging.
Ensure clear and regular communication
The ability to communicate the goals, status, and outcome of your team's work is crucial for cross-functional collaboration. When cross-functional teams don’t discuss project updates and requirements with one another, they cannot realize their full potential.
But cross-functional communication can be tricky. People are occupied with projects within their immediate teams, and no one may be willing to go the extra mile to communicate with other departments.
A great way to make communication easy for everyone is by implementing simple communication channels. Even better if you can provide a designated space for employees to share updates, exchange messages, and share documents.
That way, you make it easy for different departments to share information without switching between multiple apps.
Another thing you should do is to create a concrete communication strategy for your cross-functional project. The communication strategy will clarify how and when to send updates, and set communication expectations for the teams involved.
Create comprehensive documentation
Cross-functional projects are usually big, and big projects are scary. There are many moving parts that can overwhelm the teams involved. They may not know where to begin, how to carry out a task, or whom to ask.
In such a situation, documenting every aspect of the project can be a huge help. It clarifies processes and boosts productivity in both the short and long term.
Documenting involves writing down details about the project goals, baseline measurements, ongoing tasks, expected results, and more. Then making all this information available to the departments that have a stake in the cross-functional project.
You can begin by creating a project timeline to set and communicate the main tasks and a schedule based on when they should be completed as well as establish a project baseline.
Take construction projects, for example. These are typically complex cross-functional ventures because they require the design, procurement, and construction teams to collaborate deeply with one another.
And they have many tasks and subtasks to be managed on a strict timeline, as delays can lead to increased costs. Here’s what a project timeline might look like for such a project.
This level of detail in your documentation goes a long way in showing both the big-picture view and small tasks associated with the project, making the project vision easy to digest for all the team members.
Conclusion: how to streamline cross-functional collaboration
Cross-functional collaboration can be daunting, but its potential for your business can’t be ignored. It’s an opportunity to leverage the leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills from all corners of your company and use them to drive powerful results.
So use these strategies to set a solid foundation for cross-functional success. As your teams start collaborating, encourage them to keep adjusting and learning from the experience. Because these lessons will help you improve your organization’s ability to facilitate cross-functional collaboration even further.
And if you’re looking for a tool that can help enhance cross-functional collaboration at work, look no further than Blink. Request a free demo today.
Internal communications can’t fix what it’s not part of
Internal communications (IC) has long been viewed as a support function — a team responsible for delivering messages, not forging strategy.
Gallagher recently surveyed 2,300 comms professionals. 27% said they lacked leadership buy-in and were left out of decision-making. They said that their business leaders were failing to recognize the value and importance of internal communications.
This approach is way out of date. Today’s workforce expects more from employers — more transparency, more connection, more purpose. And all of that stems from how you communicate internally.
A good internal comms plan goes beyond messaging. It’s all about employee experience, engagement, retention — the foundations upon which any successful business is built.
So, for those who still need convincing, here are all the reasons IC should be integrated into the strategic conversation from the very start.
Beyond messaging: The case for internal communications as a strategic partner
#1. Drive company-wide alignment
When internal communicators have a voice in strategy, you connect employees to the bigger picture. Your IC project team can get a clearer understanding of organizational goals and relay them to the everyday work of employees more effectively.
Without that link, strategy can feel abstract — or worse, irrelevant. Employees don’t understand the what, why, and how behind their work. There’s ambiguity. Expectations are unclear. So motivation and productivity suffer.
An informed and empowered internal comms team is your most effective tool to align the workforce behind business objectives. And by giving internal comms a seat at the table, you create synergy across the C-suite too.
Internal communications often share business KPIs with other teams. Think strategy awareness, employee advocacy, policy compliance, and talent attraction. By collaborating with leaders at the highest levels, internal comms have a much better chance of achieving those essential business goals.
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#2. Create a unified voice across departments
If HR, IT, marketing, and operations are all pushing updates on different platforms, employees don’t know who to listen to. Siloed comms can lead to inconsistent messaging, so employees view internal updates as unreliable and tune out.
The internal communications team can fix that. But only if they’re looped in early enough to create a cohesive narrative across all departments.
They can guide leaders on the best timing, tone, and platform to use. They’re skilled at simplifying complex messages. And they can ensure that employees receive consistent and personalized communication across key topics — like benefits updates, policy changes, and leadership announcements.
This level of collaboration between departments benefits employees. And it helps your internal comms team achieve more: According to Gallagher’s 2025 Employee Communications Report, strong interdepartmental relationships improve the ability of internal comms to use data and meet KPIs.
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#3. Bring corporate culture and values to life
Imagine you’re a bus driver who spends your days on the road. A trip to the depot is sometimes factored into your schedule. But, on the whole, you have little time with coworkers or managers and only receive patchy communication from HQ.
Ask yourself: Do you feel part of company culture? How connected do you feel to your organization and your peers? What are the ties that keep you working for this company instead of another?
Internal communications play a critical role in shaping and sharing company culture for your frontline employees, office-based staff, and remote teams. The messages employees receive — and the peer-to-peer connections they’re supported to make — help to build a sense of belonging that fosters engaged employees and boosts retention.
But this doesn’t happen by accident. You need consistent, engaging, and transparent communication strategies. You need inclusive internal communication tools. And you need to turn cultural buzzwords into a lived experience.
If IC isn’t involved in core strategy from the start, this is a tough ask. Your internal messaging can do a lot of the heavy lifting. But for messages to stick, they need to reflect a cohesive corporate culture. And, for that, you need buy-in from the entire organization.
Managers, workers, and leaders have to understand and embody your values day to day. When IC gets a seat at the table, they can coach leaders on the importance of community, leadership visibility, and psychological safety. They can create the essential foundations on which a vibrant and engaging company culture is built.
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#4. Play a crucial role in change management
Change is a constant challenge in today’s workplace. But just 32% of comms professionals say they’re treated as strategic advisers, deeply involved in how change is communicated.
Teams are having to play catch-up, crafting internal communication strategies after decisions are made. They sometimes struggle to control the narrative, with different departments launching their own change initiatives at the same time.
Employees receive confused communications, sometimes from multiple stakeholders, each introducing their own change agenda. Without centralized leadership, crisis comms can easily become overwhelming for your workforce.
This is a major problem. Good change communication is key to overcoming resistance, preventing change fatigue, and ensuring a smooth transition. It’s the difference between trust and turmoil. And IC is the best team for the job.
Your internal communications team is skilled at sharing information transparently, reassuring employees, and creating space for feedback. They’re pros at communicating clearly and empathetically.
With a role in the strategic discussions and planning that lead up to a big change or announcement, internal communications can explain the why — not just the what — to employees more effectively. They can preserve trust, mitigate risk, and sustain employee engagement during challenging times.
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#5. Connect the boardroom and the breakroom
In a medium- to large-sized organization, senior leaders don’t have daily contact with employees. So it’s up to internal communication to act as a bridge between boardroom and breakroom.
IC can launch surveys and polls, view data on sentiment, and gather employee feedback that leaders might otherwise miss. They can surface the issues that matter most to employees — and help the C-suite to act on them.
These formal channels of open communication, forged and maintained by IC, don’t just highlight employee problems. When employees feel empowered to share their thoughts, bright ideas can more easily make their way from the frontlines to the C-suite. This means your leadership team gets more valuable insight that can help to grow the business.
It goes the other way, too. We know that the workforce is generally mistrustful of the boardroom team, with just half of employees saying they trust their organization’s most senior leader. Internal communications can change that perception by working in close collaboration with the C-suite.
Internal comms can be a powerful tool to help leaders build visibility and trust. Prioritizing transparent communication, storytelling, and regular updates can help make leadership more human and accessible.
When they have direct access to both parties, internal comms teams can facilitate a dialogue. They can create a culture of two-way communication that’s better for everyone than top-down communication. Employees feel listened to — and C-suite can make more informed business decisions.
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#6. Power an engaging employee experience
Employee experience is how employees feel about their work and workplace. It’s how they’re treated and the extent to which they feel valued. It’s their sense of purpose and community.
Internal communications play a central role in shaping employee experience. A good messaging strategy keeps employees informed and helps them feel connected to the wider organization.
With a seat in the boardroom, IC can go further, championing initiatives that support a positive employee experience. They can highlight the value of recognition, belonging, transparency, and employee voice to leadership — then weave these values into company messaging.
Internal comms can also take a birds-eye view of the company comms ecosystem. They can implement more effective communication channels so the entire workforce — including frontline, hybrid, and remote employees — gets an experience that is more equitable and enjoyable.
Involving IC in conversations on corporate strategy helps them turn open and effective communication into a cornerstone of the employee experience. Which means happy employees, increased employee engagement rates, and improved loyalty.
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Internal communications are so much more than a megaphone
Internal communications isn’t just a messaging tool. It’s a critical component of employee experience, company culture, and operations.
With IC at the strategy table, organizations gain a clear understanding of worker needs. Good internal communications strategies help communicate change and build trust. They can create a workplace community that meets the expectations of today’s employees.
This leads to improved employee engagement, productivity, and retention. Because internal communication is about so much more than sharing info about the next away day or your updated company policy. It’s about building a workforce that feels informed, connected, and valued.
Ready to unlock the full potential of internal comms? It’s time to promote IC from messenger to strategic partner. Your people — and your business stakeholders — will thank you.
Employee engagement is a critical focus for People teams— or any other business leader. Learn what it is, why it’s important, and how to improve it in our complete guide.
Employee engagement is the difference between soaring productivity rates and a sense of stagnation. It’s fifty people applying for a single vacancy, rather than fifty vacancies and one applicant.
Yet for all its importance, companies frequently misunderstand what employee engagement is and what it looks like. That's why we’re here to help.
Whether you're looking to better understand the definition and importance of employee engagement, drive employee engagement in your organization, or simply understand examples of employee engagement, this complete guide to employee engagement has something for you.
What is employee engagement? A simple definition
Employee engagement is the ongoing process of ensuring your workforce feels satisfied with their job, aligned with your organization’s values, and supported enough to give 100% during work hours.
Research by SHRM defines the term employee engagement as relating to the level of an employee's commitment and connection to an organization, while Investopedia defines employee engagement as describing the level of enthusiasm and dedication a worker feels toward their job.
At Blink, we believe true employee engagement is a combination of two equally important parts:
Attitude - the commitment a worker feels toward the company
Behavior - the effort that an employee is willing to invest in their job
Whichever way you look at it, maintaining employee engagement is a key factor in determining how successful an organization will be. It also provides key insights into employee satisfaction and sentiment, which can help identify areas that may need improvement.
To better illustrate what employee engagement looks like, here are some of the key attitudes and behaviors of engaged vs disengaged employees:
What is employee engagement for employers?
HR is all about people. So it makes sense that, if that is your role, you want the best for your co-workers.
Still, there’s more to it than that.
Employee engagement is important because it affects the performance of your company. Think back to a job you’ve not enjoyed in the past — did you give as much to that role as you did to the ones you loved?
Now extrapolate this out across an entire company of unhappy, unmotivated workers. In toxic environments, productivity nosedives. Depending on the type of organization you work for, this could mean a lower output rate, poor customer service, an increase in safety incidents, reduced patient satisfaction, missed deadlines, or any other number of issues.
What is employee engagement for employees?
For employees themselves, engagement isn't so much a daily activity they schedule time for. It's a natural byproduct of a strong employee experience.
Engagement is directly correlated to a positive work environment; when people feel respected, appreciated, and valued for their work, they are more likely to be an engaged employee. It's about being part of something bigger than just your job title — it’s that sense of satisfaction and fulfillment when you know you are making a difference.
Different groups of employees have different engagement expectations — and when those expectations match the day-to-day experiences of their roles, employees are more likely to be engaged.
Whether it’s your dispersed, frontline teams or your first-line managers, it’s worth getting to know what your employees expect from their engagement experience.
Why is employee engagement important?
Employee engagement efforts don’t need to be expensive, but they do need to be intentional. Issues created by poor employee engagement practices can cost your company thousands.
These include:
Reduced productivity: people don’t work well when they’re unhappy. If teams are consistently falling short of productivity targets you know to be reasonable, there’s a good chance they’re unhappy at work
Absenteeism: unhappy employees stay at home and use more sick days and mental health days than those employees who enjoy their jobs and work environments
Presenteeism: Between May 2021 and November 2022 alone presenteeism rose by 18%. As the cost of presenteeism has historically been found to significantly outweigh the cost of absenteeism, this is one common challenge for engagement leaders to tackle.
High employee turnover: if someone is disengaged, it makes them more likely to leave. Replacing employees is super expensive (think six to nine months’ salary, plus up to 213% of the total annual salary depending on the seniority of the position). Along with being a cost drain, the extra workload will put pressure on your other, potentially unhappy, employees while you find a replacement
Employer brand damage: a stream of employees leaving your organization won’t do your reputation any good. Not only will you end up with a large list of vacancies, but you’ll also struggle to find people to fill them. With more job seekers than ever using online review sites, such as Glassdoor, to screen companies before they apply, a poor reputation for employee engagement has never been so damaging
This creates a cycle that your organization doesn’t want to slip into. Breaking it, or making sure that your company doesn’t start to slip down it, is an essential task that requires time and dedication to tracking — and improving key metrics.
3 core benefits of employee engagement
Gallup provides interesting insights on the benefits of employee engagement. Organizations with highly engaged employees experience:
As you can see in the employee engagement statistics above, there is a vast array of benefits to be gained from increased employee engagement. In the below sections, we’ve found some of the most compelling evidence for three core benefits of employee engagement:
Improved discretionary effort offered by engaged individuals is one huge benefit of employee engagement initiatives.
Those with high engagement levels often perform above expectations and develop meaningful relationships with their peers, contributing to improved outcomes for everyone involved. These efforts are what is known as ‘Discretionary Effort’.
The discretionary effort your employees put in directly impacts the success of your business outcomes, whether it’s your overall employee output rates, your patient safety outcomes and satisfaction levels, or a direct increase to your bottom line.
Improved job satisfaction
Employee engagement has the dual benefit of improving both organizational success and job satisfaction on a personal level.
This is because engagement initiatives themselves provide employees with more development opportunities, better recognition for good work, and better prospects for career growth. When employees reap these benefits offered to them by engagement strategies, they feel like they make a real impact on the success of an organization, and that what they are doing is meaningful.
Don’t underestimate the historic power of meaningful work on your employee satisfaction levels — nine out of ten employees would take a lower salary for more meaningful work.
Increased employee retention
Employees are more likely to stay with the organization when they are more satisfied and engaged.
Research by the IJECM (International Journal of Economics, Commerce & Management) found that job satisfaction is a reliable and relevant predictor of employee retention. Highly engaged employees develop a greater sense of attachment to the organization and become more loyal, resulting in up to a 43% difference in employee turnover according to further employee engagement research.
How to improve employee engagement
There are a number of ways to improve employee engagement, but, at Blink, we like to think of engagement efforts as being split into three key categories:
Delivering on the 10 key drivers of employee engagement
Identifying the employee engagement strategies and tactics that work for your employees
Ensuring the best employee engagement tools and software
Key drivers of employee engagement
In order to improve employee engagement, you must understand what drives it, and focus your efforts there. What coreexperiences and tools do you need to provide to your workforce in order to boost the overall employee experience and drive engagement?
By focusing engagement efforts on enabling these core engagement drivers, you will be much more likely to see significant engagement improvements.
Employee engagement strategies and tactics
An employee engagement strategy is the plan of action you take to bring about an increase in employee engagement levels. On the other hand, tactics are the individual steps and actions that will get you there. In the context of an employee engagement strategy, this means the tactics are the specific engagement actions your teams take to implement the initiatives outlined in the strategy.
Employee engagement strategies combine a number of tactics, such as the use of team-building exercises, offering career growth opportunities, providing more effective recognition for good work and positive behavior changes, or improving your internal communication processes.
In order to effectively craft an engagement strategy, it’s important to have a clear vision of what you want to accomplish, and how you plan to get there.
By having a clearly defined strategy, it is much easier to measure the success or failure of any engagement tactic you try. When you identify which tactics work and which don’t, you can adjust your future strategy accordingly.
Employee engagement tools
Employee engagement tools are products and tech solutions that enable companies to measure, manage, and improve employee engagement levels.
Employee engagement software comes in many forms, from survey software used to collect employee feedback and communication platforms providing a channel for discussion between teams.Engagement analysis tools can also provide insight into how your engagement efforts are faring.
However, if your staff are juggling a number of platforms and tools for different parts of their work, it will be inconvenient and you're not likely to see great engagement results. That's why an all-through-one engagement super-app is the best choice for any business wanting to consolidate engagement efforts.
A super-app brings together all of your employee communications, engagement surveys, recognition programs, and employee rewards into one, central platform.
This will not only make your life easier but will also ensure a more consistent experience for employees while enabling you to get an aggregated view of their engagement levels with just a few clicks.
Examples of employee engagement in action
How Go North West achieved 96% monthly active engagement app users
The challenge
Like many frontline organizations facing a digital inclusion gap, Go North West faced challenges when it came to digitizing processes and communications in their organization. Historically, their internal comms were split across various channels, such as emails, mail to drivers' home addresses, depot noticeboards, and unregulated social media platforms.
With so many paper-based operational processes, Go North West faced high levels of non-adherence and inefficiency. On top of this, they were also facing an industry-wise staff shortage in the wake of the Great Resignation and COVID-19, which made growth for the company more difficult to achieve.
The solution
The first solution to the engagement challenges faced by Go North West lay in using Blink’s Hub — the super-app’s central portal for accessing processes, documents, and tools. Go North West could now use this to share duties,schedule, and running boards for easy access and updating.
After this, the company had to ensure critical information such as route diversions could reach all members of staff quickly and efficiently. This was where the team used the Blink Feed — a company-wide, mobile-first communications channel, supplemented with the use of Chats to fulfill shift swaps and fills and ensure smooth service delivery.
The team at Go North West also needed to streamline how they provided drivers and other members of staff access to critical processes and resources. This was where Blink’s Digital Formsand Custom Apps stepped in to revolutionize how the organization worked.
By moving to digital processes from outdated paper-based processes, drivers were able to:
Request annual leave with a few taps from the app, made easier with functionality such as auto-population and validation
Access their schedules through one-click access to DAS-Web
Submit near-miss reports via a custom app on Blink, allowing them to log incidents quickly and easily, increasing the number of submissions to drive process improvement
The outcome
The outcome of this engagement tech overhaul was a resounding success. Engagement levels, retention, and digitization efforts were all improved.
What did this look like in terms of engagement? Well, alongside achieving 96% monthly active app users, Go North West also saw:
30,000 opens of DAS-Web per month
6,000 Chat messages per month
98,000 opens of Hub content
17 daily app opens per user
186 monthly app opens per user
What a result! Widespread success across the operation, with Go North West achieving its goal of higher engagement.
The use of Blink’s engagement super-app has enabled the team to move into a digital-first future and deliver an efficient service that allows them to better serve their employees — and customers. A win-win for everyone.
It’s not just something you need to focus on when employee morale is down and stop as soon as it reaches manageable levels… it should be a central part of the HR or People team’s day-to-day activities.
So, before implementing any of the below, ask yourself:
How much time should we dedicate to this a week?
Who should be in charge of this area?
Who can manage the on-the-ground responsibilities associated with this?
Are there any tools (e.g. a new employee super-app) that could help us manage this workload?
In terms of exactly what to measure and how to measure it, there are two key areas you need to focus on:
The data that already exists in your company
Data that you actively go out and collect.
Measuring employee engagement using existing data
This is data that your HR team won’t have to set up any new processes for; it (should) already be monitored by various departments. The key here is collating it, as there’s a good chance that inter-departmental silos mean that you won’t necessarily be able to access it right away, let alone see the big picture.
We’re talking about:
Absence rates
Employee turnover
Number of complaints to line managers
Number of complaints to HR
eNPS scores
Customer reviews
Customer retention
Sales
Turnover
Social media engagement
There could be a myriad of reasons why customer satisfaction has dipped, so take a look at it alongside some of the other metrics listed, over an extended period of time.
For example, do eNPS scores dip when employee turnover is highest? Do customers write poorer reviews when absence rates are particularly high? Start to compare ‘result’ metrics (like sales, turnover, customer satisfaction, and customer retention) with employee wellness to see whether you notice any patterns.
From there, measure, measure, measure! Set up dashboards with all your chosen metrics so that you can track and compare them at a glance. You can then monitor employee engagement via its direct consequences — absence rates going down and productivity going up is a sure sign that your efforts are working.
To assess your current data, an engagement analytics tool can help. It will look at the data you already have (like those mentioned above) to identify how engaged your people really are and provide real-time insights into what might need improvement.
All of the above help to paint a picture of where you are with employee engagement, but they aren’t the only weapon in your arsenal. So, once you’ve got those dashboards up and running, move onto…
Measuring employee engagement by collecting new data
What’s the best, most efficient way of understanding your employee engagement levels?
Just ask them.
Regular, anonymous employee engagement surveys are the most efficient way of doing this. You might see these referred to as “pulse” surveys, and they are so much better for measuring engagement than the traditional annual long-answer survey for the following reasons:
Response rates tend to be higher. It’s much easier to encourage employees to complete three quick “rate on a scale” questions with an optional “any further comments” box than three pages of long-answer questions that they don’t have time to do.
You can keep them focused on one single issue each time. This gives your HR team a much better chance of addressing feedback successfully and sharing what they’ve done to address their co-workers’ concerns.
They encourage constructive feedback. The issue with running an annual survey is that employees see it as their single opportunity to get everything off their chests.
It’s difficult to respond to 12 months of input from an entire company in any meaningful way, particularly if the topics covered range from disagreement with the company’s strategic direction or low staff retention to dissatisfaction with the options offered in the cafeteria.
How to use your employee engagement data
Whether you’ve noticed that your absence rates are soaring way above your industry average or carried out a highly targeted pulse survey, you need to take action from this data. Understanding exactly how to use your employee engagement data is therefore crucial.
Align key stakeholders with a plan of action
First, sit down with all relevant stakeholders and agree on a workable course of action. Involving stakeholders here keeps things grounded — it’s tempting to offer your workforce the moon on a stick when they’re unhappy, but this isn’t realistic. Avoid promising things you can’t deliver on — broken promises won’t be taken well by your employees, no matter how ambitious they are.
If, for example, your employees have stated they want better quality break rooms or equipment, it’s wise to take the time to align with the leadership suite on whether they have the resources to help with this before you promise a tech overhaul or new break room to your workforce.
Track improvements in data with KPIs
Second, it’s super important to track these improvements against realistic employee engagement KPIs. Change in organizations is gradual, so make sure your targets reflect this and avoid the temptation to try and go from 0 to 100 in three months.
If none of your employees are having regular one-to-one contact with their line managers, an example target structure could look like this:
3 months in: 20% of all employees having regular catch-ups
6 months in: 40% of employees
9 months in: 60% of employees
12 months in: 80% of employees
You could also consider how you roll this out. It’s much easier to coordinate regular catch-ups for office-based positions, so you could focus on getting a full 100% in the first three months for office-based teams as a quick win. Whilst you do this, you can sort out the infrastructure for deskless and dispersed teams to be able to do this further down the line.
Consider new tech
Finally, think about any tools that might help you meet these targets and/or address employees’ concerns.
There’s now plenty of workplace tech to help with a range of issues, like employee apps to help communication, productivity software to help meet targets, and advanced CRM features that make meeting customer needs much easier for frontline employees.
Check with your leadership team to see what sort of support they could offer here. They’ll be looking for a solid return on investment and plan before giving the green light, so make sure that if you’re making a direct request for new software, you build a solid business case about why you need it.
The golden rule: never assume that your workforce will notice your efforts to improve things without you communicating it.
Your workforce is busy, and meaningful change takes time — so you’re not going to make everything perfect right away. To really show your employees that you’ve taken their feedback on board, you’ll need to be explicit.
Include announcements about your planned improvements into your internal communications strategy. If you’ve conducted a pulse survey, share the results. This is a gesture of transparency that people will really appreciate—and emphasizes that you’re taking employee feedback seriously.
When announcing any improvement plans, consider:
The channel that would work best: would more people see it via email, on a noticeboard, or via a mobile-first employee app?
The frequency of your communication: how frequently should you update your employees on the progress you’re making towards these goals
You could also consider providing updates in person at company meetings, as this adds a welcome personal touch.
Remember the small things alongside big things
Big, organizational changes take time, but there are smaller things you can do for your workforce in the meantime.
Reworking the employee journey so there are more obvious routes for internal promotion takes time. Easier things like upgrading the coffee machine, setting up a couple of lunchtime clubs, or getting a pool table for the break room does not.
Implementing a couple of easy-to-manage changes (either that your workforce has specifically asked for, or just off your own back) emphasizes your commitment to improvement while you’re working towards the more structural stuff. It’s not a substitute, but it is a good reminder to your workforce about what you’re trying to do.
Blink. And your employee engagement strategy takes shape.
Blink is the all-through-one engagement super-app that your business needs to make sure employee engagement isn’t an extra task on your list, but part of a holistic approach to people management.
Our platform includes all the tools you need for effective employee engagement, from surveys and feedback loops to recognition programs and rewards. We also provide comprehensive reporting dashboards and insights to monitor progress, track performance, identify problem areas and create actionable plans.
When it comes to employee engagement, Blink is the perfect solution for businesses of all sizes.
No matter where you are in your engagement journey, we’re here to help you create the best possible experience for your employees and drive maximum success for your business.
Meet Isobel Sanders (fondly known in the office as Izzy), our business intelligence lead in the London office. After being a frontline employee in previous roles, such as retail and hospitality, Isobel was extremely interested in the work that Blink was doing and knew she wanted to be along for the ride!
Izzy has been with Blink for a year and a half where she helped launch Advanced Employee Intelligence, and has also worked on internal business analysis across various topics across the business. This includes marketing analytics, creating a customer health score, sales pipeline coverage, implementation tracking, and more.
“Blink is a collaborative, challenging and fun work environment, where there is not just one direction to go in, but many different ones” says Izzy.
We sat down and asked her some burning questions about what it's like working at Blink, what she's proud of, and things she's looking forward to most during her time at Blink.
So…over to the interview…
What's a project you are proud of from your time at Blink?
One project that stands out during my time at Blink is the development of customer-facing analytics. I helped create a dashboard that is seamlessly integrated into Blink's platform. What started as an internal tool quickly evolved into a product in its own right, showcasing how our work directly enhances the company's value proposition. I am excited to transform the frontline worker experience, an area that's often ignored.
Can you tell us about a recent initiative or program launched at Blink that you found particularly exciting?
Recently, I helped Blink launch an initiative called Advanced Employee Intelligence. Advanced Employee Intelligence allows us to influence all levels of the business, whether it's helping the internal comms team optimize the feed experience, connecting employees with their colleagues through channels or allowing employees to easily find what they need through hub analytics. We can also go above and beyond Blink usage and provide AI driven sentiment insights and turnover statistics, while retaining anonymity to create a culture of trust.This initiative promises to leverage data in unprecedented ways, offering insights that not only benefit our customers but also enhance their overall organizational effectiveness.
What are you excited about for the future of Blink?
Looking ahead, I'm enthusiastic about Blink's potential to revolutionize the frontline worker experience. By harnessing data insights, I aim to reduce turnover and foster a sense of belonging among employees, making an impact on workplace dynamics.
Why Blink?
Blink is not just the product itself, but the endless possibilities it presents. As a data person, I enjoy having access to a wide-ranging product. Blink doesn't offer a single path; instead, it encourages exploration and innovation across multiple fronts.
Working at Blink is about being part of a transformative journey. Every day, I strive to redefine how technology can enrich the lives of frontline workers, making work not only efficient but also meaningful.
You can join Isobel at Blink, where data meets purpose, and together, we shape the future of the frontline. Search for opportunities on our careers page: https://www.joinblink.com/careers
They keep employees engaged and in sync with company values. Your teams find it easier to solve problems, make decisions, and collaborate. All of this boosts customer satisfaction and your bottom line.
It’s clear. Strong internal communication is a business essential. But how do you know if you’re doing a good enough job?
This is where internal communications metrics and KPIs come in. By tracking metrics and KPIs, you get a ton of useful data, that you can then use to judge the success of your internal communication strategy.
To get you started, we’ve created this list of 12 internal communications metrics and KPIs. Use them to understand and assess your internal comms performance. Then, find ways to improve it.
Why track internal communications metrics and KPIs?
We know that internal communications can make or break a business. So you need to approach company comms with strategy.
That’s the first step. The second is working out whether your chosen strategy is making a difference. And for this, you need internal communications metrics and KPIs.
These metrics help you to track your performance over time. They help you put your efforts in the right places and get the best possible results.
By gathering and analyzing comms data you get to:
Assess the effectiveness of your internal communication strategy, identifying successes and areas for improvement
Make data-based decisions — which tend to be wiser than those you make with your gut
Find employee groups that you’re failing to reach and messages that you’re failing to land
Justify internal communications investment
Getting started with communication metrics
Before we get to our list of communication KPIs and metrics, let’s cover some basics. Here are a few things to consider before you start measuring your internal comms performance.
Choose measurable, relevant metrics
You need a clear plan for gathering and measuring data. So before you commit to tracking a metric, make sure the data is accessible. Metrics should also be relevant to your internal communication goals — and overall company goals, too.
Use qualitative and quantitative data
To get a full picture of your internal communication performance, you need both concrete numbers and in-depth detail. For this, you need to gather both qualitative and quantitative data.
Set goals and a schedule
Record internal communications metrics before you make any updates to your comms strategy. Set measurable goals. Then schedule your next metric check for 90 days, six months, or a year from now.
Involve your organization
When the whole company gets behind an initiative, it’s easier to see it through. So involve employees, managers, and leaders. Share internal metrics with them. Give updates, take action, and communicate results.
Be open to change
Internal communication trends and technologies evolve. So do your business goals. So be prepared to update your communication metrics and strategies to keep them relevant.
12 internal communication KPIs and metrics to track
So, let’s dive in. Here’s our list of internal communication KPIs and metrics. You may like to measure some or all these metrics to gauge your internal comms progress.
Employee engagement
Internal communication and employee engagement are closely linked. Strong internal comms support engagement by:
Aligning employees behind your business values and goals
Where there’s good communication, employees become more engaged with their work and your organization. This prompts a positive cycle because engaged employees are more likely to read and act upon your comms.
Because there’s such a strong link between engagement and comms, employee engagement rates are a really good indicator of comms success. So to find out how successful your communication strategy is, you can use employee engagement KPIs.
You can gather this data with the help of employee surveys. You can also look at employee retention, absenteeism, and internal promotion rates.
Message open rates
If you send messages via an internal communication tool, you should be able to track your open rates. This communication metric tells you how many employees read your emails, newsletters, and announcements.
If you find that lots of messages go unopened and unread, there are several ways you can improve things.
You could vary the time of day you send messages. Or the frequency with which you send messages. You could switch up your subject lines. Or try segmenting your employee mailing list so employees receive personalized communications.
Some experimentation could reveal an internal comms style that better suits your staff.
Message open rates can also reveal whether one communication channel outperforms another. If this is the case, it makes sense to focus on that communication channel as a way to better reach employees.
Message and feedback response time
When your workers respond quickly to internal messages, you learn three things.
First, it’s easy for employees to access the message and therefore the communication channel.
Second, employees are engaged and want to respond to messages promptly.
And third, the meaning of your messages is getting through.
So track employee response time for your internal communications and feedback requests. If you find that it’s taking a while for employees to read and respond to messages, you might like to consider:
Streamlining communication channels so employees don’t waste time switching between them
Setting clear and fair expectations for message response times
Encouraging managers and leaders to lead by example
Seeking feedback from employees to find out what’s preventing a speedy response
Communication tool adoption
Internal communication tools are an investment. So you want to be sure that your chosen communication software is proving a hit with employees.
Adoption rates show you how many workers are using a new communication tool. High adoption rates are great for proving a return on investment (ROI) and the tool’s usability.
Low adoption rates suggest resistance among the workforce to using your chosen tool. If this is the case, you could try one of the following ideas.
Software training — so all employees understand how to use your communication tool and what they stand to gain by using it
Software ambassadors — give software training to a group of employee ambassadors who then support their peers in using your intranet or app
If your chosen tool isn’t intuitive to use or doesn’t suit all members of your workforce, you may also have to go back to the drawing board to reconsider the tools you use.
Content consumption metrics
It’s important that employees engage with essential content, like company policies and training documents.
To find out how employees interact with this content, you can use content consumption metrics. We’re talking page views, page engagement, content downloads, and message shares.
If you’re getting high rates for all these metrics, your content is easy for employees to access and understand.
Low rates suggest you should assess the clarity and layout of your internal content. It should be easy for employees to read, digest, and act upon the information you’ve provided. That might mean:
Writing useful, descriptive headlines
Using simple language
Breaking longer content down into manageable sections
Making use of images and videos to make your content more engaging
This internal communication KPI also shows you something else. The pages that are most useful and effective. You may like to use these pages as a best practice template moving forward.
Employee sentiment analysis
Employee sentiment analysis tells you how employees feel about your organization. It’s the general mood or vibe that currently represents your workforce. And it’s based upon the content of the posts they write, the messages they send, and the feedback they give.
You can manually assess employee sentiment. But by far the easiest way to summarize the thoughts of your staff is with the help of a sentiment analysis tool.
Some tools scan content for keywords. They then compare the number of negative and positive keywords.
Other tools are more advanced and more accurate. Thanks to AI and natural language processing (NLP), they have a better understanding of human language. This means they’re better at summarizing the emotion behind a piece of writing.
Blink communication software has powerful analytics that allow you to analyze employee sentiment. You can also track communication flow, to find both positive and negative company relationships.
Leadership visibility
To ensure engagement with internal communication channels, all members of staff must be seen to use them — including your leaders.
You can measure leadership visibility through a combination of qualitative and quantitative data:
How often leaders send out messages
The number of opens, likes, and shares leadership messages receive
The sentiment of employee responses to leadership messages
The consistency of messaging in leadership communication
If you’re embracing a two-way communication style within your organization (which we believe every company should), leadership involvement is an important part of the picture.
Profile completion
If you use a modern intranet or an employee app, employees can usually set up profiles. Other employees then search these profiles to find team members and learn more about them.
Employee profiles support stronger workplace relationships, information sharing, and collaboration. So they’re a really important part of your internal comms strategy.
But they’re only useful when employees take the time to complete their profiles. So this is another great internal metric to track.
What percentage of employees have a completed profile? What percentage of each profile is complete? Which fields do employees tend to leave blank?
Find answers to these questions. Then, by either motivating employees or reconfiguring your profile pages, you can improve completion and communication.
Employee advocacy score
Employee advocates are happy to recommend your company as a place to work. They’re also happy to recommend your products or services.
They’re more likely to do this if your company has a culture of good communication and clear messaging. So another of the internal communications metrics to add to your list is an employee advocacy score.
You can calculate your employee advocacy score using a variety of different metrics:
Surveys asking employees whether they’d recommend your products/services/work culture
The number of quality employee referrals for roles within the company
How often employees repost company content on social media or internal newsfeed channels
If lots of employees are promoting organizational messages and values externally, this is a clear sign that your internal communication strategy is working well.
Employee turnover
Engaged employees are less likely to leave their jobs. And we know that good, two-way internal communication is one piece of the employee retention puzzle.
That’s because, with effective internal comms, you can:
Create a sense of belonging
Help employees find purpose in their work
Give employees the information and resources they need to fulfill their roles
So include employee turnover rate as one of your internal communications KPIs. While it doesn’t give the full picture, you can view it alongside other internal metrics to see whether your comms strategy is making a difference.
This means you’re unlikely to achieve high rates of employee satisfaction without effective internal communication.
To discover how satisfied employees feel, anonymous surveys are a useful tool. It means employees can give honest and useful feedback. It’s also worth keeping your question simple and concise, like this one:
Overall, how satisfied do you feel with your job at [company name]?
Send out your staff satisfaction survey on a quarterly, six-monthly, or annual basis to track your progress over time.
Customer satisfaction rates and sales
Employee satisfaction is directly linked to customer satisfaction and a company’s financial performance.
According to Gallup, happy and engaged employees help their company improve customer relationships and achieve organic growth. Highly engaged businesses see a 10% improvement in customer ratings and an 18% improvement in sales.
Surveying customers and tracking business revenue are other useful ways to assess the wider impact of your internal communications strategy.
How the right internal comms tools can help
To make the most impact, you’ll have to dig down into the data.
You can segment your communication metrics for different communication channels, departments, and employee devices. You can even segment them according to the employee life cycle stage.
When you understand your internal metrics on this level, it’s easier to find root causes and make impactful comms improvements.
But to make data collection and segmentation quick and easy, you need the right internal communication tools. Internal communication software, suited to your organization:
Makes internal communication more engaging and effective
Ensures the right people are getting the right comms
Ensures that everyone has access to company comms — not just those with a company computer or email address
Provides actionable data that helps you measure the success of your internal communication strategy and make improvements
So, as well as choosing an internal communication software that your employees are excited to use, you need to find a tool with robust analytics features.
With Blink, you can send internal communications to every employee smartphone. You can also use analytics functions to track employee engagement, improve your content, and build stronger workplace relationships.