Life at Blink | Ryan McClarnon

In the current landscape, remote workforce management is a vital skill for your business. 

With more businesses moving towards remote and hybrid working – and remote work options becoming a strong pull for employee retention – there’s never been a better time to review how you manage remote employees.

Below, we run through exactly what you need to know to set up and manage a remote workforce effectively. 

Remote workforce management

A remote workforce is any workforce that can complete its main duties away from a central place of work. Remote workforce management is the practice of leading and managing a remote workforce using a mixture of communication, processes and technology.

What’s the difference between mobile workforce and remote workforce?

Remote workers generally work in their own space, usually (though not exclusively) in some sort of home office. They are not obliged to stay here – they can work wherever they need to. This opens up a whole range of flexibility benefits – they can work on the train, whilst waiting to pick their kids up from school or in that cute cafe down the road which does the best flat whites. 

A mobile workforce needs to move from location to location to complete its work. They might do this on a day-to-day basis, or be positioned in one location for weeks or months at a time. A few examples of mobile workforces include: 

• Drivers for bus, taxi, train or haulage fleets
• Community healthcare teams
• Consultants who work client side on long-term projects
• On-the-move sales teams with numerous appointments each day
• Tradespeople who travel to jobs and clients

How is remote work changing the workforce?

It’s easy to see why remote work is so appealing to employees – it’s flexible and great for work-life balance, whilst opening up a huge range of roles that would otherwise have been off-limits. 

Because of remote work, the vacancies available to employees have increased significantly. An employee based in Atlanta doesn’t have to limit themselves to Atlanta-based roles – they could apply for roles previously based in New York, LA or even abroad. 

What does that mean for you, as an employer? 

Ultimately, you’re going to have to work harder to keep hold of your talent. March 2022 saw a record 4.5 million US workers quit their jobs, with common reasons for doing so including low pay, no career advancement opportunities and feeling disrespected at work.  

This means that employee experience will play even more of a key role in employee retention than it does now, and is likely to become a key strategic focus for businesses in the coming years. 

The benefits of a remote workforce

If there’s one thing the pandemic has proven, it’s that remote work can be a fantastic tool for both employee engagement and workforce productivity. Far from experiencing the chaos expected at the start of the pandemic, many businesses were immediately impressed by their employees’ ability to adapt to the ‘new normal’ and the productivity that accompanied that. 

With a remote working policy, you can: 

• Access a wider pool of talent with no geographical limits – invaluable for hiring as open vacancies continue to hover around an all-time high.
• Access a wider pool of talent that is often excluded from onsite jobs, for example, people with disabilitiesdisabled people, young parents and those without transport.
• Improve employee work-life balance by removing commuting times and allowing your workforce control over when and where they work. 
• Increase employee retention – employees with access to remote work are 68% more likely to report high organizational commitment and 30% less likely to look for another job in the next year. 

The great news? You don’t even have to trade this for a drop in productivity. Remote or partly remote employees are 63% more likely to report high levels of innovation, and 75% more likely to report being often or always engaged.

Challenges and risks of a remote workforce

When managed well, remote work is a super effective way of expanding your talent pool whilst increasing employee productivity and retention. Equally, there are a few risks that you’ll need to be aware of – factor these into your remote employee management policy to minimize them. 

Distractions and lack of direct supervision

Books, food, TV, hobbies…whatever your distraction of choice, your home has it, within seconds of your workstation. As a manager, it can be an uneasy feeling to have no direct oversight of your employees in this type of environment. 

Isolation and fewer career advancement opportunities

In the Buffer State of Remote Work Report, 24% of respondents reported loneliness as a key difficulty of remote work – only ‘difficulty unplugging’ and ‘no reported struggles’ scored higher. Isolation can drain productivity and morale, so it’s important to invest in an inclusive digital workspace to combat this. 

Communication and technology issues

Not being in the same physical space as your team can cause communication hiccups – make sure you have the right sort of software on hand to overcome this. 

Security

If your employees aren’t in the office full time, it’s more difficult to make sure they’re completing their IT security training and using their work devices responsibly. 

Bring your own device (or ‘BYOD’) workplaces are on a particularly slippery slope here. 83% of companies have some sort of BYOD policy for at least some of their employees, but only 32% require employees to register their devices with IT for software installation. If you are going down the BYOD route, make sure you have the right security procedures in place. 

How do I create a remote workforce?

The answer that many businesses could give here is “get caught by an unprecedented global pandemic, send all of your employees home at once and figure things out from there.” 

Now that the initial shockwave of COVID-19 has died down, however, you have the luxury of a controlled and managed shift to remote work. When you’re rolling out remote working, it’s important to give everyone time and space to adapt to new processes. This could include upgrading and monitoring your IT infrastructure to cope with remote working, buying in the right hardware or simply creating a suitable home workspace. 

1. Give plenty of notice

If your employees plan their lives around being in the office during certain times each day, giving them space to adapt helps ease your workforce into the change. Aim for a month’s notice, ideally more if this decision has been a long time coming. 

2. Roll out department by department, if needed

Going remote requires investment – and you may need to take a short term dip in productivity on the chin as everyone gets used to new arrangements. Rolling remote working out department by department might make this easier to manage, both cash flow-wise and for  keeping key functions running as normal. 

3. Plan for investment in software and office equipment

It’s a given that you’ll need to up your investment in cloud communication tools and product management tools. Equally, be prepared to spend on other amenities you offer your employees at the office – extra monitors, ergonomic chairs, laptop stands and more might all be useful. 

4. Find the right people to oversee the process

A stakeholder panel is a great way to make sure all relevant voices are heard when planning your shift to remote work. Include managers, employees from teams who are going remote and representatives from any functions who might be impacted by this. 

5. Allow for growth and adjustment

Is everything going to go swimmingly the instant you move out of the office? Probably not – expect slowdowns as everyone adjusts to their new normal. Keep monitoring progress and learning from your mistakes, and things will quickly start to pay off after this adjustment period. 

How can I monitor employees working remotely?

Employees like remote work for the autonomy and responsibility it gives them – this is what contributes to the sky-high engagement and productivity rates at remote companies. 

You should not be looking to monitor your remote employees 24/7. They won’t respond well to being micromanaged, and you’ll undo all the benefits remote work offers. Instead of monitoring, shift the focus onto building channels for effective two-way communication. 

Start by: 

• Setting clear deadlines and expectations – are your employees expected to keep core hours, for example, or are you taking a more flexible approach? 
• Set up daily check ins – a quick ten-minute chat about the work day is reassuring for both manager and employee.
• Regular feedback sessions ensure remote employees don’t feel ignored and can develop their skills at the same rate as an on-site employee would. 
• Use remote collaboration tools to keep in contact throughout the day. Instant messengers, employee apps and project management solutions all help here. 
• If you need visibility into how employees spend their day, consider an employee monitoring tool to track time usage.  

Remote workforce management software

The secret to a great remote workforce management strategy? Finding the right software for the job. 

There’s no ‘one size fits all’ here – it’s all about weighing up what you need to meet your unique requirements as a business. You might need the basics only, or you might need remote versions of several different systems to replace the office working environment. 

How can technology help remote workforce challenges?

Whilst remote work has been a mainstream working practice since the pandemic began, nearly a quarter of employees reported not having the right equipment (hardware or software) to do the job as recently as spring 2021. 

Remote work hinges on having the right tech. Remote employees need software to communicate with their colleagues, share ideas, keep track of deadlines, perform data analysis and more. 

You’re likely to have some of this software available in an office setting anyway – so it’s the communication tools that really make the difference. Having intuitive and accessible employee apps, instant messengers and video conferencing tools on hand ensures communication channels stay open, productivity remains high and employees don’t feel isolated. 

Remote workforce management technology: the must-haves and the nice-to-haves

The must-have software below would be pretty tricky to go without If you’re starting an online business from scratch!

• An employee experience app app: mobile internal comms tools like Blink allow employees to share and access important info instantly, from their smartphone. Social feeds and two-way publishing allow employees to expand their internal network, whilst push notifications ensure that important messages aren’t missed. 
• Video conferencing: why opt for crackly, awkward and generally unreliable phone conferencing solutions when you can use cloud-based video platforms like Zoom and Teams to meet and discuss ideas face to face?
• Workplace instant messenger: faster and friendlier than email, workplace messengers like Slack can be used to make remote communication easier (or just for idle workplace chatter that builds workplace morale – pet pic channel, anyone?) 
• Project management tools: distributed teams need an effective way of keeping on top of tasks and deadlines. Project management tools like Trello, Basecamp and Monday.com use intuitive visual layouts to display and manage these processes. 

Depending on your needs, you could also consider: 

• Employee productivity tools: time trackers, note-taking apps and site blockers can all contribute to your employees’ productivity levels. 
• Online whiteboard tools: whiteboard and ideation tools like Miro allow your workforce to take remote collaboration beyond a shared Google Doc or Slack channel. 
• Employee monitoring software: if you’re concerned about productivity, one way to ensure your employees are keeping their minds on the job is by using employee monitoring software to track time usage. 

Final thoughts on remote workforce management

As a manager, the transition to remote work can be tough. How can you provide the right levels of support and oversight when your employees are scattered across the country – or maybe even beyond? 

With the right technology and the right approach, however, it’s more than manageable.

It goes beyond ‘manageable’ to ‘super beneficial’ in many cases – remote work removes the stress and time pressures of office-based working so that your employees can thrive. If you manage this with the right processes and the right tech, you’ve got a recipe for success!

Blink is an employee app that connects remote workers – get your free demo today

Say hello to Jackson Mannix — Boston-based Commercial Account Executive, former SDR trail-blazer, and resident champion of all things frontline.

Since joining Blink in late 2022, Jackson has helped shape our SDR program from the ground up, pushed the Southeast market into high gear, and kept the competitive-but-collaborative spirit of our culture alive and buzzing.

This week, he sat down with us to talk startup chaos (the good kind!), scaling a sales engine, and why empowering frontline workers still gets him out of bed every morning. Let’s dive in!

Which Blink office do you work out of?

I work out of our Boston office.

What is your position at Blink?

I’m a Commercial Account Executive covering the U.S. Southeast. I joined Blink in fall 2022 as an SDR.

How long have you been at Blink?

Just over two and a half years.

What initially attracted you to join Blink?

Back then I wasn’t sure which kind of company I wanted to join. I’d spent about six months bartending and serving at a local Boston bar, figuring out my next step. I knew I wanted to get into software sales — I just didn’t know where or how. More importantly, I wanted to work with people who were invested in my growth and who valued the traits I bring to the table.

While job-hunting, I tapped my network and discovered Blink. At that point, Blink didn’t have a Boston presence, but the passion I saw for Blink was contagious. The idea of helping frontline workers, not just businesses, struck a chord. Yes, we deliver huge value to organizations and improve their bottom line — but we also make life less stressful for hourly employees who are raising families and juggling enough already.

Having lived that hourly-wage reality myself, I immediately saw the impact Blink could have. We’re creating real, global change by improving work for people who often get overlooked. That combination of purpose, growth, and the chance to help build something from the ground up drew me in.

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

The evolution of our SDR program, hands down. I spent more than two years as an SDR, so it was a true career commitment. The first 4-6 months were pure learning, then — right as I hit my stride — Amanda (our Global Sales Development Director) arrived. Working closely with her and the senior SDRs, we overhauled training, processes, and feedback loops.

Seeing that transformation — from the scrappy early days to today’s structured program — has been incredible. We have a new cohort of SDRs coming in now, and they’ll benefit from a playbook built on both our successes — and our mistakes. Every miscue was a lesson that made the program stronger. I’m proud that leadership trusted me to shape the day-to-day work, give candid feedback, and help steer where the team is going.

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

Competitive, collaborative and chaotic.

Blink is competitive in the best way: We all push each other — within and across teams — to set a high bar, but never with the hope that someone else falls short. I want to beat my number, but I still want the person next to me to smash theirs, too.

That healthy drive dovetails with a spirit of collaboration that’s almost startling. From day one, people leap in to share decks, brainstorm talk tracks, or hop on a call when something goes sideways. That help hasn’t slowed for me two-and-a-half years later.

“Chaotic” sounds negative, but it’s a positive here. Priorities shift fast, new projects hit your desk with immediate urgency, and if you thrive in that kind of pressure-makes-diamonds environment — learning from the inevitable missteps and bouncing back stronger — Blink is your playground.

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

Landing big global logos will always be a thrill, but what really excites me now is cracking new verticals where we’ve barely scratched the surface.

Billions of frontline workers still lack a modern comms tool, and some operate in highly specific or newly burgeoning industries. Every so often a niche customer pops up — maybe a specialty manufacturer or seasonal service — who shows us Blink can solve problems we didn’t know existed in that space. One unexpected win like that can inspire product tweaks and reshape how we go to market.

The “green grass” feels endless, and the idea that next quarter’s most interesting deal might come from a sector we’ve never targeted keeps the future wide open.

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

I’m loving the new podcast studio. We upgraded from a basic setup to a full broadcast-quality room, and the content now coming out — clean visuals, tight edits, professional sound — has lifted our thought leadership game. Podcasts may feel crowded, but they work because people already consume information that way. Watching customers plan their own internal podcasts after seeing what we’ve built is proof we’re practicing what we preach. It’s cool to see us invest in a channel, nail the execution, and then hand clients a real-world example they can replicate for their own teams.

Why do you work for Blink?

I believe in our mission and in the people delivering it. Over the past two-and-a-half years, Blink has celebrated my wins loudly and stood by me during the lows.

When a deal closes, teammates are first to cheer; when I hit a rough patch, my teammates and leadership step in without hesitation. Amanda, for instance, showed incredible compassion when I was dealing with serious personal challenges, and the business made sure I felt heard and valued, not just judged by a number.

That genuine, reciprocal support is powerful. It’s why I log in every morning ready to push harder, and why I see a long runway for myself here.

Digital inclusion is the ability of individuals and communities to access, understand, and use technology in a safe and meaningful way. More often, we hear of digital inclusion and digital equity as social concepts — do citizens have equal access to health tech solutions, for example, and do they have access to the internet in order to participate in society? 

But frontline digital inclusion and digital equity for employees are just as important.

Frontline digital inclusion is essential in order to bridge the connection gap between the frontline workforce and the rest of an organization.

By understanding frontline digital inclusion better, we can help create a more equitable global workforce where everyone has access to the tools, resources, and people they need to succeed. In doing so, we encourage increased employee engagement, and unlock productivity and performance for the business, so everybody benefits.

What is digital inclusion?

Before we get into the specifics of frontline digital inclusion, let’s start with some definitions.

Digital inclusion is an important concept in the modern world as access to technology and digital services play an increasingly critical role in people’s lives. It refers to the ability of individuals and communities to access, understand, and use technology in order to take part in society, regardless of their social or economic backgrounds.

On a larger scale, digital inclusion projects serve to create equity where it isn’t already: between those who have access to digital resources and those that don’t. Frontline digital inclusion is one example of this concept in action, as it refers to providing equal opportunities for frontline workforce members to use technology in their daily activities.

Digital inclusion comprises three key areas: 

1. Accessibility
2. Digital skills
3. Connectivity 

Accessibility

Digital accessibility refers to the ability of all individuals to access digital content, tools, and services, including those with disabilities, sensory impairments, or neurodiversities.

On a global scale, improving digital access involves a wide range of considerations, such as providing alternative formats of content (such as audio or braille versions), designing websites and applications to be inclusive, and ensuring that digital services can be accessed in different languages or formats.

Digital skills

Digital skills refer to a range of abilities needed to use digital tools, devices, and communications applications effectively. Understanding their purpose and how they can be used to benefit the user also falls under this definition.

Digital education and training initiatives are important for helping people to develop the skills they need to be digitally included. Digital skills are an essential part of being digitally literate in today’s world, allowing individuals to take advantage of all that technology has to offer.

Connectivity

Digital connectivity refers to the ability of individuals to connect to the internet and online services, as well as the infrastructure and internet connection that supports this.

Enabling digital connectivity involved providing internet access in areas where there is none, or setting up public Wi-Fi networks in remote locations. This is particularly crucial in developing countries, where access to the internet can be a huge advantage.

What would digital inclusion look like for the frontline?

Frontline digital inclusion includes everything from having access to devices and software, understanding how they work and how to use them properly, and being able to take advantage of the same digital services as those in higher positions or working at HQ.

Accessibility

Workers should have access to the digital tools needed for their roles, whether their job is desk-based or not. When frontline employees have digital equity, they are able to better perform their daily work tasks using relevant software and mobile-optimized platforms.

Language is particularly important to consider here. Frontline environments like healthcare are becoming more divergent and employees are speaking a broader range of languages between themselves and with their patients. Any technology provided to them has to be easily translated to avoid crucial messages being missed.

Digital skills

Digital skills can be thought of in two ways when it comes to frontline digital inclusion. 

One: is the tool intuitive for the frontline or has it been designed with desk-based workflows in mind?

And two: are frontline employees being offered relevant training, onboarding, and support for the digital tools provided?

You might need to create additional resources for improving digital skills, such as tutorials, videos, and webinars. You can also direct them to key employee engagement champions who can empower them to use their new tech effectively.

Connectivity

Connecting your organization from the C-Suite to the frontline brings about a huge wealth of benefits, from ‘soft’ benefits like belonging and inclusion, to ‘hard’ benefits like the effective flow of information and a faster time to response.

Mobile-first digital technologies — like accessible and engaging frontline employee apps — help ensure your teams stay connected in-field and are able to access everything they need.

The digital divide: understanding frontline digital exclusion

By now, you’re hopefully as sold on the idea of frontline digital inclusion as we are. It’s not only an ethical imperative, but a business one too.

So what’s currently stopping digital equity on the frontline? Why are so many frontline workers experiencing digital exclusion?

Frontline teams typically lack access to the digital resources needed to perform their roles. They may also be offered existing tools and services that fail to meet their needs. Digital inclusion barriers may come from a lack of familiarity or understanding of how to use the tools, a lack of technological infrastructure, or simply limited access to devices and software while working in the field.

To put the problem into numbers:

• 34% of frontline healthcare employees can’t easily access workplace systems on their mobile devices
• Nearly 20% of frontline healthcare employees aren’t using their company intranet
• … and two-thirds of that 20% don’t know how to

With a digital divide like this, it's no surprise that frontline organizations are seeing a drop in the usage of and engagement with their digital channels (more on this below).

In short: we have to combat digital exclusion in order to deliver digital inclusion. And at work, that starts with the frontline.

Frontline digital exclusion in action

Digital exclusion wastes time and money. It can also be a serious contributing factor to employee disengagement. 

• At home health provider Elara Caring, employees were choosing to drive up to an hour each way to collect their paystubs in person as it was too difficult to access this information online
• For the same employees, a lack of communication between head office and the teams in the field left them feeling unsupported and disconnected
• Transport provider Stagecoach hired a full-time role just to manage platform password reset requests from frontline employees

See how Elara Caring and Stagecoach achieved frontline digital inclusion with Blink’s frontline employee app today.

We know that bridging this digital divide adds value. 

Organizations with the highest degrees of digital connectivity and empowerment are able to grow in ways that other businesses can’t. Here’s why…

Why is digital inclusion important for frontline teams?

How digital exclusion impacts frontline engagement

• Feelings of exclusion negatively impact employee engagement and therefore care and commitment
• It becomes difficult to understand frontline employee engagement. Paper-based employee engagement surveys go unanswered and unanalyzed — and if you can’t understand engagement, you can’t improve it either

How digital exclusion impacts frontline performance

• Employees will naturally drift away from your business objectives and mission statement when kept at a digital distance 
• Frontline staff become less invested in their day-to-day activities and more burnt out, negatively impacting performance.
• With fewer development opportunities due to digital exclusion, frontline workers don’t feel motivated to take on new roles or responsibilities and their growth becomes stunted

How digital exclusion impacts frontline profitability

• Operations can easily become chaotic and ineffective without an efficient flow of information between co-workers and departments
• Higher costs as recruitment and retention come under threat; the ‘leaky bucket’ of labor supply means that significant funds are deployed to the finding and training of a replacement workforce who might not stick around for long anyway
• Fresh challenges arise around recruiting and retaining new employees as the business loses its reputation as a good place to work
• Disengaged organizations see 23% lower profitability than highly engaged ones, and the longer employees remain in a disengaged state, the harder it is to turn around

How digital exclusion impacts frontline retention

• Digital exclusion can result in rising frustrations, poor employee morale, and low satisfaction due to the lack of adequate tools and resources available
• As 52% of frontline workers claimed they would leave their job over tech tools, it’s clear that these frustrations can have an impact on your employee turnover rate, too
• The average annual employee turnover rate is estimated at 18%, yet some frontline industries and organizations are experiencing much higher turnover levels. US frontline retail employees, for example, have a historic turnover rate of over 60%

Three actionable tips to drive your frontline digital inclusion efforts

Now for the how: here are three actionable tips to consider when driving digital inclusion for your frontline employees.

1. Understand who’s responsible

First and foremost, you must understand who is responsible for driving digital inclusion in your organization. While traditionally this has been the job of the CIO or CTO, it's clear that others in the C-Suite such as Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) can have a major role to play. 

As one Forbes states:

“Given how technology has infiltrated the entire C-suite, it’s clear that while CTOs and CIOs are still in charge of which technologies to purchase and deploy, their collaboration across departments is expanding. They need input from the entire executive team to ensure their investments match and support the overarching goals of the business and leverage collaboration to have the greatest impact.”

Analysis by Deloitte (pictured below) also explores the role of the C-Suite in managing the hyper-connected workplace. Touching on how CHROs, CIOs, CROs, COOs, and individuals can adjust to the changing world of hyper-connected work, this analysis provides an excellent starting point for organizations to better understand the roles and responsibilities of each C-Suite member.

However, important to remember that true employee techquity requires buy-in and team effort from not just the entire exec team, but also heads of HR/People, Internal Comms, and that all-important first-line manager. In fact, it's crucial to leverage the first-line frontline manager if you are going to succeed with frontline digital inclusion.

A CEO might only spend 6% of their work hours with the frontline, despite these staff members representing up to 80% of their business. Conversely, frontline managers spend the most time with the frontline, yet are often overlooked and undervalued. With first-line knowledge, your inclusion efforts will be much more effective.

With all this in mind, placing responsibility for frontline digital inclusion squarely on the C-Suite is too limiting. It’s important to have a comprehensive strategy in place with clear roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders.

2. Create a frontline digital inclusion strategy 

Take inspiration from the UK Government Digital Inclusion Strategy and create a frontline digital inclusion strategy for your organization.

A digital inclusion strategy for the frontline should include a comprehensive assessment of existing technology access and resources available to frontline employees. This assessment should cover areas such as:

• Device availability (i.e., laptops, tablets, and smartphones)
• Internet connection speeds and access to data on your work sites
• Availability of learning and training materials
• Access to technical support
• Any other resources necessary to ensure successful digital integration

Once a comprehensive assessment of existing resources has been completed, your frontline digital inclusion strategy can be created and regularly updated:

• This strategy should include objectives, goals, action plans, and resource requirements necessary to achieve the desired outcomes. Improved employee engagement, enhanced customer service capabilities, and increased productivity are all in reach
• Regular reviews and updates of the strategy are key to its success. Employee engagement KPIs and frontline analytics should be established in order to track progress made against the strategy
• Finally, a successful digital inclusion strategy should include continuing education and training initiatives for frontline staff. These initiatives should focus on upskilling employees in areas such as data security protocols and best practices for the platform you choose.

Check out the digital inclusion checklist at the end of our guide for more strategic guidance.

3. Enable, engage, and understand your frontline

Achieving frontline digital inclusion requires enabling, engaging, and understanding your employees.

By combining the three, you can create an effective frontline digital inclusion strategy that puts your employees on the path to success.

Enable

Enabling your frontline with the right technology goes beyond simply providing them with a device and internet connection. It’s about equipping them with tools to succeed in a digitally-connected workplace.

For deskless workers, this might include:

• Content Hub: A central hub that's accessible on the go, storing critical policies, procedures, schedules, and guides in one place
• Digital Forms: Creating and distributing mobile-first digital forms, gathering data, and automating key processes. No hassle. No paper. No IT support tickets
• Single Sign-On: Access to all applications from one single app, without the hassle of remembering usernames and passwords
• Integrations: Integrate your existing tools and apps into new employee tech for intuitive and streamlined use

Engage

To receive engagement from your frontline, you have to earn it. This means providing digital tools that encourage engagement, as well as recognizing and rewarding input.

For example:

• News Feed: Bring the whole company together with a News Feed that's fun, familiar, and easy to use — you might just reduce time spent on non-core tasks by up to 90%
• Secure Chats: Create an intuitive, seamless communications experience for everyone with secure, mobile-first chats
• Recognition: Provide instant, personalized recognition for every employee, directly to the palm of their hand

Understand

To truly understand the digital experience of your frontline staff, you have to take the time to get to know them. This means listening, empowering their voice, and understanding how their experience affects their job performance.

• Analytics: Utilize powerful analytics for insight into the people and relationships that make your organization tick
• Surveys: Ditch paper surveys, build trust with your frontline, and get more data with short, regular Pulse surveys designed for higher engagement

Your frontline digital inclusion checklist

Digital inclusion is an important factor in the success of any organization. To measure the success of a digital inclusion strategy, there are certain key points that should be checked:

1. Start with user experience: Understand the experience of your frontline staff by listening to and empowering their voice, and understanding how their experience affects job performance
2. Offer digital support: Make sure all employees have access to online services, regardless of their digital literacy
3. Utilize powerful analytics: Leverage analytics for insight into the people and relationships that make up your organization
4. Take surveys and measure engagement: Replace laborious paper surveys with short, regular, mobile-friendly Pulse surveys to gain more data and build trust with employees
5. Provide tailored digital tools: Choose tools that are tailored to the needs of your deskless employees, and ensure a seamless user experience
6. Offer recognition: Show appreciation for employee performance with rewards, badges, shout-outs, and leaderboards
7. Invest in collaboration: Connect employees with one-on-one conversations, secure chats, and team communication tools to foster a culture of collaboration

By following this checklist and leveraging the right digital solutions for your organization, you can make sure that no one is left behind as you strive for greater digital inclusion. With Blink, this is made easier than ever.

Blink. And you bridge the digital divide

Frontline digital inclusion is an important and essential program — and it’s not as complex as it sounds.

By understanding the unique experience of deskless workers, providing access to digital tools tailored to their needs, and listening to and recognizing employee feedback, organizations can ensure that no one is left behind in the digital world.

But remember: not all digital services are created equal. At Blink, we believe in providing a seamless, intuitive user experience for the frontline, which is why our frontline employee app was built with deskless employees in mind.

With features including Secure Chats to News Feeds, Pulse Surveys, and Recognition tools, our employee-first solutions empower organizations to make their frontline staff feel connected and engaged throughout their journey.

Let us help you drive digital inclusion within your organization – get started with Blink today.

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If you’re one of the thousands of organizations using Workplace from Meta to power your internal communications, you’re probably in the thick of figuring out what you need to do next ahead of the Workplace sunsetting beginning in 2025. Researching, selecting, and implementing a Workplace alternative is likely taking up the bulk of your time and energy and may feel like an overwhelming project to tackle.

The good news: With the right platform — and technology partner — you can take the stress out of migration and continue to give employees the intranet features they know and love.

Whatever your vision is for your new platform — maybe a familiar format, or something new and improved — it’s important to get migration right. A smooth migration process can set you up for success and minimize headaches for you and your workforce.

In a recent webinar, Blink’s migration specialists outlined their full 5-step guide to a successful Workplace migration. While we (of course) believe there are lots of benefits to choosing Blink as a Workplace alternative, these steps are relevant to any platform you choose to use.

3 key steps to Workplace migration  

Migrating to a Workplace from Meta alternative is about more than moving data from one system to another. A successful migration requires meticulous planning and a launch mindset. It keeps disruption to a minimum and supports a seamless employee experience.

Important steps you need to take when migrating from Workplace include:

1. Scope and plan the migration

2. Verify data mapping and reconfigure settings

3. Activate and engage users

Let’s take a closer look at how these can make or break your migration journey.

#1. Scope and plan the migration

Migrating to any of the Workplace from Meta alternatives available is a huge change — and it’s one you want to get right first time by thoroughly scoping and planning your migration.

Bear in mind that while employee communications platforms tend to have a lot in common, no two tools are identical. There are bound to be differences between Workplace from Meta and your new intranet platform.

To ensure each business function is accounted for, bring together people from across your organization. Discuss platform differences. Gather a wide range of perspectives on platform and migration needs. Also, clarify what you want to achieve with regards to user experience and platform capabilities.

As part of the scoping and planning stage, consider incorporating the following tasks:

• Analyze data quality: Take stock of the data you have on Workplace. Are all user profiles activated and complete? Are all groups still relevant? Does your content have contextual elements, like author names and publication dates? Assess which data is complete, which needs to be improved, and which should be deleted or archived.
  

• Review mobile vs. desktop strategy: Consider which data you want to feature on mobile and desktop versions of your platform. For companies with a frontline workforce, it’s wise to include exactly the same data on both mobile and desktop devices — ensuring everyone can enjoy the same great employee experience.
  

• Identify champions and trend-setter groups: To boost early adoption and usage, treat your Workplace migration as a new platform launch. Identify champions and trend-setter groups who will be excited for the new communications hub and encourage peers to join them.

#2. Verify data mapping and reconfigure settings

It can take anywhere from days to weeks to run a migration, with timing depending on:

• Your chosen platform

• The size of your organization

• The volume of data you want to migrate

But as soon as you’ve executed the technical migration, you can begin examining the details of your new platform. The first tasks on the list are verification and reconfiguration.

At Blink, we use our own migration matrix that allows us to clearly map Workplace data and content to corresponding Blink content. However, with any technology switch, it’s always good to be prepared for potential hiccups. Data and settings don’t always transfer neatly to the new platform and post-migration tweaks often have to be made.

To ensure the best user experience post-migration, check that your important data — including user profiles, groups, and knowledge base content — has been transferred correctly, imperfect data has been updated, and settings have been reconfigured as needed.

User profiles

Review the user profiles that have been transferred from Workplace. Check that all details — like names, roles, and profile pictures — are correct. Delete any duplicate users. Also, verify that your organizational hierarchy has transferred correctly, with the right employees assigned to the right managers.

This is a good opportunity to check the permissions and notification settings associated with each user profile. Do this during the verification process and you won’t have to revisit each user profile to make changes later.

Groups

Look at the groups that you’ve migrated over from Workplace. Check that their names are correct. View members and admins to ensure nothing has gone awry during the switch.

You should also take the time to look at dynamic team membership rules to ensure that employees are automatically assigned to relevant groups going forward.

Knowledge base content

To ensure a consistent employee experience, it’s important that users can access the resources they need as soon as they log in to your new internal communications platform. Check that content is in the right place and that users will be able to find it easily. Confirm that all contextual information, including author names and publication dates, is visible and correct. Review permissions for publishing, editing, and sharing rights.

And don’t forget about formatting: Check headings, double-check hyperlinks, and make sure your multimedia content, such as videos and images, looks good and works well.

#3. Activate and engage users

If you’re at this step, it means you’re ready to launch your new intranet to the workforce. Congratulations! To maximize engagement and encourage adoption, you’ll want to give employees an incredible experience on your new platform starting day one.

Decide how you’ll build buzz around the incoming platform. That may mean notifying employees that your new intranet is imminent and incentivizing them to log in on launch day. You can consider running giveaways, creating gamified experiences, or planning a launch party — all with the goal of boosting in-platform engagement.

Remember that you’re launching a social platform: Creating an immediate sense of active community will be the difference between delight and disengagement. By going live with a published backlog of engaging content, employees can be welcomed to the new platform with a lively and pre-populated news feed.

Education is another important part of the puzzle. Help employees get the most from your new solution through training sessions, Q&A forums, and dedicated support channels.

This is also a great time to promote the internal champions and trend-setter groups you identified earlier in the migration process. These ambassadors can spread the word about your new platform, drive activation, and offer support where it’s needed.

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Making your Workplace migration successful

Whether you want employees to instantly feel at home or are relishing the opportunity to start afresh, a clear migration plan can help you minimize disruption and keep the company conversation flowing during the transition from Workplace to your new company hub.

By starting the process with a thoughtful migration plan and ending it with a robust rollout strategy, you can supercharge employee adoption on day one and drive engagement long past launch day.

For our full 5-step guide to making migration easy on you — and your workforce — download our on-demand webinar: From Workplace to Blink: Migration Made Easy for actionable advice helpful for any organization exploring alternatives to Workplace.

On the hunt for the perfect comms solution for your organization?

Whether you’re looking for a tech to engage a frontline workforce or a modern intranet that puts your organization’s knowledge at your fingertips, we’re comparing techs that can take your internal communication to the next level. 

Today we look at Interact vs. Blink to see which is right for you.

Interact vs. Blink — quick facts

Blink and Interact are modern internal communication solutions suited for enterprise and small organizations. Their intuitive user experience and mobile applications lend themselves to a frontline workforce. 

However, Interact is mainly an intranet replacement with various social employee engagement features. It is an older solution, and some feel that its features are a little old-fashioned. That includes an inclination towards top-down communications and static intranet pages. 

In contrast, Blink packages an intranet with chat, micro-apps, and interactive content management to create an open, engaging digital experience. The priority is on encouraging all employees to participate in discussions and voice their contributions. 

How they’re similar

Mobile-focused

Blink is designed with the mobile frontline worker in mind. That means you can reach everything you’d expect to have access to as a desk worker straight from your phone. The features and design flow seamlessly, no matter the screen size, to unite your organization with one application. 

Similarly, Interact also caters to companies with a significant number of frontline workers. The intranet software is fully responsive and works on both iOS and Android.

Targeted posts

Both internal employee communication tools recognize that the most effective messages are tailored. 

Interact uses “personas” you can define based on qualities you set. More than just dividing workers by role, you can segment your messages based on the training they’ve already received, location, and more. 

Blink also allows you to target posts based on certain teams and work functions. The live feed of employee posts, company communications, and important real-time notifications are 100% customizable for each individual. 

People directory

Both Blink and Interact make it easy to discover and contact any other member in your organization, breaking down communication barriers. 

Blink’s People Directory consists of each team member's photographs, role, time zone, and location.

Interact’s directory adds a bit more content to this directory with customizable bios, interests, and expertise. 

How they’re different

Many features set each communication management software apart. Let’s take a look: 

SMS

Interact adds multichannel broadcasts that include the option to send a text to employees. One reviewer notes how “beneficial a feature like this would be during a pandemic.”

Although Blink can push notifications to each user’s phone, there is no out-of-the-box feature that allows SMS texting. 

Chat

When comparing Interact vs. Blink, one large difference is Blink’s native chat function. Users can start secure group or one-on-one chats. Document-sharing and emoji capabilities also mean your employees have the tools to get their message across, no matter the subject. 

In contrast, Interact only has a tagging function to start conversations and, more often than not, will need to integrate with third-party chat platforms. 

Digital signage

The Interact software includes built-in digital signage capabilities. That gives your team the ability to display updates, company news, and other useful information in break rooms, conference rooms — anywhere with a screen. 

Blink does not offer a feature to create and display digital signage natively in the app but can be configured with integration to serve this purpose. 

Micro-apps

Blink offers deep integration with thousands of apps, acting as your one-stop solution to digital workplace technology. Blink also lets you build out integrations for any app you need through customizable micro-apps.

When comparing the customization of Interact vs. Blink, you are slightly more limited with the latter. Although it also offers several integrations, the Interact intranet does not offer a way for users to add ample features themselves. 

Extranet

Interact offers additional extranet services that provide a communication platform for business partners. External parties can access FAQs, product pages, blogs, answer surveys, and more through a simple login page. 

Blink’s product offering is more narrowly focused on internal communications, so if your team is not looking for an extranet solution, a platform with features solely designed for internal teams may serve you better. 

Feed page

Blink’s feed page provides an engaging, personalized experience that enables a sense of connectedness and omnidirectional communication. 

When comparing Interact vs. Blink’s newsfeed, Interact’s is more focused on activity updates. For example, when a document is updated or a user joins a new group. 

Although users can like and comment, the social aspect is not as prominent. The platform’s forum allows more back-and-forth conversations but does not encourage frequent participation.

Ease of use

Blink takes most of the burden of onboarding and IT off your hands, making it an ideal solution for enterprise companies and lean teams alike. The features are intuitive, requiring little to no training, and once you’re onboarded, Blink handles all the behind-the-scenes IT to keep your hands free. 

On the other hand, learning to use Interact’s intranet does take a bit more time. User reviews say, “Its functionality is difficult to administer and labor-intensive. It is also not very intuitive.” 

One feature that is consistently said to be difficult to use is its forms. “Forms are a great feature to have, but we've found them cumbersome to create and maintain.”

Interact vs. Blink — pricing

Blink offers four levels of paid service based on company size, while Interact’s pricing structure is a bit more opaque. They offer individualized pricing based on your organization’s exact requirements, so you’ll have to request a quote to see how much it may be for you. 

Here’s a look at Blink’s pricing:

• Essential: $3.40 per person, per month
• Business: Price on application
• Enterprise: Price on application
• Enterprise Plus: Price on application

Interact vs. Blink — final thoughts

If you’re looking for a comprehensive, modern intranet with social features, want to maintain a more traditional communication structure, and have the resources to spend a little more time learning how to use the product in the backend, Interact may be the right choice for you. 

However, if you want an intranet with engaging, intuitive features that refresh your internal communications with open dialogue, and you want to be able to fully customize your solution’s features, Blink may be your go-to. 

Determine if Blink is the right solution for you by booking a demo. Try it free for 14 days. 

Looking for more comparisons? Check out Blink Vs Beekeeper

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.

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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