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More than 80% of the global workforce is deskless. That's more than 2.7 billion people working outside of a traditional office setting, making it more important than ever to have effective communication tools in place.

This guide is designed to help business leaders keep their deskless employees connected and communicating, no matter where they are. We'll cover a variety of topics, from why communication is so important (and often challenging!) for deskless workers, to how to choose and evaluate digital communication tools to engage your deskless workforce with ease.

Why communication is important for deskless workers

With such a strong majority of the global workforce that is deskless, purposeful corporate communication solutions are crucial. This means ensuring all employees feel connected, in-the-loop and heard - even as a deskless team. As such, there are a number of reasons effective employee communication is important for frontline workers and their wider teams.

1. Reduces turnover 

With the Great Resignation still in full swing, all business leaders need to be focusing on employee retention. This becomes even more prominent for the deskless workforce, with 52% of frontline workers claiming they would leave their job over tech tools in 2022.

Additionally, according to a survey of 8,000+ global frontline workers and C-suite executives, 45% of frontline workers were planning on leaving the frontline altogether this year.

With most corporate communications tools not designed for them and frontline engagement projects lacking in substance, deskless workers are showing high turnover rates and low job satisfaction, creating an unstable workforce for your business.

Effective communication can improve job satisfaction by creating a sense of community and increasing transparency from leadership. This also helps to reduce misunderstandings and conflicts among employees, leading to better employee retention rates.

2. Increases profits

Better communication means better engagement. Indeed tells us that improved communication works to connect and keep open lines of communication between employees and other members of the organization, which ultimately works to create better engagement between employees. But did you know that this can have a further positive impact on your company profitability?

Engaged employees, who feel heard, valued and involved in communications, are more productive, and this increased productivity can often result in a more profitable business.

As we highlighted in our recent Employee Engagement Statistics Guide, highly engaged organizations achieve a 23% difference in profitability, alongside a 43% difference in turnover. By driving home your employee engagement with impactful, intuitive communication, you’re investing in the success of your deskless workforce, and the long-term success and overall profitability of your business. 

3. Drives employee experience & empowerment 

Deskless workers often have limited access to traditional channels of communication, such as email or company intranet. Providing alternative means of communication, such as mobile apps designed for the frontline, can help improve the employee experience by giving them a voice and empowering them in their work environment.

This also allows for agile, on-the-go, two-way communication that deskless employees need in their fast-paced work environments, which is where communications for deskless workers often fall short. 

Better employee experience can also boost your bottom line. HBR research shows that a shift in employee experience would result in a 45% increase in profits per person-hour, adding significantly to both individual, team and overall company success.

4. Increases productivity & organization

Effective organizational communication can increase productivity by reducing miscommunications and streamlining processes. It also allows for better frontline organization, as employees have access to important information and updates in real time. 

This helps deskless workers stay on top of their tasks and responsibilities, leading to more productive employees and a more organized frontline.

Without efficient two-way communication solutions, it can be difficult for business leaders to understand, or even acknowledge, the issues their frontline workers are facing. For example, did you know that 70% of frontline workers have either suffered from burnout or felt at risk of burning out?

With great team communication, your leaders can hear and respond directly to workers needs, implementing them into their organizational practices.

Whether that means giving employees an intuitive two-way communication solution such as a mobile employee app, an accessible scheduling tool to prevent miscommunications or an easier way to organize shift swaps, effective communication can improve the productivity and organization of your workforce. 

5. Boosts trust, engagement & morale

A lack of communication can lead to a disengaged and distrusting workforce, as employees feel isolated and disconnected from the larger company culture.

Research shows that nearly all (99%) of C-suite executives believe their frontline workers trust them, while only a quarter (26%) of workers entirely trust their organization to communicate company updates and news transparently.

Clearly, as part of the C-Suite it's important to understand how purposeful internal communications help to build a sense of community among deskless workers. By increasing transparency from leadership, you can drive employee engagement long-term. In turn, this can improve overall job satisfaction, minimize churn and build trust with your workers.

6. Improves worker safety

Proper communication can also improve safety in the workplace. Problems with communication leading to major accidents/incidents are well known, according to HSE.

Proper frontline communication includes informing deskless employees of important safety updates, as well as providing a platform for reporting concerns or hazards. In turn, this can lead to a better quality of work and decrease the likelihood of accidents or injuries on the job.

The Blink frontline engagement app offers a central Hub for storing core company policies, procedures and training documents, ensuring all teams have access to important information and updates in real time. It also includes Secure Chats, giving frontline employees the ability to report concerns or hazards directly to management for swift resolution.

The challenges of communicating with deskless workers

While the benefits are great, it can be a huge challenge to communicate with deskless workers in the modern work environment. Some key challenges of communicating with deskless workers include:

• Budget: When you're under-budgeted and under pressure, finding the right communication channels and tools for your deskless workers can be a complex and costly process for business leaders that don't know where to invest.
• Old software or no access to tech: Deskless workers may not have access to the same technology or software that office-based employees do, leading to communication disconnects, especially when using tech not designed for them.
• Implementing new software: Introducing new communication software can also be a challenge, requiring dedicated training and support to ensure adoption and success for your deskless teams.
• Easy access to the right information: Deskless workers often require easy access to essential information, such as company updates, product knowledge or HR policies. Without proper communication channels in place, there can be a breakdown in sharing important information with these teams.
• Disconnected, disengaged & distributed: With teams spread across various locations, it can be difficult for deskless workers to feel connected and engaged with the company and their coworkers. Effective communication helps bridge this disconnect.
• No sense of community or belonging: Deskless workers may not have the same office community or team spirit as traditional office-based employees, making it crucial for businesses to find ways to build a sense of belonging and connection within their remote or distributed teams.

So – how can leaders overcome these challenges and drive stronger communication between their employees? Let’s take a look.

How to improve communication with deskless workers

Build a digital culture

The pressure’s on for leaders in the frontline sector to digitize their communication efforts with deskless employees. As such, many companies are now developing digitalization strategies that enhance employee experience and drive performance.

WeForum reports:

• One key to business success in a post-Covid world is to embrace a digital culture.
• For digital culture to be successful, it must be driven from the ground up.

Clearly, it's important for business leaders to embrace a digital culture, with communication tools and processes that accommodate deskless workers. This means investing in the right technology solutions, as well as training and support for adoption of more complex tools.

For leaders of a deskless organization, digital communication can reduce the complexity of managing a dispersed team, as well as improve transparency and accessibility for employees in remote locations, making everyone's lives easier. 

Digital transformation and digital adoption are now key concepts for the deskless workforce, and a focus on digital culture can ensure deskless workers feel connected and included in company processes. With your workers able to access important information and comms from the palm of their hand, you'll have no shortage of engaged, on-the-ball and informed employees.

And remember, this digital transformation must be built from the ground up, with impactful input from deskless workers themselves on their communication needs and challenges.

Listen to and act on feedback

As important as it is to have the right communication tools in place, it's also essential for business leaders to implement processes that gather and listen to feedback from their deskless teams. Ask for input on what channels and tools they prefer, as well as how communication processes can be improved, and implement it in your communication strategy.

Direct communication with features such as surveys, polls or secure chats can make it easier for deskless workers to provide their input. And listening to and implementing this feedback can lead to more successful communication strategies with your deskless teams.

When workers know that their feedback is being listened to, and acted upon, they will be more receptive to future engagement strategies and communications. 

With the right processes in place, deskless workers can feel just as heard, connected, included as their office-based colleagues, leading to a more natural, intuitive communication flow within the entire organization.

Provide easy access to key information

By providing an easy-to-access, intuitively designed central Hub for information and communication, deskless workers have easy access to the essential information they need for their roles. This includes company updates, product knowledge, HR policies and more - all in one place, accessible on any device.

A central Hub can also promote a sense of community by allowing deskless workers to connect with their colleagues and share ideas or important information. 

This not only saves valuable time for you and your employees, but can also boost your productivity and improve communication initiatives in the long run.

Focus on building a sense of belonging and connection

Though they may not have the same office community as traditional office-based employees, there are still ways to build a sense of belonging and connection for deskless workers. 

This includes regularly scheduled check-ins with managers or team members, virtual (and meaningful) team building activities, and offering opportunities for professional development.

These efforts can help deskless workers feel included, valued, and connected with their colleagues and the company as a whole, which can improve employee engagement in a way that feels natural and earned.

Keep two-way communication channels open

As we touched on, it’s important for deskless workers to not only receive information, but also have the opportunity to share their ideas and feedback. 

Communication should not be a one way street from the top down. Employees should be engaging in two-way conversations with both each other and management in order to keep communication open and transparent.

This can be done through regular check-ins or meetings, as well as utilizing communication tools that allow for a two-way flow of information - such as Secure Chats or collaboration platforms.

Encourage real employee recognition

Recognition and appreciation are important for all employees, but can be even more impactful for deskless workers who may not have the same opportunities for team praise or company events.

Implementing a recognition program, with features such as virtual badges or “shout-outs”, can help deskless workers feel seen and valued. And don’t underestimate the power of a personalized thank you note or Feed shoutout from leadership - deskless employees can feel just as appreciated through these small gestures.

The role of technology in deskless communication & employee engagement

The right employee technology is vital for your team communication. And as the deskless workforce continues to grow, so does the need for communication technology and tools specifically designed for them.

Reports show that 75% of deskless workers spend most of their work time using some form of technology, yet 60% reported being unsatisfied with the tech they use.

This is where better employee communication and engagement apps come in. By investing in technology that truly supports and engages your deskless team, you’re able to better connect with them, reaping all of the benefits of great communication we explored above.

But what is the exact role of technology in team comms and employee engagement? Here are a few key roles great technology solutions can play:

Easy communication & real-time responses

The right tech should connect your deskless employees with ease, ensuring they have the same access to communication as their desk-based colleagues. With mobile and desktop apps, they can easily communicate no matter where they are or what device they’re using, making one key role of employee tech easy and intuitive communication.

Successful communication also relies on timely responses, and the right employee communication app should support this with real-time messaging and notifications. This helps to keep your deskless team in-the-loop, ensuring they have access to important information as it happens.

Easy access to important information

Employee engagement technology reduces complexity and overhead for your teams by simplifying password management with single sign on to your tools. By centralizing important information, documents and updates on one platform, employees can easily access what they need without having to navigate multiple systems or chase down colleagues, resulting in a better overall employee experience.

Easy implementation & adoption 

A key role of the right technology in team communication and engagement is simple implementation and adoption. Look for a solution that’s easy to set up and navigate, with support available when you need it. This helps make the transition smoother, leading to faster adoption and better results from your tech investment.

It can also be useful to choose a technology that feels familiar to employees in order to drive adoption of your chosen tool. By providing a user-friendly, familiar experience, such as a mobile app, deskless workers are more likely to engage and adopt the technology in their day-to-day work.

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Develop business value away from BAU IT

One core role of employee communication tech is to help your business leaders focus on driving real change and value, rather than being bogged down by day-to-day IT management. Look for a solution that is scalable and customizable, allowing you to easily adapt your communication strategy as your business grows and changes.

By developing business value away from business-as-usual (BAU) IT and into an employee communication and engagement platform fit for your frontline, you’re investing in your deskless workforce, and ultimately, your organization.

How to measure the impact of communication technology on your workforce

C-suite leaders are starting to catch on to the potential benefits employee communications technologies, tools and apps can have on their workforce. In fact, leadership trends show increased HR support of supervisors and managers with innovative processes and technology. But how can those leaders measure the success of these digital initiatives?

As part of the C-Suite, the CIO will want to see ROI on any investment made in employee communication technology. In fact, data from CIO found that 81 percent of IT leaders agree that CIOs are under extreme pressure to defend their technology investments and prove ROI.

The best way to measure and prove this is through collecting and analyzing engagement data before and after implementing the technology.

This can be done through surveys, pulse check-ins, or feedback from leaders and managers on team performance. Additionally, you should consider investing in a technology that provides real-time employee engagement analytics, like our Frontline Intelligence feature, to get live insights into how your deskless teams are utilizing the tool.

This key data can help inform and improve your internal communication strategy, ultimately leading to better, and more tangible, ROI.

It’s also important to consider other measures of success, such as improved team profitability, communication and collaboration, boosted employee engagement and satisfaction rates, increased productivity, and higher retention rates for deskless employees. These all contribute to the overall impact of employee communication technology on your workforce.

Final thoughts

At Blink, our employee communication and engagement software offers a mobile-first, intuitive solution for your deskless workforce. We support real-time communication, easy access to important information, and simple implementation and adoption – all key roles of technology in team communication and employee engagement.

Our employee app is made for the frontline, to support the needs of your deskless team and drive business value in the process. 

Interested in learning more? Request a demo today to see how Blink can drive value for your deskless organization.

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Change is the only constant? It’s a phrase we hear a lot these days. But it’s definitely true of business. And it’s also true of internal communications.

As new generations enter the workforce, as technology advances, and as employee expectations shift, internal communication trends are liable to change.

Keeping up with those trends is essential if you want to maintain an engaged and productive workforce. Because internal communications is how you keep employees in the loop, connect them to company culture, and inspire them to go all in for your organization.  

So, as we approach the halfway point of 2025, we thought it a good time to recap the internal comms trends we’ve seen developing over recent months.

The latest internal communication trends

The five internal comms trends we’ll be looking at include:

1. Ask questions
2. Focus on employee-generated content (everyone is an internal communicator)
3. Prioritize mobile-first communication
4. More visual, conversational, and authentic content
5. Focus on employee wellbeing and mental health

Let’s take a look at these in more detail.

1. Ask questions

Employees want more than company updates — they want a voice within their organization. And while companies have traditionally focused on delivering top-down messages, there’s now increasing focus on two-way communication and interaction. 

Whether it’s regular pulse surveys, leader Q&As, listening tours, or a good old-fashioned suggestion box, more and more organizations are seeing the value of regularly checking in with their workforce.

They’re giving employees the opportunity to be heard. Asking them questions and seeking their feedback on everything from the employee experience, workplace changes, ideas for innovation, and even the quality of internal comms itself.

It’s certainly a rising priority, with some organizations, including financial tech company Intuit, even employing a dedicated Head of Employee Listening. 

So how do you make a success of employee voice initiatives? Here are a few ideas:

• Start by asking the right survey questions. Align questions with your KPIs. Base questions around areas that you’re prepared to take action on. Word your questions neutrally and don’t overwhelm employees with too many survey questions.
  
  
• Create a culture of psychological safety. You’re unlikely to get valuable feedback if employees don’t feel comfortable sharing their honest opinions. So train your managers in active listening and empathy. Champion open communication across your whole organization. And consider giving employees the option to give feedback anonymously.
  
  
• Close the feedback loop. Only 58% of organizations take action to improve after receiving employee feedback. This leads to a loss of faith in the feedback process. So close that loop. Thank employees for their input, tell them about your findings, and clarify what you plan to do next.
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• Seek feedback regularly. The yearly employee engagement survey doesn’t cut it in a rapidly changing workplace. You’re more likely to miss vital insights relating to the employee experience and retention. Quarterly surveys, supplemented with short pulse surveys and increased leadership visibility can give you a consistent and cohesive view of what is happening with your workforce.

2. Focus on employee-generated content (everyone is an internal communicator)

Next on our list of internal communication trends? It’s EGC — or employee generated content. 

Traditionally, creating internal communications content has fallen to marketing and communications teams. And while there's certainly still a place for that, internal communications professionals are increasingly taking on the role of curator. They’re enlisting the help of employees in the content creation process.

EGC is any content created by employees. It’s a way to share real, human stories from across your organization. And it can fit into any content category — videos, pictures, stories, blogs, a comment on a news feed post.

EGC is useful for a number of reasons:

• It brings employees into the company conversation
• It helps you publish authentic, relatable content
• It creates a sense of community, trust, and belonging
• It improves employee engagement with internal comms

Ultimately, EGC helps to improve company culture, employee satisfaction, and retention, while reducing content production costs.

There’s an added benefit. You can use EGC on your internal communication channels and externally too. Share employee success stories on your website and social media channels and you build your employer brand, which makes talent acquisition that bit easier.

So how do you make EGC part of your internal comms ecosystem? 

Recognition and incentives for contributors encourage more employees to take on the role of content creator. A short EGC playbook tells employees what to include and what to avoid in their content. You can also use internal communication tools with permissions and content moderation features so you can always be sure that EGC aligns with company values.

3. Choosing mobile-first communication

A surefire way to improve comms engagement in 2025? Mobile-first communication tools.

Just 52% of internal communicators are confident they have the right tools for reaching all employees, regardless of their location or work type. 

They’re struggling to provide an equitable comms experience for a dispersed workforce, with the hybrid and frontline experience lagging behind that of desk-based staff.

Another revealing stat. Only 45% of comms pros say their comms tools provide a good user experience for employees.

They’re competing with the engaging, customer-grade experiences employees enjoy on popular messaging apps away from work. Clunky, desktop-only communication tech pales in comparison.

There’s another challenge looming. The number of digital natives within your workforce is growing. By 2030, Gen Z is predicted to make up 30% of the US workforce.

This is a generation that leans toward mobile-first, real-time messaging tools. In fact, Gen Z workers actively dislike emails, with 40% of them saying that email restricts their ability to show their personalities at work.

To provide an internal comms experience that aligns with the needs and expectations of an increasingly dispersed and tech-savvy workforce, many comms teams are enlisting the help of mobile-first employee communication and experience tools, in the form of an employee app.

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An app makes internal comms available to every employee smartphone. It makes it easier for your teams to connect, collaborate, access workplace resources, and stay up-to-date with the latest company news, no matter where they work. And it supports a more engaging comms experience.

4. More visual, conversational, and authentic content

What do TikTok and internal communications have in common? Much more than they did a couple of years ago.

The “TikTokification” of internal comms is in full swing, with communicators taking inspiration from social media’s engaging, multimedia, mobile-first content.

We’re talking short-form videos, an interactive news feed, co-worker communities, and snackable, personalized messages. Employees have the opportunity to respond to content too, sharing, reacting, and commenting in a way that keeps the conversation flowing.

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There’s research to support this shift — and to prove that a social-media-style approach doesn’t just suit the younger members of your workforce. For example, we know that 83% of people, a huge majority, prefer watching videos over reading or listening to instructional content.

Interactive, multimedia messages are more engaging. Which means workers are more likely to tune into your employee communication channels and act upon your content. This approach can also revolutionize frontline comms, helping you reach workers who don’t always have the time to read a long email or policy document. 

The good news? You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to incorporate this internal communication trend into your way of working. Smartphones and a comms tool with modern social features are all you need to create Insta-worthy internal communications.

5. Focus on employee wellbeing and mental health

Just last year, “wellbeing and mental health” was the 9^th most communicated-about topic on internal communication channels. This year, it’s risen to 5^th.

This, unfortunately, is a fair reflection of how the workforce is feeling. 53% of workers in the UK say that the demands of their jobs cause them excessive stress. In the US, 76% of workers report at least one symptom of a mental health condition — burnout, depression, or anxiety.

Despite this epidemic, just 55% of workers say that their organization genuinely prioritizes wellbeing. This is despite 81% saying that they look for mental health support when choosing where to work. 

The takeaway? We need to do better.

Caring, empathetic communication helps keep your employees healthy, happy, and motivated. And you get the best results when your words reflect concrete action on employee mental health across your organization.

At Hilton Hotels, an employer renowned for its mental health and wellbeing support, they’ve made it easier, cheaper, and faster for employees to access their employee assistance program (EAP) and rolled out an education curriculum on topics like resilience, stress management, and grief.

At Safeguard Global, they discovered that workers were stressed and struggling with high winter heating bills. So the company stepped in and helped out with a monthly stipend, relieving their workforce of a major worry. 

Clear communication about the mental health and wellbeing support you have on offer is vital. And internal comms can help in other ways, too. Because a positive workplace culture (which comms can help build) has a positive impact on employee wellbeing. 

When your company culture incorporates appreciation, a sense of purpose, and opportunities for growth, the odds of employees experiencing mental health challenges decrease by up to 87%.

Ensure that everyone — including hard-to-reach hybrid, WFH, and frontline employees — experiences the same access to company culture and wellbeing support, and you experience these benefits across the board.

Put these internal communication trends into practice for a happier, healthier workforce 

In 2025, we’ve moved way beyond the desktop-based intranets and top-down, text-based comms of old.

Today, employees want a voice. They want authentic, mobile-first, social-media-style communications that they can engage with on the go. And they want employers to tackle the topics that matter most, with mental health and wellbeing top of the agenda.

Organizations that embrace these internal comms trends stand to improve company culture and the employee experience. They can count on better engagement with company messages and better staff retention.

The C-suite has an important part to play. Internal communicators who have collaborative relationships with leaders are more likely to meet or exceed their success indicators. 

Work together with your comms team and you can implement the communication tools, strategies, and cultural change you need to take your communications to the next level.

Blink. And upgrade internal comms with a modern, mobile-first employee app. 

42% of companies have increased their investment in cloud and unified communications.

And this trend has only grown stronger during the Covid pandemic. The virus has given unified communications a long-overdue seat at the table. 

It’s not hard to understand why. As companies grow larger and employees become more remote, keeping track of all your communication channels and devices is a challenge. And unified communications, especially as a service (UCaaS), solves this problem.  

Still, many companies are on the fence, with some not even familiar with this new approach. Instead of choosing the benefits of unified communications, they’re busy prioritizing other organizational needs. Big mistake! 

In this post, we’ll explore the top reasons why your company should invest in unified communications. Whether you want to learn more for yourself or get buy-in from other leaders in your company, the following list is exactly what you need.

Let’s dig in. 

What is Unified Communications?

Ensuring that workers can easily communicate, collaborate on projects, and share documents are critical to your business. 

Yet in most organizations, voicemail, email, fax, video calls, and live chats have all been on different systems so far. And managing these disparate platforms has been time-consuming and messy.

Even if it wasn’t, the solution may not have led to any improvement in collaboration and productivity. In fact, 69% of employees waste more than 5 hours each week switching between different communications devices and apps.

Enter Unified Communications. It means connecting instant messaging, video conferencing, data sharing, email, and more in a way that you can fetch data from one into the other. 

A solution based on unified communication integrates all your communication devices and apps in one central place. And when this solution is offered as a cloud-based service, it is known as UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service).

So instead of managing and switching between different places, employees need access to only one platform, streamlining communication and collaboration for everyone involved.  

Benefits of Unified Communications 

The definition alone should be enough to have you nodding in support of unified communications. Still, the following points will shed more light on why Unified Communications is important. 

1. Watertight IT

When you look at how your company communicates, you may discover a number of solutions, with each implementation needing dedicated support and vendor management. 

That means your IT department spends a lot of time troubleshooting, installing, updating, and providing support for these solutions. And every minute of time has a cost. 

Wouldn’t this time be better spent on innovating proactive strategies that grow your business and meet corporate goals?

A unified communications solution helps free up IT resources by consolidating all communication in one place. So there’s only one system to manage and troubleshoot instead of several.  

2. Reduced business costs 

Maintaining multiple units of hardware and software licenses adds to your cost and overhead. In fact, you don’t just pay for the different platforms, but also for a person or team to supervise the whole system. 

And don’t get us started on the time and budget you’ll need to allocate to train workers on how to use all the platforms. That’s a big waste of money — money that could have been used to grow the organization.  

In contrast, with a unified communications solution, you pay only for a single platform. So your overall cost is considerably low. 

3. Streamlined operations 

Unifying communications in one place makes it easy for employees to do their jobs regardless of where they are located while saving time on routine tasks. For example, with a UCaaS solution, you can:

• Route all incoming calls to a dedicated team member, app, or device
• Redirect fax or voicemail to an email inbox as a PDF or audio file

You can set up many other automations and workflows to make remote work easy for your workers. And you can do all this without any special support from the IT department. This makes it easy to derive call center analytics on peak load, minimum load, first call resolution rates, etc. which will help with streamlining operations further

4. Improved collaboration and productivity

A survey has shown that companies adopting UC, on average, see a 52% improvement in workplace productivity and a 25% boost in operating profit.

Wondering how? Let’s take an example. Imagine you have a team spread out in five countries, with members trying to share and collaborate on crucial documents. And picture how chaotic it can be. 

Now give the team members the ability to present via a virtual call and share documents through instant messaging after the call — all from the same system.

When your team knows exactly what communication platform to use for everything, they won’t spend countless hours searching emails and other apps. 

The verdict is clear. With unified communications, employees can communicate on both internal and external communication channels quickly and reliably. 

When your different systems can talk to each other, collaboration is a breeze, and you get things done fast.  

5. Better customer service 

Consumers of today are highly impatient. They expect quick and efficient support and services. If they don't get a response to their problem or question fast, they won’t think twice about switching to one of your competitors. 

In fact, 58% of customers will end their relationship with a brand that gives them mediocre customer service.  

So if you want to maintain an exceptional level of customer support, two things are essential:

• Your employees should have a fast way to communicate with customers
• Your employees should find it easy to share information among themselves 

But both these goals are almost impossible to achieve if you have different, standalone communication services scattered all over the place. With such an approach, you also run the risk of crucial messages slipping through the cracks.

A unified communication solution goes a long way in offering a stable and predictable experience to customers, increasing their satisfaction and loyalty to the brand. 

6. Improved security

Cybercrime costs businesses $2.9 million per minute, says research by RiskIQ. And the more disparity in your communication systems, the more vulnerable your organization will be. 

So another advantage of UCaaS is better security. A unified communications solution can ensure that all your calls and communications are encrypted and less susceptible to risk.  

7. Simplified remote work

Communication becomes even more important when your workforce is dispersed in several locations. And a unified communications system ensures that all the workers have proper access to your company’s network. 

This way, employees can answer emails, attend calls, and share files while on the move. This level of connectivity is what makes a UCaaS solution a must-have.

Final thoughts: 7 Unified Communications benefits

Over the last few years, there has been a massive shift in how companies operate and how employees get things done. For many businesses, the days of large office buildings with the majority of your employees are long gone. Instead, companies today have a diverse workforce across several locations.

This makes unified communications essential for modern businesses. From improving productivity to facilitating remote work, and from delighting customers to reducing security breaches, unified communication has the benefits that make it a necessity for today’s workplace.   

Switching to a UCaaS may seem like a big investment, but it can make a big difference in your organization’s future. Even so, if your boss and other senior managers are on the fence, show them this list! 

Invest in unified communications at the right time, and your business will reap the benefits for years to come. Request a free Blink demo today.

What makes him awesome?

Mike is always willing to help out where needed. He has run the loader on days when we are very busy and does a great job of training new employees in processes and the culture here at Holcim.

He recently received a new 12-yard mixer that he works diligently to keep as clean as possible throughout the week — so much so that his truck was recently used at an NRMCA event!

His great attitude and friendly demeanor makes him a joy to work with every day and he embodies what Holcim is all about.

How has Blink helped in his role?

Blink has helped Michael get new employees set up with the things that are most important to them and helped show the culture that makes Holcim great.

What does he want to do next?

Mike would love to become a Master Driver Trainer in the near future, so he can continue teaching new employees in the future.

Nominated by: Joseph Bockenfeld, Plant Manager Sandcreek RMX

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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

Imagine checking the weather forecast once a year and dressing for those conditions all year round.

Sure, you’re spot on for a day or two. But the rest of the year? Without reliable intel, you have to roll with whatever rain, snow, or sunshine comes your way — and scramble to adapt each time a new storm rolls in.  

That’s what happens when you rely on the annual employee engagement survey.

By seeking employee feedback so rarely, you miss out on key insights. Workplace issues evolve and — if you’re unlucky — explode, before they even appear on your radar.

And in all the months between survey seasons, employee voices go unheard and job satisfaction suffers. Staff shift their priorities, come up with fresh ideas, hit new points of friction, and maybe even switch jobs.

If you’re only listening to employees once a year, you’re making decisions in a downpour without an umbrella. Here’s how to flip the script and respond to employee input in real time.

Why annual employee surveys fall short

The annual employee survey comes with a couple of big drawbacks:

• It’s too slow. Think about the last big workplace problem you had to deal with. Did it arrive neatly in time for your annual survey? Probably not. By the time your official feedback rolls in, small problems have snowballed and good employees have jumped ship. Annual surveys may be great for spotting long-term trends — but they don’t help you catch and fix problems in the moment.

• Survey fatigue is real. Employees are busy. And the annual employee engagement survey tends to be long — you’ve got a lot of questions to ask because you’ve been saving them up for the past 11 months. Faced with competing priorities, employees are liable to skip the survey entirely — which means low completion rates and an even fuzzier picture of employee sentiment.

• It feels like a box-ticking exercise. This is another primary reason for low survey completion rates. If your annual survey is overly formal, impersonal, or doesn’t leave space for real, detailed feedback, employees see it for what it is: something the organization has to do, not something it genuinely cares about. If workers don’t believe you’ll act on their answers, they’re a lot less likely to fill out the form.

• The data is one-dimensional. Annual surveys are blunt instruments. They tend to value numbers over nuance. They can tell you what’s wrong — but they can’t always tell you why. And without the why, it’s hard to plan a meaningful plan of action. You end up with a spreadsheet full of stats but no clear path toward a better employee experience.

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The case for real-time employee listening

In 2025, the world of work is changing — fast. So you can’t conduct an employee engagement survey once a year and call it a done deal. This is where real-time employee listening can help.

Real-time feedback mechanisms — in the form of pulse surveys, quick-fire polls, and team chats — allow you to collect up-to-the-minute employee insights. So you can spot and respond to issues early.

Regularly seeking employee feedback also builds trust. It shows a commitment to hearing employee voices — and to improving the employee experience. This improves survey engagement going forward.

Let’s look at an example.

Employee listening in action at Marlowe Fire & Security Group

Marlowe Fire & Security Group, a leading provider of fire safety and security solutions and a company with a large frontline workforce, knew they had challenges with employee communications, recognition, and company culture.

But traditional surveys weren’t helping them uncover root causes and solutions. Participation was low, insights were vague, and managers didn’t know how to take action.  

So Marlowe turned to Blink. Using Blink’s employee surveys, the company was able to customize questions by team and make them accessible on every employee smartphone.

Automated nudges boosted participation and personalized reports went straight to all 150+ line managers — putting actionable insight directly in the hands of those who could act.

Because surveys were easy and effective, Marlowe could run more of them, turning a once-a-year event into an ongoing employee listening campaign. The results speak for themselves: 92.5% survey participation and plenty of new insights uncovered.

Marlowe found that a breakdown in internal communication at line manager level — something their old surveys had never revealed — was a major problem. With this understanding, Marlowe has been able to tackle long-standing issues to create a more connected workplace culture revolving around effective communication.

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How to gather real-time employee feedback

Making employee feedback a natural and regular part of the employee experience doesn’t have to be complicated. Take a look at these tips to get started.

Use pulse surveys and in-app polls

The annual survey can feel overwhelming for employees. This leads to survey fatigue and low completion rates. You can make it quick and easy for employees to give feedback with the help of pulse surveys and company news feed polls. In just a couple of clicks, employees can share their real-time opinions on everything from a new initiative to leadership communication to the manageability of their current workload.  

Create always-on feedback channels

Not all feedback fits neatly into a survey box. That’s why always-on channels like team chats, open forums, or anonymous suggestion boxes are so powerful. They give employees the opportunity to share what’s on their mind in the moment — and provide space for detailed comments. Because they give employees the freedom to talk about anything and everything, open channels like these can uncover issues you didn’t even know existed.

Use one-on-one meetings

Direct, personal conversations — either in person or via private chat — give managers the chance to hear employee feedback first-hand. Staff get the chance to share their latest challenges, frustrations, and ideas. Managers can ask follow-up questions to dig deeper and clarify issues. Handled empathetically, these meetings also build trust and strengthen open communication, making it more likely that staff will come forward with their concerns and suggestions in future.

Keep iterating

When you’re gathering employee feedback regularly, you don’t just get insight into the employee experience. You learn about your feedback process too. You get to see what works and what doesn’t. Perhaps some survey questions yield more honest and revealing answers. Maybe some corporate communication channels are better than others at boosting response rates. Use this data to refine your feedback strategy, finding new ways to encourage and act upon employee input.  

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Turning listening into action (in 3 simple steps)

You’ve collected real-time feedback. Now it’s time to act. To sustain employee survey buy-in and make meaningful changes to the workplace, you need to turn insights into tangible change.

Step #1: Analyze your findings

Don’t just skim the surface of feedback data. Dig into the details. Start by separating your data by a wide range of segments, like team, department, location, role, or tenure — different groups often experience the workplace differently. Look for patterns and recurring themes. Then ask yourself — What is driving this sentiment? — before forming a plan of action.

Step #2: Prioritize quick wins and plan for long-term impact

It’s rare that you can implement changes overnight. But small, visible improvements make a big difference to your workforce. So identify a couple of quick wins to show employees you’re listening — and outline larger projects that will take more time. Early successes encourage more participation and build trust in the feedback process.

Step #3: Close the feedback loop

Tell employees all about it. Openly share what their feedback has revealed. Explain what you plan to do next — the short-term changes and long-term projects, too. Even if you can’t act on every piece of feedback, explain your decisions to build credibility. By closing the feedback loop with thoughtful two-way communication, you show employees that their voices and opinions really matter to your organization.

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Your people are talking — don’t be the last to hear

Annual surveys have their place. But if they’re your only employee listening or bottom-up communication tool, you’re missing out on huge chunks of the company conversation.

People are sharing feedback constantly — in chats, in meetings, in the break room. If you’re not listening in real time, you risk letting small frustrations grow into big problems, and letting great ideas go unheard.

Employee satisfaction, experience, and retention rates soon start to suffer — and major issues may take you by surprise.

So keep your ear to the ground and your finger on the pulse. Use employee listening digital tools to create regular and informal opportunities for employee feedback.

With Blink, you make those listening tools — from pulse surveys to polls to team chat — available on every employee smartphone and a core part of your employee communication strategies. Feedback is easy, engaging, and continuous. So you get the insight you need to act fast, build a better employee experience, and — ultimately — boost business success.

Blink. And find out what employees are saying about your organization.