The (working) parent trap: Supporting parents with internal comms

In theory, everyone loves employee empowerment. Empowered employees are more productive and engaged, more likely to trust senior leadership and more likely to approach situations. What’s not to like? 

Equally, that initial process of letting go can be hard – and that’s nothing to be ashamed about. Employee empowerment is a relatively recent philosophy, and many of us will have progressed our careers with a top-down approach to workplace management. 

With the huge rise in remote and hybrid work, this approach is crumbling. As many workplaces are set to remain remote, and many others are losing employees in droves due to lack of career progression and low pay, it’s not a viable long term strategy. 

Your managers can add huge amounts of value to your business in the projects they oversee and the bonds they build with their teams. Micromanagement is wasting them as a resource.

Staff empowerment involves trading some control over various aspects of your work environment for higher productivity and greater job satisfaction. Here’s how to embrace letting go in return for these tempting performance gains. 

What is employee empowerment? 

Let’s turn to the Society for Human Resource Management for a useful top-level definition of employee empowerment:  

“Employee empowerment is a management philosophy that emphasizes the importance of giving employees the autonomy, resources and support they need to act independently and be held accountable for the decisions they make.” 

“Autonomy, resources and support” encompasses a range of things here, and could include: 

• Offering employees freedom over where they work (e.g. remote or hybrid working arrangements). 
• Offering employees freedom over how they work by building managerial trust and avoiding micromanagement. 
• Providing resources for skills development and career progression
• Structuring your organization in a way that allows employees some say in how it’s run, for example employee voice initiatives and shareholder schemes. 

Employee empowerment, engagement, and satisfaction…what’s the difference?

Employee engagement is the strength of the mental and emotional connection employees feel toward the work they do, their teams and their organization.

Employee satisfaction is a measure of how happy an employee is in their role, and with their place of work in general.  

Employee empowerment is providing the resources and support needed for your employees to act independently. 

If you’re the type for metaphors (don’t blame you, they’re super useful!), consider employee satisfaction and employee empowerment as two key building blocks for employee engagement. 

High employee engagement is the ultimate goal – companies with engaged employees are 21% more profitable than companies that aren’t. Workplace satisfaction and empowering employees with control over how they work are essential contributors to this. 

The benefits of empowerment in the workplace

Your workforce is more flexible

Empowered workforces can work across locations and time zones, innovate more, and find solutions to problems quicker. That’s a real asset across your business – you can create better products, offer a vastly improved CX and build watertight internal processes. 

Your workforce is more productive

Employees who feel trusted are more likely to get more done in the same space of time. This is partly because it’s easier to feel driven when you have autonomy over your work, and partly because micromanagement is a major time drain. Free your colleagues from this over-hierarchical hellscape and they’ll be more willing to go the extra mile. 

Your workforce trusts leadership more

Trust is a two-way street. You’ll find that if employees are trusted to manage their workloads and have a say in how your business is run, they trust senior leadership to make mutually beneficial decisions as a result. 

Research by the Great Place to Work Institute and Fortune suggests that trust between managers and employees is the main factor in the world’s best workplaces. Workplaces with the most mutual trust beat the average annualized returns of the S&P 500 by a factor of three.

How to empower employees in the workplace

Employee empowerment isn’t a bandaid that you can tack onto your existing workplace to make it better. It needs to be woven into the fibers of your company culture. 

Bad news: this takes time and effort. 

Good news: this investment will absolutely pay off in the long term. Creating new management practices, investing in new ways of working, sharing feedback regularly and creating a culture of recognition all help you maximize the value you get from employee empowerment as a business. 

Feedback: give it and receive it

The more feedback you give on performance, the more you empower your employees to work dynamically, creatively and independently. 

The more feedback employees share with you about the workplace, the more your workplace can meet their needs – and the more likely they are to stay. 

Recognition: little and often is key

Did you know that a simple ‘thank you’ just once per month to your employees doubles employee engagement, halves the risk of them leaving and triples the likelihood of them sticking with you in the long term?

By all means celebrate the big milestones, but don’t forget to create a supportive, encouraging atmosphere day to day as well. Self belief is empowering – let your employees know that they’re doing a good job and watch performance improve. 

Career development: make sure employees are working towards something

Career development motivates employees to act independently. Why take the risks that come with autonomy and decision-making responsibilities if there’s no payout? 

In a recent survey 63% of workers cited lack of career opportunities as a reason why they left their position – the joint most popular response alongside ‘poor pay’. To create an empowered workforce motivated to stick around for the long-term, take a look at your career progression structure. What could be improved? Or, if you haven’t got any formalized structures in place, how could you design them to support the needs of your workforce? 

Communication: two-way, not one-way

Watching your employees’ every move makes your workforce resentful and erodes trust. Instead of monitoring behavior, start thinking about how you can facilitate meaningful two-way communication between managers and employees. 

As well as the right software – employee apps, instant messengers and project management software are all useful here – take a look at shifting your concerns away from regulating behavior and more towards focusing on results. 

Responsibilities: avoid making things too top heavy

The classic scenario: managers are expected to maintain a huge degree of control over their teams, resulting in time pressures, delays and a lack of feedback for frontline teams. 

By sharing responsibilities across employees and teams, you reduce this pressure drastically and encourage employee autonomy. You also avoid gradual erosion of trust and performance stagnation, as you empower your managers to spend time with their teams and invest time in employee development. 

Barriers to employee empowerment and how to overcome them

Stuck on building a naturally empowering workplace? Check these common barriers to employee empowerment. 

Your remote employees can’t communicate

To empower employees in a remote environment, your communications strategy needs to be stronger than it’s ever been. 

If performance is suffering and deadlines are being missed due to confusion, invest in remote employee communication tools and make sure your managers are checking in at least daily. 

Fear of position loss

If your employees are increasingly autonomous, what’s in store for middle to lower management positions? 

Ease your managers’ concerns about this by communicating new expectations for different roles. If they know that employee empowerment is as much about reinvesting their time in meaningful work as empowering the workforce, they’re significantly more likely to get on board. 

Lack of clear goals

“Be empowered” won’t cut it. To maximize returns on your employee empowerment strategy, you’ll need to be specific about what these goals look like. This could include: 

• Employees handling specific tasks on their own
• Employees contributing regularly to strategic discussions
• Employees shaping their workplace via employee voice initiatives

Employee empowerment in different industries

Not all industries work in the same way. What empowers employees in one industry might be impossible in another. Your healthcare workers might not be able to work remotely, for example, or there may be a particularly rigid professional hierarchy in place that you need to work around.

No matter your sector or organizational structure, there are ways to empower your employees. If flexible working is difficult, or there are real limits on the responsibilities you can share, try focusing on: 

• Employee voice initiatives like surveys and focus groups
• Career progression – if your industry is hierarchical, work with it!
• Recognition – a little ‘thank you’ never goes awry

Employee empowerment resources

There’s no such thing as being “too nerdy” about the wellbeing, productivity and performance of your employees. If you’re up for a bit of further reading, take a look at these resources. 

Empowering employees before, during and after the pandemic (SHRM)

Examples of employee empowerment (Chron)

Source: theinvestorsbook.com

Blink resources – a few more friendly blog posts that might be helpful!

Employee voice in the workplace

Workplace culture: what is it and why is it so important? 

A complete guide to employee recognition programs

Managing remote teams: best practices and tips for virtual leaders

How to create a remote work policy in 2022

Why & how to empower frontline employees

And, don’t forget to check out our Frontline of the Future podcast! Listen here. 

Employee empowerment examples

Need some real-world empowerment inspiration? Take a look at how these three businesses encourage their employees to reach their full potential. 

Timpsons

British service retailer Timpsons is a renowned example of what happens when you trust your employees. 

The business’s ‘upside down management’ philosophy was borne of owner John Timpson’s realization that “the only way to provide truly great customer service is to trust our customer-facing colleagues with the freedom to serve customers the way they know best.”

Timpsons’ frontline team members are encouraged to do whatever they can to provide a brilliant customer experience, including changing prices, rejigging displays and paying up to £500 to settle a complaint – without having to justify themselves to anyone senior. 

John Lewis

If you’re looking for the ultimate employee empowerment strategy, look no further than employee ownership. Your employees become shareholders in your business, and get a share of annual profits and a say in how the business is run. 

It’s definitely a commitment, but UK department store John Lewis makes it work. According to recent figures, 84% of John Lewis retail partners recommend John Lewis as a great place to work and 86% of customers feel valued when they shop with John Lewis outlets. Positioning their workforce as partners rather than employees drives empowerment; the retailer regularly tops ‘best workplace’ polls as a result. 

Google

It’s no surprise that worldwide innovation leader Google expects the best from its employees. To facilitate this, Google invests a lot in building a creative work environment where employees are empowered to develop new skills at every turn. 

Google Cafes encourage employees to build connections across the business, whilst the Google Moderator management tool draws a wider audience into meetings with a range of interactive features. 

Google also allows its engineers to spend 20% of their working week on projects that interest them but show no immediate promise of paying dividends. Employees have the chance to develop new skills and work with their interests, whilst Google keeps ahead of the pack on long-term innovation. 

Employee empowerment: final thoughts

As how we work continues to change, employee empowerment is becoming essential. Your teams need to be flexible, adaptable and engaged if you want to remain competitive – particularly right now, as open vacancies soar and workforces are asked to do more with less. 

Employee empowerment will look different in different workforces. For example, you might not be able to offer flexible working, but you can still allow employees control over their processes and a say in how the workplace is run. Or, you might have strict protocols that need to be followed, but be able to offer some degree of time and location flexibility. 

Whatever staff empowerment means for you, encouraging meaningful communication between managers and employees, setting clear expectations and building a culture of mutual trust is essential to success. 

Blink is an employee app that enables two-way conversations, builds trust and empowers employees as a result. Get your free demo today!

Team chat apps play a pivotal role in organizing, securing, and making workplace communications accessible. 

Blink’s audience often includes remote, frontline, and hybrid teams that rely on dependable messaging to stay aligned.

For small and medium businesses, Blink suggests choosing a team chat app that's easy to use, well-organized, and available on all devices, particularly if the business doesn't have an IT team.

In this Blink guide to the best team chat apps, we review eight leading options for hybrid teams and affordable choices for startups and SMBs. We evaluate each team chat platform based on ease of setup, support levels, and total cost.

If your business is a remote startup, operates a small office, or needs to keep hybrid employees connected, this Blink overview will help you choose a team chat app that fits your needs.

Why team chat apps matter for SMBs and agile teams

Team chat apps play a pivotal role in organizing, securing, and making workplace communications accessible. 

Blink’s audience often includes remote, frontline, and hybrid teams that rely on dependable messaging to stay aligned.

For small and medium businesses, Blink suggests choosing a team chat app that's easy to use, well-organized, and available on all devices, particularly if the business doesn't have an IT team.

In this Blink guide to the best team chat apps, we review eight leading options for hybrid teams and affordable choices for startups and SMBs. We evaluate each team chat platform based on ease of setup, support levels, and total cost.

If your business is a remote startup, operates a small office, or needs to keep hybrid employees connected, this Blink overview will help you choose a team chat app that fits your needs.

Highlights 

• The best team chat apps organize, secure, and make workplace communications accessible in frontline, remote, hybrid, and work environments.
• Top chat apps for 2025 include Blink, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zulip, Discord, WhatsApp, Google Chat, and Element, each designed for different business needs, from affordable team chat apps for startups and SMBs to work chat platforms that are easy to set up without IT support. 
• Key team chat app features to consider include instant text or group messaging, voice and video calls, file sharing/storage, chat history and search, workflow automation, analytics, and insights, language and accessibility support, and security. 
• To find the best team chat apps for a small business and easy team chat apps for hybrid teams without IT support, test a free trial period, and assess how it improves your team’s connectivity and productivity. 

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What is a team chat app? 

A team chat app is a digital platform that enables quick, real-time communication between employees across locations and departments. These apps are essential for maintaining coordination, sharing updates, and ensuring accountability, especially in remote, hybrid, and frontline work environments.

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Blink, a leading employee communication platform, defines team chat apps as:

“Tools that combine instant messaging, collaboration, and productivity features into a single accessible workspace. Allowing teams to connect without the delays of email or the complexity of multiple disconnected systems.”

Choosing the right team chat app for your business depends on how your team communicates, your company size, the tools you already use, and the level of IT support available.

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For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), Blink offers an all-in-one solution that simplifies communication, integrates with existing workflows, and keeps teams connected wherever they work.

How to choose the best team chat app

Most team chat apps focus on real-time communication, collaboration, and organization, along with a host of extras, some you'll need, others you won't.  

But some features are crucial for every business, such as: 

1. Real-time messaging

• One-to-one and group chats so team members can communicate 
• Typing indicators, read receipts, and message reactions to increase engagement
• Threaded and channel conversations for organized discussions

2. File sharing and storage

• Uploading and sharing documents, images, videos, or links in chat is essential 
• Preview and version control for shared files and tracking updates

3. Channels and topics

• Public channels for open chat and private channels for specific teams or projects
• Topic-or hashtag-based organization for easy navigation and search

4. Voice and video calls

• One-click voice or video calls for meetings or quick check-ins
• Screen sharing and virtual whiteboards

5. Notifications and mentions

• Customizable alerts for separating communications
• @Mentions and tagging to alert people and groups

6. Integrations

• Integration with tools like Google Drive, Trello, Asana, Slack, Zoom, and GitHub
• Automation to handle repetitive tasks like reminders and updates

7. Search and history

• Full-text search for files, messages, and channels
• Search filters for searching by user, date, or keyword

8. User management 

• Admin roles, moderation controls, and security access levels for protecting sensitive data
• Team invite, guest access, and user status alerts (online/offline/away)

9. Cross-platform availability

• Desktop, web, and mobile apps to ensure accessibility everywhere
• Synchronization across devices so users can seamlessly continue conversations.left off

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The 8 best team chat apps

1. Blink
2. Slack 
3. Microsoft Teams
4. Zulip 
5. Discord
6. WhatsApp 
7. Google Chat 
8. Element 

Blink

Startups and SMBs often need affordable team chat apps that are easy to set up without IT support.

Blink, an off-the-shelf, all-in-one solution, is designed with simplicity in mind, making it a perfect fit for mobile-first or frontline teams. It's customizable to fit your team perfectly, ensuring a seamless and intuitive experience. 

Described as an "employee experience platform" that combines chat, news feeds, and workplace tools into one app. Blink enables direct and group messaging, file sharing, and voice or video calls, without a complex setup. 

Digital Project Manager described Blink`s interface as intuitive:

• Blink’s interface is intuitive and built for teams that “aren’t particularly tech-savvy.” Perfect for easy team chat apps for hybrid teams without IT support

Best suited for:

• Startups and SMBs that want an affordable chat tool that does more than messaging, like polls, shift management, and document sharing
• Small businesses seeking a lightweight internal hub (chat + company news) instead of an entire enterprise stack
• Frontline and distributed teams that need quick, mobile-friendly communication

Blink pros:

• It offers more than chat, with features like absence tracking and polls, making it a complete communication platform rather than just a chat app
• Setup is minimal and user-friendly; you can be up and running within hours
• Blink supports images, GIFs, videos, PDFs, and spreadsheets within chat
• A value-for-money team chat app for startups and SMBs

Blink cons:

• Pricing and scalability details aren't as transparent as some other platforms
• It doesn't support advanced chat features (such as bots or extensive APIs)
• Fewer integration and automation options compared to Slack or Teams

Blink pricing: Blink's Business plan starts at $4.50 per user/month for up to 1,000 users.

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Slack

Described as "where work happens," Slack is the most used app in the workplace (Source: Mio). It combines chat, channels, integrations, and file sharing into one streamlined workspace.

Slack serves a wide range of businesses, from small startups to global organizations, and offers thousands of third-party integrations, smooth onboarding, and real-time communication features.

Best suited for:

• Hybrid and remote teams that need synchronous and asynchronous collaboration
• Startups and SMBs that want a flexible, easy-to-adopt chat platform
• Teams that rely on integrations and automation

Slack pros:

• The free tier provides what many startups need, keeping costs low during those expensive first few years
• According to Social Intents, Slack works best for small, flexible teams because it prioritizes chat
• Slack integrates with over 2,600 apps, including Google Drive, Notion, Asana, and Zoom

Slack cons:

• Without guidance, channels can become noisy and unstructured, something Wired notes as a common growing pain. 
• Pricing can surge when you add users or need advanced features such as security and compliance controls
• Teams already using Microsoft 365 may find Slack less seamless in comparison

Slack pricing: Free tier available. The Pro plan is $7.25 per user/month (billed annually).

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Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams gives you file sharing, video meetings, chat, and collaboration under one roof, fully integrated with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. 

Microsoft built Teams for hybrid work, combining chat and productivity tools into a single, secure space.

Best suited for:

• Teams that need chat, meetings, and document collaboration in one platform
• Businesses with compliance or governance requirements
• Organizations already using Microsoft 365 or Office
• Small businesses that want scalability built in

Microsoft Teams pros:

• Microsoft positions Teams to "empower employees to meet, chat, call, and collaborate from anywhere" 
• Sharing files and working together on documents is easy because it works well with OneDrive and SharePoint
• Microsoft`s Teams Essentials plan was designed for small businesses

Microsoft Teams cons:

• Setup is more complex than other chat tools, especially if you're not already in the Microsoft ecosystem
• If you're not a Microsoft user, licensing and configuration can be frustrating 
• For some startups, the complete feature set might be overkill

Microsoft Teams pricing: The Essentials plan is $4 per user/month (annual). Microsoft 365 Business Basic is $6 per user/month (annual). Microsoft 365 Business Standard is $12.50 per user/month (annual).

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Zulip

Zulip takes a different approach to chat by blending the immediacy of real-time messaging with the organization of threaded conversations.

By grouping messages into streams and topics instead of endless chat scrolls (🥱), Zulip makes it easier to catch up without losing context.

Best suited for:

• Businesses seeking an open-source or self-hosted solution
• Organizations that rely on asynchronous communication
• Teams with multiple ongoing discussions

Zulip pros:

• According to Wikipedia, Zulip's threading system reduces noise and makes conversations easier to navigate 
• Like Slack, this interface offers integrations and notifications, but in a more organized way
• It's open source, giving you complete control over hosting, data, and customization

Zulip cons:

• Zulip protects your data while it's being sent and stored, but the messages themselves aren't fully end-to-end encrypted (only push notifications are)
• Fewer plugins and integration options in comparison to heavier commercial apps
• Reports are that the UI can feel less intuitive for non-technical users
• For simple chat needs, the format is pretty complex

Zulip pricing: Open-source self-hosted version remains free. The Cloud plan is $6.67 per user/month (annual) or $8 monthly. 

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Discord

Created for gaming, Discord has evolved into a powerful communication tool for creative and hybrid business teams by combining text channels, voice chat, video calls, and community-style engagement on a single platform.

Best suited for:

• Budget-conscious organizations that need robust features at low or no cost
• Startups and creative teams that love informal, real-time collaboration
• An easy team chat app for hybrid teams without IT support
• Hybrid teams that frequently use voice and video
• Team chat apps for small businesses

Discord pros:

• Zapier said its flexibility and community-style setup make it appealing for small, fast-moving teams
• Discord offers always-on voice channels, thread-based chat, and strong media sharing
• Its free tier is generous and can handle most small business communication needs

Discord cons:

• Employee engagement platform, HubEngage said, "Discord lacks the enterprise-grade governance and compliance features in tools like Teams or Slack"
• Productivity tool integrations are improving, but they're not as good as those in popular work chat apps
• The platform's laid-back vibe and game-like design might not suit every workplace

Discord pricing: Nitro Basic costs $2.99/month. Full Nitro costs $9.99/month (US).

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WhatsApp

Besides the 2 billion WhatsApp users, many small businesses also use WhatsApp Business for staff chats, GPS location, file sharing, and quick customer interactions. 

Best suited for:

• Businesses that need to combine internal chat with customer communication
• Small teams or micro-businesses with minimal onboarding needs
• Teams that rely on mobile messaging for quick coordination

WhatsApp pros:

• WhatsApp Business offers quick replies, automated greetings, and product catalogs
• Setup is pretty easy: verify your phone number, and start messaging! 🥳
• Most of us know the interface, so adoption's a breeze

WhatsApp cons:

• AI-powered customer service provider, Cuedesk, advises that using WhatsApp for internal business chat could lead to problems with data control
• The app doesn't suit large-scale internal communication
• It lacks channels, user roles, and admin controls

WhatsApp pricing: The Business App is Free. The Business Platform (API) uses a per-message pricing model.

Google Chat

Google Chat is a perfect match for Google Workspace users, as it integrates with Gmail, Drive, and Docs, making it easy for Google users to chat and collaborate.

Best suited for:

• Small businesses that need minimal IT setup or training
• Teams already using Google Workspace

Google Chat pros:

• Google says Chat is a secure, integrated way to “collaborate in the flow of work”
• You can organize topics, assign tasks, and share files in one place
• Easy setup for businesses already using Gmail and Drive

Google Chat cons:

• Fewer features than Slack or Teams in terms of integrations and automation
• Anyone outside the Google ecosystem may find limited value in using it

Google Chat pricing: Business Starter is $7/user/month (annual), Business Standard is $14/user/month (annual), Business Plus is $22/user/month (annual)

Element

Element built its open-source, enterprise-grade chat platform on the Matrix protocol.

It's secure, private, and supports self-hosting, making it unique among popular chat apps.

Element suits:

• Businesses with the technical capability to manage setup and maintenance
• Teams that require secure, end-to-end encrypted communication
• Organizations that prioritize data control and self-hosting

Element pros:

• Element's system is decentralized and shared, so no single server stores your data
• You can self-host, use the cloud, or integrate Element into existing infrastructure
• It's both mobile-friendly and compliant with strict security standards
• Offers full end-to-end encryption (E2EE)

Element cons:

• Self-hosting or advanced deployment may be too complex for teams without IT resources
• For quick, non-technical adoption, it's less plug-and-play than tools like Blink or WhatsApp
• The integration ecosystem is smaller than mainstream options

Element pricing: $5–$10 per user/month, depending on the hosting plan.

Quick recap of our best team chat apps 

• Blink and WhatsApp are budget-friendly team chat apps for startups and SMBs with mobile-first teams that want simplicity and affordability
• Slack offers the best mix of ease, integrations, and scalability for growing SMBs
• Microsoft Teams delivers collaboration for businesses already using Microsoft 365
• Zulip and Element provide teams with security, privacy, and self-hosting options
• Discord shines as a platform for creative, hybrid teams that value flexibility and real-time communication
• Google Chat is ideal for Google Workspace users who prefer work chat platforms that are easy to set up without IT support

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Which team chat app should you choose?

When choosing a team chat app, test a free plan or trial period while assessing your team’s connectivity, sense of community, and productivity.

If you need additional functionality, consider a paid plan, as saving a few dollars on a free option is rarely worth the loss of your team’s time and efficiency.

The best team chat app connects, focuses, and engages your workforce, avoiding unnecessary technical complexity or friction.

Blink meets 95% of workforces where they are by providing fast, innovative solutions to modern-day communication requirements. 

Ready to collaborate on a whole new level? 

Blink. And connect with your team today.

Employee engagement is the extent to which employees feel motivated and committed to your company. But in today’s organizations — especially in those with a frontline presence — employee engagement is too often overlooked.

According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace for 2024, just 23% of people are engaged at work. And organizations with low levels of employee engagement are more likely to experience the following:

• High employee turnover
• Reduced productivity
• Poor team performance
• Poor customer experience

For frontline leaders, engagement is a particular challenge. It can be hard to even reach, let alone engage, employees who spend their days traveling, out in the field, or working across multiple sites. 

So what can a company do to motivate and inspire its workforce? As we’ll see in a moment, improving employee engagement requires a holistic approach — one that encompasses all areas of the employee experience.

Here, we look at employee engagement strategy — and the employee engagement best practices — that every company should adopt. 

Employee engagement: understanding the challenge

Employee disengagement is a widespread issue in both desk-based and frontline businesses. Employee engagement scores are low because of:

• Poor internal communication. A lack of transparency and communication within a business leaves employees feeling disconnected from their teams and leaders. Internal communication suffers when leaders and managers are overworked, when internal comms are not made a priority, and when the right communication tools aren’t in place.
  
• Inadequate tech. Technology plays a significant role in employee engagement. You can use it to keep employees engaged, by giving them access to the tools and connection opportunities they need to succeed in their roles. You can also use it to measure employee engagement. A lack of adequate technology tends to be a bigger problem in frontline businesses because most tools are designed around desk-based teams.
  
• Leaders not leading by example. Employee engagement is the outcome of a positive employee experience. And positive employee experience is the responsibility of every leader and manager in your organization. 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager. So team leaders need training and support to understand their role in boosting engagement. ‍
• Poor work-life balance. Stress is a huge issue in many industries. According to O.C. Tanner research, nearly a third of employees are living in survival mode. They’re on the verge of burnout with many of their basic needs unmet. When employees aren’t happy and healthy, they’re unlikely to be engaged in their work.

Employee engagement challenges in frontline organizations

Any business looking to get the most from its workforce has to stay up-to-date with employee engagement best practices. But for leaders in frontline organizations, the stakes are particularly high.

Frontline teams already experience a high rate of employee turnover. It’s fair to say that frontline employees are dissatisfied with their employee experience… and for several different reasons.

McKinsey’s EX Factor framework breaks this employee experience down into nine elements across three categories: social experience, work experience, and organization experience.

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• Organization experience. Technology is arguably the biggest challenge to resolve in the frontline organization experience. Frontline workers waste significant amounts of time jumping from one not-fit-for-purpose platform to another, and logging in and out of multiple systems in a single shift. It’s no surprise that 52% of frontline workers say they’d leave their jobs because of the poor quality tech tools provided.
• Social experience. Frontline workers don’t spend much time at HQ, if any. And the nature of their work means they spend their days in different locations, often working in isolation. This makes it hard to maintain a sense of community and engagement, and it risks frontline employees feeling on the margins of your organization, particularly in comparison to their desk-based peers.
  
• Work experience. The frontline work experience can be less flexible and rewarding compared to desk-based employees. Few frontline employees are given development opportunities (despite wanting them) and many fail to get the recognition they deserve. On a more practical level, basic tasks like swapping shifts are inefficient at best — and impossible at worst.
  
  

Employee disengagement can have serious consequences in frontline sectors. It can lead to health and safety risks, poor customer care, and compliance issues, as well as employee dissatisfaction and churn.

So how can frontline businesses turn it around? Let’s dive into the employee engagement best practices that will help you improve the employee experience at your organization.

6 best practices for employee engagement in 2025

Employee engagement is a priority in high-performing businesses. These employee engagement best practices are ingrained in company culture and operations. 

Five of the best practice recommendations we’ve included here are based on the 5 C’s of employee engagement:

• Care — show employees you care about their wellbeing as well as the company’s bottom line
• Connect — build relationships and foster a sense of togetherness
• Coach — guide your employees to be the best they can be
• Contribute — encourage employees to contribute their thoughts and ideas
• Congratulate — celebrate employees for the great work they do

We’ve also added a bonus best practice – analyze and optimize — as this is key to evaluating your performance and improving employee engagement going forward.  

So, read on to discover how to implement the 5 C’s and adopt these best practices for employee engagement within your organization.

1.    Care: create a supportive environment

When you show genuine care for your employees and their wellbeing, you foster loyalty and trust, and develop a positive work environment. This works wonders for your employee engagement metrics.

44% of employees experience a lot of stress at work. In supportive environments, employers know how to recognize and respond to stress and burnout in frontline workers. But they also do their best to prevent stress and burnout from occurring in the first place.

Supportive employers offer health and wellness programs, mental health support, and flexible work arrangements. They communicate empathetically and show employees that they value their work and input. Employees know who to turn to if they have a problem or need help.

In 2025, the way companies care for their employees is evolving. And digital tools are becoming a more important part of the picture. 

With an employee app like Blink, you can send important communications straight to every worker’s smartphone. You can point them in the direction of health and wellbeing resources — and reinforce company culture with clear and consistent communication.

You also reduce employee stress by improving the digital employee experience.

Today’s employees expect their workplace tech solutions to be of the same quality as the tools they use in their personal lives. Using technology at work should be as simple as sending a direct message or scrolling a news feed for company announcements.

When workplace systems aren’t intuitive and familiar, it can add stress to the working day and cause employees to feel burdened and disengaged.

So by adopting a digital approach, companies can use technology to ensure all workers — including those who don’t sit at a desk all day — feel cared for and supported by the company.

2.    Connect: foster meaningful relationships

Humans are naturally social. Neuroscientists have found that we crave social connection in the same way we crave food when we’re hungry.

The best workplaces satisfy this craving. They support employees to create a network of strong and meaningful workplace relationships.

Connections like these help employees feel like part of the company team. They bring business benefits too. Employees who feel that they belong within an organization are 5.3 times more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work.

Other advantages? You improve team-building and collaboration. And employees are more connected to the wider aims of your organization, which makes it easier for you to get everyone pulling in the same direction.

Types of workplace connection

When adopting employee engagement best practices, you have to consider and facilitate two different types of connections within your workplace.

Employee–employee connection

What stops a worker from moving from one hospital to another? Or from one bus company to another? More often than not, a company’s values, culture, and sense of community play an important role in people choosing to stay — or to leave.

Dispersed workers need regular connection with their co-workers. They should be able to share their knowledge and connect with like-minded co-workers in workplace communities. Leaders need to provide tools that help team members from across the organization feel part of company culture.  

Employee–leader connection

Meaningful relationships are built on two-way communication and they involve people from all levels of an organization. Employees should hear from their leaders and vice versa.

For dispersed teams, achieving open communication across the company hierarchy requires a tailored approach. You need to find tools that allow the conversation to continue, even when a worker is on the road or based over multiple sites.

Tools for employee connection

In today’s modern workplace, reaching frontline, hybrid, and office-based employees is easier when you have the right communication tools.

A modern intranet

The traditional company intranet doesn’t facilitate the type of communication the modern workforce wants and needs. But upgrade to a modern intranet and you move beyond top-down news and one-way conversations.

With a modern intranet, you can develop internal communication channels that support top-down, bottom-up, and peer-to-peer connections.

An employee app

A mobile-first employee app takes intranet features and puts them into the palm of every employee. It provides a user-friendly interface and integrations with lots of other workplace software.  

An app is particularly useful for organizations with a frontline workforce. These employees rarely have access to a desktop device, which means they can’t send and receive important workplace communications.

If you’re still sending paper pay stubs, posting out a paper newsletter, or pinning notices to memo boards, then going mobile could be the best thing you do for employee engagement.

An all-in-one platform

Emails from leadership. WhatsApp messages from co-workers. A noticeboard crowded with posters.  When employees have to look in lots of different places for company communications, things get confusing.

An all-in-one platform provides a range of communication channels, including private chat, a content hub, and a social-media-style news feed. These channels are available on desktop and mobile devices.

Pick a platform like Blink and you also get tools for employee recognition and feedback. You can even integrate the app with your other workplace tools, turning Blink into a digital front door for your organization.

With an all-in-one platform, you give employees the connection they need and streamline the communication process.

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3.    Coach: invest in employee development

According to LinkedIn’s 2024 Workplace Learning Report:

• 7 in 10 people say learning improves their sense of connection to their organization
• 8 in 10 people say learning adds purpose to their work

This is why employee development is another of our employee engagement best practices.

Employee development makes staff more invested in their work and loyal to your organization. And it’s not just for office-based teams. Frontline employees want the chance to learn new skills and earn promotions, too.

70% of frontline workers surveyed by McKinsey said they had applied for career advancement opportunities. But the McKinsey survey also revealed that 65% of frontline employees were unaware or unsure of how to achieve advancement.

To keep employees engaged, companies have to provide equal access to learning and career opportunities, such as training courses or mentorship programs. Again, this may mean using digital tools. 

Employee development case studies

Let’s take a look at two companies that are investing heavily in employee development for their frontline employees.

Amazon

Amazon is keeping a close eye on the future. Through courses and apprenticeships, the company is helping employees to develop technical expertise. New tech skills will benefit both employees and the company over the years to come.

But Amazon isn’t just offering L&D in areas closely linked to business goals. The company recently committed an incredible $1.2 billion to employee L&D. This fund covers all sorts of education.

Frontline employees can use it to pay for college tuition fees. They can use it to fund high school completion and English as a Second Language (ESL) certifications. 

While these courses may not provide direct benefit to Amazon, the employee loyalty and engagement it fosters are well worth the investment.

McDonald’s

Employee L&D is fun and digital at McDonald’s. The company created a cash register training program that looked and felt like a computer game.

Learners had to respond to customer orders under timed conditions. They could use lifelines and win bonuses as they did their best to keep customers happy.

This gamification was successful. A high proportion of employees engaged in the training. McDonald’s reduced the time it took to serve each customer by 7.9 seconds and increased customer spend by an average of £18,000 per restaurant.

4.    Contribute: make employee voices heard

Employees feel a greater sense of belonging and are more motivated to succeed when they’re empowered to contribute their ideas, skills, and expertise.

The company benefits, too. You avoid working in an echo chamber because you get to hear a wide variety of perspectives. You develop leadership skills among your workforce, which can help with succession planning. And you encourage employees to take greater ownership of their work and results.

A frontline business can encourage employee contributions by:

• Providing a dedicated platform for idea sharing. It’s not always easy for frontline workers to share their ideas. Dispersed shift work means they often have little access to office-based decision-makers. But you can use technology to recreate the ‘open door’ experience. With a dedicated employee voice platform, all staff can offer their contributions — and managers can give those valuable contributions the recognition they deserve.
  
  
• Seeking feedback from employees. Surveys are another great way to make employees feel heard. They’re an easy way for you to canvas employee opinion and discover the issues that matter most to your workforce. Regularly request employee feedback on topics like internal communications, employee satisfaction, and company culture to make meaningful improvements in these areas.
  
  
• Acting on employee input. However you receive employee input, be sure to act upon it. Employees only have faith in the process if they feel listened to. So keep employees in the loop. Tell them that you’ve received their contributions. Tell them what plan of action you’ve put in place, giving realistic timescales where possible. And once your plan has produced results, share these with employees, too.

5.    Celebrate: recognize employee achievements

Recognizing and celebrating employee achievements is another of our employee engagement best practices.

Research from Gallup shows that well-recognized employees are 45% less likely to leave their roles within two years — and employees who get valuable feedback are five times as likely to be engaged as those who don’t.

The first thing businesses tend to think of when they hear the word ‘recognition’ is monetary reward. And of course, employees want to be paid fairly for the work that they do. You can use pay raises and financial bonuses to recognize a job well done.

But, in good news for budget-holders, monetary rewards aren’t the only way to recognize employee achievement. McKinsey found that up to 55% of employee engagement is driven by non-monetary recognition. A simple “thank you” goes a surprisingly long way.

Other employee appreciation ideas include fun benefits like a catered lunch, a day of volunteering, or an employee ‘wall of fame’.

To get the most out of non-monetary benefits:

• Get to know employee recognition preferences — and then tailor rewards to teams and individuals wherever possible
• Make it equal — all employees, whether they work in the office or on the frontline, should have equal opportunity for praise and reward
• Encourage peer-to-peer employee recognition — 75% of employees say that giving recognition makes them want to stay at their current organization longer, so encourage co-workers to highlight and celebrate each other

With Blink’s recognition feature, you can shout out employee successes, congratulate someone on a promotion, celebrate team milestones, and even wish your coworkers a happy birthday, all within the company newsfeed.

You can decide who sees your recognition post and have the option to create personalized messages, too.

6.    Analyze and optimize: evaluate employee engagement performance

Once you’ve adopted the 5 C’s and associated employee engagement best practices, it’s time to analyze and optimize the process.

There are various metrics you can track to establish the success of your employee engagement program. These include statistics on employee retention, sick leave, satisfaction, and employee engagement tool usage. You can also gain insight from staff surveys. 

If you’re to make good use of the available data, you have to clarify two things:

1. Your metrics before you made changes to your employee engagement program
2. Your employee engagement goals

Using this information, you can set targets. For example, you may decide that you want to improve your employee retention rate from 60% to 80% within the next quarter. Or that you plan to outshine your competitors by beating the industry average for staff satisfaction within the next year.

By setting goals and regularly analyzing your employee engagement metrics, you learn where you’re making progress. You can also make strategy changes based on insight, rather than anecdotal evidence or gut instinct.

The end result is an employee engagement program that is continually improving, better meeting the needs of your frontline team and your business. 

This is another part of the employee engagement process that Blink can help with. Our app comes with powerful frontline analytics.

You get data on employee engagement, retention, and satisfaction. You can launch in-app surveys to find out how employees are feeling. And you can hone your communication style with insight into your most popular posts and topics.

Employee engagement best practices: key takeaways

extra thought and attention.

Finding ways to connect your team, offer training opportunities, get employee input, and show recognition can be tricky when your teams aren’t spending their days together in the same office environment.

But thinking about the 5 C’s can give you lots of employee engagement ideas. And when you incorporate the 5 C’s into your employee engagement best practice — and also take the time to analyze and optimize employee engagement — you can count on numerous benefits. 

These include:

• Better employee retention
• Improved productivity
• Streamlined operations
• Improved employee and customer satisfaction

Go North West, a transport company in the north of England, used Blink to improve communication between office-based staff and drivers. The app drove employee engagement and moved the company lightyears from the office noticeboard full of old news they’d been using previously.

Take a look at the full Go North West case study here.

Remember when the humble pager was the cutting edge of healthcare tech?

Well, things have moved on… Healthcare systems worldwide are embracing new technology like never before.

This is — in part — due to the challenges facing the healthcare sector. An ageing population with complex healthcare needs. A shortage of healthcare staff. And patients who expect the same ease, convenience, and digital access they enjoy when completing other life admin tasks.

Technology is one of the only ways to do more with less. It’s a way to improve patient care and reduce recruitment challenges. It’s also a way to reduce costs. According to McKinsey, health systems that invest in digital and analytics capabilities now could cut costs by $200 billion to $360 billion.

So, where are things up to in 2025? Today, nearly 90% of health system executives say that digital and AI transformation is a high or top priority for their organization. And many facilities are already seeing benefits from the digitization of healthcare.

Want to join them? Let’s get you up to speed with what the digital transformation of healthcare looks like and how to get your next digital project off the ground.

What is digital transformation for healthcare?

Digital transformation for healthcare means using technology — like AI, cloud computing, and data analytics — to improve patient care and streamline processes.

In your healthcare organization, that might look like any of the following:

• Using telemedicine to see more patients and triage for in-person care
• Using electronic health records (EHR) to share patient information and provide joined-up care across departments
• Using wearables to monitor patients remotely, in real-time — providing “hospital at home” care or supporting patients with chronic conditions
• Using AI technology to complete routine admin tasks
• Using data analytics and AI to spot health trends and make early diagnoses
• Using robotic systems to improve surgical precision
• Using employee apps and intranet platforms to improve communication among healthcare staff  

The benefits of digital transformation for healthcare

Digital transformation can help you create the kind of organization that keeps pace with the pressures facing the healthcare industry in 2025.

Yes, it takes effort — new systems, new ways of working, the odd bump in the road. But the payoff is huge. Here’s what you can expect:

Better patient care

Digitizing processes keeps services consistent, cuts clinical errors, and improves documentation. It also supports healthcare providers to deliver personalized care plans, predict potential health risks, and tailor treatments to each patient. The result? Improved patient safety and better clinical outcomes.

Easy access to key services

Digital transformation for healthcare means patients often get to see a healthcare provider sooner. People who would struggle to make it to an in-person appointment can speak to a physician over a phone or video call. Patients can also view medical records and test results straight from their smartphones. This helps them take a more active role in their healthcare, which means better adherence to treatment plans.

More connected teams

Getting information to busy frontline workers isn’t easy. But with tech tools, you can establish communication channels for essential updates, knowledge sharing, and even co-worker camaraderie. Healthcare communication becomes more effective, and employees feel more supported — by the organization and each other.  

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Data-driven decision making

When you use digital systems, you collect and store a huge amount of data. You can use this data to fine-tune your own systems and processes. You can also use it to make data-driven decisions about patient care.

Streamlined admin

Coordinating work schedules, scheduling appointments, transcribing patient notes. When you use AI and automation for admin tasks, you reduce the workload of your frontline staff and give them more time to spend with patients.

Productivity and collaboration

Electronic health records (EHRs) enable teams and departments across your organization — and others — to securely access patient information. This means less duplication of work and a joined-up approach to patient care.

Better employee engagement

Closing the digital gap in healthcare makes frontline work less frustrating and more efficient. With frontline-friendly tools, employees can access critical information and contribute to decision-making processes. This spells higher rates of healthcare employee engagement, which — in turn — leads to better productivity, less time off sick, and better healthcare staff retention.

Reduced costs

By making healthcare more efficient, improving patient outcomes, and reducing employee churn, healthcare organizations can reduce their costs. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), eliminating inefficiencies in healthcare systems would save $1 trillion in the United States alone every year.

Challenges of digital transformation for healthcare (and how to overcome them)

Healthcare hasn’t been first in line when it comes to digital transformation. Legacy systems and paper processes are still a frustrating feature of life on the healthcare frontlines. So what’s standing in the way? The following key obstacles are often to blame:

• Too many tools. Nearly 79% of NHS doctors say that the number of different systems in use is a significant barrier to the digitization of healthcare.
• Data security worries. Patient privacy is non-negotiable. If staff and patients don’t trust the tech, they won’t use it.
• Skill gaps. Not everyone has the tech knowledge they need to pick up new systems.
• Resistance to change. When there’s barely a spare second in the day, the last thing healthcare providers need is another new process to master.  

The good news? Healthcare organizations across the globe are successfully overcoming these challenges. Here are some ideas for how to follow suit.

Provide staff training

The best technology is easy and intuitive to use. But you can’t just throw a manual at people and hope for the best. Instead, deliver bite-sized training sessions and hands-on demos. Assign digital ambassadors within your organization — people who can lead the way and offer advice on new tech tools. When staff feel confident about digital processes, they’re much more likely to embrace them.

Choose interoperable systems

If systems don’t talk to each other, your teams spend a heap of time hopping between them. That means duplicated work, multiple sets of login details, and confusion about what lives where. Centralized hubs and single sign-on solutions keep everything in one place, with integrations ensuring that information passes seamlessly across all the digital tools you use.

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Be transparent about system security

HIPAA-compliant security measures, multi-factor authentication, and clear data policies keep sensitive information secure. You can share details of these security measures with staff and patients to reassure them that you have solid safeguards in place.

Communicate the “why”

Both staff and patients are resistant to change when they don’t see the point of it. Craft change communications that explain why new tools matter, what benefits they’ll bring, and how they make life easier for everyone. When there’s a clear and consistent narrative, you’re more likely to get the buy-in of end users.

How to build a digital transformation strategy for your healthcare organization

No two healthcare organizations look the same. Different teams, different patients, different pressures. So every digital transformation strategy looks a little different, too.

That being said, there are some core pillars you can put in place to give yourself the best chance of success. Here’s where to start:

1. Get everyone on the same page

Before you dive into new shiny tools, take stock. Where are you, digitally, right now? Where do you want to be in one, three, or five years? Set clear objectives and agree on organization-wide priorities by talking to all stakeholders — from your senior leadership team to your doctors, your nurses, your admin staff, and your patients.

2. Dive into the specifics

Time to ask the hard questions. Where are your processes failing patients or slowing down staff? Is it paper-based scheduling? Clunky EHR systems? A disconnected workforce? The more precise you are about your barriers — whether they’re technical, process-driven, or cultural — the better your digital solutions will be.

3. Build a budget

While the digitization of healthcare is cost-effective in the long run, it doesn’t come cheap. And it doesn’t tend to happen all at once. So build your budget in stages. Allocate or secure funds for each phase, build in a buffer, and plan for training and support — not just tech spend. Too many strategies fail because organizations invest in tools, but not in the people who use them.

4. Craft a roadmap

Put your challenges, objectives, and budget into a roadmap. Outline what is being implemented and who will take responsibility for each part of the process. Break your transformation down into key actions, metrics, and milestones to keep your initiative on track.

5. Find the right tools

Using your roadmap as guidance, you can start looking for digital technologies. Test tools before you invest. Look for partners who are with you for the long haul. Seek out tools that integrate with the other workplace software you currently use. And think long term — will this solution still fit your needs years from now?

6. Plan your implementation

You’ve chosen your digital solution. Now it’s time for the launch. Without a plan, even the best tools can flop. So start with a pilot group to iron out any issues before you roll out to the rest of the organization. Map out training sessions and your communications campaign. And don’t forget to set up support — whether that’s a help desk, digital ambassadors, or user-friendly how-to guides.  

7. Collect feedback

Every phase of your digital transformation strategy is a chance to learn something new. So ask all stakeholders what they thought of the process and what they think of the end product. Using this feedback — and data on tech tool usage — you can tweak your solutions to better meet end-user needs. You can also develop better strategies for your next digital initiative.

Read more: How to build a digital transformation roadmap.

An example of digital transformation in healthcare: the NHS 10 Year Health Plan

The NHS is a huge healthcare organization with big plans for digital transformation. In the organization’s own words:

“We’re using technology to help health and care professionals communicate better and enable people to access the care they need quickly and easily, when it suits them.”

A roadmap for digital transformation in healthcare is laid out in the NHS’s 10 Year Health Plan for England. This is a great resource if you’re looking for inspiration for your own digital initiatives. Why not take a look?

Happier teams and healthier patients? It all starts with digital solutions

Digital solutions are transforming the way healthcare is delivered. They’re helping organizations to reduce admin, connect employees, and deliver better patient care.

As we’ve seen, digital transformation for healthcare isn’t without its challenges. You need rock-solid security, interoperable systems, and the buy-in of patients and healthcare staff to achieve digital success.

But in 2025, finding ways to overcome these obstacles is vital. Digital transformation is here to stay. AI is taking us in new directions. And healthcare systems need to make use of these tools if they’re to thrive under increasing pressure.

Blink. And explore digital solutions for your healthcare organization.

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There are more employee communication tools available than ever. Modern intranets. Employee apps. And a ton of software add-ons. But — as we’re sure you now know — there’s soon to be one big player missing from the market.

Workplace from Meta is being discontinued. So the platform’s many clients are now trying to decide on a Workplace alternative.

Whether you’re affected by the closure of Workplace or simply feel that your employee communication tools need a rethink, choosing a new internal communication tool requires careful consideration.  

You need a platform that promises to improve internal communications and employee engagement for your workforce. Something that facilitates easy communication between people at all levels of your organization.

Depending on your company and workforce, you may also need a tool that supports teamwork, company-wide updates, co-worker connection, recognition, feedback, and more.

The variety of software options available is an opportunity — and a challenge. It’s likely that there’s a perfect-fit platform out there. But the process of finding it can be tricky.

With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of questions you should ask when choosing a new employee communication tool. These questions will help you find software that performs as well as Workplace from Meta and meets the needs of your workplace.

But first, let’s take a quick look at the current employee communication landscape.

The employee communication landscape in 2024

In today’s digital workplace, effective employee communication relies on the right tech solutions. But if you’re looking for a new employee communication tool for your organization, chances are you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by the number of options on offer.

There are tools suited to certain segments of the workforce — for example, desk-based workers or frontline workers.

There are internal communication tools that focus on a very specific area of employee communications, like surveys or video conferencing.

And there are tools that go beyond employee communication to support organizations with tasks like employee engagement and project management, either through integrations or as an all-in-one solution.

Some tools are also exiting the marketplace.  

Earlier this year, Meta announced that it would be discontinuing its Workplace tool. The platform will continue to operate until September 2025 and will remain read-only until May 2026. But many companies using Workplace from Meta are already looking to make a switch.

Deciding which tool — from this huge selection — is right for your organization can feel challenging. But it’s a priority for many business leaders in 2024, with 84% saying they plan to invest in more modern communication strategies.

You only have to look at some recent research to understand why. 

According to the Axios report for 2023 into the State of Workplace Communications, the cost of poor internal communications amounts to $15,000 per employee per year. And while 77% of leaders think the communications they share support employees to do their jobs well, only 46% of employees agree.

In its 2024 State of Business Communication report, Grammarly reveals how poor communication is impacting employees and organizations. As a result of poor communication:

• 51% of employees experience increased stress
• 41% of employees report lower productivity
• 31% of employees experience strained workplace relationships
• 26% of employees have missed deadlines

On the flip side, good internal communications lead to increased employee confidence, productivity, and work satisfaction. Ultimately, a much better employee experience and better business results, too.

Questions to ask when choosing a new employee communication tool

Ask the right questions and you’ll find it easier to create a shortlist of employee communication tools. Here are the things you should be asking yourself — and your teams — as you undergo your software search.

How do we rate our current communication channels?

Before you start looking for a new workplace tool, assess your current one. Whatever platform you’ve used until now — Workplace from Meta or an alternative — you need to clarify what you like and dislike about it. You’ll then have a clearer idea of what you need in a new solution.  

So consider how effective your current communication tools are and whether they have any limitations. Establish whether there are any significant integration gaps. Launch an employee survey to gather the thoughts of your workforce.  

Also, bear in mind what Grammarly said in its recent report: over the past 12 months, 73% of professionals say they’ve seen an increase in the variety of communication channels used in their workplace. But this isn’t leading to more effective internal communications.

Different workplace tools come with their own notifications, interfaces, and rules of engagement. Employees may feel confused about which channel is appropriate for which message. And conversations become disjointed and hard to track because they take place in multiple locations.  

The best solutions are streamlined and easy to use. So consider how many different communication channels you’re currently using. And whether these tools are successfully communicating key messages and encouraging employee engagement.  

You can look at adoption and platform engagement rates to better understand how employees interact with your current tech selection.

What do we want from this communication tool and partnership?  

Onto challenges, goals, and platform features. When choosing a workplace tool, think about:

• Your primary communication challenges. Perhaps messages are being missed. Or employees are failing to engage with the platform. Maybe there’s a disconnect between HQ and frontline workers.
  
  
• What you’re trying to achieve with this tool. Do you want it to enhance workplace collaboration, improve employee engagement, or amplify company culture? Maybe you want it to do all these things.
  
  
• Must-have features. What functionality do you need? This might include real-time messaging, video conferencing, document sharing, surveys, or social feed features.

Also, think beyond the platform itself. Sure, you need a communication tool that supports your organization’s style of communication. But it’s also useful to have a partner who understands employee communications — and your workplace challenges — inside out.

Here at Blink, we’re experts in employee communication and engagement. Unlike some of our competitors, this is our sole focus. Our clients can rely on us as a strategic partner, benefitting from our comms insights and ongoing support.

We work with our clients so they get the best from the Blink app. We offer extensive support through the launch phase, helping you to encourage adoption. We also pride ourselves on our responsiveness to client feature requests, feedback, and suggestions.

Will this communication platform work for all employees?

A good employee communication tool acts as a hub for your organization. It’s a place where co-workers connect, where they access collective knowledge, and where leadership shares important messages.

All pretty vital stuff. So it’s not fair to leave any employees out of the conversation. It’s not good for business either.

Unless everyone enjoys easy access to your platform, you fail to achieve the levels of workplace communication and employee engagement that you’re striving for.

Bear in mind that only 10% of frontline workers say they have high access to the tools, tech, and opportunities they need to connect and advance in their workplace. So when choosing a new employee communication tool, consider where and when your employees will be using it.

If your employees are fully desk-based, a desktop platform is likely to fit the bill. For hybrid teams, you need desktop systems with real-time communication and collaboration tools.

For frontline employees who don’t work at a desk — and don’t necessarily even have a company email address — you need a different type of workplace tool. A mobile-first employee app, available on employee smartphones, is your best option.

Of course, if you have a mix of frontline and desk-based staff, you need a solution that works for everyone. It should have the same extensive features on both mobile and desktop so no one misses out. And it should successfully bridge the gap between your company’s frontlines and head office.

What level of personalization and customization do we want?

The best employee communication tools offer personalization features. They allow you to adapt a platform to the branding and requirements of your organization. This is good for the employee experience and it helps improve employee engagement with your tool.

Don’t need a particular module? Then it probably shouldn’t take up space on the employee dashboard. Want the software to align with your company branding? This service should come as standard.  

If you’re a large, global company, it may also make sense to create mini-sites within your platform. Each of these sites can be branded and personalized for a different segment of your workforce to ensure they’re relevant and engaging.

So clarify what you expect in terms of platform personalization, then ask platform providers what they’re able to deliver. 

What integrations do we need?

As we’ve already touched upon, in today’s digital workplace, software overwhelm is a real problem. Throw too many tech tools at employees and you make them less productive and engaged.

That’s why a good employee communication tool is an all-in-one solution. It also integrates seamlessly with any other workplace software you like to use. 

This makes life easier for employees because they access all tools from one unified dashboard. It can also improve software adoption rate. When employees don’t have to worry about separate logins and passwords, they find it easier to use the tools at their disposal. 

Thanks to Blink’s digital hub, organizations enjoy 5x better adoption of existing tools. With single sign-on (SSO), users don’t have to waste time logging into different apps. This creates a streamlined and user-friendly experience — and it makes employees more productive, too.

What’s the user experience like?

Usability is another important consideration when choosing a new employee comms tool. There’s little point investing time in new tech if a large proportion of employees don’t actually end up using it.

The best employee apps require minimal employee training. They’re intuitive to use and navigate. There are few points of friction. It’s easy for admins to manage content and comms from the back end of the platform.  

Your chosen employee communication tool should also support you in boosting employee engagement. It’ll come with a social-media-style news feed. Employees will have the option to like, comment, and post. You’ll be able to launch pulse surveys and send out rich, multimedia content. 

If you’re switching from an existing tool — like Workplace from Meta — it makes sense to choose an internal communications solution with a similar interface and features. When a platform feels familiar, employees will find it easier to make the switch.

So how do you judge a tool’s user experience? A product demo helps you get a sense of what a platform is like in action. You can also look at a tool’s adoption rates and platform engagement rates to see how it’s working for other organizations like yours.

Find out what customers think of Blink. Take a look at our case studies.

What are the practicalities of this platform?

As well as considering the effectiveness of an internal communication tool, you need to consider its practical impact. So work with other departments, like IT and finance, to establish your requirements in terms of:

• Budget. How much are you prepared to spend? What’s the ongoing cost of a platform? Are there any hidden costs and does it represent good value for money?
  
  
• Security. Does this platform keep your company and employee data safe? What security practices does it follow?
  
  
• Scalability. Can the platform grow with your organization? How will it adapt to your changing needs?  

Final thoughts on choosing an internal communication tool

There are lots of employee communication tools to choose from. And — as Meta discontinues Workplace — lots of organizations looking for a new solution to meet the needs of their workforce. 

To find the right internal communication tool for your organization, you need to ask the right questions.

Think about what you like and dislike about your current solution. Clarify what you want from platform features and a software partner. Consider customizations, integrations, and the user experience. And be sure to think about all employees and their communication needs.

This should help you narrow down the list of options. You can then conduct research into your shortlisted platform providers, looking at their adoption and engagement rates — and taking them for a spin as part of a free trial or demo.

Find out if Blink is the right internal communication tool for your organization by scheduling a personalized demo. Book your demo today.

What makes her awesome?

Sherry has worked at Pierce Transit since February 1990 and has received many accolades and awards during her long career.

She is a member of the agency’s Safety Committee where she lends her experience to help make safety a priority for everyone. She goes above and beyond in her role as Operator: This past year, while on duty, she assisted with putting out a vehicle fire and rescued a lost young girl along her route.

Sherry was a recipient of Pierce Transit’s Q1 2024 Excellence in Safety award. She truly cares about her community and many people have been honored to receive what she gives from the heart.

How has Blink helped in her role?

Sherry uses Blink to keep up to date on what's happening at our agency.

What does she want to do next?

Travel the world!

Nominated by Penny Grellier, Communications Administrator