Meet Tom King

Simpplr is often seen as a go-to modern intranet solution — but it's not the only option. As organizations evolve, many are searching for alternatives that offer greater flexibility, better engagement, and a more holistic approach to internal communication.

Whether you're looking to replace your intranet entirely or just upgrade to a more dynamic employee experience platform, there’s a growing ecosystem of tools designed to meet the needs of today’s hybrid, remote, and global workforces. From AI-powered internal communication tools to modern intranet software that integrates seamlessly with your existing tech stack, this guide breaks down the best Simpplr alternatives available in 2025.

We’ve reviewed 15 top platforms, each with their own strengths — from company-wide engagement to streamlined communication — so you can find the workplace communication platform that fits your culture and goals. 

If you're looking for a solution that combines the best of modern intranet software with real-time communication, analytics, and usability, start with Blink.

Top 15 Simpplr alternatives in 2025

#1. Blink: The all-in-one employee experience platform

Best for: Organizations seeking high engagement, intuitive UX, and centralized internal communications.

Why it's a top Simpplr alternative:
Blink goes beyond basic communication by creating a digital home for your entire workforce. It combines powerful communication features with easy access to tools, making it ideal for improving retention, productivity, and employee connection. It’s known for exceptionally high adoption rates and offers a streamlined experience that works across every team and device—no training required. Unlike Simpplr, Blink focuses on delivering measurable impact across your entire workforce, not just pushing content.

Pros:

• Unified comms, surveys, task management, and integrations in one platform
• Exceptionally high adoption rates
• Easy to deploy and scale
• Intuitive, mobile-friendly experience

Cons:

• Not positioned as a traditional intranet (which may not suit organizations looking for a classic homepage-style hub)

{{watch-video="/callouts"}}

#2. Staffbase

Staffbase is a communications platform designed for large enterprises with dispersed teams. It offers content publishing, multilingual support, and strong mobile access. However, it focuses primarily on top-down communications.

Pros:

• Strong mobile capabilities and multilingual support
• Deep editorial publishing features
  

Cons:

• Complexity and pricing can be barriers for mid-size orgs
• Limited functionality beyond communications
  

#3. FirstUp

Firstup uses AI and behavioral data to personalize internal communications at scale. It's well suited for organizations wanting to optimize campaigns and target specific employee segments. However, it can be overpowered for teams that just want streamlined comms.

Pros:

• AI-driven content targeting
• Campaign-level analytics
  

Cons:

• Learning curve for less technical teams
  High cost and enterprise-heavy approach may not suit leaner teams

#4. Beekeeper

With its strong mobile foundation, BeeKeeper enables companies to connect field teams, streamline workflows, and ensure compliance across distributed locations. It includes tools for shift scheduling and quick updates. It’s not ideal for strategic comms or company-wide engagement.

Pros:

• Lightweight and easy to use
• Built-in shift communications and checklist tools
  

Cons:

• Not ideal for HQ communications or knowledge management
• Limited brand customizations

#5. Haiilo (formerly Smarp)

Haiilo blends internal communications with employee advocacy tools. It’s helpful for promoting company content externally and keeping teams aligned internally. However, it's not a complete employee experience platform.

Pros:

• Strong content sharing and social media integration
• Advocacy analytics included
  

Cons:

• Less of a comprehensive platform—missing many intranet or HRIS features
• Mobile UX could be improved
  

#6. Interact

Interact is a structured intranet platform focused on knowledge management and content governance. It’s great for compliance-heavy industries that need tight control over documents and approvals. Real-time engagement features are more limited.

Pros:

• Strong content governance and compliance features
• Enterprise-grade search
  

Cons:

• Dated UI in some areas
• Less suited to real-time communication or engagement use cases
  

#7. Unily

Unily is a Microsoft-friendly intranet solution with a focus on design flexibility and content targeting. It works well for companies heavily invested in Microsoft 365. However, it can be resource-intensive to launch and maintain.

Pros:

• Powerful integration with Microsoft tools
• Custom branding and theming
  

Cons:

• Can be resource-intensive to launch
• Some users report sluggish performance

#8. Workvivo

Known for its user-friendly design, Workvivo blends social engagement with traditional intranet tools. It’s often chosen by organizations looking to foster transparency and a sense of belonging.

Pros:

• Strong social feed and employee recognition tools
• Now owned by Zoom, with potential future integrations
  

Cons:

• Limited task management and productivity tools
• UX can feel cluttered with too many social features for some users
  

#9. LumApps

LumApps integrates deeply with Google Workspace and offers tools for onboarding, employee journeys, and targeted communications. It's particularly appealing to companies that rely on G Suite. Admin UX can be complex for smaller teams.

Pros:

• Strong G Suite integration
• Useful for creating targeted employee journeys
  

Cons:

• Less intuitive UX for non-technical admins
• Pricing not transparent
  

#10. Igloo

Igloo is a modular intranet that helps teams build a centralized knowledge base and communications hub. It offers drag-and-drop widgets and customizable layouts. However, it lacks more modern employee experience capabilities like feedback and real-time messaging.

Pros:

• Modular intranet features
• Knowledge management tools included
  

Cons:

• Feels more like a traditional intranet than a modern EX platform
• UI hasn’t evolved as quickly as competitors
  

#11. Jive (by Aurea)

Jive offers a feature-rich collaboration and knowledge-sharing platform geared toward larger enterprises. It includes deep analytics and social-style engagement. The product has evolved slowly in recent years.

Pros:

• Deep collaboration and social functionality
• Rich analytics
  

Cons:

• Outdated UI
• Acquisition history has slowed innovation
  
  

#12. Axero

Axero is a cost-effective intranet platform aimed at mid-sized organizations. It includes core features like document sharing, discussions, and directories. However, the interface can feel dated and the app ecosystem is limited.

Pros:

• Offers intranet, collaboration, and HR portal tools
• Affordable for mid-market orgs
  

Cons:

• Dated visuals
• Limited native integrations
  

#13. Claromentis

Claromentis offers a modular platform that combines intranet features with workflow apps and e-forms. It’s useful for companies that want to digitize internal processes. Setup requires hands-on customization.

Pros:

• Modular platform with customizable apps
• Document management included
  

Cons:

• Requires time and resources to configure
• UX not as modern as others
  

#14. Oak Engage

Oak Engage offers a user-friendly internal comms platform with fast onboarding and smart content targeting. It’s ideal for companies looking to modernize without overhauling everything. However, it lacks the breadth of features found in larger platforms.

Pros:

• Friendly UI and fast implementation
• Content targeting and engagement tracking
  

Cons:

• Smaller partner and integration ecosystem
• Not as well known globally
  

#15. Zoho Connect

Zoho Connect is part of the larger Zoho suite and offers basic internal communication features. It’s best for small businesses already using other Zoho apps. Larger companies may outgrow it quickly.

Pros:

• Easy setup and low cost
• Works seamlessly with other Zoho apps
  

Cons:

• Limited customization
• Less suitable for larger or global organizations
  

Final thoughts

If Simpplr isn’t meeting your expectations — whether due to limited engagement, lack of flexibility, or just the need for more intuitive tools — there are plenty of powerful alternatives available. Among them, Blink stands out for its modern UX, holistic capabilities, and consistent employee adoption. While many platforms focus on features, Blink focuses on real impact.

Get ready for this week’s Life at Blink spotlight! We’re thrilled to introduce a pivotal member of our Boston team — George Monk! As an Account Executive, George has been with Blink for nearly four years, making a significant impact from both sides of the Atlantic. Starting out in our London office, George was Blink’s first US SDR, pioneering our efforts to connect with U.S. businesses. Dive in to learn more about George, his journey, and what makes Blink such a unique place to work!

What initially attracted you to join Blink?

When I first joined Blink, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The idea of joining a startup initially made me hesitant because I was concerned about potential lack of structure and training programs. But eventually, I told myself, "Why not give it a shot and embrace the challenge?"

Blink was actually my first job right out of university, where I studied chemistry. It’s funny because, during my time at university, I had no idea what my career path would look like. I knew I was interested in joining the private sector, but my vision for the future was still blurry. It wasn’t until I joined Blink that I found a direction that truly resonated with me, and I'm glad I took that leap of faith.

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

I'm particularly proud of what we've achieved in the EMS sector, working with paramedics, EMTs, and medical technicians. It’s an area where Blink has really made an impact, especially with the younger workforce, who are typically between 18 and 25 and are very receptive to using our platform. When I first joined, our presence in the EMS industry was minimal — we were just starting to break into the market. But now, we're leading the charge. We've partnered with over 20 agencies, and Blink is becoming a household name in the industry. It’s been incredibly rewarding to watch that growth and know that we've made a real difference in helping these critical workers stay connected and informed.

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

If I had to describe Blink's company culture in three words, I’d say it's high-achieving, fun, and inclusive. We’re all about pushing ourselves to deliver the best results, but we also know how to enjoy the process along the way. There’s a strong sense of camaraderie, and despite how driven everyone is, it’s still an incredibly supportive and inclusive environment. 

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

I'm really excited about Blink's future, especially as we focus on expanding our presence in the US. Bringing more household names and big brands onboard is something that really energizes me. We're making a significant impact, and I can't wait to see how we continue to grow in the American market. It’s thrilling to think about how far we’ve come and how much potential there still is to grow. 

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

A recent initiative that I find really exciting is the opportunity we have to help thousands of customers who’ve been left behind by the closure of Meta's Workplace. Being able to migrate them over to Blink is a huge opportunity not just for those businesses but for us as well. Meta announced they’d be closing in May, so it’s been a major focus for us since then. With the official discontinuation happening in August next year, I imagine we’ll continue helping with these migrations for months to come. It’s incredibly rewarding to know we’re stepping in to provide a solution when these companies need it most.

Why do you work for Blink?

I have the luxury of coming to work every day and genuinely enjoying it. I love the people I work with, and I love the diversity of our customers. Getting to work with companies from so many different industries keeps things exciting and fulfilling.

Today, Blink announced its partnership with McDonald’s. As the leading mobile-first employee experience platform, Blink will aim to connect McDonald’s employees within their restaurants and organizations across the globe.

Through Blink’s social media-inspired employee app, McDonald’s, or its independent franchisees, will be able to provide its respective restaurant crew members with news about their restaurant or organization, improve team collaboration, and offer a platform for real-time celebrations right at their fingertips. Not only will this create a more interactive and inclusive workplace, it will also give employees the tools and information they need, when they need them, to be productive and successful.

This partnership will help to build a strong, close-knit culture within restaurants and organizations to keep restaurant crew members engaged and empowered.

“Our mission is to help every company deliver digital experiences that elevate their business and unlock the full potential of their people. Our partnership with McDonald’s marks a monumental step toward bringing that mission to life,” said Sean Nolan, CEO and co-founder at Blink. “We’re proud to power the digital employee experience at McDonald’s and make it easier than ever for crew members to communicate, collaborate, and connect with each other — all from their mobile app.”

Together, McDonald’s and Blink will redefine the restaurant team experience.

About Blink

Blink is the mobile-first employee experience platform that connects your people, systems, and culture in one super-app. It bridges the digital divide between deskless and desk-based workers, supercharging employee communication and engagement at industry-leading companies like Nokia, Holcim, JD Sports, RATP Dev, and Stagecoach. Blink is the top-rated Employee Communications Application on Gartner Peer Insights and a Leader in the G2 Grid for Best Employee Engagement Software. Learn more at joinblink.com.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with over 40,000 locations in over 100 countries. Approximately 95% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business owners. These franchisees set their own employment policies for the people working in their restaurants, are the exclusive employer of their employees, and are solely responsible for all employment-related matters in their restaurants. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com.

Media contact

press@joinblink.com

12 ideas to increase employee engagement

We can boil employee engagement down to two key employee attributes.

Attitude – how an employee feels about the company, their co-workers, their managers, and their role. And behavior – the effort that an employee is willing to invest in their work.

These two attributes have a huge impact on your business.

When an employee has a positive attitude and is willing (on most days) to give their all, they’re more energized and productive. They’re keen to learn and find solutions for workplace problems.

Engaged employees are also more loyal to your organization. Teams with high engagement have turnover rates 18% to 43% lower than those with low engagement. They have lower rates of absenteeism, too.

It’s easy to see how employee engagement can help to build a more effective and efficient organization. You reduce costs linked to recruitment, sick leave, and low productivity. And you get the very best from your workforce.

Understanding the importance of employee engagement is the first step. However, finding ways to improve employee engagement within your organization, is another - And that’s what we’ll be focusing on here.

We’re going to explore a range of employee engagement ideas that you can put into practice at your business to increase engagement. But first, let’s take a look at how employee engagement applies to frontline organizations.

Employee engagement in frontline organizations

Employee engagement is so often focused on those working remote or behind a desk, rather than your frontline employees. Common activities or ideas to increase employee engagement actually actively exclude frontline workers, as well. Think in-office lunches, social happy hours, or team building activities during the standard workday. 

But the truth is frontline employees want to feel engaged in the same way a desk-based team does. They benefit from a sense of belonging and connection. And your business benefits too.

Engaged employees working on the frontline provide a better service for customers or patients. Like their office-based co-workers, they take less time off sick and are less likely to look for another job.

All frontline organizations should be looking to improve employee engagement - and it’s easier than you might think. Below are our top ways to improve employee engagement across your entire organization - applicable to not only desk-based teams, but frontline organizations as well. 

12 ideas to improve employee engagement quickly

Employee engagement goes way beyond team building activities and the standard annual employee review. The most engaged organizations weave employee engagement activities into the fabric of their workplace.

Our tips to improve employee engagement:

1. Embrace technology
2. Promote two-way communication
3. Recognize and reward
4. Offer growth opportunities
5. Foster work-life balance
6. Gather feedback from employees
7. Set clear expectations
8. Give regular feedback
9. Promote team collaboration
10. Celebrate milestones
11. Lead by example
12. Measure and act on feedback

‍

1. Embrace technology

Today’s tech is intrinsically engaging, to the extent that people spend an average of 4.8 hours a day on mobile apps. That’s a third of their waking hours.

People leaders can take advantage of this fact by embracing mobile tools to increase employee engagement. Of course, embracing a clunky old intranet is going to do more harm than good. It won’t offer the user experience that employees now expect from their tech. But with cutting-edge software and apps, leaders make the cornerstones of engagement – communication, collaboration, and recognition – more appealing and accessible to employees.

For frontline organizations, this can revolutionize the way you work.

Employees no longer need a desktop or company email to access internal comms. With an employee engagement app like Blink, they can simply use the smartphone in their pocket, meaning everyone stays connected.

Teams can access chat functions, recognition features, and company tools and resources – all from the same interface.

Leaders can make the most of employee engagement surveys and analytics features. They can use data to understand employee engagement like never before, finding more effective ways to improve it.

When you put the very best tech tools at the heart of your employee engagement strategy, you connect your frontline to co-workers and management. You also make measuring and improving engagement a whole lot easier.   

2. Promote two-way communication

Good communication is the key to employee engagement. It’s a way to share information and company values and to include every member of your organization in company culture. But 80% of professionals rate their organization’s communication as poor or average.

If your company comms aren’t hitting the mark, it may be because communication only moves top-down. Your leadership team speaks and everyone else listens.

You’re much more likely to motivate employees when you create channels for two-way communication. (Like they did at Domino’s). When you give them a voice, encourage them to speak up, and listen to what they have to say, employees are much more engaged.

In fact, employees who say their voice is heard at work are 4.6x more likely to give their all.

Creating two-way communication is harder in large, hybrid, and frontline organizations. How do you connect co-workers, managers, and leadership when they don’t physically cross paths? And what do you do when frontline employees don’t have a company email account?

Again, it comes down to having the right tech tools. You need communication channels that are easy to access – from the office, at home, on the shop floor, and on the road. So everyone stays connected and updated wherever they’re working.

3. Recognize and reward

When employees feel that hard work goes unnoticed, there’s less incentive for them to bring their A-game. So if you’re looking to improve your employee engagement strategy, recognition and rewards are another key focus area.

Some organizations go all out with a points and rewards system. Employees earn points for good work and can then spend points to get gift cards, company merchandise, or even make a charitable donation.

But there are lots of other ways to show your appreciation for employees. An employee of the month program or a simple thank you goes a long way. And – as we’ll see in a moment – rewarding high performers with training and career progression opportunities may prove more meaningful than small monetary prizes.   

However you approach recognition and reward, the key is finding a strategy that works for all employees. 

Perhaps a frontline employee stays late to get a job done. Or receives positive feedback from a customer. These employees should enjoy the same level of manager and peer-to-peer recognition as their office-based co-workers.

With Blink’s recognition tool, it’s easy to create a culture of appreciation. Anyone can send personalized messages of appreciation, sharing posts with individuals, teams, or the whole organization. 

4. Offer growth opportunities

Employees who have a clear career path are more likely to stay working with your company. They’re also more engaged and productive in their work.

But too often, the focus is on the professional development of management and office-based employees. According to McKinsey research, many employers underestimate the value that frontline workers place on learning and career advancement opportunities.

Of the 2,100 frontline employees McKinsey surveyed, 70% said they had applied for a promotion or a job with more responsibility. But only 25% of those who applied were successful. And 65% said they were unsure how to achieve advancement.

As well as highlighting the lack of growth for frontline employees, McKinsey made several recommendations:

• Share professional development, mentorship, and promotion opportunities with every team member
• Give managers the training they need to help employees establish career growth goals – and support them to achieve them. 
• Where a promotion isn’t possible, consider a lateral move or the assignment of new challenges within an employee’s current role to satisfy their hunger for growth

Ultimately, when employees are given the support they need to thrive in their careers, it’s a win-win. An organization retains employees and improves performance. Employees get to enjoy the challenge and satisfaction of expanding their talents.

5. Foster work-life balance

Achieving work-life balance as a frontline worker isn’t always easy. Shifts tend to be long and unpredictable. And when employees are supporting customers or patients, it can be hard to even take scheduled breaks.

This has long been accepted as “the way things are”. But with a third of workers saying that work-life balance is a top priority when looking for jobs, frontline organizations looking to increase employee engagement have a real opportunity – to outshine other employers and better support their staff.

You could offer predictable shifts and – where that isn’t possible – communicate shifts in advance. Consider flexible working and fair overtime policies. Encourage employees to get enough downtime by addressing an always-on culture.

Another key consideration? We know that 70% of frontline employees have suffered from burnout or felt at risk of burnout. This is something that the Starbucks team has taken on board.

Starbucks employees get access to a mental health care platform and free therapy sessions. They also get 10 days of backup care for the children or adults they care for, helping them balance the competing responsibilities of work and caregiving with less stress.

By helping employees to plan and enjoy their time away from work, organizations can count on improved productivity and engagement each time workers arrive for a shift.

6. Gather feedback from employees

Frontline employees are your eyes and ears on the ground. They can provide valuable perspective on what is and isn’t working operationally and how you can improve the customer experience.

But if your organization – like many frontline firms – is suffering from a frontline connection gap, you struggle to access that insight. More often than not, frontline employees don’t have the access they need to provide this valuable feedback.

This means you miss out on all kinds of frontline employee feedback – including their thoughts on employee engagement. You find it much harder to identify and address engagement issues before they affect morale and retention.

The first step to fixing this issue is developing feedback channels for all employees. Tech tools can help. An app like Blink allows you to send a feedback request to a frontline worker’s smartphone, meaning they’re much more likely to see it and respond. 

Remember that different employees prefer different feedback methods so open up a variety of options.

Make pulse surveys, annual employee engagement surveys, and manager one-on-ones part of your feedback request schedule. And give employees the option to leave feedback anonymously so they feel comfortable being completely honest.

With up-to-date employee feedback, you can make your employee engagement strategy more relevant and effective. You get to the heart of how employees feel – and discover the areas where change is most needed.

7. Set clear expectations

Uncertainty and employee engagement don’t mix. Role ambiguity creates stress and it’s one of the leading causes of employee burnout.

Employees need to understand exactly what’s expected of them. They need to know what work to do, how to do it, and who to do it with. Even when a frontline role involves a lot of autonomy, employees need guidance on their remit to feel confident and motivated.

Managers are responsible for setting clear expectations. And it all comes down to good communication.

Frontline managers should clearly define the role and its responsibilities for new hires. They need to set key performance indicators (KPIs) so employees know what success looks like. And they need to give clear instructions when assigning new tasks.

Employees also need to know how their role fits into the bigger picture. How do their tasks relate to overarching company values and goals?

By giving employees clarity you improve employee engagement. But you also promote accountability and show employees that their work is valuable.

8. Give regular feedback

Picture an employee – let’s call him Jim – who hasn’t had any manager feedback in a while.

Jim keeps running into the same customer service problem. But he doesn’t feel comfortable approaching his manager about it. And he’s not due a one-to-one for months.

So Jim keeps at it, doubting that he’s doing a good enough job but unsure what to do about it. Without regular manager input Jim feels less confident in his abilities. His job satisfaction inevitably takes a hit.

Now let’s picture a different scene.

Jim’s manager – let’s call her Jane – understands how important feedback is to employee engagement. She sets up regular, informal one-to-ones, where both she and Jim can raise any issues.

Jim gets to hear that he’s doing a great job. And gets useful, actionable advice on what he could do better. He gets recognition where it’s due and a regular reminder of role expectations.

Feedback needs to move in both directions. And it’s as relevant to your longest-serving staff as it is to new hires. Feedback boosts the confidence of employees and increases their job satisfaction, which means better employee engagement.

Employees also stand to benefit most when feedback is constructive. This means managers focus on facts, not opinions. They talk about the actions of an employee, not their personality traits.

They also approach feedback as a two-way conversation, where employees get a chance to share their thoughts within an open and supportive environment.

9. Promote team collaboration

Two heads are always better than one. And employees who work well together are happier, more productive, and less stressed. Team collaboration can help to prevent loneliness, too.  

Glassdoor research shows that 60% of employees with less than five years of work experience feel lonely all or most of the time. But 89% of all workers say that a sense of belonging within their company is essential for workplace happiness.

Bringing teams together, including frontline employees who tend to work alone, is therefore crucial to employee engagement. And it starts with company culture.

You need a psychologically safe environment where everyone feels comfortable contributing their thoughts and ideas. Like a calendar of team building activities. Special consideration for new hires and team members who work in isolation. And praise for team successes as well as individual wins.

The right communication and collaboration tools are another important part of the puzzle. Project management software helps people to collaborate when they’re not working in the same location. And chat tools allow workers to share problems, ideas, and solutions with ease.

Elara Caring is one of the largest care providers in the US, with around 32,000 carers working on their frontline. The company found it hard to connect its carers and was experiencing a collaboration problem.

By making Blink their communication hub, they improved team collaboration dramatically. Now 95% of employees say they feel more connected to the organization and their co-workers.

10. Celebrate milestones

Mavis Mills, an ASDA supermarket employee, recently celebrated her 80^th birthday. And the whole team celebrated with her. They decorated her checkout with banners and balloons and gave her gifts, flowers, and a cake.

Celebrations like these bring teams together. They boost employee engagement for the person being celebrated and inspire other employees, too.

You can celebrate birthdays, work anniversaries, passing probation, or the successful conclusion of a company project. Anything that fits with your company values and culture.

Of course, it’s easier to plan a celebration for on-site teams. You can organize a gathering in the office or – as ASDA did – around the checkout where Mavis was working.

But that doesn’t mean hybrid and dispersed frontline teams have to forgo celebrations. You can still improve employee engagement by celebrating milestones via internal communication tools.

For example, with the Blink Feed, you can share meaningful milestones with a team or the whole organization – and encourage employees to join in the celebration. You can celebrate little and often to show appreciation for employees on a regular, informal basis.

11. Lead by example

The leaders of today do things differently. Good leaders understand that transparency, fairness, and emotional intelligence help to improve employee engagement.

Unlike workplace leaders of the past, they know that when everyone, at all levels of a company, sticks to the same rules and values people feel more invested in a company’s success.

As a leader, this means practicing what you preach.

You should demonstrate the same commitment to two-way communication, collaboration, and recognition that you want to see in employees. You should model work-life balance so workers find it easier to follow suit.

By living and breathing company values and culture, you inspire trust and respect in your workforce. And when you join them in using the same communication and employee engagement tools, you make it much more likely that people will follow your lead. 

12. Measure and act on feedback

Gathering feedback is an essential part of any employee engagement strategy. But simply getting employees to leave feedback isn’t enough. You have to measure and act upon employee feedback, too.

Research shows that people who say their employer takes meaningful action based on their feedback are 37% less likely to look for another job. And they’re also much more likely to take part in future surveys.

So mine employee feedback for data. Then create employee engagement KPIs so you can measure progress. You can base targets around metrics like:

• Absenteeism rate
• Employee retention rate
• Employee net promoter score (eNPS)

It then all comes down to good internal communication. Share your feedback findings and engagement progress with employees. It shows that you take their views seriously and are committed to making improvements.

Employee engagement: the next step

In thriving organizations, the drive to improve employee engagement is more than just an HR team initiative. It’s something that the whole organization embraces as part of its ethos.

Communication, feedback, and recognition become part of everyone’s every day. And the organization benefits from better staff retention, productivity, and satisfaction.

Your organization may not be at this point yet. But wherever you are in your employee engagement journey, the 12 ideas listed above will help you move forward. Weave these activities into your employee engagement strategy and you’ll encourage the employee attitudes and behaviors you want to see.

When it comes to frontline organizations, the right tech tools are a priority because they make employee engagement so much easier. They provide the vital line of connection between every member of your workforce, from new hires to stalwart staff, and frontline workers to your office-based team.

Blink’s mobile-first super-app helps every frontline employee to feel valued and heard. And with a news feed, secure chat, recognition features, surveys, analytics, and more, you have everything you need to transform internal communication and employee engagement for the better.

‍

Blink. And your frontline is set up for success.

Introducing Journeys from Blink: a powerful new way to meet employee attrition and engagement challenges head-on.

Did you know that a third of employees quit within their first 90 days? All that time and effort invested in sourcing, recruiting, and onboarding new team members can so quickly go to waste. That's why it's crucial to equip your business with the right tools to keep employees engaged from the day they join. 

Foster a personal connection with your employees from day one, and you'll gain control over frontline employee engagement — setting you up in the short term to reduce new starter attrition, and in the long run a happier, more engaged workforce. 

What is Journeys?

Journeys is a new way to set up personalized content paths for every employee. Each new Journey helps businesses deliver and scale an engaging employee experience.

Businesses using Journeys can:

✅ Boost employee happiness and retention by cultivating a sense of belonging and engagement within their workforce

✅ Personalize for the frontline — effortlessly. With Journeys, delivering personalized experiences to every frontline worker is quick and easy

✅ Streamline onboarding: The entire employee onboarding process is simplified by Journeys, saving valuable time and effort while accelerating employee ramp-up time

✅ Create a winning employee experience: In just a few minutes, you'll have created a tailored sequence of posts that align with your employees' needs

"Journeys has been perfect for giving our new team a great onboarding experience, as well as keeping the whole team reminded of key information such as our handbook and safety protocols. But this only scratches the surface: there are a ton of opportunities here." 

Katie Palmatier, Operations Manager at Lifeline Ambulance Service 

Ways organizations are using Journeys 

Onboarding 👋  
Effortlessly guide new starters through your induction process, welcoming them to Blink, sharing key onboarding documents and tools, and introducing them to key people who will support them in their roles. 

Collecting feedback 💬  
Keep your finger on the pulse throughout your employee lifecycle by linking to forms and surveys. 

Celebrating work milestones 🎉  
Ensure no work anniversary goes overlooked or unrecognized. 

Training and compliance 🎓  
Distribute key policies and learning and development resources, then send timely reminders for employees to act. 

Organizations using Blink Journeys are benefitting from:

• Time and effort saved in managing people operations
• Improved employee engagement at scale, leading to better productivity and happiness 
• Reduced new employee churn, thanks to informative and well-timed onboarding communications 
• Decreased current employee churn through automated touch points and milestones

What's next?

Ready to transform your employee experience with Journeys and Blink? Reach out to us to learn more about Journeys and how it can elevate your employee experience. Get in touch 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.

‍

• 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.

{{find-the-right-employee-engagement-tool-for-your-organization}}

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.