3 ways to unify your frontline workforce experience
Three primary strategies you can use to build connections between employees and create a unified employee experience
Jess DeVore
Published:
July 30, 2024
Last updated:
August 21, 2024
Despite having more technology than ever before, the modern workforce is largely disconnected and divided. We’re working across different locations and juggling with more platforms and logins than ever. These challenges, already hard on desk-based, computer-connected office workers, are amplified for the frontline workforce.
Frontline employees tend to spend their days isolated from both their desk-based coworkers and other frontline colleagues. They don’t always have access to the same communication channels or tech tools as their office-based peers — and even if they do, they have minimal time to check on these platforms in between shifts, travels, and on-the-job work.
This means that the concept of the employee experience varies dramatically from team to team, and sometimes from worker to worker, across the same organization. It makes it harder for HR teams to keep a handle on overall employee engagement and satisfaction — and often inadvertently creates gaps in the workforce culture in different pockets of the company.
Just look at a recent Axios report to see this discrepancy in action: Deskless employees are less trusting of their managers and people leaders, less engaged in general, and more likely to experience burnout than their desk-based coworkers.
Bringing your employees together through a unified frontline workforce experience helps to close and mitigate these experience gaps. And by improving employee engagement, you can also make a positive impact on:
Company culture
Workplace communication and collaboration
Productivity and customer service
Employee satisfaction and retention
Here, we take a look at three primary strategies you can use to build connections between employees and create a unified employee experience.
3 ways to unify your frontline employee experience
To unify the frontline employee experience, you need to:
Provide frontline-facing technology
Communicate over one cohesive channel
Conduct regular employee surveys
1. Provide frontline-facing technology
Bad tech adds friction to the work day. It causes headaches and slows your teams down. This is true for any of your employees — but it’s particularly relevant to the frontline.
Frontline workers need fast, easy, streamlined tech solutions that fit into their busy work days. They shouldn’t have to remember lots of different sets of login details and shouldn’t need a company email address to access essential tech tools.
In instances where your desk-based and frontline staff use the same tech tools — which is an excellent logistical way to unify your workforce — everyone should enjoy the same great digital experience. The same features and functionality should be available on both desktop and mobile devices.
But this isn’t the current reality. Just 10% of frontline employees say they have enough access to the tools, tech, and opportunities they need to connect and advance in their workplace.
The most effective frontline-facing technologies are the ones that have been designed for and with the frontline workforce. Rather than trying to modify the desk-based experience, purpose-built technology can make a huge difference to the employee experience. It brings desk-based and frontline staff onto the same (digital) page and ensures everyone feels valued.
2. Communicate over one cohesive channel
Communicating with frontline employees can be a challenge because they don’t tend to spend a lot of time in the office or working alongside managers.
Frontline organizations have usually tried various methods of internal communications. Paper notices on a board in the break room. Posters left on the seat of every bus driver. Overstretched frontline managers sending messages individually to every employee smartphone.
But they all reach the conclusion that these communication channels are inefficient and ineffective. A piecemeal approach makes it easy for important messages to get missed, messaging to become confused, and conversations to remain one-sided.
Communicating over one cohesive communication channel helps to unify your workforce and improve the frontline employee experience. As well as ensuring relevant communications reach your entire workforce, a workforce engagement app can allow you to:
Engage in two-way communication with frontline employees, with the help of features like a news feed and group chats
Target and tailor communications to specific teams, departments, and locations, ensuring that messages are always relevant
Create mandatory reads that necessitate employee acknowledgment so you know that important messages are being read
3. Conduct regular employee surveys
Top-down communication is essential for company-wide updates and culture-building. But if you want to improve the employee experience and bring your workforce together, you need to truly understand what’s going well — and what isn’t — by giving employees a voice.
For many, that might mean conducting regular employee surveys, including:
Quarterly surveys: More regular than the annual survey, quarterly surveys help you to benchmark and track progress in key areas of the employee experience
Pulse surveys: To ensure employee engagement issues don’t sneak up on your HR team, pulse surveys offer a snapshot of employee sentiment, right here, right now
By using a combination of employee surveys, you can seek employee input on corporate policies and initiatives as well as gauge how loyal employees feel toward your company in order to improve retention, engagement, and professional development.
Having an all-in-one internal communications tool to support this process makes things simple. Built-in feedback tools makes it easier for your HR and communications teams to launch surveys — and it makes it a streamlined process for employees, too. No more long-winded paper process. No logging into a communal computer. Workers can simply open the app on their smartphone, get an alert for the survey, and fill it out on their break.
The valuable data you get from your whole organization — and the reporting and analytics tools that analyze it — gives you the information you need to make targeted improvements to the employee experience.
In summary
When you unify your frontline employee experience, you create a work environment where all workers have the channels and technologies they need to come together. They can share their successes, voice their concerns, and experience a sense of camaraderie.
Create the best workplace experience for your entire employee base, and get their best work — and enhanced engagement and loyalty — in return.
With an employee super-app like Blink, you have everything you need to improve the employee experience for frontline and desk-based workers alike. To see what Blink can do for your organization, schedule a personalized demo today.
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In 2020, digital transformation in the manufacturing industry was valued at $263.9 billion USD. This figure is anticipated to reach $767.8 billion USD by 2026. As business leaders in manufacturing, you probably already know all about how DX on your production line can improve your machinery, drive your production rates and refine your overall output.
But what about your day-to-day, run-the-biz systems? How can digital transformation in manufacturing also benefit your wider company operations and employee performance? How can you utilize DX in manufacturing to craft a more meaningful and engaging employee experience, and what other bonuses may you discover along the way?
At Blink, we know a thing or two about transforming the employee experience through the right digital tools and technologies. So with this guide, we are providing you with a comprehensive introduction to the key benefits of digital transformation in manufacturing and why it's essential for your organization right now, with a core focus on the digital employee experience and how you can transform it in your business.
What is digital transformation (DX) in manufacturing?
Digital transformation (DX) in manufacturing is the process of implementing new digital technologies to improve and refine processes in a manufacturing organization. This typically involves a range of procedures, from improving communication and collaboration to adopting new manufacturing methods, or automating tasks.
A digital transformation strategy works to improve the overall efficiency, productivity and profitability of a manufacturing organization by integrating new digital technologies – such as employee engagement tools, Industry 4.0, big data analytics, cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) – into company processes.
And while we all know that production machinery and tech makes up a huge part of your company processes, it’s important to see the wider picture, too. DX can actually have a significant impact on the behind the scenes operations of your business, including how you communicate and engage with employees, distribute knowledge and connect teams, recruit new talent, and even support the wider community.
By undergoing DX in all areas of your business and integrating stronger digital employee experience strategies for your workforce, you can in fact unlock a range of surprising benefits for your organization.
Main goals of manufacturing digital transformation
"It's not possible to pick just a short list of technologies and declare them to be the next big thing. Any innovation project is always a combination of different technologies and thoroughly designed processes aiming to achieve business goals."
Max Ivannikov
But what are some of the main goals that manufacturers are focusing on for their digital transformation initiatives? As this industry whitepaper discusses, the main goals of manufacturing digital transformation can be segregated into four broader areas:
Cost reduction: Leveraging digital technologies to reduce costs in areas such as supply chain management, employee performance, production planning and inventory control.
Competitive advantage: Utilizing digital technologies to gain a competitive edge in the market, such as through improved customer/employee experience, product customization and data-driven decision making.
Agility: Increasing flexibility and adaptability in the face of changing market demands, such as through improved supply chain visibility, predictive maintenance and agile business processes.
New business models: This could include refreshing manufacturing processes, investing in digital technology to improve processes company-wide, and otherwise finding new revenue streams through digital transformation initiatives.
Common roadblocks to DX in manufacturing
Some common challenges organizations see when undertaking DX in manufacturing include:
Competitive market: In a highly competitive market, your current digital capabilities and processes may not be enough to stay ahead. And with the swift upturn in DX investments in the market, it can be difficult to keep up with competitors who are already rapidly integrating new digital technologies. While you might feel on the back foot, it's important to remember that digital transformation is a long-term investment, and there are always opportunities for growth and sustainable improvement.
Distributed workforce: It can be difficult to know where to begin with digital transformation, especially for manufacturers who have a distributed workforce and may not have a clear understanding of the specific needs and pain points of their frontline employees. This can make implementing new processes, rolling out communications and combating employee attrition particularly challenging. We'll dive deeper into how to enable DX by empowering your frontline workers later in this post.
Costs and fees: Adopting new digital technologies and processes can be a costly investment, and there may also be additional fees for training and implementing these changes company-wide. It's important to conduct thorough ROI analysis and carefully weigh the potential long-term benefits against the initial costs.
Resistance to change: Change can be difficult, especially for employees who have been working in a certain way for many years. This is why it's important to have clear communication and a strong employee engagement system in place to help employees transition and adapt to the new digital technologies and processes.
Enabling DX by empowering the frontline
As we mentioned, a distributed workforce and lack of visibility into the specific pain points and needs on the frontline can make DX a challenge for manufacturing organizations. But by focusing on empowering your frontline workers, you can not only improve their experience and enable better communication, but also gather valuable insights to inform your digital transformation efforts.
One way to do this is through a mobile-first approach, providing frontline employees with devices and applications that allow them to easily access the information and communication they need, wherever they are on the factory floor. This not only improves productivity, but also allows for better data collection and analysis to inform DX initiatives.
Another key aspect is giving your frontline employees a voice in the digital transformation process, through tactics like regular check-ins and surveys, as well as dedicated onboarding and training programs. By actively seeking their input and understanding their specific needs, they will feel more engaged and empowered in the DX journey.
Frontline specific tech like Blink's employee app allows for better communication, feedback and overall engagement with your frontline workers. This helps to address common DX challenges such as unclear frontline needs and resistance to change, while also improving productivity and efficiency on the manufacturing floor.
With real-time employee engagement analytics, manufacturers can also track the impact, employee satisfaction and ROI of their digital transformation initiatives, supporting cost reduction efforts and decision making.
One great example to illustrate this is our work with JFE. When Canadian manufacturing company JFE approached us, their frontline workforce was disconnected due to outdated technology and communications, and they were facing large shortages in the labor market.
We overhauled their current technology and communications processes with a real-time communication solution by offering channels to funnel information, the ability to communicate with their operating teams through chats and a central hub to give employees access to company information in one place.
As a result, JFE was able to improve their recruitment processes, employee engagement, satisfaction and, crucially, its workers’ safety. With our help, they took the company from 300 to over 450 employees, and were able to promote initiatives in both recruiting and retaining staff to make them a more attractive employer to staff and new recruits.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/z0kAQOx9Ik8"
Interested in seeing how Blink's employee app can support your manufacturing digital transformation efforts? Schedule a free demo today.
6 unforeseen benefits of DX in manufacturing
So, you already know the production benefits of implementing DX in your business, but what about the benefits of DX solutions for the back of house? Here are 6 key benefits of DX in manufacturing that you just might have overlooked in the past.
1. Reduce staff turnover & recruit the right talent
More than 90% of manufacturing leaders believe that DX is important for their success, IDC states. They go on to predict that global DX spend among companies in discrete or process manufacturing industries will total more than $816 billion in 2025.
Hiring and retaining the right people in a competitive market can be a challenge for manufacturers, but DX can help. And with the IDC statistics above, it's more important than ever for manufacturers to keep up with digital transformation efforts in order to stay competitive in the recruitment market and attract top talent.
Adopting new technologies can make a company more attractive to potential employees and improve employee satisfaction and retention. It allows you to modernize, stay competitive and attract the right employees even when competitors are vying for the same pool of skilled workers with high DX spend.
In addition, frontline-specific tech can boost your employer value proposition as a manufacturer. You listen to how the frontline thinks and feels, allowing you to build trust with the entire workforce and reduce churn.
2. Improve worker health & safety
According to the Workplace Safety Index 2020, workplace injuries are a key driver of loss for U.S. businesses, costing more than $1 billion per week and $59 billion annually.
As we mentioned before, the rise of Industry 4.0 in the manufacturing industry has seen various manufacturers investing in new digital technologies to automate, modernize and enhance the entire process.
And with losses like these reported in the WSI, the key aspect of this modernization in the manufacturing industry is safety. By improving traditional manufacturing processes, boosting direct communication and implementing predictive maintenance, manufacturers can improve worker health and safety at the workplace.
With a frontline app like Blink, manufacturers can also gather direct employee feedback on safety concerns and act on them quickly, as well as offer training materials, policies, procedures and updates to ensure a safe work environment.
Additionally, with research showing that engaged workers are more aware of their surroundings and best practices around safety and are more likely to take steps to protect their co-workers, by investing in and driving employee engagement throughout your company, you can improve worker health and safety as a whole.
By promoting a culture where employees feel comfortable to speak up about concerns or risks, actively participate in risk management and adhere to policies and procedures, manufacturers can see a decrease in injury rates and overall improvement in the health and safety of their workforce.
3. Increase your bottom line
The latest data suggests that digital transformation investment for manufacturing companies increases business value. Gartner reports that 36% of manufacturing enterprises realize above-average business value from IT spending in digitalization at a reasonable cost when compared with peers.
Opportunities for driving profit and increasing your bottom line don’t only come from your production line. Keeping the wider picture of DX in mind, you can utilize digital tools to drive business value through improving your run-the-business functions (like finance or human resources)
DX in an organization’s HR function, in particular, have shown increased employee engagement and statistics show that highly engaged organizations benefit from:
18% higher sales
23% difference in profitability
43% difference in turnover.
With employee engagement tools that provide streamlined workflows, real-time frontline communication and intelligence, seamless scheduling and product updates in addition to new production tech like IoT and augmented reality, manufacturers can cut down on extra expenses and improve the overall efficiency of all their operations.
This ultimately drives up profits and revenue and increases business value, with your teams performing at their best by using the latest and greatest technology solutions.
4. Boost Employee Engagement
The digital transformation process can also boost employee engagement. Adopting new, modern technologies can make employees feel more valued and appreciated, improving job satisfaction and retention rates.
Currently, Gallup data notes that industrial manufacturers haven't quite caught up to other industries in terms of adopting digital tools to improve employee engagement, with only 25% of manufacturing employees stating they felt engaged at work.
DX offers new ways for frontline employees to communicate with each other and leadership, improving transparency and overall communication in the workplace – a key component of employee engagement.
With frontline-specific tech designed to engage employees like manufacturers, you can gather key employee feedback and act on it to improve processes and enhance overall employee engagement.
Further, according to the Chron, employee satisfaction is a reliable predictor of employee retention, meaning you can reduce churn and cut recruitment costs at the same time by improving the engagement your employees have with their digital tools.
Simplified, improved communications and streamlined, intuitive workflows means DX can enhance employee satisfaction levels for frontline workers, in turn, boosting their levels of engagement with their new tech and your employee retention rates.
And with the distinct improvement in profitability, sales and turnover that engaged teams provide as we highlighted above, it’s clear that investing in employee engagement initiatives is worth it from an ROI perspective.
5. Improve employee productivity
It’s obvious how traditional digital transformation solutions help improve quality on the production line. But did you know that implementing DX to improve your employees’ engagement can also lead to huge productivity boosts?
In the manufacturing sector, DX is not only about staying competitive or cutting costs – it's also about supporting your current employees; finding innovative ways to drive their motivation and productivity for a better overall business performance.
TechNative tells us that businesses must embrace innovative digital tools to make the employee experience seamless and personalized, creating a stronger emotional connection to the day-to-day experience of work.
Adopting new digital solutions, like frontline intelligence, predictive analytics and real-time communication solutions, allows you to foster connection with your frontline employees and act on their feedback to streamline day-to-day tasks. As such, your employees will feel better supported to be productive and efficient in their roles, and can produce their best work.
These employee technologies also offer product updates that keep everyone aligned with company goals, as well as streamlined workflows and schedules, reducing miscommunications and errors and allowing for maximum productivity.
So, not only does investing in digital transformation for your frontline workforce improve their overall job satisfaction, it also leads to a significant increase in motivation, productivity and output. It’s a win-win!
6. Build a positive brand reputation
In today’s day and age, it’s no secret that a company’s reputation is everything. In fact, the World Economic Forum has stated that a company's reputation can account for a quarter of its market value. Additionally, 87% of executives believe that reputational risks are more pressing than any other strategic risks.
As the digital transformation movement continues to evolve, your reputation as a manufacturing leader hinges on how well you adopt and use technology for success. Investing in new digital solutions for your frontline workforce is not only beneficial for your employees and your bottom line, but also for building a positive brand reputation.
By boosting employee engagement, satisfaction and productivity with technology, you’re not only improving the experience for those within your company, but also for your potential new hires and even your customers. With employees better equipped to provide top-notch service and meet customer demands efficiently, you can create a more positive customer experience and, ultimately, attract new business.
On top of that, adopting digital solutions for your frontline workforce also demonstrates your commitment to innovation and staying ahead of the competition in the manufacturing industry. It shows potential employees, investors, partners and customers that you’re dedicated to improving processes and creating a successful future for your company.
"Business leaders must move away from industry stereotypes, understand technologies, and help firms ride this wave with a competitive advantage by developing a successful transformation roadmap."
A DX roadmap, or digital transformation roadmap, is a plan that outlines the specific steps and timeframes for the adoption of new technologies to achieve your DX goals. This roadmap may be long and contain a number of different steps, but this allows you to stagger your digital transformation initiatives over time, prioritizing the areas that align with your current goals and business requirements.
To create your DX roadmap, you first need to understand the current state of your business. Your KPIs from above will come in handy here. Without knowing your starting point, it is impossible to map out a clear path to your goals. Therefore, knowing where you currently are is essential.
Your DX roadmap should outline key objectives, success metrics, technology investments, roles and responsibilities, and timelines. Begin implementing new technologies, methods, and processes one step at a time, starting with those that will have the biggest impact on your desired goals. And don’t forget to measure and evaluate your progress regularly to ensure you stay on track.
Remember the bigger picture
Remember, digital transformation is a long-term investment, with long-term value. Digital transformation is changing the way people do business.
Great digital leaders sift through the latest technologies to identify which ones will have the biggest impact on their business, and then prioritize those implementations. Keep in mind that digital transformation is not just about adopting new technology, but also about changing processes and culture for maximum efficiency and success.
And even with the relevant new technologies and industry trends to guide your digital transformation, you want to be uniquely positioned from your competitors. So, it's vital that you consider the wider market picture and how your DX transformation fits into it.
Consider your USPs. Can you provide a swift turnaround time based on your unique manufacturing technologies or streamlined business processes? Do you provide a second-to-none customer service journey because your customer-facing employees are always in direct contact with your frontline? You want these to be considered when mapping out your DX journey.
Set, monitor and measure your core transformation goals
To undergo digital transformation in any industry, you need to know your transformation goals. According to Asana, the best way to understand if your digital transformation strategy worked is by monitoring your business success metrics.
For the manufacturing industry, these success metrics might include employee engagement rates, retention of clients or employees, a reduction in accidents and errors, increased efficiency in production, and sustainable business growth.
Make sure to align these goals with your business key performance indicators (KPIs), as this will ensure that the entire company is on the same page about what constitutes success for the digital transformation. Plus, it's important to regularly track and measure your progress towards these goals, adjusting as needed.
To do this, look for DX solutions that allow you to access Frontline Intelligence, providing you with key metrics, analytics and insights into your employee engagement, satisfaction and even retention rates. With handy tools like this included in your DX roadmap, you are set up for success in achieving your core transformation goals.
Communicate well and often
As Mckinsey recommends for those undergoing digital transformation in the manufacturing industry:
“Communicate well and often. Establish an effective engagement plan and regular communication with critical senior stakeholders, site leaders, and a cross-functional core team.”
In short, communication is crucial for the success of your digital transformation. Keep all stakeholders, from top executives to frontline employees, in the loop about your DX roadmap and progress towards goals. This will ensure that everyone knows their role in the transformation and can work together towards success.
And don't forget to communicate with your employees! Driving employee engagement and buy-in for the digital transformation is crucial. They will be the ones driving and implementing these changes, so it's important that they understand the benefits and their role in making them happen.
Effective communication can also help with any potential resistance to change from employees. By keeping them informed and involved with easy-to-use, two-way conversations, you can work towards getting them on board with the transformation.
Accelerate your digital transformation today…
It's clear that leaders in the sector must prioritize DX efforts to ensure they're keeping up with competitors and improving overall satisfaction among their workforce.
From minimizing the time spent switching between apps and logins, to sending real-time communications and vital updates, DX allows manufacturers to improve the employee experience in a modern, digital way, and boost their bottom line in the process.
Designed specifically for industries like the manufacturing industry where workforces don’t have 24/7 access to a computer, or even a company email account, our platform is here to transform how you do business. Our app rethinks outdated frontline tech and offers a modern, digital solution for your frontline employee engagement.
Employee experience (EX) has been a trending topic across workplaces for a few years now. Originating as what seemed like a corporate buzzword quickly became a large-scale strategy for major employers across the globe.
And according to Forrester, the EX outlook for 2024 remains gloomy:
“Two key metrics dropped between 2022 and 2023 globally: Employee engagement fell from 41% to 37%, while culture energy fell from 63% to 59%[...]We predict that 2024 will see continued decline, with employee engagement dipping to 34%.”
These percentages are likely lower for frontline employees.
That’s because frontline workers often miss out on the employee engagement boosts available to their office-based counterparts. We’re talking connection and development opportunities, tech tools, and regular recognition.
The key issue now is what employers plan to do about it. Employee experience remains an important focus for any forward-thinking business. That’s because when employees are happy and engaged, your business benefits from:
So how are companies planning to engage and retain employees in 2024? And what EX patterns are already emerging? Here are the employee trends set to impact the future of employee experience over the coming year and beyond.
Top 5 EX trends to look out for in 2025
The growth of AI in the workplace
First on our list of employee experience trends is artificial intelligence (AI).
AI was a hot topic in 2023. As generative AI – like ChatGPT and Bard – marched onto the scene, lots of people got their first, hands-on experience with the technology.
Many businesses are already on board. 55% of respondents to a McKinsey survey said that their organizations were using AI in 2023. And more than two-thirds expect their organizations to increase AI investment over the next three years.
AI isn’t going anywhere. So in 2024, we predict that more companies will harness its potential for both business and employee experience transformation. Here’s how.
Streamlining workflows
AI is helping to streamline workflows. Which is good news for organizations – and for frontline employees.
Tech takes care of repetitive and monotonous tasks. It reduces frontline friction, so employees can perform tasks more easily. Workers get to spend more time on customer care and on activities that demand a higher level of expertise.
For instance, in retail, AI is predicting increased footfall. This gives shop floor staff time to prepare the store and provide a better service.
In healthcare, AI can help to reduce waiting times, which means happier patients and frontline healthcare staff.
And in manufacturing, real-time AI insight into equipment status allows workers to make repairs before machines break down entirely, making their job easier.
In 2024, more businesses will use AI to improve processes and streamline the work of their frontline teams.
Internal communications
AI is also playing an important role in internal communications. Leaders are using AI to perform tasks like these:
supporting DEI by highlighting bias in real-time, as employees type a message
identifying employees who haven’t received recognition in a while
helping employees find relevant resources on the company portal
Some organizations are also using AI chatbots to support the employee experience. Bots provide 24/7 assistance to employees, guiding them through company systems and helping them complete HR self-service tasks.
This spells satisfying experiences for employees where their queries are answered quickly – and a lighter workload for your People Team.
HR
HR teams are using AI to hone recruiting, onboarding, and training processes. They’re making these EX touchstones more effective and streamlined.
AI is helping to:
remove bias from the recruitment process
predict the needs of new hires
highlight training resources relevant to a chosen career pathway
This means People Teams get more time to focus on value-add employee experience activities. And employees feel more engaged with your organization, right from the very beginning of their journey.
But a word of warning. Getting the right AI balance will be key. Employees are happy to deal with AI for some HR functions. But AI in its current form lacks emotional intelligence. A real, human touch is still needed if you want to achieve the very best EX.
Education
As a whole, organizations are more optimistic and curious about AI than they were five years ago. But there’s a disconnect between leaders and frontline employees. According to a BCG survey:
Leaders are more optimistic than frontline employees about AI (62% vs 42%)
Leaders are more likely than frontline workers to say they’ve received training to improve skills and stay relevant (44% vs 14%)
Leaders use generative AI more regularly than frontline workers (80% vs 20%)
Regular generative AI users are more optimistic than non-users about the technology (62% vs 36%)
Frontline workers are worried about AI eroding or stealing their jobs, so we anticipate AI education being an important part of the puzzle in 2024. Leaders will have to explain the value of this tech to employees and how they plan to use it going forward.
Every digital interaction a worker has at your company forms part of their digital employee experience (DEX). But workplace tech often falls short.
It fails to mirror the seamless digital experiences people get in their lives away from work. It’s also often inaccessible to any worker who doesn’t sit behind a desk.
However, in 2024, it feels like things are changing.
Updating technology
52% of employees believe that software related to their employee experience is dated and difficult to use. And 52% of frontline employees say they would leave their jobs over poor tech tools.
Employers are taking note. In response to employee tech frustrations, companies are upgrading from old company intranets to modern, mobile-first solutions.
They’re using employee apps, like Blink, that help organizations create connected company ecosystems that include every member of the workforce.
Available via a smartphone app, Blink doesn’t rely on email addresses or a complicated login process. It’s a secure, streamlined platform that puts company comms, tools, and resources in the same accessible place.
And because mobile-first apps like Blink are similar to the digital tools employees already use at home, they’re intuitive. Any team member can pick up an app and use it instantly.
Streamlining technology
We now know that too many tools hamper the employee experience. Rather than switching between different platforms, employees prefer to use the fewest number of programs to achieve their goals.
So this year, companies are battling tech bloat and looking for tools that perform multiple functions. They’re also implementing tools that meet the needs of various departments – like HR, IT, and comms teams – bringing all EX essentials under the same roof.
This streamlined approach will reduce the need for multiple employee logins. Instead, tools will be increasingly integrated and easy to use.
Personalizing the experience
Employees are getting personalized experiences away from work. Movie recommendations on Netflix. The annual listening roundup from Spotify. A shopping list from their supermarket app.
We know that a personalized approach drives customer loyalty. So could this be the year employers apply the same logic to their employee experience?
Personalized internal comms
Good internal communication is essential to EX. It fosters trust between employees and leadership. It also makes your workforce more engaged, connected, and aligned.
The best internal comms are reliable and consistent. They’re also personalized to each employee, based on their location, department, role, or tenure.
Comms leaders are increasingly using personalization as a way to get their message heard. They’re doing this with the help of tech that allows them to segment employees more effectively.
This means employees no longer receive irrelevant memos. They don’t get distracted or overwhelmed by internal communications that don’t apply to them.
Instead, they receive tailored messages that resonate – and that encourage sustained engagement with comms going forward.
Personalized tech
As you’ve probably gathered, tech and AI are a common thread throughout these employee experience trends. They’re integral to the progress being made in the sector.
As well as using AI to segment your workforce and target internal communications more effectively, you can use tech to create personalized digital experiences.
For example, employees can reconfigure their company dashboard, prioritizing the features most relevant to their work. Some companies are using tools that go a step further, using AI to personalize portals automatically.
Personalized learning and career pathways
L&D and career advancement are still top priorities for frontline employees in 2024. But one size never fits all. So we expect more organizations to develop personalized learning and career pathways for their employees.
It’s about making learning accessible and engaging for each individual. Leaders will make micro-learning, mentorship, coaching, on-the-job learning, and online courses available to all employees.
It’s also about making learning relevant to each individual career path. Tech tools – once again – stand at the forefront of this shift. L&D leaders are using them to identify and benchmark skills related to each role. And then recommend relevant learning materials and assessments.
Employees want to be heard
Companies that only engage in top-down communication will stick out like a sore thumb in 2024. Listening and open communication are now cornerstones of good employee experience management.
Employees want to feel heard because it helps them to feel valued. And employers stand to benefit, too.
When you give employees a voice – and listen to what they have to say – you gain valuable insight into what your workforce wants. You then make better EX decisions. But this is only possible when you allow information to travel in all directions – top-down, bottom-up and peer-to-peer.
Manager training
Good company-wide communication relies on an open company culture. But it seems there’s disagreement over how well organizations are doing.
According to Leapsome’s Workforce Trends Report, 97% of HR leaders say that they have a good feedback culture. But only 13% of remote employees agree. What’s more, a third of all employees don’t feel they can talk to HR.
This is perhaps why organizations are putting greater focus on manager development. Managers help set the culture. But listening and open communication don’t always come naturally.
With training, managers can gain the active listening and empathy skills they need to encourage collaborative communication. They also learn to embrace rather than shy away from employee feedback.
Surveys & feedback
In a bid to make EX strategies more effective, we expect organizations to spend more time in 2024 gathering the opinions of employees.
They’ll be finding out what matters to their workers. And what workers think of EX as it currently stands.
Companies will develop a regular schedule of feedback requests and surveys. Annual surveys to track progress over time – and pulse surveys to get an up-to-the-minute snapshot of their organization.
Personalization comes into play here too. By personalizing surveys to different departments, teams, and employee journeys, organizations get better feedback engagement and more accurate results.
But simply filling out a survey isn’t enough to make employees feel heard. Currently, it’s a hollow exercise for a worrying proportion of organizations.
According to O.C. Tanner’s Global Culture Report, only 58% of organizations take action to improve after receiving employee feedback.
So to get the most employee satisfaction and retention benefits from your surveys, always incorporate the following actions:
Acknowledging and thanking employees for feedback
Sharing survey results
Communicating how you plan to use employee feedback to improve EX
Giving everyone a voice
When it comes to being heard, some employees seem to have a louder voice than others. Usually, it’s those closer to the heart of operations – employees based at HQ who get regular contact with managers and leaders.
However, as organizations strive to improve EX for all employees, they’re looking to include everyone in the conversation. This means frontline as well as desk-based teams.
Leaders increasingly understand the importance of spending time with frontline workers – either digitally or in person. It’s a way to grasp the realities, successes, and challenges of their roles.
We predict more of this in 2024, as well as a push for more inclusive decision-making.
With the right communication tools, accessible to everyone, head office can pose questions and present problems to all employees. They can get input from all members of the workforce and craft better, more effective solutions.
Data-driven decision-making
As we’ve seen, companies are using tech solutions to supercharge their EX. In the process, they’re gathering a ton of valuable data that they can use to inform their future efforts.
Data-driven decision-making is the last of our employee experience trends. And it seems it’s becoming par for the course. Organizations are routinely asking their employees:
Are you engaged with your team?
Are you happy with management? Leadership?
Are you satisfied with your experience at work?
Companies are using data from staff surveys to better identify employee experience issues. But they’re also getting a sense of the bigger picture by setting employee sentiment data alongside statistics on staff retention and productivity.
With the help of segmentation, they’re able to understand these figures at a granular level – by location, by department, by manager. This is allowing leaders to make more targeted and effective EX interventions.
But to harness the potential of data-driven decisions, you need the right tech tools. You need readily available, real-time data. You also need data that is well-presented and easy to digest so management can pivot EX strategies effectively.
Blink analytics lets you see positive and negative team relationships at a glance. It shows you the data associated with each individual post on the company newsfeed. And it has all of the features you need to filter and benchmark data with ease.
What’s your EX plan for 2025?
2023 was a tough year. But the future of employee experience remains bright and exciting.
In 2024, we expect to see a real internal comms culture shift. Organizations are finding ways to amplify unheard frontline voices. They’re also making real efforts to act upon what they hear – and to involve everyone in the conversation.
AI and tech are a powerful force that we can use to improve EX. They make work easier and more enjoyable for employees while helping leaders create personalized and engaging experiences at every point in the employee journey.
And finally, thanks to both employee listening initiatives and great AI and tech tools, employers are getting better access to perspective-changing data. This is allowing them to drive informed and effective EX transformation.
So what are your EX plans for 2024?
Incorporate these employee trends into your EX strategy and you’ll get ahead of the competition. You’ll develop an employee-centric approach that drives better retention, productivity, and profits.
Check out a preview of Blink here to see how our frontline employee super-app can help transform employee experience.
Meet your newest digital water cooler: Your employee intranet
Whatever happened to the workplace water cooler?
Water cooler conversations were never just about small talk. They helped build stronger teams, sparked collaboration, and made employees feel part of a welcoming company culture.
In today’s hybrid and frontline workplaces, these moments are a rarity. But the need for connection is stronger than ever.
83% of employees want their workplace to provide a sense of community, with more than a third willing to trade higher pay for meaningful workplace friendships or social enrichment.
Enter the modern employee intranet: A digital water cooler that supports seamless internal communication and boosts employee engagement. It’s a tool that amplifies company culture and gives all employees — no matter where they work — the connection and sense of belonging they crave.
Ready to take your intranet from dusty document repository to thriving social hub? Here, we look at how to upgrade the employee intranet — and why having a digital space for connection is so important in 2025.
The evolution of workplace connection
Remote and hybrid work have transformed employee communications. There’s less opportunity for organic office conversations, which means workplace relationships and employee engagement suffer.
This is nothing new for frontline workers who rarely step into HQ. Relying on paper memos and word-of-mouth messaging, they often miss out on essential company news and coworker camaraderie.
But times are changing. Many employers now recognize the critical role connection plays in employee engagement, retention, and productivity. And they’re turning to corporate intranets to bridge the gap.
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Rethinking the employee intranet: From static portal to social hub
You may be wondering how the intranet — that clunky and outdated software — can solve the employee connection conundrum. Traditional intranets, often relegated to the dark corners of the tech stack, have functioned as a digital filing cabinet. Certainly not a space for water cooler conversation.
But internal communications have moved on.
The modern employee intranet is dynamic and mobile-first. It’s designed to connect employees across locations — offering a single source of truth and need-to-know company updates. But also a sense of belonging, a deeper understanding of company culture, and a more satisfying employee experience.
Imagine this: A delivery driver rarely crosses paths with his teammates. With limited access to an old, static intranet that he has to access via a shared desktop computer in the depot, he feels like he’s working solo.
But, thanks to a new and improved employee intranet and personalized experience, he can check the company’s social feed on his smartphone during breaks. In one central location, he can add a reaction to a recognition post for top-performing drivers and even join a group chat where colleagues swap route tips.
How to make your intranet a go-to digital water cooler (paper cups not necessary)
Ready to turn your modern intranet solution into the digital workplace hotspot? Here’s how.
Make it social
The best employee intranets replicate your favorite experiences on social media platforms. When employees can comment, react to posts, and share their own content, you create more compelling user experiences and make your platform more engaging.
Use bite-sized, engaging updates
Keep it snappy. Use short and snappy videos, GIFs, and eye-catching graphics. This type of content attracts attention and fits seamlessly into the busy schedules of both desk-based and frontline workers.
Encourage leadership visibility
Have executives and managers actively post, share insights, and respond to employee comments. Employees are more likely to engage with your intranet when they see that leadership is invested in two-way communication.
Leverage personalization
Relevant content is engaging content. So ensure employees see content relating to their role, location, tenure, and team. When staff enjoy a highly personalized intranet experience, they're more likely to log in regularly — boosting key metrics like employee adoption.
Make it accessible
All employees should be part of the conversation. So you need an intranet that your frontline employees, remote workers, and desk-based staff alike. Streamline the experience, provide a user-friendly dashboard, and make all essential features available via mobile access to create a solution that works for everyone.
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Turning employees into active intranet participants
You can build it. But will they come? And will they participate?
To prevent tumbleweed moments on your intranet platform, employee interaction is essential. Here’s how you can nudge workers in the right direction and develop a modern intranet culture that employees are excited to be part of.
Interactive content
Ask questions. Launch polls. Create employee recognition posts and ask teammates to add their messages of congratulations. Coworker connection is much more likely when you invite employees to join the conversation.
Informal content
Company updates are an employee intranet essential. But to foster connection, you need to leave space for informal conversation. So create fun content — like caption contests, a question of the day, and photos of the latest team event — to make your intranet more relatable and appealing.
Employee-generated content
Nothing inspires the reactions and comments of coworkers like employee-generated content. You can encourage employees to post their own content with a company-wide content generation contest — or by identifying and supporting employee influencers.
Gamification
A spot of good old-fashioned competition can prompt the intranet behaviors you want to see. A points system, a leaderboard, or digital badges inspire employees to take a more active role in the company intranet.
Communities
With Communities, employees can build meaningful connections with a smaller group of coworkers. These community-driven spaces link employees to their teammates or to coworkers with shared interests — and they’re great at driving engagement and participation.
These social communities are especially beneficial for frontline and remote teams who rely on digital collaboration tools to sync up with their colleagues.
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Measuring success: Is your digital water cooler thriving?
Once your digital water cooler is a hive of employee interaction and conversation, it’s time to measure its impact. Use analytics and employee feedback to assess engagement and optimize employee intranet platform performance.
Supplement this data with employee surveys. Ask employees what they think about modern intranet features, functionality, interactivity, and the types of intranet content they prefer.
You can then use this information to make meaningful adjustments to your intranet solution, making it more engaging and keeping up-to-speed with evolving employee expectations.
Give workers the social connection they crave with a modern employee intranet
A modern, social intranet isn’t just a tool for sharing information. It’s a powerful driver of culture and connection across the entire company — and a strategic part of your digital transformation.
Populate your employee intranet with key features, functionality, and content, and it becomes the gathering space of your digital workplace. It offers water cooler moments that enrich the digital employee experience.
Your intranet strategy doesn’t just benefit your people — it benefits for your broader business goals, too. By creating a deeper sense of connection and a more inclusive corporate culture, you can improve employee productivity, engagement, and retention.
There's a question HR and comms leaders hear constantly. Not from their teams. From finance, from the C-suite, from every budget conversation they've sat in.
"Can you put a number on it?"
For years, employee experience has struggled to answer this question cleanly. The work is real. The impact is real. But the costs are spread across departments, buried in different reports, attributed to different owners. Turnover sits in HR. Productivity drag lives in ops. Compliance risk belongs to legal. Nobody's joining the dots.
So the status quo continues. And the bill quietly compounds, yet the symptoms get louder and louder across the organisation.
This is the cost of inaction - and it's larger than most organizations realize.
When frontline employees don't receive the right information at the right time, things go wrong in slow, expensive ways. Managers get buried in administration instead of being out on the floor with their teams. New starters take longer to get up to speed. Safety incidents increase when critical information doesn't reach the right people. And when workers don't feel connected, absenteeism climbs and your best people start to leave.
None of these show up as a line item called "poor employee experience." But they are costing money. Every week. Across every site.
The challenge for HR and comms leaders isn't proving that the problem exists. It's translating it into language that moves a business case forward.
The most effective approach is to align on the inputs before you build the case. Work backwards from what the business already tracks. Confirm the turnover figure with HR. Ask ops for average shift-fill time. Check with compliance on how often missed communications create rework or incidents. When the data points are owned across the organization, the problem is too - and the conversation shifts from "can you prove this?" to "what do we do about it?"
That's exactly the framework behind Blink's Cost of Inaction Calculator. It takes the metrics your organization already holds - workforce size, average salary, turnover rate - and models the financial impact of communication gaps, productivity loss, employee replacement costs, and operational risk. This can then be used in your business case for employee engagement, built in the language leaders can't ignore: tangible financial impact, grounded in your own numbers.
We work alongside our customers and prospects to diagnose these symptoms every day. The goal isn't to win a budget argument. It's to make the cost of doing nothing impossible to ignore.
If you want to see how the model works in practice, I am running a live session on June 17 - The hidden cost of a disconnected frontline. The session walks through the calculator methodology, the assumptions that drive the calculations, and how to use the output to build a stronger business case with finance and operational leaders. It's also available on demand.
The investment in employee experience is easier to justify than most people think. You just need the right framework to show what inaction is already costing.
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)
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#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.
Why teams choose Blink over Simpplr
Simpplr leans heavily into an AI-driven intranet experience for desk-based teams — but frontline workers need a mobile-first experience first, AI features second. Blink delivers both: mobile-first design that reaches every worker without a corporate email address, used daily by teams at McDonald's, Domino's, and Chick-fil-A. See how Blink compares.
The best modern intranet platforms for organizations ready to move beyond SharePoint
SharePoint has been a mainstay in the enterprise toolkit for over two decades. It’s a powerful document management system, deeply integrated with Microsoft 365, and often the default choice for storing and sharing internal files.
But here’s the problem: SharePoint was never built to be a communications platform.
While it excels at managing content libraries and handling compliance-heavy workflows, SharePoint often falls short when it comes to engaging employees, delivering real-time updates, and building a connected culture across modern, distributed teams.
In a world where employees expect internal tools to be as intuitive and engaging as the apps they use outside of work, SharePoint can feel clunky, outdated, and hard to navigate—especially on mobile.
That’s why more organizations are seeking SharePoint alternatives that are easier to use, faster to deploy, and actually drive adoption. Whether you’re leading HR, IT, or Internal Comms, this guide will help you find a platform that fits how people work today—not how they worked in 2005.
Below, we break down the top 10 SharePoint alternatives in 2025—from modern employee apps to full-featured intranet platforms—so you can choose the right solution for your team.
#1. Blink
Best for modern organizations that want one app for everything work-related
Blink is a next-generation employee platform that combines intranet, internal communications, and essential tools in one mobile-first app. Unlike SharePoint, Blink is designed with the end user in mind—delivering a personalized, social-style experience that’s as easy to use as your favorite consumer apps.
It works across all employee types—desk-based, remote, frontline, and hybrid—giving everyone a single access point for updates, resources, and action.
Standout features:
Personalized feed with dynamic content
Native mobile and desktop experience
Chat, surveys, micro-apps, and file sharing in one place
Fast rollout with minimal IT dependency
Rich analytics to track engagement and reach
Instagram at work features like Stories
Ideal for: Mid-to-large organizations ready to unify communications, culture, and tools in a single platform. Limitations: Not focused on traditional document-heavy intranet use cases.
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#2. Interact
Best for internal comms teams building structured, branded intranets
Interact is a well-established intranet platform known for its structured content management, branded design options, and targeting capabilities. It helps internal comms teams deliver timely, relevant content to the right audiences, while offering tools for feedback and measurement.
Standout features:
Drag-and-drop design tools
User segmentation and targeting
Feedback features (likes, comments, polls)
Integrations with Microsoft 365 and other tools
Ideal for: Communications teams in mid-size organizations. Limitations: Mobile experience isn’t its strongest suit.
#3. Staffbase
Best for enterprise comms with campaign-style messaging
Staffbase is built for centralized internal communication at scale. With a branded employee app and features tailored to top-down messaging, it’s a strong choice for large organizations where internal communications is a dedicated function.
Standout features:
Personalized content feeds
Internal email and newsletter tools
Branded mobile apps
Communication planning and analytics
Ideal for: Enterprises with large, distributed workforces and centralized comms teams. Limitations: More focused on broadcasting than collaboration.
#4. Happeo
Best for Google Workspace-based companies
Happeo is a sleek, modern intranet designed to integrate deeply with Google Workspace. It blends intranet content, social channels, and G Suite tools into a unified interface that’s especially popular with remote and digital-first companies.
Standout features:
Real-time Google Drive integration
Team channels and social intranet feed
Drag-and-drop intranet page builder
Easy onboarding and admin
Ideal for: Teams using Google Workspace who want a polished UX. Limitations: Less relevant for Microsoft-heavy environments.
#5. LumApps
Best for complex enterprise needs and deep integrations
LumApps is an advanced intranet and employee experience platform with a strong focus on personalization, multilingual content, and integration across enterprise systems. It's a go-to for global companies that need a highly structured, configurable solution.
Standout features:
Rich personalization based on user roles
AI-powered recommendations
Microsoft and Google integrations
Multilingual and multi-brand support
Ideal for: Large enterprises with global teams and complex requirements. Limitations: High cost and long implementation time.
#6. Simpplr
Best for AI-driven content delivery and lifecycle comms
Simpplr’s strength lies in making large volumes of content feel personalized and accessible. With built-in AI and lifecycle capabilities, it helps organizations deliver the right information at the right time—especially useful for onboarding, change management, and HR comms.
Standout features:
AI-powered content targeting
Lifecycle campaigns (e.g., onboarding)
User-friendly CMS
Engagement analytics and sentiment tracking
Ideal for: Enterprises that want smarter content delivery. Limitations: More focused on desk-based teams than mobile workers.
#7. Igloo
Best for governance and compliance-focused content management
Igloo offers a more traditional intranet experience with emphasis on document control, structured spaces, and knowledge management. It’s well-suited to organizations with strict compliance, approval workflows, or audit requirements.
Standout features:
Version-controlled document repositories
Approval workflows and access control
Wiki-style knowledge base
Integration with cloud storage systems
Ideal for: Legal, finance, and regulated industries. Limitations: Interface can feel dated; not mobile-first.
#8. Jive (by Aurea)
Best for peer collaboration and internal communities
Jive prioritizes community-driven engagement. It’s a feature-rich platform that encourages social interaction, collaboration, and internal networking, with robust forums and group spaces for employee-led discussions.
Standout features:
Community and interest groups
Discussion threads and forums
Recognition and gamification
Advanced user activity analytics
Ideal for: Knowledge-sharing organizations with a culture of collaboration. Limitations: UI feels less modern; slower updates and innovation.
#9. ThoughtFarmer
Best for small-to-mid teams that want a clean, simple intranet
ThoughtFarmer focuses on usability and simplicity. It offers enough flexibility to meet most intranet needs while staying easy to use for both employees and admins. It’s known for its approachable design and personal touch.
Standout features:
Easy intranet editing tools
Staff directory and org chart
Localized content targeting
Light project and task tools
Ideal for: Mid-sized companies that don’t need enterprise complexity. Limitations: Not ideal for global scale or highly mobile teams.
#10. Basecamp
Best for teams focused on projects, not pages
While not an intranet in the traditional sense, Basecamp is a viable SharePoint alternative for small, project-driven teams. It consolidates file sharing, team comms, tasks, and scheduling into one easy-to-use platform.
Standout features:
Message boards, to-dos, and docs in one place
Calendar and schedule management
File versioning and access control
Notification control and auto-check-ins
Ideal for: Startups and small teams prioritizing execution over content architecture. Limitations: Lacks structured intranet features like targeting, workflows, or internal news.
Final thoughts: Choosing the right SharePoint alternative
The best SharePoint alternative isn’t just about replacing software—it’s about enabling a better employee experience.
Ask yourself:
Does this platform work for all employees—across roles, devices, and locations?
Is it engaging, personalized, and intuitive?
Will people actually use it?
If you want an intranet that employees love—not just tolerate—Blink is a powerful alternative worth exploring.
Why teams choose Blink over SharePoint
SharePoint is a powerful document and content platform, but it was built for desk-based collaboration, not for reaching frontline workers who don't have a company email address or a laptop. Blink is mobile-first from the ground up, and is used daily by teams at McDonald's, Domino's, and Chick-fil-A. See how Blink compares.
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