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Effective communication is the glue that holds all your employees together. It unites everyone, from the top management to the frontline and remote workers, towards a shared set of organizational goals and values.

Yet a recent study paints a grave picture of most working environments. 80% of professionals rate their business’ communication as poor or average.

And when kept unchecked, ineffective communication often leads to a snowball effect of disengagement and confusion. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. Implementing effective organizational communication strategies is the key to unlocking smooth coordination among your employees. And in this post, we’ll take a look at what those strategies are.

Why is organizational communication important?

In a recent report called "Internal Communication in the Eyes of C-Suite Leaders", it was found that C-suite executives recognized the vital role internal communication plays in improving their bottom lines and driving business results. And rightly so.

Workers need to interact and exchange information and documents with one another frequently. Plus, they want the top management to listen to their concerns, suggestions, and feedback.

The same goes for senior leaders in the company. They want to make sure that internal marketing campaigns, critical company announcements, news about employee benefits, and other important messages are reaching each and every member of the workforce.

By fulfilling these needs for both parties, a good corporate communication strategy solidifies the bond among the workers and facilitates the sharing of information. The result? A big boost in employee engagement and productivity.

Now the question is, how can you level up your company’s communication? By following the most effective organizational communication strategies.

What are the best organizational communication strategies?

Without further ado, here are our best organizational communication strategies to help resolve workplace conflicts and facilitate a smooth exchange of information across your company.

1. Create a corporate communication plan

Failing to plan is planning to fail. If you don’t have an internal communication plan in place, drop everything else and build one first. Without a plan, you won’t have a clear roadmap to implement effective communication in your business.

A great communication strategy will help you answer vital questions like:

• How to make your messages more relevant and engaging?
• Which communications channels should you be using?
• How can you ensure the right content reaches the workers at the right time?
• What roles will your C-level executives play in workplace communication?
• How will you encourage employees to engage in two-way conversations?

The planning process starts with having a clear understanding of your communication goals and audience. And then conducting an audit of the current communication campaigns and channels you have in place.

This is followed by determining your communication schedule and channels for the next six or 12 months. To learn more, check out our in-depth guide on building an internal communication strategy.

2. Encourage one-to-one conversations

Not every concern can be appropriately discussed in a group setting. For example, you may want to address a personal grievance or performance issue. And in such cases, it’s much better to initiate a private chat.

A one-on-one meeting gives you the chance to read the worker’s body language, know their communication style, and get visual cues on how to proceed with the interaction.

Even when you don’t have a specific issue to discuss, setting aside one-to-one time with your employees on a regular basis is essential. Because it helps you understand and bond with them more effectively. So make sure to add this company communication strategy to your arsenal.

3. Sprinkle a little humor

Workplace communication is usually a serious endeavor. You often convey information that’s intense. Whether you’re discussing a problem or setting goals, laughing and cracking jokes may seem out of place.

But a series of serious interactions can put workers in a negative mindset. And it affects how they interpret and draw conclusions from the information shared with them. When a meeting gets too heated, people want to leave as soon as possible, which hinders the flow of information. 

Although it’s not always possible to avoid a stressful conversation, levity can help you a lot in pushing your company’s communication strategy forward. Lightening the mood is an important skill that helps you defuse tense situations and relax everyone involved in the communication.

So the next time you’re communicating something to your employees, try to make them laugh.

Also, if you’re worried that your jokes won’t be any good, then you’re focusing on the wrong thing. It’s not so much about making clever remarks as about trying to make people feel relaxed and comfortable. In fact, research shows that people welcome any kind of levity as long as it’s not offensive or hurtful.

4. Nurture two-way communication

Effective communication is supposed to be a two-way street. An organization cannot reach its full collaboration potential if information flows only in one direction — from top management to the rest of the workers.

If employees can’t ask questions or discuss the information conveyed, then you aren’t communicating. You’re commanding. You’re giving orders and expecting workers to follow them.  

Of course, some directives are absolute and non-negotiable. But you can’t rely on this approach all the time when working with today’s skilled, talented professionals who thrive in an environment of autonomy.

Instead, the right company communication strategy is to invest in creating a receptive space where workers can put forth their concerns, share suggestions, and feel heard. And make sure those inputs are acted on. Not brushed under the carpet.

Listening to feedback doesn’t just help your employees feel valued. It also helps you clarify your message. You may think your communication is crystal clear but still miss some aspects critical to help others understand the information. Two-way communication can fill those gaps.

Facilitating two-way communication in your organization is easier than you think. For example, Blink is a corporate communication app that comes with a social-media-style news feed visible to all employees.

Anyone in the company can post an update, on which others can like and comment. This helps the most relevant stories rise to the top. Plus, the admins can choose to amplify selected updates even further. 

5. Bring consistency in your communication

All your communication, whether written or verbal, and whether internal or external, should have the essence of your company’s brand and workplace culture.

Plus, it should have a unique, consistent voice that reduces any chance of ambiguity and unifies your workforce. Such a voice also helps you communicate in the right spirit, not to mention avoid conflicts and misunderstandings.

But the more people participate and contribute to your organization’s communication, especially from different locations and time zones, the harder it gets to keep the voice consistent.

So what you need is a set of shared guidelines, formats, and best practices that everyone can refer to when creating content. And you can prepare the same in the form of a communication style guide.

Once you’ve clearly laid out your communication guidelines, make sure to train your communication department, as well as other contributors, on how to put the instructions into practice for subsequent messages.

6. Make use of visual aids

Different people have different learning styles. Some are comfortable reading pages after pages of text, some want to listen on the go, while others need something to view, like a video.

Regardless, almost everyone gets enticed by imagery. Presentations and infographics help people wrap their heads around the given information. So using colorful posters, charts, and graphs to distill complicated ideas is one of the best ways to make your message clear and memorable.

There are many ways to use visual aids for workplace communication. For example, if you find yourself repeating certain messages to your staff, or answering the same questions again and again, you can save time and effort with a visual aid to share the corresponding content.  

Is someone in your ear every 10 minutes with questions about holidays? Design a holiday calendar workers can check on their own. Bombarded with requests about printer passwords? Print them in large letters and stick them near the machine.

You don’t need to be a master designer to do this. Tools like Canva, Piktochart, and Venngage come with drag-and-drop functionality and hundreds of ready-made templates designed by professionals. So all you need to do is pick a template and replace its contents with yours. 

7. Train your staff on effective communication

We have spent a good chunk of our lives communicating with others, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re good at it.

For example, many employees have such a logical, fact-based communication style that they often forget to take others’ emotions into account. Others often get carried away by feelings and miss key details. And the gaps in communication lead to conflict, ambiguity, and workplace politics.

So in any organization, effective communication should be proactively taught and encouraged. And it should be a vital part of the training programs you have in place for workers.

Great communication training helps teach your employees how to keep their emotions in check and present their ideas clearly and comprehensively.

8. Conduct more open sessions

Meetings are seen as a dull affair, especially when just one or two people are doing most of the talking. You’ve probably sat through many where you were just expected to attend and listen.

But that doesn’t mean all meetings are bad. A meeting is just a tool. And like any other tool, you can handle it effectively or poorly.

So every once in a while, you should conduct an open session with all the workers in your company or in specific departments. This meeting will have a set agenda, and every employee will be encouraged to speak up and talk about their work, their experiences, and any concerns or suggestions.

Scheduling such open sessions regularly will not just improve communication, but also help you get a pulse of different teams and your overall culture.

9. Leverage the right tools and technology

Remote work, dispersed teams, smartphones, and other advancements are shaping the new reality of work. But in many organizations, the communication systems and processes haven’t caught up to this change.

The good news is modern technology and employee engagement tools have made it easier than ever to streamline internal communication and include every employee in the process, from hiring to global HR services.

Frontline workers, for example, have largely been excluded from communication channels available to desk-based employees, such as email and instant messaging. With the rise of smartphones and mobile apps though, it is now possible to make them a crucial part of your ongoing communication.

With Blink, for example, workers can easily share documents, engage in live chat with one another, and resolve problems fast.

So it’s time for you to see if the technology you have in place is really enough to get the job done. If not, invest in the right tools to take your communication to the next level.

10. Cultivate the habit of active listening

No doubt, writing and talking clearly are crucial for proper communication, but managers and other employees should also know how to listen.

Poor listening undermines communication and defeats the purpose of effective collaboration. Without the right listening skills, messages are more likely to be misunderstood.

Now, you may think you listen, but good listening is more than identifying others’ words. As Stephen Covey says, “Most of us listen with the intent to respond, not to understand.”

So, cultivate a habit of listening among yourself and your employees. Encourage everyone to practice active listening methods. And teach your staff to reflect, summarize, and ask clarifying questions when listening to a customer or coworker.

When employees and customers feel heard and understood, they’re more likely to keep working with you and have a positive image of your brand.

How can you improve organizational communication in the workplace?

Follow these tips to help achieve effective communication in the workplace:

1. Use the right tools. Having the right tools to communicate, that everyone can access, and use is vital. Review your tech stack and make improvements where needed.
2. Get feedback. Employee surveys can help shed light on your current communication methods and where you can make improvements.
3. Use different communication formats. Images, emails, videos, the list goes on. Use different formats for the different types of communications you need to deliver.
4. Distribute through the right channels. What's the best way to deliver the message? Email, instant message, intranet, app notifcation? Make sure you pick the right channel.
5. Focus on employee engagement strategies. An engaged workforce is open to communication and sharing their voice.
6. Measure the outcomes. Keep a close eye on your metrics. How many people are reading your emails and communications? Is it enough or do you need to improve?

Wrapping up: effective organizational communication strategies

As you can see, good communication doesn’t happen by accident. You need to make sure that your messages successfully reach the intended audience, are interpreted clearly, and are understood empathetically.

It takes effort from both you and your staff. So the more confidently you apply the organizational communication strategies we have outlined in this guide, the more your team would also integrate them into their actions. So take time to develop and execute these concepts diligently to build a collaborative and efficient workplace.

And remember, using a communication solution like Blink can reduce your communication effort while increasing the penetration of your messages, even with a largely remote or dispersed workforce. Book a free demo today.

How do you rate your workplace communication? And would your employees agree?

According to the IC Index 2026, just 56% of employees feel the communication they receive from their employer is open and honest.

That leaves nearly half the workforce feeling uncertain about what’s really going on. And this is a missed opportunity for organizations — because open communication is good for employees and good for business. 

Open communication keeps everyone on the same page. It supports a strong and engaging company culture. It empowers employees to do their best work — and also inspires their loyalty.

For frontline and remote employees, open communication is even more important.

These teams often get less face time with leadership and receive fewer informal updates — so clear, transparent communication is what keeps them connected to the organization and up to speed with what’s happening.  

Want to improve comms at your organization? Start by learning what open communication is, why it matters, and how to build it into your internal communication strategy.

What is open communication?

Open communication is a style of communication in which people share ideas, information, and concerns honestly and transparently — without fear of judgment or negative consequences.

In the workplace, that means no one is kept in the dark. Leaders share company updates regularly. Managers maintain an open-door policy. Employees feel comfortable sharing feedback and contributing ideas.

Open communication stands in contrast to closed communication, where information is restricted, decisions are made without consultation, and employees are left to fill in the gaps — often with assumption and rumor.

This approach to internal communication creates ambiguity and uncertainty. It erodes trust and makes it harder for people to do their jobs well.

Why open communication in the workplace matters

Ineffective internal communication is expensive. According to Grammarly’s State of Business Communication report, it’s costing US businesses $1.2 trillion every year.

Developing a culture of open communication is a powerful way to improve your comms — and boost your bottom line. Here’s what it could mean for your organization.

Open communication boosts productivity and efficiency

Teams lose an average of 7.47 hours per week to poor communication. That’s almost one full working day per week.

When employees don’t have access to clear, timely information, you get duplicated work and misaligned priorities. Your teams also waste time untangling the misunderstandings that clearer communication could have prevented.

Open communication removes that friction. It gives employees a clear understanding of roles, expectations, organizational goals, and deadlines — so they can complete tasks faster and use resources more effectively.

That means a big boost to employee productivity and operational efficiency.  

Open communication improves employee engagement and retention

Employees who get enough information to do their job well are 2.8 times more likely to be engaged. And employee engagement has a measurable impact.

Gallup research shows that organizations with highly engaged workforces experience  

• 17% increase in productivity
• 51% decrease in staff turnover
• 23% increase in profitability

Open communication is a really effective employee engagement tactic. It drives engagement by building workplace trust, creating clarity around goals, and giving employees a voice.

Open communication enhances workplace culture

Open communication is the foundation of psychological safety — the belief that it’s safe to ask questions, admit mistakes, and suggest new ideas. Without this belief, problems stay hidden.

Imagine a frontline worker notices a process that’s creating a safety risk, but they don’t feel comfortable raising the issue. In a culture of closed communication, that concern is never voiced and the risk persists.

In an organization where open communication is the norm, the worker raises the issue quickly through easy-access communication channels. The safety issue gets addressed. Everyone is safer as a result.

Psychological safety enables employees to speak up — whether they’re raising concerns or sharing a bright idea. It strengthens trust, improves employee well-being, and contributes to a workplace culture where people feel heard and respected. 

Open communication strengthens team relationships

Open communication doesn’t just bring benefits at an organizational level. It filters down to every team in the company. 

Embed open communication in your culture, and employees communicate openly and honestly with one another.

They get to know their teammates’ working styles, intentions, and perspectives. They’re able to share ideas, ask questions, and provide feedback sensitively. Conflict and misunderstandings are avoided — or resolved quickly.

Open communication makes teamwork much easier. Employees are better able to collaborate, which improves business outcomes as well as the employee experience.

Open communication drives problem-solving and innovation

Frontline workers have daily contact with the customers your company serves. They see operational inefficiencies up close. They know what’s working and what isn’t.

In organizations with closed communication, that knowledge stays stuck on the floor. Insights remain untapped and inefficiencies continue to drain profits.

But if your company communicates openly — if your frontline staff have access to two-way messaging tools, employee surveys, communities where ideas can be shared and built on — the story is very different.

With a direct line to your stores and a culture that encourages employee input, you surface knowledge from across the organization. Wherever that insight comes from, you can use it to identify and solve problems, make decisions, and come up with new ideas more effectively.

Open communication supports change

Change is one of the biggest stress tests of workplace communication.

When change communication seems to hide more than it reveals, employees fill in the gaps themselves. That can lead to confusion, resistance, and mistrust.

Open communication changes that dynamic. By communicating openly, employees understand what’s changing, why it’s changing, and how it will affect their day-to-day work. This approach also creates space for questions and feedback.

The result? Change feels less disruptive and adoption of new policies is faster because employees have all the information they need to get behind the organization.

Open communication improves retention

70% of employees who rate their company’s internal comms as ‘excellent’ intend to stay with that company for the long term. This drops to just 24% of people who rate communication as ‘good’.

The way you communicate with your workforce has a huge impact on employee satisfaction and retention.

When employees understand what’s expected of them, enjoy collaborative relationships with teammates, trust in leadership, and feel like they have a voice, they’re much more likely to stay working for you.

The 5 pillars of open communication

There are lots of benefits to open, honest communication. To foster this type of communication in your workplace, it helps to understand the five pillars that make it possible.

1. A lack of ego

Big egos get in the way of open communication.

They lead people to dominate conversations and discount views that challenge their own. To respond to feedback defensively, rather than constructively, and to avoid admitting mistakes.

Leaders set the tone here. When managers model the behaviors they want to see — admitting mistakes, listening actively, welcoming feedback, speaking authentically, and including everyone in the conversation — a culture of open communication is more likely to develop.

2. Trust

Trust is both a precondition for open communication and a consequence of it. When employees trust their organization, they communicate more openly. And that openness deepens organizational trust.

Building this kind of trust takes time and consistency. It requires leaders who follow through on what they say, managers who take employee concerns seriously, and a visible track record of acting on feedback.

Get this right, and employees will feel comfortable sharing their honest thoughts, feelings, and ideas. You create an environment where everyone feels respected and valued — which is great for employee communication and the employee experience.

3. Training

Even in organizations with strong cultures and good intentions, communication skills vary significantly between individuals.

Luckily, the principles of open communication can be taught. Active listening, constructive feedback, conflict resolution, and the ability to have difficult conversations respectfully are all learnable skills.

Investing in communication skills training at every level — not just for managers — helps you build an organization of effective, open communicators.  

4. Two-way interaction

Open communication with employees isn’t just about sharing information. It’s about engaging in conversation and answering employee questions, without always relying on a pre-prepared script.

By shifting from top-down broadcast to two-way dialogue, allowing employees to ask questions, and giving them answers they trust, organizations can dramatically improve the openness of their communications.

5. Tools

Once you move beyond a handful of employees, open communication requires infrastructure. Channels and tools that every employee can access easily — regardless of their role, location, or whether they have a corporate email address.

That means internal communication tools that support company updates, employee feedback, and day-to-day collaboration. And it means tools that work on a smartphone as well as a desktop computer.

How Blink supports open communication in organizations with a frontline workforce 

For organizations with deskless workers, the tools issue is where open communication most commonly breaks down.

Traditional communication infrastructure — email, desktop intranets — simply doesn’t reach employees who work on the floor, on the road, or across multiple sites and shifts.

Blink is a mobile-first employee platform built to bring open communication to your entire workforce, no matter where they work.

Here’s how the platform supports open communication.

A personalized news feed. Company updates, leadership messages, team news, and recognition all appear in a single news feed — accessible from every employee’s smartphone. And it’s not a one-way broadcast. Employees can comment, react, and respond to updates so everyone has a voice.

Direct and group messaging. Employees can chat with managers and co-workers over a secure, searchable, real-time messaging tool. Across a social-media-style user experience, they can add attachments, add emotion with emojis, and even launch a video call from within the chat.

Surveys and polls. In-app surveys and quick-fire polls give every employee an easy way to share feedback, straight from their smartphones. Analytics help leaders make sense of responses — and track platform usage rates. So it’s easy to see where internal communications can be improved.

A centralized knowledge hub. Policies, procedures, FAQs, operational guidance — every essential document lives in the content hub. Employees can access up-to-date resources from any device, without relying on their managers for vital information.

Events and live streaming. Every employee can join company-wide events, regardless of their location or shift schedule, thanks to broadcast-quality live streaming. You can host a town hall or an executive Q&A to share updates and answer employee questions.

Open communication starts here

To embed open communication in your company culture, you need leaders who act as role models, managers who really listen, and a fundamental belief that employee voice is an asset, not a risk.

Creating a culture of open and honest communication requires effort at every level of the organization. It also requires the right tools — tools that make open communication possible across a large, dispersed workforce.

A mobile-first communication tool ensures that every employee — not just those at a desk — gets to hear company news and take part in an open, supportive, and inclusive company conversation.

Blink. And bring open communication to every corner of your organization.

76% of workers say they enjoy working collaboratively. But workplace collaboration isn’t just good for team members. It’s also good for your organization.

That’s because, when your teams are pulling in the same direction, there’s less wasted effort, greater productivity, and better business results.

These days, collaboration is a little more complicated than it used to be. Many employees work remotely or on a hybrid schedule. There are also hard-to-reach frontline employees to consider.

In 2024, organizations are having to be more intentional about employee collaboration — and they’re turning to tech tools to bring dispersed teams together.

Collaboration in the workplace may be changing. But it’s still as important as ever. Here, we take a look at the benefits of workplace collaboration, along with the role tech can play in creating a collaborative ecosystem.  

What does collaboration look like in the workplace?

Workplace collaboration involves team members working together to achieve a common goal. It relies on empathy, active listening, conflict resolution, and accountability.

But it’s not just about team members working together on a big project. Or giving the standard monthly update on company developments. Collaboration is much, much more than that.

The most collaborative organizations make collaboration part of their company culture. It’s a mindset of openness and transparency. A place where all employees engage in effective communication and are ready and willing to help one another.

Employee collaboration might mean liaising with engineering, marketing, and sales teams to launch a ground-breaking new product. Or simply helping your co-worker get the photocopier working again.

In any form, collaboration is about sharing information and knowledge. About willingly offering support. And about combining employee strengths to get the best results each and every day.

Nowadays, there’s another key element to collaboration in the workplace — technology. In the wake of remote working and higher employee expectations with regard to tech, collaboration has gone digital.

Organizations use digital tools to facilitate employee collaboration even when teams don’t work face-to-face. They use tech, like project management software, employee apps, and real-time communication tools.

This is helping to maintain collaboration among desk-based teams, at home and in the office. It’s also supporting dispersed frontline workers to collaborate at work, too.  

The Blink employee app helps frontline and desk-based employees work better together. Take a look at our platform features to find out more.

Why is workplace collaboration important?

Collaboration is good for business. It ensures that your employees, like cogs in a well-oiled machine, are all working together. There’s more momentum and less friction. So you find it easier to achieve organizational goals.

Collaboration within teams helps those teams to function more effectively. Cross-functional collaboration is important too. Team-working across different departments helps to remove workplace silos and get all teams on the same page.

Workplace collaboration is also good for employee motivation and morale.

With easy and effective communication, the workplace becomes a happier place to be. And when employees operate as a team, helping each other to achieve tasks, the workplace becomes more caring and supportive.

Collaboration clearly makes a difference to employees. A 2022 Corel report into team-working revealed that:

• 41% of employees have left their job or would consider leaving their job due to poor collaboration at work
• 64% of employees say that poor collaboration costs them at least three hours per week in productivity
• 78% of employees say that leadership could be doing more to promote collaboration within the organization

Collaboration ties in with employee engagement, the employee experience, productivity, and employee retention, making it a really crucial component of any workplace. 

8 benefits of collaboration in the workplace

Let’s take a closer look at what workplace collaboration can do for your employees and organization. Here’s what you can expect when your employees routinely collaborate with one another. 

Improved employee engagement

Employees who feel they belong within an organization are 5.3 times more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work. And employees who get enough information to do their job well are 2.8 times more likely to be engaged. 

Workplace collaboration brings employees together. It gives them need-to-know information, and aligns everyone behind company goals. 

This creates a sense of community and purpose, which fuels employee engagement. Collaboration leads employees to feel more satisfied in their work and more loyal to your company.   

Increased efficiency

When teams collaborate, they share information. Teams pool resources and people power. Employees who work together closely can share workloads and responsibilities.This enables teams to complete tasks more quickly. It also reduces the chance of duplicated work.

This efficiency frees up time in the workday. It helps managers to make workloads more manageable, while creating the time and employee headspace for even more creativity and collaboration.

Knowledge sharing

Imagine a company that fails to share its collective knowledge effectively.

Teams spend their time researching topics that other teams understand in depth. Employees repeat the same mistakes because there’s no one sharing their hard-earned insights. You fail to establish best practices. And employees are in a constant state of catch-up.

Now imagine the opposite. A company where knowledge is shared seamlessly between co-workers, teams, and departments. There’s no gatekeeper and collective knowledge is easy for everyone to access.

The latter scenario makes for a more successful organization. It helps you build a more knowledgeable workforce. And it saves a heap of time — because your people aren’t separately pursuing the same lines of research.  

Stronger relationships

Good employee collaboration relies on strong workplace relationships. And it helps to develop them, too.

When teams collaborate, they communicate regularly. They work together towards a shared goal. They also develop trust and mutual respect as they share ideas and rely on each other’s support.

By developing these strong relationships, your organization gets better at collaboration going forward. You create a culture of psychological safety, where people feel comfortable speaking up about their ideas, mistakes, and concerns.  

Strong workplace connections also improve the employee experience. With Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2024 report revealing that 20% of employees experience a lot of loneliness at work, nurturing workplace relationships has never been more important.

Better decision-making

When you make decisions as part of a team, you leverage the knowledge, perspective, and experience of each team member. You involve the people who are directly affected by the decision — and those who are responsible for implementing it.

Making decisions as part of a team means assumptions are challenged and everyone has a sense of buy-in. You make informed and balanced decisions that are more likely to garner company-wide support.

For example, in a recent webinar, we heard from the team at the Capital District Transport Authority (CDTA) in New York. They realized they needed new tech to improve internal communication at the organization.

When deciding on the right tech solution, they took a cross-functional approach. They involved communications, IT, and HR teams, along with leadership. They also consulted the workers who’d be using the new tech.

By collaborating in this way, the CDTA was able to choose a modern intranet that met everyone’s needs and enjoyed excellent levels of adoption.

Enhanced problem-solving

We all know the proverb. “Two heads are better than one.” And when it comes to problem-solving, you’re much more likely to come up with creative and effective solutions when working as part of a team.

Collaboration brings people with different viewpoints together. This diversity helps teams to approach a problem from multiple angles — and come up with a variety of potential solutions.

It also minimizes blind spots. Because there are people with lots of different perspectives involved, it’s less likely that some element of the problem or its solution is overlooked.

Stronger employee development

The practice of collaboration helps to develop employee soft skills, like decision-making, problem-solving, communication, conflict resolution, and creative thinking

When you have a culture of knowledge sharing, co-workers can also learn from one another. They can pick up new skills and information from the people they work with. Employees are organically coached by more experienced members of the team.

This informal learning can take place within teams and across departments. Successful cross-departmental collaboration enables workers to get a better understanding of different areas of the business.

Boosted productivity

As we’ve already seen, good teamwork is linked to:

• Improved employee engagement
• Knowledge sharing and employee development
• Increased efficiency
• Stronger relationships and communication

All of these things support workplace productivity. Employees have access to the resources, skills, knowledge, and relationships that help them perform at their best.

Collaboration also improves accountability. When employees are involved in planning, decision-making, and problem-solving, they’re more motivated to work hard and make a success of the initiative or project.

The role of technology in workplace collaboration

It used to be that collaboration could take place informally in the office.

Co-workers could share ideas as they made coffee in the break room. Or as they walked to the elevator together. There were plenty of face-to-face meetings where people could work together to solve problems and make decisions.

But things have changed. In recent years, technology has played a much bigger role in team working.  

Firstly, thanks to the pandemic, remote working became much more widespread. While some organizations are encouraging people back to the office, a sizable proportion of employees still spend part of their working week working remotely.

In the UK, figures for 2024 show that 40% of workers spend at least some time working from home. In the US, 41% of employees whose jobs can be done remotely work a hybrid schedule.

Secondly, employee expectations around workplace tech have increased. With intuitive tech at home making life easier and more convenient, employees now expect the same digital experiences in the workplace. This goes for frontline employees, too.

Frontline employees — working shifts, in isolation, or on a busy shop floor — haven’t always had the same opportunities for teamwork as their desk-based peers. But with organizations now focusing on frontline employee engagement and retention, this is something that employers are looking to rectify.

To involve all employees in workplace collaboration — no matter their location or schedules — we have to be intentional. We also have to use the right technology.

Here are a few tools that support collaboration in the modern, digital workplace.  

Real-time communication tools

When teams are working away from the office, real-time communication tools are an employee collaboration essential. You need a way for co-workers to communicate seamlessly, sharing information as if face to face.

We know that many deskless workers conduct conversations on personal apps. But this type of shadow IT poses security risks. It also fails to enhance collaboration and employee engagement as successfully as a dedicated communication tool, run with the oversight of your managers.

So providing employees with messaging and video conferencing tools is a must. You need software that facilitates 1:1, group, and company-wide chat.

Project management software

Projects have lots of moving parts. And — particularly for non-office-based teams — it can be hard to visualize project tasks and progress without project management software.

This type of software acts as a centralized platform for planning and executing projects. It keeps all files, discussions, and tasks in the same place, ensuring nothing gets lost and everyone is aware of their responsibilities.

Project management software is particularly useful for remote and hybrid teams. But it can still come in useful for purely office-based teams.

Streamlined communication, workflow automation features, file organization, task visibility, and real-time updates are useful for teams wherever they may be working.

Employee apps

For employees who don’t spend their day at a desk, an employee app is another vital workplace collaboration tool.

As Ian Gordon of Elara Caring said to us in an interview:

“Being a frontline worker can feel like you're on an island by yourself, and the solutions that you need must be quicker and more succinct. You can't spend a lot of time signing in and navigating. You need to get to your answer now.”

Apps, like Blink, fit Gordon’s description. They’re intuitive to use and available on employee smartphones. They also make it quick and easy for employees to complete tasks, whether that’s sending a message to a co-worker, checking the latest policy documents, or filling in a safety report.

Employee apps support collaboration for time-poor frontline workers. They help them build connections with co-workers, share their frontline insights, and keep up to date with company news, improving the employee experience in the process.

A resource hub

Whether it’s on your company intranet or an employee app, a digital resource hub is another useful tech tool for employee collaboration.

A resource hub allows co-workers to share files and work together on them. It also acts as an internal knowledge base.

Here, employees can find best practices, company policies, and FAQs. If they have the appropriate permissions, they can also add their own insights to the hub, tagging documents so employees can find them easily.

AI and automation

AI and automation tools are also playing a role in employee collaboration. They’re providing time savings that give team members more opportunities for collaboration. And they’re supporting collaboration in other ways, too.

Companies are using this tech to automatically tag resource hub documents so users can find what they’re looking for more easily. AI is producing better resource hub search results.

AI is also supporting employees in their use of data. With automated data analysis and predictive analysis, AI is giving employees a sound basis for their collaborative problem-solving and decision-making efforts.

Some organizations are also using AI to facilitate communication between different departments. For example, technical teams are using it to translate complicated documents for non-technical co-workers. 

This is helping to close the communication gap between departments and ensure that everyone has the information they need to collaborate effectively.  

In summary

Workplace collaboration has changed dramatically over the past decade. But it’s still a key indicator of business success.

Collaboration supports workplace productivity, communication, and business results. It leads to better problem-solving and decision-making.

It also supports your employee retention and engagement efforts by making your workplace an open and supportive place to be, improving the employee experience.

Face-to-face collaboration is trickier than it used to be. But with the right tech solutions, you can champion collaboration in your organization, no matter where your employees spend their work days.

Blink has everything you need to bring collaboration to your desk-based, remote-working, and frontline employees. Our mobile-first employee app provides:

• Real-time communication via 1:1 and group chats, plus the company news feed
• A resource hub, where employees can access company documents and forms
• Deep integrations with the project management tools you already use
• AI support that supports better workplace communication

With Blink, you also get all the tools you need for better internal communications and employee engagement.

Why not book a demo to see Blink’s modern intranet in action?

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Hi! I’m MJ Moore. I’m originally from the US, but I’ve been living in London for 7 years (and recently became a British citizen!) 🇬🇧

I spent almost 9 years in HR technology consulting working at large firms, like Aon & Accenture, before making the jump to Blink. I graduated from Vanderbilt University, so I have a special place in my heart for Nashville 🇺🇸

I’m the Manager of the Implementation team, and my job is to help make our customer implementation journey the best out there. I work with my team to deliver outstanding service to our clients & provide them best practice along their journey to incorporate Blink in to their organisation. 🚀

Blink is a place where it’s easy to make an impact quickly. It’s an open and transparent organisation that lends itself to innovation. If you want to do something at Blink, you can! There’s a great team behind you at all times for support and guidance along the way. 💙

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

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

Why communication is important for deskless workers

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

1. Reduces turnover 

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

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

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

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

2. Increases profits

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

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

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

3. Drives employee experience & empowerment 

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

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

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

4. Increases productivity & organization

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

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

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

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

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

5. Boosts trust, engagement & morale

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

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

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

6. Improves worker safety

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

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

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

The challenges of communicating with deskless workers

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

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

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

How to improve communication with deskless workers

Build a digital culture

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

WeForum reports:

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

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

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

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

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

Listen to and act on feedback

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

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

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

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

Provide easy access to key information

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

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

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

Focus on building a sense of belonging and connection

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

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

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

Keep two-way communication channels open

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

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

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

Encourage real employee recognition

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

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

The role of technology in deskless communication & employee engagement

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

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

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

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

Easy communication & real-time responses

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

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

Easy access to important information

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

Easy implementation & adoption 

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

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

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Develop business value away from BAU IT

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

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

How to measure the impact of communication technology on your workforce

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final thoughts

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

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

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

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If employee turnover is causing problems at your organization, take a look at these strategies for improving engagement and retention.

The Great Resignation may be over. But employee retention is still a challenge, particularly for companies with a large frontline workforce.

Frontline organizations have it hard because reaching frontline employees — who work in various locations across different shift patterns — isn’t easy. Deskless workers can end up feeling disconnected from their organization, which leads to disengagement and churn. 

Engaging and retaining frontline talent may be tricky. But it’s well worth the investment. When you reduce employee turnover across your entire organization you boost productivity, morale, and business results.

Here, we look at the primary causes of employee turnover in 2024 — and at 14 strategies that will help you improve employee retention at your organization. 

Read more: How to calculate your employee retention rate

Primary causes of employee turnover in 2024

33% of hiring managers in the US believe employee turnover will increase at their company in 2024. And Forrester predicts an employee experience (EX) recession, where reduced spending on employee engagement initiatives leads to increased attrition.

Of course, there will always be some turnover in your organization. However, you do have the power to address many causes of employee turnover within your company. Gallup recently looked at the most common reasons people leave a job. They grouped these reasons into four categories:

• Engagement and culture. Employees left because they didn’t feel aligned with the role or company culture. They left because they felt like they didn’t belong or because job expectations were unrealistic.
  
  
• Wellbeing and work-life balance. Workers left because they struggled to manage their work schedule or balance work with personal responsibilities.
  
  
• Career growth, pay, and benefits. Workers left in search of better pay and benefits. They also sought a culture where learning, development, and career advancement were the norm.
  
  
• Managers and leaders. Employees left because they didn’t feel respected or appreciated by leadership. They wanted open communication and to be treated equitably.

As you can see, there’s a lot in there that comes down to organizational culture and internal communication — both of which you can do something about using the strategies below.

Read more: Employee experience in 2024: trends to watch

How to reduce employee turnover: 14 strategies that work

1. Focus on employee engagement

Employee engagement is linked to improved productivity, reduced absenteeism, and higher staff satisfaction.

Engaged employees are also more loyal to your organization. They’d only consider taking a job with another company if they were offered a 31% pay increase. Disengaged employees would leave for a lot less.

You can improve employee engagement by building a strong workplace culture and by looping all workers into company comms. Many of the strategies on this list support engagement and employee retention, too.

2. Cultivate a positive workplace culture

Research from MIT Sloan Management Review says that a toxic culture is by far the strongest predictor of employee turnover. In fact, it’s ten times more important than compensation in predicting attrition.

So how do you create a non-toxic culture that supports a positive employee experience?

Employees want to be part of a culture that is fair and trusting. A culture where transparency is the norm, stress is kept to a minimum, and workloads are reasonable.

In a positive culture, employees also understand the purpose of their work. They’re familiar with company goals and values — and know how their work fits into the bigger picture.

Internal communications have an important part to play in all this. With the communication channels, leaders and managers can amplify company culture. They can share workplace updates, highlight workplace values, and involve teams in decision-making. 

3. Improve your onboarding program

Those first few months of employment are the riskiest in terms of retention. Up to 20% of turnover happens within the first 45 days of employment.

If you’re not sure whether your onboarding program is doing its bit for employee retention, start by surveying existing employees. Find out what they thought of their onboarding experience. Ask if there are any areas for improvement.

Then, use your findings to create an effective onboarding program, providing new hires with the following as standard:  

• The opportunity to make meaningful social connections
• Clear expectations and goals
• An understanding of company culture and values
• Ongoing support from a mentor or manager

4. Embed training and development in company culture

When employees feel like they’re standing still in their careers, they feel less satisfied in their roles — and find less meaning in them, too. So it’s important to embed progression into your company culture.

When creating training and development plans, try to involve employees in decision-making. 90% of employees say having a say in the skills they learn is an important part of their employee experience.

It’s also important to make training opportunities available to everyone. Many frontline employees say they don’t get the right resources or support to advance their careers. This can leave them feeling disengaged and more likely to look for another job.  

Of course, sometimes, there simply aren’t enough rungs on the career ladder for employees to progress within your organization. But if an upward move isn’t possible, there are other options.

Stretch assignments, a lateral move, and cross-training programs all help employees develop new skills and prepare for the next stage of their careers. 

Bear in mind that managers benefit from training, too. 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by managers. So team leaders may need training to become more effective coaches and communicators.  

5. Make internal communication channels more engaging

If you haven’t already, now’s the time to work on your internal communication. Too often, employees are left out of the loop. Or they’re bombarded with so many messages that they start ignoring them.  

We know that employees who get enough information to do their job well are 2.8 times more likely to be engaged. And there are lots of ways to improve workplace communication.

Try to make your internal communications:

• Personalized — so employees only receive relevant internal communications
• Two-way — so employees can take part in the conversation, posting comments and giving feedback
• Real-time — so employees get critical comms quickly

You should then use internal communication metrics to track your performance. By looking at measures like message open rates, response times, and communication tool usage, you get a clearer view of what’s working — and what isn’t.

6. Launch a recognition program

Recognition is another retention strategy that needs to be firmly on your radar.

A recent Gallup and Workhuman report revealed that, by making recognition an important part of company culture, a 10,000-person organization can save up to $16.1 million a year in reduced employee turnover costs.

Recognition reduces employee churn. And the best programs allow managers and peers to provide timely, personalized praise. 

It’s worth noting that recognition doesn’t have to come from managers and leaders. And peer-to-peer appreciation has some surprising benefits. 75% of employees say that the act of giving recognition makes them want to stay at their current organization longer.

7. Facilitate informal co-worker connection

Employees who have a work best friend are less likely to leave. That’s because belonging and connection are two key elements of the employee experience.

But co-worker connection doesn’t always happen organically. It’s something that managers and leaders have to facilitate.

In-person activities work well for office-based teams. You can plan social activities, like team-building days and coffee mornings. 

You also need to allow enough time in the day for informal chats to take place. Stressed, overworked employees are unlikely to spend much time catching up at the water cooler.

When employees are working away from the office, either at home or on the frontlines of your organization, you need an alternative solution. That solution tends to be tech-based. 

Using an employee app or a mobile employee intranet you can:

• Give employees intuitive, social-media-style tools for co-worker communication
• Encourage employees to set up interest groups to find like-minded co-workers and plan social activities
• Get managers to use tech tools too, encouraging connection and promoting employee posts

8. Champion flexibility

In workplaces without flexibility, employees are more likely to feel undervalued and unable to express their opinions. But when employees are highly satisfied with work flexibility, they’re 384% more likely to stay for a year or more at their current employer.

Supporting flexibility and work-life balance looks different for different organizations. But don’t rule it out for frontline employees.

Communicating shifts in advance. Incentivizing less appealing shifts. Co-worker shift-swapping tools. There are ways to make flexibility work for everyone.

Neiman Marcus Group, a luxury retailer, has done just that. The firm offered its sales associates flexibility over which store and department they worked in — and over the days and hours they worked. The result? An impressive 20% reduction in turnover.

9. Keep an eye on compensation and benefits

We’re going through a period of inflation. So compensation and benefits packages are on the rise. You need to keep an eye on competitor packages to ensure you don’t lose employees to higher offers.

But, as we’ve already touched upon, salary isn’t the only thing that keeps an employee working for your organization.

A sense of purpose, connection, and work-life balance can be just as important. So if you aren’t in a position to raise salaries right now, consider whether there are any other levers you can pull.

10. Make it fair for the frontline

When an employee feels unfairly treated, they’re much more likely to leave. So it’s crucial that leaders, particularly those responsible for a large frontline workforce, make the employee experience equitable.   

We also know that deskless employees are less trusting, less engaged, and more likely to experience burnout than their desk-based peers. So frontline and remote working organizations need to ensure that their employee retention strategies apply to all employees.

Employee engagement initiatives, workplace connection, flexibility, training, and development. Make these things available to everyone if you want to make a real difference to your turnover stats.

11. Invest in health and wellness

Deloitte research shows that Gen Z workers don’t feel they’re getting the mental health support they need in the workplace. And 86% of employees would leave a job if it didn’t support their wellbeing.

Health and wellness initiatives are no longer a nice-to-have. For many employees, they’re an essential part of company culture and something they look for when deciding which company to work for.

There’s debate over the value of some popular workplace wellness programs. But we know that companies with honest feedback, open communication, and mutual respect have higher levels of employee emotional wellbeing than those without. Corporate volunteer days have a positive impact on worker wellbeing, too.

12. Encourage collaboration

Effective teamwork helps to create a positive working environment. Co-workers share knowledge and resources. They support one another. And everyone pulls in the same direction.

If you’re looking for ways to improve collaboration in your workplace, take a look at these ideas:  

• Solidify relationships with team-building activities
• Recognize group effort, not just the achievements of individuals, as part of your recognition program
• Promote open and honest internal communication
• Give remote and frontline employees the communication tools they need to collaborate, regardless of location or work pattern

13. Promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I)

There’s a clear moral obligation to support DE&I in the workplace. But there are benefits for your organization, too.

DE&I initiatives lead to:

• a 50% reduction in turnover risk
• a 75% reduction in sick days
• a 167% improvement in employer net promoter score

Better workplace diversity makes people feel like they belong and reduces employee turnover.

But to make a success of your DE&I efforts, you need to embed this ethos into your company culture. That may mean changing how you manage recruitment, onboarding, and employee advancement opportunities.

You need to move beyond mere compliance to build on DE&I in a tactical, integrated, and sustainable way.

14. Get to grips with retention and engagement data

Any good strategy relies on metrics. You need data that shows where you started, where you’re at now, and how you can continue to improve.

So use an employee intranet or app to gather the employee retention and employee engagement data you need. Then, dive deep into that data to discover insights.

By analyzing the data alongside employee feedback, you’ll find data-driven ways to improve employee retention at your organization.  

Using an employee app to improve employee retention

Employee retention is about improving employee engagement, internal communications, and company culture. The right tech makes it much easier to do all three. 

With a mobile-first employee app, like Blink, you can reach employees via their smartphones. You can share company news, highlight company values, and involve everyone in company comms. 

Blink is an easy-to-use tool that connects every employee, whether they’re sitting behind a desk or working on the frontlines of your organization. It provides all the following features. 

Two-way communication

Leaders can share updates and critical comms. Employees can post and comment. So everyone gets to take part in the company conversation. 

Recognition

Blink’s recognition features make it easy for managers and co-workers to celebrate great work. So you make appreciation an integral part of company culture. 

Surveys and polls 

Quick pulse surveys. Annual feedback. Employee engagement polls. Managers find it easy to seek employee opinions, helping workers to feel listened to and valued. 

Mobile access

Our employee app is available on mobile and desktop devices. So every employee is included in company culture and comms.

Content hub

Employees can access all employee apps and resources from the same central hub. So they enjoy a friction-free digital experience. 

Analytics

Use Blink analytics to track which of your employee retention strategies is having the biggest impact — and find areas ripe for improvement. 

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