We turned Blink iQ on ourselves. Here's what twelve months of our own data showed.

What makes him awesome?

Fernando has been with Holcim since October 2022. Until earlier this year, Fernando's position was a RMX driver at the Bannock location in Denver. The summer of 2024 proved a challenge for staffing levels, and Fernando stepped in across a multitude of environments to keep the business marching forward. Fernando was task-trained, cross-trained, and utilized as an instrumental resource for operating skid steers, front end loaders, water trucks, shovels, and concrete batch plants across the Denver metro.  

Plant managers as well as plant operators have welcomed Fernando’s support from operations in Aurora, Castle Rock, Centennial, Denver, Franktown, and Littleton, comprising seven ready-mix plants and both central and dry batch facilities. While every site was different, it was Fernando's attitude and willingness to learn that strengthened our teams’ ability to have a successful year in concrete production. We thank Fernando for being such a valuable member of the Denver RMX business.

How has Blink helped in his role?

Were it not for the Blink platform, I’m not sure Fernando would have the same level of peer recognition that Blink offers. In order to appreciate the opportunities within our business, sometimes allowing others to understand what is available is as simple as sharing a story of success!

What does he want to do next?

Fernando has recently transitioned from a driver to a plant operator at the Bannock RMX plant, and continues to develop his production skills to sharpen our business’s performance within a very competitive market. I look forward to seeing his continued growth within the organization.

Nominated by: Michael Galbraith, Operations Manager

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Today, most of your company’s vital documents live digitally. From benefits plan statements to the potluck sign-up — paper is a thing of the past. 

When you tally everything an employee accesses online, it’s easy to see how content can be a lot to manage. That’s why companies need a way to aggregate, manage, and share all of their internal information. 

They often use a combination of platforms to get the job done, but this can be confusing and inefficient. 

For that reason, more companies are moving towards a single unified intranet CMS software that can act as a single resource for content management. 

An intranet content management system boosts communication, improves productivity, and allows workplaces to function remotely. Plus, research shows that companies with strong internal social networks are 7% more productive.

If you’re in the market for the best CMS for intranet, take a look at our recommendations below.

The best CMS intranet for 2023 roundup:

1. Blink

Blink is an employee intranet with many features, making it a great choice for companies looking for an all-in-one solution for their internal communication needs. 

The content management hub is a sleek, mobile-first design, and the software is easy to set up and onboard without extensive IT or training teams. 

Features:

• CMS Hub for documents 
• Content feed 
• Business chat
• People directory
• Micro-app functionalities

Best intranet CMS software for: All-in-one frontline communication.

Price: Plans start at $3.40/user/month.

2. SharePoint

SharePoint is Microsoft’s intranet offering, making it a great choice for teams who already heavily rely on Office Suite tools. 

SharePoint leverages internal websites to host content pages and team resources. It’s a powerful content management tool that works well for large companies looking for a robust CMS but could be overly complex for smaller organizations. 

Features: 

• Document library
• Information rights management
• Project management server and timelines
• Team-based content websites
• Cloud or on-site data storage
• Company news page

Best intranet CMS software for: Enterprise content management.

Price: Plans start at $5/user/month.

3. Glasscubes

Glasscubes provides a cloud-based platform for employees to collaborate and share files. Users can send messages to others or attach files to messages for further collaboration. 

The lightweight system is engaging and easy to use, perfect for companies looking for a straightforward, high-value CMS intranet that improves engagement. 

Features:

• Secure online file storage 
• No limitation in file type or size
• Internal chat 
• Activity feed
• Task management and scheduling

Best intranet CMS software for: Team collaboration.

Price: Plans start at $35/month.

4. Simpplr

Simpplr is a CMS employee intranet that prioritizes usability and social engagement. 

Packed with features like an AI-driven social feed, events calendar, and a newsletter, Simpplr is the choice for companies looking for feature-rich software that improves culture, communication, and engagement. 

Features:

• Employee intranet
• Employee blogs
• Employee profiles
• AI smart feed
• Newsletters
• Events calendar
• Social websites for teams
• User analytics

Best intranet CMS software for:  Engaging social teams.

Price: Available upon request.

5. OnSemble

Building off a 15-year history in intranet, OnSemble offers a well-rounded intranet platform designed for customer-centred organizations. 

The content management tool, employee forums, and leadership blogs engage workers and provide them with the resources to do their best work. Drag-and-drop page builders mean OnSemble can be relatively easy to customize for small to midsize organizations.

Features:

• Employee directory
• Content management
• Document search
• Forums
• Cloud or on-site data storage

Best intranet CMS software for: Customer-oriented organizations.

Price: Plans start at $6/user/month.

Final thoughts: The 5 best intranet CMS software in 2023

A content management system is an essential feature of your company’s intranet. With so much of today’s work taking place remotely or on mobile, having everything accessible boosts your employee’s engagement, supports a positive company culture, and increases productivity. 

There are many great intranet platforms out there, and what you choose will come down to your company’s size and needs.

If you’re looking for a simple solution that packs tons of engaging features into one affordable platform, give Blink a try. The mobile-first platform and modern design will work well for any team. 

Actimo vs. Blink – which is better? It's a question many buyers are asking. And of course, the answer depends on who's asking!

Blink and Actimo are both cloud-based internal communication platforms with a strong customer base and some overlap in features. Yet their primary focus varies. 

Actimo vs. Blink – quick facts

Actimo is ideal for teams who want a platform that enables e-learning but aren’t as concerned about real-time interaction. 

In contrast, Blink is a truly inclusive real-time communications platform for frontline workers, though it doesn’t have an integrated LMS system. 

Your organization’s technical resources may also determine which one is best for you. Blink is easier to use out-of-the-box, while Actimo requires a more thorough setup. 

Both apps place a heavy focus on mobile usability, but Actimo doesn’t offer a newsfeed and is best used as a static intranet. 

And while Actimo's designed for medium-sized organizations, Blink works best for extra-large enterprises with 25,000+ staff.

In this post, we'll break down the key differences and similarities between Blink and Actimo.

Let's dive into it.

Actimo vs. Blink How they're similar

Mobile-first content

On Blink and Actimo, all content is mobile-first. In other words, everything is optimized to be viewed on a small phone screen, not a desktop. This means both could be a solid option for organizations with mobile or frontline workers.

Customizability

Blink is customizable through third-party integrations and offers a wide variety of functionality through its micro-app function. While the starter platform is incredibly easy to set up, full end-to-end customization can take some work through micro-apps and necessary integrations.

Similarly, Actimo can be extensively configured with a fully customizable onboarding flow and plenty of in-app engagement data. Capterra users commented that it's 'easy to make presentations or apps for almost any purpose.'

Multi-lingual offering

Both platforms cater to multiple different languages. Blink even offers on-demand translation of content into the users language of choice.

Some users complained that Actimo switches text from English to Danish.

Actimo vs. Blink: How they're different

Integrations

Blink's integration capability is one of its strongest selling points. Through its dedicated app marketplace, users can shop for new integrations and mix and match to build their own 'super app'. Integrations are configured using Single Sign-On, so users can access different tools without leaving Blink.

By contrast, Actimo probably won't be the solution that replaces every one of your current internal communications tools. There are limited integrations with third-party business tools beyond HR systems.

Employee engagement

Taking a cue from the most popular social apps, Blink offers a live feed with company updates and user-generated text, images, and video. As a result, engagement with the app is remarkably high, with an average of 14 app opens per user per day.

On Actimo, it can be a lot of work to get set up and maintain engagement. Since the content isn’t primarily user-generated, admins will need to regularly create and schedule content to encourage use. That also means communications are more top-down than other platforms. 

e-Learning

Actimo is a fantastic application to facilitate training and learning. Users liked that 'training is fully self-paced and fits anywhere in employee schedules.'

Within the platform, micro-learning is detailed yet simple to use. There are also engaging learning paths with gamified achievements that users can access at their own pace. Data on the compliance with, and completion of, necessary training, is another plus.

On Blink, there is no native onboarding and training function. However, a function can be added with the micro-apps feature, or by adding an integration.

Peer-to-peer communication

Blink offers a searchable in-app database of employees, so it’s easy for users to find a coworker they want to connect with. When they find that co-worker, there are many different ways to communicate: 121 or group chat, through real-time feed posts and comments, or by creating Hub content.

For those looking for a platform with a People Directory, Actimo may also not be a good choice. Beyond group members, there is no way to see a complete list of employees at your organization. 

UX/UI

Blink developers design the app to mimic consumer apps like Uber and Facebook as closely as possible, so the user experience is familiar and fresh. Reviewers praised the platform's 'responsive, team-customizable features.'

While Actimo users appreciate they have 'full control of the layout', they were disappointed that the UI is 'clunky and outdated'.

Frontline focus

While users commented that the app works 'just as well for desktop as it does on mobile', Blink is unique in its laser focus on the frontline experience. And despite offering a highly usable mobile experience, there is also a surprising amount of depth to the content and features. 

While Actimo is optimized for the frontline experience, it doesn't focus on tailored features for specific industries (in Blink's case, transport and healthcare).

Targetting content

Blink's architecture is based on 'teams', which means all content is targetted is personalised to users depending on the groups they're in. Users can schedule campaigns months in advance, and 'pin' posts to ensure they're read, or tag them as 'mandatory reads'.

Actimo users complained the app is 'missing a way to micro-manage groups and send-outs', and requested 'more functionality for campaign planning.'

Actimo vs. Blink: systems and pricing

Unlike Actimo, Blink offers all of its features and capabilities through a single system with optional paid add-ons, which includes a dedicated Customer Success Manager. An all-in-one solution like Blink is attractive to many buyers since it provides seamless functionality and is priced as a single unit.

Blink also offers a number of pre-built integrations with popular business apps to allow for further customization.

The core product is priced in four according to scale:

• Essential
• Business
• Enterprise
• Enterprise Plus

Organizations can also take advantage of a 40% discount if they pay annually.

Overall, Blink is an affordable product, with users commenting on its 'excellent value for money'. While Actimo pricing is not available online, reviewers commented on the cost per user being 'hard to justify' for smaller organizations.

Actimo vs Blink: final thoughts

While Actimo is a strong choice for organizations focused on training and onboarding, it lacks the features to make it a true digital workplace.

To find out more about Actimo vs. Blink, request a free Blink demo today.

Managing frontline employees is an altogether different task than leading a desk-based team. 

For one, you’re usually working in shift patterns and you might have insufficient tooling to keep you all connected. This connection gap makes it all the harder to navigate the “Great attrition” risks and widespread disengagement that most first-line/frontline managers are faced with.

But we don’t need to linger on the reasons why managing the frontline can be hard. Let’s focus instead on how to do it more effectively.

Because if we can empower first-line managers to better manage their teams, we can help reduce attrition, increase engagement, and improve the employee experience for everyone.

In this guide, we'll discuss your role as a frontline manager, the challenges faced by frontline teams and their managers, and the best practice approaches you can adopt when managing frontline employees.

Understanding the first-line manager role

Frontline managers play a pivotal role in any deskless organization and account for roughly 60% of a company’s management ranks. They are responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of their teams and ensuring that their organization's frontline remains strong and efficient.

Ultimately, the role of a first-line leader is to enable frontline workers to do their jobs effectively. This might include setting objectives, delegating tasks, providing feedback on frontline employee performance, and ultimately driving organizational success. But it also means giving positive and constructive feedback: celebrating a job well done and stepping in to rectify when things aren’t going right.

And yet, first-line managers are often “accidental managers”, too. They might have been promoted to a managerial role because of their subject matter expertise and hands-on experience in the business — but they’ve yet to receive any dedicated management or employee engagement training to prepare them for the job. A large proportion (around 40% based on recent Harvard Business Review research) are first-time managers as well, in the very first year of their leadership journey.

Maybe that’s a description that resonates? And if it is, you’ll also be able to appreciate how that makes the role more difficult.

First-line managers: overworked and under-invested in?

First-line managers can be the hardest working and most undervalued level of management — under pressure from all angles and expected to pick up the slack caused by frontline labor shortages. 

When an organization propels someone into a leadership role with insufficient training and insufficient support, we can hardly be surprised if they struggle to perform. And many first-line managers do: 60% in fact, over their first two years.

Flipping that figure around and helping first-line managers to perform is relatively easy to achieve.

A frontline manager’s potential can be unlocked by:

• Providing them with tools for proper team-wide communication and workforce management
• Investing in management training (particularly around HR-related topics, such as redundancies and employee relations)
• Investing in employee engagement training to help manage and improve team morale
• Alleviating the strain of manual, repetitive tasks to free up their time to better manage their teams

Doing so is in everyone’s best interests. Frontline employees will receive a better and more fulfilling workplace experience which helps them deliver a better quality of service to customers. The impact of this will be felt on the organization’s bottom line, making frontline manager empowerment a business-critical mission for the C-Suite and other leaders.

If you’re a first-line manager, it’s good to know your worth. 

You are in a unique position within the organization — you’re frontline-facing and can act as a touchpoint between frontline workers and your desk-based peers. You can also be the catalyst for better frontline employee engagement and motivation.

Common challenges when managing frontline employees

If you’re facing challenges as a first-line manager, know that you’re not alone. 

There are a number of common issues impacting frontline teams, including:

• Poor communication and engagement
• Attrition and turnover
• Labor shortages
• Unstable service levels and disappointed customers
• Lack of useful tooling
• Lack of training for frontline teams
• Lack of training for first-line managers themselves

Attrition, turnover, and the unavoidable staff shortages that follow can seriously impact the quality of service provided by the frontline workforce. Frontline teams increasingly struggle to cover more tasks with fewer resources — and it’s often the first-line manager who is left racing to fill empty shifts, deliver on tasks, or explain the drop in productivity to other senior management.

High turnover rates can also have a detrimental effect on frontline team morale, as new employees come in and existing ones leave at a rapid rate. Open communication between you and your team — which also means providing fit-for-purpose employee engagement tools and solutions, and employee engagement activities — will be key in helping to build trust and loyalty within the organization.

Finally, frontline managers must effectively advocate for their teams when they are not getting adequate support from executives and training from the business. This may involve having difficult conversations with the C-Suite or presenting frontline engagement data that shows the value of investing in frontline teams.

7 best practices when managing frontline employees

1. Thorough onboarding

It’s important to provide all new team members with a detailed onboarding program. You want to create a sense of community for them and ensure that they know any responsibilities and KPI expectations for the role from the get-go.

All frontline employees should receive adequate training for their specific roles and ensure they understand the requirements of their job. This will be a compliance must-do in many frontline organizations, of course, but even if the role is light on health and safety or legal regulations, you’ll want to take the time to outline the responsibilities clearly. 

Onboarding can be a time-consuming process but it's an early driver of employee engagement, so explore the tools you have available to help lighten the load.

Again, the business case for doing so is easy to sell to decision-makers: the faster you can onboard new joiners, the sooner they can help move the business forward (and the less time and focus you’ll lose on your other essential tasks).

2. Active listening

Listening — and we mean really listening — to your frontline teams is essential for successful frontline management.

It can be difficult for frontline employees to feel heard, as they are often more spread out than desk-based colleagues and have less access to resources and support. As a frontline manager, it is important to ask for, actively listen to, and then share the concerns of your team.

3. Communicate across the board

Frontline teams have a unique brief when it comes to internal communications, and there aren’t too many tools that are really fit for purpose.

Having access to a mobile-first frontline employee app can help keep everyone in the organization connected. As a first-line manager, you can lead by example — posting and commenting on company updates, messaging frontline employees directly and within groups, as well as making sure that senior leaders are seeing what’s being shared.

By prioritizing communication with your frontline employees, you can ensure they always feel informed, appreciated, and engaged — no matter how infrequently you see them face to face.

4. Support and pastoral care

Management support is key for each team member to feel valued and to keep morale high knowing that their supervisor has their back. This can be done through regular check-ins, providing tailored resources for their development, and actively listening to — and actioning — their feedback for the business.

Empowering your frontline workforce with the support of intuitive scheduling solutions and the autonomy to manage their own workloads can also help them feel valued and give them a sense of responsibility.

Finally, providing instant access to mental health resources will enable employees to feel safer in the work environment, and more comfortable in approaching their manager with any issues they may have.

A TikTok video showing a restaurant manager comforting a tearful employee sparked a big conversation about pastoral care for frontline teams. You will find an approach that feels comfortable and beneficial for you and the people you work with every day.

5. Professional development

Many frontline workers feel that they do not receive the same access to career advancement opportunities as their desk-based colleagues. This can leave frontline staff feeling undervalued and, unsurprisingly, employee motivation starts to dwindle.

Professional development is key for frontline employees. Frontline managers know what is expected of them, and what it takes to be successful in the role. If you see those characteristics in someone else, develop them. This might mean connecting them with development opportunities, recommending them for promotion or training, as well as checking that your frontline staff are happy with their career development via ongoing employee surveys.

By investing in your frontline team’s growth, you can ensure that their skills are kept up to date, increasing their confidence and improving their job satisfaction.

6. Reward hard work and commitment

It’s essential to provide frontline employees with tangible rewards for their hard work and dedication, just as you would your desk-based staff. Not seeing your deskless employees every day doesn’t equal forgetting about their contributions to your company — that’s something you may need to remind desk-based senior leaders.

Rewarding your frontline can be done in a variety of ways: bonus pay, gift cards, lunch vouchers, or even just a public shoutout across the company. This helps to show appreciation for their efforts and encourages them to continue striving for excellence. It also allows you to boost employee morale and create a positive working environment.

While rewarding great work is important, in the current economic climate, businesses don't always have the funds to pay frontline workers more. That's why reward and recognition should always go hand-in-hand.

7. Recognize team and individual achievements

Employee recognition, small or large, is crucial for motivating and inspiring team members. 

Showing appreciation is a great way to boost morale and create a positive working environment. Recognizing employees can come in various forms such as verbal praise, recognition in meetings, and virtual employee recognition or Kudos.

If someone has dealt with a difficult customer or situation well, recognize this. If someone has worked extra hard to ensure quality of service, recognize this. Acknowledging great work can help empower employees and make them feel appreciated for their efforts. It’ll also make them more likely to perform that way again.

To retain a frontline worker and enable them to become a valuable asset to your organization, you need to ensure their efforts are recognized. By following this advice, you can show them that their hard work is appreciated and foster an environment of engagement and success.

Expert tips from frontline managers

Healthcare ops expert and former President of Administrative Operations at Elara Caring, Ian Gordon, has some key insights for us on the topic of engaging with frontline employees.

Here are just a few of his expert tips for navigating frontline management and engaging your deskless workforce:

• Create bi-directional communication: Communicating issues is a team effort. It starts with the CEO and runs the full way through to the frontline. Everybody has to own it
  
• Redeploy resources to the frontline: Increasing investments into the skills and capabilities of your frontline can be a true differentiator in the marketplace. It is also a good reason for your frontline to feel appreciated and invested in. Wondering where this extra budget will come from? If you can help retain employees with training and development, then you won’t need to spend so much on continuous recruitment
  
• The right tech: Being a frontline worker, you can’t spend a lot of time signing in and navigating complex tech. Having hub-based access to all-inclusive and easy-to-navigate information can really be a benefit to employees
  

Keeping frontline employees engaged is a key part of running a successful business.

Strategies for employee engagement and retention should cover the seven tips mentioned above. As well as providing accessible resources, frequent rewards and recognition, and implementing tailored technology solutions, you can foster an environment of engagement that will help to retain your frontline workers and enable them to become valuable assets for the organization.

Remember: investing in the growth of your frontline team is essential for success. With the right tools and support in place, you can create an environment of engagement in which everyone feels able to thrive.

Blink. And you’ve got a hotline to the frontline.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/723578311?h=c37bdbcb8b

Blink's industry-leading frontline app helps you take three simple steps to transform your frontline management.

1. Enable: Give your frontline the tools, information, and inspiration they need to go above and beyond.
2. Engage: Give your frontline instant access to the news, people, and information they need to feel part of the team.
3. Understand: Use data and insights you need to make the best decisions for your frontline team.

With our one-stop solution, you can get rid of complex and outdated processes that are blocking your frontline's satisfaction — and their success. With Blink, you can finally empower your frontline with the tools they need to succeed.

Get started today

C-suite leaders in the healthcare industry have long been interested in ways to improve their hospital performance. Now, studies show that one factor with a profound positive impact on meeting your business goals is increasing staff engagement in their jobs. HBR’s research showed that higher employee engagement levels can improve outcomes such as:

• Hospital costs (Any legal action taken by a patient against a hospital for negligent complications) 
• Treatment effectiveness and patient outcomes (Measured by the rate patients are readmitted) 
• The level of hospital acquired infections and conditions (Surgical complications, etc)

The research also found that just a small increase (1%) in employee engagement leads to a 3% reduction in hospital acquired complications and a 7% reduction in hospital readmissions. In addition to this, research supports that the quality and care with which their company leaders engage their healthcare employees influences key aspects of the care those employees go on to provide.

Simply put, employee engagement initiatives lead to better patient care. And if you treat your employees right, they'll in turn treat their patients right. The direct link between engagement and operational success is undeniable across all frontline sectors, from optimizing hospital outcomes to figuring out how to improve employee engagement in manufacturing. It's clear that C-suite leaders need to act now if they want to see improvements in hospital performance.

It's clear that C-suite leaders need to act now if they want to see improvements in hospital performance. But how can hospital leaders improve employee engagement among their staff? 

Well, there are a few key employee engagement trends in healthcare that organizations should keep an eye on, which our experts have delved into in this handy guide.

Trend 1: Moving towards consistent & clear communication

Our research has found that almost one-fifth of frontline workers state they don’t receive relevant communications from their employer organization. Our research also found that over one-third (34%) of workers can’t easily access workplace systems on their mobile, nearly 2 in 10 aren’t using their intranet, and of those, two-thirds don’t know how to.

But, so what? What does this downward trend in effective comms mean for leaders of healthcare organizations? Well, it turns out that ineffective communications can actually have a negative impact on patient safety, a critical concern for anyone in the healthcare sector. As NIMH states: 

"When health care professionals are not communicating effectively, patient safety is at risk for several reasons: lack of critical information, misinterpretation of information, unclear orders over the telephone, and overlooked changes in status."

On the flip side, consistent, clear and transparent communication within a healthcare organization creates highly engaged employees, which in turn improves the quality of care your employees provide their patients. 

So, if your paper announcement boards, sporadic emails and disparate communication tools are no longer working to effectively engage your staff, don’t just brush it under the carpet. With the pressure on for HR and IT leaders to digitize, a mobile-first, all-in-one approach to employee engagement can provide the perfect solution to both problems. 

When using mobile communication tools, you are able to easily and directly communicate with your frontline staff. Whether it’s instant company updates and news to the palm of their hands, simplified and secure document access at the drop of a hat, or direct and open two-way communication channels available 24/7, a mobile-first approach is a great way to engage and empower your healthcare employees – and improve patient safety. 

Trend 2: Actioning employee feedback

Whilst consistent communication will be vital to your employee engagement levels, you can’t simply provide workers with the means for communication and expect improved engagement. You have to use your communications channels to truly listen to, and action feedback from, your workforce in order to engage them.

Not only does this show your staff that their opinions matter, but it can also improve the overall work culture and job satisfaction within your healthcare organization, as they feel more autonomy over their work.

And the benefits don’t end there. Research from HR healthcare found that 60% of healthcare workers claim listening to employees drives changes for a more progressive business. Additionally highlighted in HR Healthcare's research, effective employee feedback has been found critical for improving patient employee environments.

As such, by perceiving employee engagement as an outcome-related effort in which patients themselves are directly affected by its success, healthcare leaders can better understand the impact that their engagement initiatives have on the overall patient experience.

Unfortunately, current trends in healthcare seem to be working away from these potential benefits. Our recent employee engagement statistics highlight that 87% of healthcare workers believe their employer should do more to listen to the needs of their workforce, and nearly 4 in 10 workers don’t feel that their feedback will be acted on. To combat this, leaders need to do more to ensure they are consistently making efforts to collect and act on direct employee feedback.

Finding the right employee engagement tools to facilitate clear communication around worker issues will be important, but one key feature you should look out for when it comes to worker feedback is Employee Surveys. By creating customized and targeted surveys for key demographics, departments and employees in your workforce, you can show them that their input is valued and taken into account when the big decisions are made.

Trend 3: Driving employee recognition 

According to research, recognition is a key driver for healthcare worker engagement.

However, our research shows that nearly 4 in 10 (37%) healthcare workers don’t feel as valued as their desk-based colleagues. This is a huge missed opportunity for healthcare organizations, as recognizing and rewarding your frontline staff not only boosts morale and job satisfaction, but can improve patient care as well.

A simple shout-out or a direct message goes a long way in showing your appreciation for your employees' hard work, but a one-on-one approach shows the organization is willing to go the extra mile to show they care about their team members. 

Ask your team questions about how they like to receive feedback. Do they prefer you shout it from the rooftops or keep it private? If your organization uses rewards, does your teammate prefer gift cards or meals? Asking these questions will provide you many options to meaningfully recognise employees.

Other ideas include:

• Recognition events (paid for team lunch or dinners etc)
• Providing development opportunities
• Personalized rewards
• Giving managers exposure to senior leaders.

At the end of the day, taking the time to recognize and appreciate your employees' efforts will go a long way in improving the overall employee experience – and your engagement levels will follow suit.

Trend 4: Understanding quiet quitting

While it's not a new concept to the healthcare sector, quiet quitting—where employees slowly disengage and eventually leave their job without giving notice—is a growing problem in the industry. 

Unfortunately, Gallup found that 32% of US employees were actively engaged at work in 2022 (compared with 34% in 2021) and that the largest decline in engagement was found among health care professionals, who realized a 9 point drop in engagement scores year-on-year. Some reasons cited for employees becoming disengaged include:

• They receive poor communication from management
• They don't believe management has their best interests in mind
• They feel a lack of autonomy and control 
• They do not have the resources needed to career out their role effectively
• They face little or no career advancement opportunities.

In addition to this, another recent survey found that 61% of physicians are currently experiencing burnout, and when asked about the cause, 62% of physicians blamed their current employer. The impact of this on the healthcare industry has been drastic.

The true impact of the quiet-quitting trend in healthcare

This phenomenon can have detrimental impacts to your healthcare organization, as it not only results in decreased productivity and higher turnover/low retention rates, but also requires additional resources—and costs—to recruit and train new staff members. 

Jeremy Sadlier, executive director of the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration, commented on how this trend is playing out in hospitals all over the US:

“Ultimately, this trend has the potential to make a significant impact in the industry. Any lack of engagement on the part of staff ultimately impacts patient care, teamwork, safety and throughput, all of which impact the financial health of an organization and the patient experience. 

It's incredibly important for leaders to focus on engagement, growth opportunities, and to recognize and reward hard work. These are a few ways to focus on your employees to help them feel engaged with their work." 

In order to combat this growing trend, healthcare leaders should prioritize open communication with their staff to address any concerns or issues that may be causing employees to disengage in the first place. By understanding and addressing these issues with strong engagement initiatives, healthcare organizations can prevent quiet quitting and improve the entire employee experience.

Another way to tackle the quiet-quitting crisis, Forbes suggests, is that leaders humanize work. This could include offering flexibility and autonomy in the workplace, as well as recognizing and valuing employee contributions and investing in a mobile-first, intuitive solution to healthcare employee engagement.

Trend 5: Pushing diversity, equity & inclusion

One trend we're seeing in the healthcare industry is a greater focus on creating a diverse and inclusive workforce, as well as providing DEI training for employees.

And it's not only a recent trend. According to one study, the number of HR leaders identifying DEI efforts as a top priority was 1.8 times higher in 2020 than in 2019. In 2021 leaders indicated that “setting goals and tracking DEI progress through metrics” was one of their two top priorities for the year.

This trend is supported by further research from Deloitte, who surveyed 20 CEOs within the healthcare industry to find that addressing and improving health equity was one of their top goals. But why is that?

By promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace at every level, healthcare organizations can improve employee engagement levels by making all staff members feel valued and respected. In turn, this can lead to improved patient care and better overall organizational practices.

Rola Aamar, PhD, Senior Clinical Effectiveness Consultant at Relias states:

“Commitment to consistent DEI initiatives, especially training, not only is important for patient safety and better health outcomes, but also can be key for retaining qualified, engaged employees. Organizations that create and promote inclusive work environments and consistently let staff know that DEI is a priority are the ones that are most likely to reduce moral injury and burnout among staff.”

Research has also shown that diverse patients who see themselves in the healthcare workforce, are more likely to trust their healthcare provider. This in turn leads them to be able to communicate better about their condition, more likely to understand and follow treatment plans, and overall are more satisfied with their healthcare. 

It really does matter at every level.

DEI is important at every level, with CEOs recognizing and pushing it forward this trickles down into other levels of management right down to the frontline.

In their 2021 State of Healthcare Training and Staff Development Report Relias found that over half of respondents indicated that their organization was moving to actively address DEI-related issues. However, only 40% of those with DEI training require managers to participate.

With this in mind, healthcare business leaders need to take action now: review your organization's current DEI practices, set goals for improvement, and make a plan to implement them effectively.

And don't forget to regularly track and assess your progress along the way. Consider utilizing resources such as DEI training programs, diversity consulting services, and healthcare employee surveys to gather feedback and ensure your DEI efforts are truly making a positive impact.

Trend 6: Prioritizing mental health and wellbeing

The mental health and wellbeing of your healthcare workforce has to be a priority if you want to succeed as an organization. However, historically, the healthcare sector has seen elevated stress levels. 

As Frontier’s research states:

Numerous factors contribute to elevated stress among healthcare workers, including heavy workloads, long shifts, a high pace, lack of physical or psychological safety, chronicity of care, moral conflicts, perceived job security, and workplace related bullying or lack of social support.

And this elevated stress isn't without its challenges. Physician burnout and caregiver stress is a real issue and, according to Frontier's research, work-related stress can have a negative impact on health care providers' professionalism, quality of care delivery, efficiency, and overall quality of life.

As such, it is critical that leaders in the healthcare sector are prioritizing the mental health and wellbeing of their employees. This includes offering direct and easy access to communication solutions to allow employees to reach out for support when needed, support resources such as employee assistance programs and crisis resources, mindfulness/resilience training, and flexible work schedules.

Whilst mental health should be a key focus, you can’t neglect physical safety.

In the quote above, Frontier cited “lack of physical safety” as one of the factors that contribute to stress. This is supported by research from NSC which found 40% of people who reported feeling “very” unsafe at work reported having symptoms of depression all or most days, while only 1% of people who felt very safe at work reported the same.

From the research, there are 3 key ways frontline safety can impact mental health:

• Employees who feel unsafe at work are more likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety. 
• Employees who feel the most unsafe at work are also the most likely to meet the criteria for clinical diagnosis of mental illness. 
• Feeling unsafe at work impacts employees on and off the clock. The feelings they have at work can follow them home.

By prioritizing the mental health and wellbeing of healthcare workers, organizations can improve overall employee engagement levels and decrease burnout rates, in turn driving patient care success and overall organizational success.

So let's take action now and prioritize the mental health and wellbeing of our healthcare employees. It's time to put an end to burnout and promote a culture of support within our organizations. The benefits, for both our employees and our patients, are worth it.

Trend 7: Using people analytics tools

People analytics tools are gaining traction in the healthcare industry, as they offer a way to track and measure employee engagement levels, analyze performance data, and inform HR decision-making. With the rising trend of big data and analytics in the healthcare sector, these tools can offer valuable insights to organizational leaders.

Deloitte tells us that with people analytics, healthcare organizations can:

• Increase employee satisfaction.
• View employees as a critical and valuable asset in the supply chain; an asset that can be analyzed and optimized to benefit individuals and the company as a whole
• Uncover opportunities to transform HR practices and optimize talent-focused programs.

By utilizing people analytics tools, healthcare organizations can gather valuable insight to inform and improve their HR strategies, ultimately driving employee engagement and overall organizational success.

Healthcare firms are also using people analytics to increase profitability, as employee engagement has been proven to be a strong predictor of financial performance.

With Blink's Frontline Intelligence, healthcare organizations can analyze and track employee engagement, satisfaction, and other key metrics in real time, using them to guide their employee engagement initiatives and reach their goals.

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, Healthcare networks can be complicated enough, without staff having to download and juggle a number of different employee systems. 

The Blink mobile-first employee app connects them to core industry apps in seconds, without requiring a password. From shift scheduling to PPE requests to Sharepoint, everything's ready for your staff in one (digital) dashboard.

By providing a platform to help you stay on top of the latest trends, facilitate communication, and track performance and satisfaction, we can help drive HR success within your organization. With Blink, you can achieve:

• 10X higher communication rate using an employee app
• 300% increase in feedback through survey responses
• Higher employee retention and engagement
• People analytics to focus on burnout and DE&I initiatives.

So why wait? As healthcare leaders, it’s vital that you keep up with the latest trends and take action to improve employee engagement within your organization. And we can help you do just that.

Book A Demo Now

Want to learn more? Check out one of our healthcare client testimonials below to see how we helped them.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/EB4EVQx04ak

At Blink, we’re constantly evolving our employee experience platform to meet the dynamic needs of organizations and their employees.

As part of our commitment to empowering great employee experiences from the frontline to the front office, we’re excited to announce our latest suite of product features designed to improve the way employees engage with their organization and with each other.

From fostering deeper social connections and real-time interactions, to improving platform security and content protection, discover 6 new features designed to help you create an engaging, reliable, and thriving workplace.

#1. Stories: Share snapshots of your company culture

In today’s fast-paced world, the need for real-time connection and engagement has never been more important — and that includes at work. That’s why we’re excited to bring Stories, a first-of-its-kind feature, to Blink. With Stories, teams can easily share moments, celebrate wins, and keep the workplace experience fun and dynamic.

Much like Stories on the social media platforms we know and love, employees and team leaders can share temporary posts that live at the top of the Feed, keeping internal content relevant and up to date.

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Why you’ll love it:

• Instant sharing: Whether it’s celebrating team achievements, giving updates on project milestones, or sharing everyday moments, Stories offer a personal touch that helps foster a connected culture.
• Boost engagement: With the ability to share everyday moments and add a personal touch using image-editing tools, Stories make it easier for employees to connect and engage beyond formal communications.
• Keep content fresh: With a 72-hour shelf life, Stories are a great way to share timely messages and encourage frequent, social snapshots of your day.

With Stories, organizations can bring a fresh yet familiar approach to their internal communications strategy, engaging employees not just in critical communications but throughout their everyday work lives.

#2. Communities: Modernize your employee resource groups

As part of the reimagined Connect section, which brings Groups, Teams, and Contacts into one cohesive view, we’re excited to introduce Communities. This new feature allows employees to connect and collaborate over shared interests and hobbies.

With Communities, which are open for anyone to explore and join, employees have an intuitive and interactive digital space to foster deeper connections that go beyond day-to-day work tasks.

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Key benefits:

• Personalized experience: Employees can join Communities based on their interests, passions, or hobbies, creating a more inclusive and engaging workplace.
• A dedicated space: Each Community comes with its own unique Feed, Channels, and Resources, creating a dynamic virtual hub for content and communication.
• Cross-company connection: Communities provide an opportunity to engage with colleagues across the organization, helping to bridge the gap between teams, departments, and geographies.

From Parents at Work and Home Chefs, to Dog Lovers and LGBTQ+ Crew, Communities open up new opportunities for social connection, workplace collaboration, and community-building.

#3. Moderation: Enhance control over your digital spaces

In order to ensure organizations can create and maintain a positive digital environment, we’ve enhanced our platform moderation tools. Administrators can now better manage and control content in Blink through new reporting and moderation functionalities.

New capabilities:

• Report a comment: Users can now report individual comments, in addition to posts, making moderation more precise.
• Report reasons: Users can provide specific reasons for reporting content, enabling admins to make more informed decisions and take quick action.
• Streamlined admin workflow: Moderation tasks are now part of the admin task list, ensuring that no report goes unnoticed.

These improvements give admins more transparency and control, allowing them to better maintain a respectful and focused communication environment.

#4. Mobile version control: Improve security for frontline teams

We’ve added mobile version control as an additional security measure to help organizations protect sensitive content on Blink’s platform. With this new feature, admins now have the option to require that devices meet a minimum OS version requirement, across iOS and Android, to access specific content and resources.

Why it matters:

• Improved data security: By controlling OS versions, companies can add an additional layer of security to any sensitive resources housed in the Content Hub.
• Tailored policies: Admins can customize their security settings to include OS version requirements, helping to meet BYOD (bring your own device) policies and ensuring compliance.
• Prompted updates: As part of this feature, Blink will alert employees in-app whose devices don’t meet the minimum OS requirements and prompt them to update their device. Blink will let me know I need to update my device’s operating system.

This update is crucial for companies prioritizing security, especially those with frontline, hybrid, or remote workers who often use their personal devices.

#5. Custom profile fields: Tailor your employee inputs

In addition to our 15 out-of-the-box user profile fields like “Name” and “Location,” we’re excited to roll out customizable profile fields.

Admins can now set up custom profile fields to gather the data they need and expand Blink’s usability, paving the way for admins to design a truly tailored Blink experience for their organizations and employees alike.

A closer look:

• Customization: Admins can now create custom fields to collect and manage unique user data, offering more tailored experiences for employees.
• Scalability: Whether you’re managing teams in retail, healthcare, or any other industry, custom fields make it easy to track data points that matter most to your organization.
• Extensibility: This is just the first step! Soon, custom fields will be integrated across more Blink features, making it easier to manage employee information in a way that works for you.

With these customized fields, you can gain deeper insights, streamline processes, and capture workforce data that aligns with your organization’s unique operational needs.

#6. ServiceNow notification integration: Stay on top of IT updates

Lastly, but certainly not least, we’ve expanded our integration capabilities. Our seamless notification integration with ServiceNow enables employees to receive real-time updates on their IT tickets directly within Blink.

How it works:

• Real-time notifications: Whenever an IT ticket is updated or resolved in ServiceNow, employees receive instant notifications via the Feed.
• Improved efficiency: This integration reduces the need for employees to switch between platforms, keeping everything in one place and ensuring they stay informed about their requests.

Enhanced integrations like these ensure that Blink can continue to be the central hub for all of your employee communications and task management needs.

Bring your consumer-grade employee experience to life.

As workplaces continue to evolve, our goal remains the same: to provide the tools that foster connection, enhance productivity, and create a seamless and exceptional experience for every employee — no matter what they do and where they work.

These product enhancements are our next step in empowering organizations to meet — and exceed — the expectations of a modern and digitally savvy workforce.

‍Blink. And see how these new features can upgrade your employee experience.