The Capital District Transport Authority (CDTA) runs the public transit system in Albany, New York. They employ around 800 people.

Most of these employees are drivers and maintenance workers and CDTA was having a tough time staying in touch with them. An intranet. Seat drops. Posters. Digital screens. They tried everything. And it just wasn’t working.

For this webinar, our team sat down with CDTA’s Head of Communication, Jaime Kazlo, and Communications Manager, Emily De Vito. 

Two years after launching Blink, they talked about how they went from an ineffective internal communication strategy causing a huge digital divide to an employee app that supports digital inclusion.

The internal communication problem

Before CDTA found Blink, internal communication was a nagging problem.

They had a high proportion of frontline workers who didn’t sit behind a desk and didn’t have company-issued emails or devices. So it wasn’t easy to share company messages with them.

To communicate with office-based employees, the company was relying on an outdated intranet. For frontline employees, the main methods of communication were:

• Noticeboards and digital screens
• Emergency SMS
• Word of mouth
• Seat drop, where posters were left on a bus operator’s seat in time for their shift

But these comms were ineffective. As Jaime pointed out, “A lot of the folks that work at CDTA don’t necessarily come into the office every single day. They may get their bus out on the road. And if they do come into the office, they’re coming in and getting their work at the dispatch window and then immediately leaving”.

So employees weren’t reliably seeing posters and digital screens. They weren’t getting an awful lot of co-worker contact. And teams ended up relying on one-on-one communication, which put a lot of pressure on supervisors.

Focus group feedback made it clear to the CDTA leadership that their comms weren’t cutting through. Frontline employees were missing out on important communications. They were missing out on the fun stuff too, like competitions and giveaways.

This was creating a disconnect between employees and the organization. And it was harming the employee experience. So in 2021, CDTA decided to make a change.

They wanted to overhaul the way they did internal communications. And they needed a way to meet frontline employees where they were at.

Their CEO, says Jaime, is a champion of open communication and certainly didn’t want more than half of the organization missing out on comms. So with his support, they set out to find a solution.

"I know we’re not unique. A lot of organizations struggle with internal communication. It’s just whether or not you’re going to take that next step to really get to the employees, listen to their feedback, and give them what they need so they can also feel that they’re an integral part of the organization.” — Jaime Kazlo, Head of Communication, CDTA

Deciding on a solution

CDTA already had a SharePoint intranet, which they’d tried to revamp. This was a tool that they’d been using for several years. But it was old, outdated, and poorly maintained.

While a handful of employees chose to use the intranet, many stayed away. In fact, it had gotten to the point where comms and HR teams wouldn’t even tell staff about the intranet because they didn’t want them using it.

The intranet didn’t provide relevant information and wasn’t a good representation of the company. Crucially, it was hard for frontline employees to access.

Having gone ahead with a new and improved intranet, the team had some last-minute doubts. As the launch approached, they questioned whether they wanted to roll this tool out to the workforce.

Jaime says that, having taken the intranet as far as it could go, they were still wondering if there wasn’t something better. A tool that would improve employee communication for the whole organization.

So they took the bold decision to shelve the intranet. And started talking seriously about other options. Here’s how they decided that a modern intranet, in the form of an employee app, was the frontline-first solution they were looking for:

They got buy-in from the IT team. The IT team was integral to the process. They made sure the chosen solution was secure, sustainable, and wouldn’t compromise the company network.

They got buy-in from the union. The team worked to ensure the union president and employees would get on board with their chosen solution.  

They took a cross-functional approach. The comms team collaborated across different departments. They had conversations with everyone who had a big stake in the solution, including HR, IT, and operations. They gathered co-worker questions, found answers, and learned what each department needed from the company comms tool.

They got buy-in from the CEO. Finally, having decided that an employee app was the best solution, they made their case to the CEO, who gave the go-ahead.

“For our workforce — and the way people consume information in this day and age — it seemed archaic to stick with that intranet tool. So we decided to go to something a little bit more user-friendly and something that is pretty much in the palm of everybody’s hand every day.” — Jaime Kazlo, Head of Communication, CDTA

Buying a solution

The next step in the process was choosing app technology that suited their frontline employees and the rest of the organization.

The comms team started by, again, looping in different departments to find out what modern intranet features they needed. 

They asked marketing leaders about their branding requirements. They asked HR how they’d like to use employee information within an app. They spoke to maintenance and transportation teams about the needs of their frontline workers.

This part of the process, says Jaime, was easy. Everyone was on board. Because everyone agreed that internal communications at CDTA needed to change. And because everyone wanted largely the same things:

• a product that was user-friendly and easy to use
• a product that was easy to download
• a product that allowed us to communicate daily company news
• a product that made it easy for employees to receive emergency messages

Once internal discussions had taken place, it was time to vet solutions and choose the best software for the job.

This part of the process was led by the IT and communications teams. The IT team knew what CDTA was looking for technically — and in terms of app security. The comms team knew what tools they needed to communicate effectively with the organization.

After speaking with several vendors and viewing app demonstrations, they decided on Blink. It was a speedy process. The team started looking for a solution in January 2022 and launched Blink in June of that year.

They were able to turn this process around in just six months, says Jaime, because the team got clear on their priorities first. By getting their ducks in a row — and knowing exactly what they were looking for in an employee app —finding the right app was quick and easy.

Ensuring success

Finding the right employee app is the first part of the battle. The next? Ensuring success — in the form of employee adoption and engagement — once that app goes live.

So how did the CDTA team tackle this particular challenge? In the webinar, Emily explains what the team did before and after the launch of Blink to maximize its success.

Pre-launch

The CDTA comms team started their pre-launch activities with a group of company leaders. They wanted to establish these people as app ambassadors. So they made sure they understood exactly what the app was for, what it could do, and how they should use it to interact with employees.

The comms team — along with the company’s new app ambassadors — started promoting the app to the wider organization about a month before it launched. They sent letters, put up posters, and advertised the app on digital screens.

Emily emphasizes the importance of speaking to people face to face, too. She and her team hosted information sessions. They also visited staff in break-out rooms, at every company location, to promote the app and field employee questions.

“[We were] letting them know — “Hey, this app is for you, it’s so you know what’s going on in our company and so you’re the first to know what’s going on in our company”.  

Contests and giveaways also helped to incentivize employees to download and use the app, both pre-launch and for about a month after. For example, the team launched the app on the first day of summer. So they had an ice cream truck come to each division and people who signed up to Blink got a free cone.

Post-launch

Launch done and dusted, the comms team turned their attention to sustaining app engagement levels. And encouraging late app sign-ups, too.

To achieve high levels of engagement, CDTA has focused on:

• Creating engaging content, with input from every department
• Being responsive to employee comments and questions
• Using pictures and graphics to grab employee attention
• Balancing serious content with fun content

Emily says managing the app and its content doesn’t take up her whole day. And you don’t need someone to do it 24/7.

Her role now involves asking team leaders to send her regular content. She launches surveys. And she posts at least a couple of informal, fun posts each month. That might mean highlighting a member of staff who got a promotion. Or — as CDTA did recently — posting pictures from an Exemplary Attendance Luncheon.

Employees like being able to see pictures of themselves or their teammates, says Emily. They like being recognized for their hard work. And they like being able to comment — congratulating others.

While they see better levels of engagement for fun posts, she says employees like to engage with serious content, too.

For example, CDTA recently did a safety post about cell phone usage on the road. Employees appreciated seeing it on the feed. They like being able to comment and contribute their thoughts. And these posts are a great way to get instant feedback on company policy.

Responding to resistance

CDTA doesn’t require employees to download the Blink app. So it’s up to each individual whether they choose to use it.

Emily acknowledges that some resistance is inevitable. Some employees told her that they didn’t want to see work content on their personal phones. Some simply didn’t see how Blink would benefit them.

But, says Emily, many of these employees have changed their perspectives. “Those people have now come back to me a year later, “Can you send me the invite to Blink again, I wanna download it.””

Part of CDTA’s success in getting employees to come around has been illustrating the personal benefit Blink brings to employees.

Comms team members get in the room with other employees to show them — here’s where you get your tax form, here’s where you see your pay stubs, here’s where you book vacation time.

They’ve also been using Blink’s analytics functions to see which content is working best. By seeing when and where employees are interacting, the team can hone content to make it even more relevant and engaging.

A majority of employees, says Emily, have seen the value of being able to do so much from their smartphones. And now — two years after the launch — adoption is at 80%, just shy of the company’s 85% target, which they hope to meet soon.

Q&A

The webinar ended with a Q&A session. Jaime and Emily provided answers to viewer questions. Here’s a summary of what they discussed.  

Do you allow employee comments on the app? And, if so, how do you manage them?

Allowing comments, says Emily, is essential for two-way communication. And the comments they get on the CDTA feed are mostly positive and primarily question-based.

Negative comments, when they do occur, are seen as a jumping-off point.

When the conversation feels constructive, leaders and managers can respond in the app. Alternatively, they go into Blink’s chat feature to say they’re happy to discuss an employee issue in person — and then set up a meeting.

While the admin team can delete comments, Emily says they would only do this if a comment contained profanity or something vulgar. And, thankfully, in two years of using the app, this is a problem they’ve yet to encounter.

It helps that openness is part of CDTA culture. And that company leaders understand that it solves more problems than it creates. 

“We have a CEO who is very transparent. He wants to know what the workforce is thinking. He wants them to know what he’s thinking[…]If you’re not transparent it brings up more questions and it creates more angst within your company because people are saying “Why aren’t they answering me” “Why are they being secretive?”.” — Emily De Vito, Communications Manager, CDTA

How do you work alongside your union when rolling out an employee app?

CDTA has a unionized workforce. So it was important for them to work in lockstep with the union president during the whole process — from solution scoping to app launch and beyond.

The comms team made a real effort, says Jaime, to explain to the union why they were implementing the app and to help them understand where they were coming from.

There were some employee concerns about how an app might invade their privacy. But we made it clear that the one and only purpose of the app was to make all employees feel included within the organization.

Now that the app is up and running, Emily highlights the importance of the union president having a profile and using the app. And knowing they can get in touch with the communications team when they want to send a union-related message out to the workforce. 

How do you enforce a cell phone policy when you have an employee app?

So you’re promoting a cell phone app. But you have a cell phone policy that means employees shouldn’t be looking at their phones during certain workday hours. What do you do?

For Jaime and Emily, it’s all about education and helping employees understand app features, like Blink’s snooze function.

Employees can set a do-not-disturb function to run automatically during particular times. This means they can pause notifications during work or driving hours. They can then pull out their cell phone during a break or when they’re back at home. 

How does an employee app work for team members without a smartphone?

There are very few employees at CDTA, says Jaime, who don’t have a smartphone. These tend to be older employees who aren’t necessarily very tech-savvy.

For these employees, the company has computers in break rooms. These computers are equipped with Blink’s desktop version. And they’re a way for employees who don’t have a phone — or who don’t want to download the app — to check in with their account and company news.

Does each employee have a profile? How do you manage those?

Every employee has their own app profile. They can upload a picture to this profile. But employees don’t have admin capabilities and they can’t edit anything else.

When it comes to creating profiles, the CDTA comms team worked with the HR team to import employee data. The app integrates with most HR software, so profiles can be added and removed automatically.

You can set up a profile with very basic information, including name, location, and job title. You also need an email address or a phone number so the employee can receive an invite to download Blink.

But you have the potential to refine these profiles. Emily is currently working with the CDTA on segmenting employees. She’s working out which employees should be grouped together so they can send the most relevant comms to each individual.

So there you have it. A summary of our webinar — and of CDTA’s journey from a clunky old intranet to a modern employee app.

Digital tools are transforming the way organizations build and sustain employee engagement. Platforms like Blink, Workvivo, Staffbase, and Reward Gateway are helping teams stay connected, improve communication, and bring company culture to life — wherever employees work.

But with so many employee engagement tools on the market, choosing the right one can be tricky. The wrong platform can waste time, hurt adoption, and even reduce engagement.

Getting it right matters. Companies with highly engaged teams are more productive and see up to 23% higher profitability. The best employee engagement software goes beyond simple communication — it connects people, recognizes great work, and supports a shared sense of purpose.

Every organization is different. The tools that work for a remote or office-based workforce may not suit a frontline team. That’s why it’s important to align your engagement goals with the right platform.

You’ll find software built for:

• Frontline employees — mobile-first apps like Blink that keep workers connected on the go
  
  
• Remote teams — tools such as Asana and Slack that combine communication and project management
  
  
• Office-based teams — platforms like Culture Amp and OfficeVibe that measure engagement and feedback
  

And others that specialize in areas such as:

• Communication and collaboration
• Feedback and performance
• Wellbeing and productivity
• Rewards and recognition
  

Choosing the right solution depends on your people and your priorities — because engagement software only works when it works for everyone.

For frontline organizations, this is especially true. Most engagement platforms are still built with desk-based employees in mind. Only 1 in 10 frontline workers says they have access to the tools and technology they need to connect and advance at work — even though they make up 82% of the global workforce.

Without easy access to company updates, communication, and recognition, frontline employees can quickly feel disconnected and undervalued.

That’s why your employee engagement solution needs to work for all employees — wherever and however they work.

In the next section, we’ll look at the best employee engagement software for 2026 — from all-in-one employee apps like Blink to specialized tools for communication, wellbeing, and recognition.

Let’s take a closer look.

Best employee engagement app for frontline organizations

Frontline employees are the backbone of many industries — from transportation and retail to healthcare and hospitality. But engaging this workforce comes with unique challenges. Many frontline employees don’t have regular access to company systems, email, or desktop devices, making it harder for them to stay informed and connected.

That’s why mobile-first employee engagement software has become essential. The best platforms for frontline teams combine communication, recognition, and real-time updates in one easy-to-use app.

These tools close the gap between head office and the field, helping every employee — regardless of location — feel included in company culture.

Below are some of the best employee engagement tools for frontline workers in 2026, starting with Blink, a leading all-in-one platform designed specifically for deskless and distributed teams.

Best employee engagement software for frontline workers

‍

Blink

When it comes to engaging a dispersed, frontline workforce, few tools match what Blink delivers.

Blink is a mobile-first employee engagement platform built to help organizations connect with every worker — whether they’re in the field, on the factory floor, or on the move. Used by teams across industries such as transport, healthcare, logistics, and construction, Blink turns everyday communication into connection.

Employees can easily chat with colleagues, access company updates, view schedules, and complete essential tasks all in one place. The result: better communication, stronger engagement, and a more unified culture.

Managers benefit, too. Blink’s analytics dashboard helps leaders track engagement and performance trends, identify communication gaps, and celebrate wins through built-in recognition tools.

Key features include:

• All-in-one communication: Peer-to-peer chat, team groups, and company-wide updates keep everyone aligned.
  
  
• Employee recognition: Built-in recognition features highlight great work and reinforce culture.
  
  
• Engagement surveys: Pulse surveys provide quick, actionable insights into morale and satisfaction.
  
  
• Analytics and insights: Track usage, engagement, and content performance to inform strategy.
  
  
• Seamless integrations: Connect scheduling, HR, and project management tools for a single digital workspace.
  
  
• Mobile-first design: Works on any smartphone — no corporate email required.

With Blink, your entire workforce can access the same tools and information, creating a seamless digital experience that keeps everyone connected, informed, and motivated.

Capterra score: 4.6 (114 reviews)

Pricing: Available upon request

Request a demo today to see how Blink can transform engagement across your frontline teams.

Best employee engagement software for desk-based remote workers

If you're looking for employee engagement software platforms suited to desk-based remote workers, here are some excellent options.

Google Chat

Google Chat is a communication platform that includes features like video and voice calls, and group chat. It's a great option for workplace communication and it's free to use.

As you’d expect, this tool integrates with the rest of the Google suite, including Google Calendar, Drive, Groups, and Gmail. But it lacks some of the advanced features you tend to get with paid tools.

Reviews from Capterra note that Google Chat is easy to use. It also provides good collaboration tools. However, the interface can be frustrating, message delivery can be an issue, and notifications can be challenging to navigate.

Capterra score: 4.5 (2,302 reviews)

Pricing: Monthly pricing for Google Chat for business starts at $6 per user.

Discord

Discord is a chat app designed for gamers. But it’s recently been used for workplace communication, too. It includes features like voice and video chat, so you can easily connect and communicate with colleagues.

You can use Discord for free, making it a basic but cost-effective tool for internal communications, especially in a remote working environment.

Capterra score: 4.7 (434 reviews)

Pricing: Many of Discord’s features are free to use. For businesses that want to invest in extra perks, Discord’s premium tier, “Nitro,” is available for $99 per year.  

Asana

Asana is a popular project management tool that can also be used for employee engagement. With Asana, you can easily create and assign tasks, track task progress, and set team priorities. You can also use Asana to create custom projects for easy employee collaboration.

Asana makes a great option for remote teams, in part because it offers a mobile app for easy access to tasks and progress data. This helps to ensure that employees are working cohesively and effectively wherever they’re based.

Reviews from Capterra note that while Asana offers a clean, intuitive, and integrated interface, notifications are often missed, automatic opt-in to email notifications can be annoying, and the different projects and access features can be confusing.

Capterra score: 4.5 (12,648 reviews)

Pricing: Monthly pricing for Asana starts at a basic free plan. A business plan costs $24.99 per user per month when billed annually.

ClickUp

ClickUp is a cloud-based collaboration and project management tool and it’s a good option for those looking to improve remote employee engagement.

Key features include task assignments and statuses, alerts, and a task toolbar. But while ClickUp does well in terms of task management, it doesn’t offer a full range of employee engagement tools.

This platform lacks features relating to real-time communication, employee recognition, and social interaction. So you’re likely to need additional software.

Capterra score: 4.6 (4,135 reviews)

Pricing: ClickUp offers a free version. Monthly pricing for a Business plan costs $12 per user per month.

WorkTango

WorkTango is an employee experience platform with a number of solutions for employee engagement. It provides tools like employee surveys, real-time analytics, rewards, and recognition.

You can also see how your engagement scores rank against other WorkTango customers to get a better sense of how you’re doing.

On Capterra, users say that anonymous feedback and anonymous employee chat allow for truly honest conversations. Clients also praise recognition features. However, some users would like better reporting tools and easier platform navigation. 

Capterra score: 4.9 (144 reviews)

Pricing: Pricing is available on request.

Leapsome

Leapsome is a good employee engagement tool for goal setting and employee development.

It’s designed to support organizations to create high-performing teams. You can use Leapsome to track and collaborate on goals, run 360-degree reviews, and create personalized learning pathways.

With lots of tools for remote teams, Leapsome helps maintain employee progress even when employees aren’t in the office. The software also offers video conferencing tools, which make it easy to collaborate on agendas and align action plans.

Capterra score: 4.7 (62 reviews)

Pricing: Pricing starts at $8 per user per month, with the option to add on the extra features you need.

Slack

Slack is a great productivity tool for remote office workers. It helps you to organize teams and their work, with the help of channels, huddles, and a workflow builder.

However, it's worth noting that Slack doesn't provide much in the way of scheduling, performance tracking, or survey features. If these tools are essential to your organization, you’ll need to use Slack plus another employee engagement platform.

Reviews from Capterra note that Slack’s user interface is easy to use. They like channel and plugin features. They also appreciate having all work conversations in one place.

However, reviews also note that it can be a confusing platform to use, with lots of channels across different teams. Adoption can also be difficult if people are not familiar with the software.

Capterra score: 4.7 (23,231 reviews)

Pricing: For multiple employees, monthly pricing for Slack starts at $6.67 per user.

Best employee engagement software for desk-based office workers

Now, let’s take a look at the tech tools best suited to office worker engagement.

OfficeVibe

OfficeVibe is a “people-first” employee experience platform, with a number of employee engagement features designed for the office.

It helps employers to assess and improve employee engagement levels with robust measurement tools. It also provides an app so you can track progress on the go if needed.

Reviews from Capterra note that OfficeVibe is an innovative tool that helps organizations better understand employee happiness. The company also provides strong customer service.

However, managers complain that survey questions can’t be customized and that insights don’t go deep enough. They also say that the Slack integration doesn’t work too well and that setup can be confusing.

Capterra score: 4.6 (51 reviews)

Pricing: Monthly pricing for OfficeVibe ranges from a free version to a $5 per user Pro Plan.

SurveyMonkey

By using employee satisfaction survey tools like SurveyMonkey, you can collect regular feedback from employees on their engagement levels. This real-time feedback can help you to identify problem areas and take steps to improve employee engagement in your organization.

As well as survey templates, SurveyMonkey offers reporting and analytics features that help you spot data trends and insights. It also uses AI to reveal employee sentiment.

Capterra score: 4.6 (9,991 reviews)

Pricing: For over three users, monthly pricing for SurveyMonkey starts at $31.83 per user.

Doodle

Employee polls are a quick and easy way to collect anonymous feedback from employees on a range of topics. You can use employee poll tools from Doodle to gather feedback on everything from engagement levels to job satisfaction.

But Doodle does more than polls. It also provides meeting, video conferencing, and scheduling tools. You can even poll meeting attendees to find a time that works for everyone and improve attendance.

Capterra score: 4.6 (1785 reviews)

Pricing: Monthly pricing for Doodle Professional starts at $6.95 per user.

Monday.com

Monday.com is a project management tool that can also be used for employee engagement.

With Monday.com, you can create and assign tasks, track progress, and more. You can also use it to create performance tracking templates for employees. This can help you to identify areas where employees need improvement and take steps to address them.

On Capterra, Monday.com users say that the platform’s project management tools are excellent. But others complain that the backend of the platform is complicated and involves a steep learning curve.

Capterra score: 4.6 (4,816 reviews)

Pricing: For more than two employees, monthly pricing for Monday.com starts at $8 per user per month.

Culture Amp

Culture Amp’s employee engagement platform provides over 40 science-backed survey templates. You can use these surveys to find out how employees feel about engagement, belonging, inclusion, and more.

The platform also uses AI-powered insights to summarize employee engagement findings, supporting your business to make data-backed decisions.

Reviews from Capterra say that Culture Amp has a user-friendly user interface. They also praise the platform’s ready-to-go survey templates.

But users don’t like having to rely on the Culture Amp support team to update some parts of the platform. They also say that — while survey features are strong — features like the objective and key results (OKR) module aren’t as well-developed. 

Capterra score: 4.7 (137 reviews)

Pricing: Pricing is available on request.

A few more employee engagement software tools

The following tools specialize in one area of employee engagement. As such, they make a great add-on to your chosen staff engagement tool.

At Blink, our App Marketplace integrates all the tools you need to manage your employee engagement in one place. If we don't already integrate with your app, just ask!

Kudos

Kudos is an add-on app that allows employees to give and receive recognition in real time. With Kudos, you can create a culture of recognition where employees feel appreciated for their hard work.

Capterra score: 4.8 (1,084 reviews)

Pricing: Monthly pricing for Kudos starts at $3.25 per user.

Friday

Friday is an app that makes it easy to give employees recognition for a job well done. With Friday, you can give employees badges, points, and rewards to show your appreciation.

Capterra score: 5 (1 review)

Pricing: Friday has a free version. Monthly pricing goes up to $100+ for company plans.

Bonusly

Bonusly is another dedicated employee recognition tool. Bonusly supports peer recognition, allowing employees to give each other bonuses in the form of points that can be redeemed for rewards. By using Bonusly, you can create a culture of appreciation and recognition throughout your workforce.

Capterra score: 4.8 (1,586 reviews)

Pricing: Monthly pricing options for Bonusly starts at $2.70 per user.

Limeade Wellbeing

Employee wellbeing programs, like those on offer from Limeade, go hand in hand with employee engagement programs. Because when employees feel healthier, happier, and less stressed, they have the headspace they need to engage with their work.

Limeade provides customized employee wellness programs. These programs encourage participation and deliver essential wellbeing resources via one handy tool.

With this tool, you can also listen and respond to your workforce in real time through anonymous surveys, polls, and quizzes. All that’s really missing from this system is strong employee communication tools.

Capterra score: 0.0 (Zero reviews)

Pricing: Pricing is available on request.

WeThrive

WeThrive is an employee engagement tool designed to support the mental health of desk-based workers. With this platform, you can create surveys to assess employee wellbeing and then take action to improve it.

WeThrive analytics allow you to segment survey results by team, tenure, location, department, and manager. This makes it easy to identify the root causes of poor wellbeing and identify areas for improvement.

Capterra score: 4.7 (37 reviews)

Pricing: Pricing is available on request.

Reward Gateway

Reward Gateway is an employee engagement solution that offers employee discounts, employee rewards and recognition, and tools for employee communications.

This combined platform is a great tool for office-based employers looking to boost employee recognition, with features such as discounts and rewards accessible in one place.

Reviews from Capterra note that Reward Gateway is flexible and easy to use. But it can be glitchy, with reporting features sometimes not running properly and some features failing to run as smoothly as others.

Capterra score: 4.5 (319 reviews)

Pricing: Monthly pricing for Reward Gateway starts at $10.19 per user.

Weekdone

For structured goal setting, Weekdone is an excellent choice. It’s a top-rated OKR platform that allows you to track weekly plans and progress, provide feedback, and get everyone pulling in the same direction.

OKR software can also be used to ensure that remote employees have clear objectives, with performance reviews and goal tracking. 

Capterra score: 4.5 (61 reviews)

Pricing: For more than three employees, monthly pricing for Weekdone is $8 per user.

Awardco

Awardco is another bonus tool that makes recognizing and rewarding people easier and more effective.

With Awardco, employers can set up reward and recognition programs that their employees can access from any device. You can tailor incentives to your teams, ensuring the prizes on offer act as real motivation.

This tool is a good option for office-based companies of all sizes looking to increase employee satisfaction and engage with their workforce to boost productivity.

Capterra score: 4.9 (4,560 reviews)

Pricing: Pricing for Awardco ranges from $2,500 to $4,000 per year.

QuizBreaker

QuizBreaker is a virtual team-building tool. It works well for both office-based and dispersed teams, bringing a bit of gamification to the work day.

Key features of QuizBreaker include:

• a scheduled icebreaker quiz that helps employees get to know each other better
• escape games and 1,000+ trivia quizzes for fun team-building events
• employee profiles that reveal work style, unique strengths, and fun facts
• pulse surveys to help you get regular feedback from employees

QuizBreaker isn’t an all-in-one employee engagement tool. But this platform helps teams to bond and brings a little fun to your workplace culture.  

Capterra score: Not found in Capterra database.
‍Pricing: Monthly pricing for QuizBreaker starts at $3 per user.

Motivosity

Motivosity is employee recognition software that makes it easy for managers to give recognition and rewards.

Motivosity’s “Thanks Matters” card is an innovative way of rewarding employees. Like Bonusly, you assign points for great performance. These points directly translate into cash, which employees can access via a special Visa debit card.

They can choose from hundreds of reward options. You can even add your own gifts such as branded swag or lunch with the CEO. Employees can also choose to forgo cash rewards in order to make charitable donations.

Capterra score: 4.8 (1,053 reviews)

Pricing: Pricing is available on request.

Key employee engagement software features to prioritize in 2026

When choosing the right employee engagement software for your organization, focus on the features that will help you overcome your biggest engagement challenges. The right combination of tools can improve communication, morale, and productivity across every level of your workforce.

Channels and chats

Communication is the foundation of engagement. Real-time chat features — including group channels, private messages, and announcements — ensure employees stay in the loop and can collaborate quickly, wherever they work.

Surveys, polls, and content analytics

Platforms with built-in surveys, polls, and analytics help you measure engagement levels, gather employee sentiment, and identify emerging issues before they become major problems. This data ensures every employee has a voice and helps leaders take action with confidence.

Employee recognition

Recognition tools — such as kudos, badges, or points systems — make it easy to celebrate achievements and highlight great work. This simple feature goes a long way toward strengthening motivation, morale, and a sense of belonging.

Analytics and dashboards

For organizations managing distributed or frontline teams, analytics functions are essential. They allow you to measure engagement, retention, and satisfaction while uncovering insights into how employees interact with leadership and one another. These insights drive continuous improvement in your employee experience strategy.

A main feed or hub

A centralized hub — or main company feed — brings all updates, videos, documents, and announcements together in one place. This consolidation creates a single source of truth, keeping employees informed and aligned with your company’s goals.

At Blink, our frontline employee app brings all of these features together. With tools for chat, recognition, surveys, analytics, and communication, Blink helps you overcome common engagement challenges and connect every employee — from the frontline to the office.

The business benefits of digital employee engagement tools

Digital engagement tools require an upfront investment — both financially and in time. But the return on that investment is substantial. The right software encourages participation, builds connection, and creates a culture employees want to be part of.

Below are the five key business benefits of using digital employee engagement software.

#1. Reduce employee turnover and save on recruitment costs

When engagement goes up, turnover goes down. Highly engaged business units experience 51% lower employee turnover, and companies with strong engagement see 23% higher overall profitability.

Engaged employees are more likely to stay with your organization, reducing the cost of recruitment and training. According to SHRM, hiring a new employee can cost three to four times the position’s salary, making engagement one of the most effective retention strategies available.

Digital tools strengthen this connection by amplifying company culture and ensuring all employees can participate fully — leading to a happier, more loyal workforce.

#2. Strengthen company culture through digital engagement platforms

In today’s competitive labor market, salary alone isn’t enough to retain top talent. Engaged employees are motivated by purpose, belonging, and appreciation.

The 2024 O.C. Tanner Global Culture Report found that strong company culture rests on six pillars:

1. Purpose
   
   
2. Opportunity
   
   
3. Success
   
   
4. Appreciation
   
   
5. Wellbeing
   
   
6. Leadership
   
   

Digital engagement tools help reinforce these pillars by improving communication, supporting growth, and enabling public recognition. The right platform makes culture tangible — connecting leadership, values, and everyday work.

#3. Improve internal communication with employee engagement software

Two-way communication is critical for engagement. Modern tools help you deliver the right message to the right people — whether through audience segmentation, targeted updates, or role-based notifications.

These platforms also make it easier to track the effectiveness of communication. With built-in analytics, you can see how employees interact with content and refine your messaging to increase engagement and clarity across the organization.

#4. Use analytics to understand and improve employee engagement

Feedback is the backbone of a strong employee engagement strategy. Without it, leaders can’t identify what’s working or where improvements are needed.

Employee engagement software with advanced reporting provides actionable insights. You can see how satisfied employees are, how frequently they engage with company updates, and where there are communication or experience gaps.

With Blink, for example, you can access detailed data on engagement, satisfaction, and retention — helping you identify frontline challenges early and respond faster.

#5. Boost productivity with connected employee engagement platforms

Disconnected tools slow teams down. Employees lose valuable time switching between apps, searching for information, and handling repetitive admin tasks.

A unified engagement platform streamlines these processes. By digitizing workflows, automating basic tasks, and connecting every workplace app in one place, you free up employees to focus on meaningful, high-impact work.

Blink’s connected platform helps teams stay organized and productive — from digitized HR processes to mobile-friendly task management — improving both individual and organizational performance.

If you’re new to mobile workforce management, you’re not alone. 

Before the pandemic, just 6% of the employed workforce worked from home. Now, 74% of US companies are either operating on a hybrid working model or plan to do so in the future. Businesses that previously did not need mobile workforce management strategies are now rapidly trying to figure out what works when your team is scattered across multiple locations. 

If that’s you, don’t panic. With the right tools and approach, it’s possible to run an effective mobile workplace, without compromising on productivity. Here’s how. 

What is mobile workforce management?

IBM defines a mobile workforce as “a group of employees that isn’t bound by a central physical location. Instead, the employees are connected by various types of mobile technology: computers, smartphones and other mobile devices.”

This includes – but isn’t limited to – remote desk-based teams who might have worked in a centralized office pre-pandemic. It could also include: 

• Community healthcare teams who visit outpatients during working hours
• Drivers – whether for public transport, taxi or private logistics fleets
• Traveling sales teams, who spend part of their time visiting clients, conferences and trade shows
• Teams of engineers, tradespeople or contractors who attend different clients each day 

Mobile workforce management is simply the process of managing these teams so that they’re as effective, efficient and engaged as possible. The three ‘e’s, if you like. 

The differences between the mobile and the standard workforce

Traditionally, a ‘standard workforce’ is based on physical location. You might have an office HQ that your employees commute to each day or a manufacturing plant that needs to be manned 24/7, for example. 

Thanks to the wave of remote and mobile working brought on by COVID-19, things aren’t as clean-cut as they once were. Mobile workforce management is now a major consideration for desk-based teams as well as more traditionally mobile workforces. 

In terms of how you approach managing your teams, this means: 

• You’ll need to use mobile workforce management software to run your team effectively
• You’ll need to be mindful of differences across time zones when scheduling calls or arranging deadlines

The principles of good management still hold. A transparent and fair approach to managing your team is still a great foundation to work from – you just might have to incorporate a couple of extra tools for maximum effect!

The benefits of mobile workforce management

The benefits of a strong management strategy remain the same across both mobile and traditional workforces: 

• Increased productivity: teams get more done in the same amount of time
• Improved visibility: managers provide insights into how your business works day to day
• Improved customer experience: good managerial support allows your employees to offer a great customer experience through building skills and retaining talent
• Improved employee engagement: employees feel supported by management and engage more with the business as a result

Mobile workforce management specifically – when done right – offers two key benefits besides. 

Firstly, you’re no longer bound by geographic location when hiring. This opens up a vastly wider talent pool that you can draw from – especially useful at a time when competition for new employees is at an all-time high. 

Secondly, flexible working is a hugely attractive benefit to offer new and existing employees. Nearly all (97%) respondents in Buffer’s 2022 State of Remote Work survey said they wanted to work remotely at least part of the time for the rest of their career. 

Source: buffer.com

Trends and challenges shaping mobile workforce management 

Some of your employees are onsite. Some of them are remote or on the move. How do you collaborate in such a seemingly fragmented team? 

This has been one of the major issues about mobile workforce management in the post-COVID era. Whilst the majority of businesses want to implement some sort of hybrid working arrangement, 63% of employees say that their company has not made any major changes to make this easier. 

If your working model has changed, your processes need to change too. 

One trend that’s becoming increasingly popular is a remote-first approach to work. This means that you run your entire team as if fully remote, by having all meetings via video conferencing software, for example.

The result is that everyone feels included and can interact on the same level – you remove the awkward atmosphere created by having some people meeting in person with others phoning in via a conferencing system. 

Manage your mobile workforce

Getting started on mobile workforce management? Here are some tips. 

Use the right software

Mobile workforce management is 100% reliant on using technology to communicate and collaborate, so having the right tools can make all the difference! An employee app to help you get messages across is essential, and you should also invest in a strong project management tool (e.g. Trello, Asana, Basecamp) at a minimum.

There are many different types of mobile workforce management software that you can use to make managing your teams easier. We’ve included a guide at the end of this article to help you get started. 

Check in…but don’t micromanage

Daily check-ins are a must when your team is on the move or scattered across different locations. It’s all too easy for these to slip into micromanagement if you frame them wrong. 

By all means ask for updates, but avoid listing ‘must-do’ tasks or demanding constant micro-updates on progress. Instead, ask if there’s anything you could be doing to support your employee, or if there’s anything they need assistance with. Check-ins are as much about offering support as they are about task updates. 

Constant communication, not necessarily on topic

How much of your traditional office chat was work based? Inane office chatter – pets, the kids, weather, vacation plans – actually serves a valuable purpose in team bonding and making social connections across the company. 

Use channels on your messaging app to provide a virtual space for this. You’ll find your team works better together as a result. Your remote and mobile workers start to feel more like a part of the wider organization, and engage more as a result. 

Mobile workforce management software

Employee apps and mobile intranet (e.g. Blink)

Mobile-first employee experience apps are vital for day-to-day communication between team members as well as employee recognition, networking and engagement. ‘Mobile first’ is a must here – if your employees don’t have 24/7 access to a desktop, you need to be able to spread key messages via smartphone. 

Project management tools (e.g. Trello, Asana, Basecamp)

Provide a single point of reference for tasks and deadlines with an online project management tool. Choose from a variety of project views to suit your team, with automated notifications and reminders when a deadline is approaching. 

Remote collaboration tools (e.g. Google Docs, Miro, Microsoft Teams)

Unlock your team’s creativity with a range of collaboration tools. Video conferencing is an absolute must-have, as is some form of collaborative document tool – Google Docs is by far the most intuitive here. For visual projects, virtual whiteboard tools are a particularly handy tool for online collaboration. 

Mobile scheduling tool (e.g. Deputy, RotaCloud, Blink)

If your teams work in shifts, rota management is a must. Mobile rota management and scheduling apps save you hours by automating this process, and your employees will get instant updates if the rota changes. Eliminate misunderstandings and never be accidentally short staffed again!

Performance management software (e.g. Engagedly, Reviewsnap, Talent Guard) 

Performance management is as important in a mobile setting as it is in a traditional work environment. Give your managers the tools to give feedback, run appraisals, manage employee goals and more with an extensive performance management solution. 

A few final thoughts on mobile workforce management

Mobile workforce management doesn’t have to be a huge departure from your existing management strategy. Open communication, respect and approachability will get you some of the way there on their own.  

It does, however, mean that you need to support employees across more than one different location though. And this means that finding the tech that works for you is essential in keeping everything running smoothly. 

Spend time thinking about your requirements here, and don’t rush into any purchases, no matter how urgent they may seem. Being locked into an unsuitable contract will cause a lot more damage in the long term than waiting to find the right software for you. 

Blink is an employee app that helps you manage your mobile workforce. Book your free demo here.

It’s time for another Life at Blink feature! This week, we’re thrilled to introduce Wick Kaminski, our Enterprise Implementation Manager who works remotely from Austin, TX.

With 1.5 years at Blink, Wick plays a pivotal role in helping our customers bring their workforce together, turning the idea of seamless communication into reality. From his frontline experience to his excitement about empowering employees through Blink, Wick brings passion and purpose to everything he does.

Curious about his journey, his proudest moments, and the culture that makes Blink stand out? Read on to learn more!

How long have you been at Blink? 

I have been at Blink for 1.5 years now. 

What initially attracted you to join Blink?

First and foremost was the fact that Blink employees use Blink. I think it’s a huge testament to a company’s commitment to excellence when they rely on their own tool to get their daily work done.

Secondly, I was intrigued by the idea of software that had a tangible impact, and I could clearly see how my time in frontline roles would have benefited tremendously from a tool like Blink. Employee communication via a mobile app is a simple and powerful value proposition, and I truly believe every nondigital organization would benefit from the use of it.

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

My proudest moments at Blink always come when we hit the “launch” button and we observe a workforce that’s READY for a communication outlet. For so many customers I work with, employees haven’t had a channel for sharing back and forth — so when I see the News Feed light up with employees giving recognition and highlighting cool things going on in their area at work, it gives me goosebumps.

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

Autonomous, responsible, supportive.

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

I’m personally really excited about expanding our self-service resources to better support our small and midsized business customers. We have an endless amount of ideas for improving the experience and making the onboarding as smooth and quick as possible.

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

Our recent feature release of Communities opened up an entirely new and novel avenue for our customers to build community amongst their workforces, and I’ve been really excited to work with my clients to get those up and running.

Communities are opt-in groups within Blink where you provide spaces for employees to connect on non-work-related things like hobbies, pets, special interest groups, affinity groups, clubs, and more. 

Why do you work for Blink?

I know what is expected of me, I have the materials and equipment to do my work right, and I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day. And being a frontline-focused organization, we’re also in a unique position: So much of the tech world happens in a bubble and being able to work with the frontline every day is an important reminder of that bubble and the workforces, cultures, and people beyond it.

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Every internal comms team has a content calendar.

It’s packed with company milestones, product launches, quarterly updates, and maybe even "Employee Appreciation Week”. But for a significant proportion of your workforce, it’s largely irrelevant.

Because what it doesn’t capture is the other calendar. The calendar of frontline operational reality — of shift changes, policy updates, roster gaps, and the months where teams are working flat out just to cope with demand.  

Effective frontline communication planning means overlaying this unofficial calendar on top of the official one. Let’s explore how.

What the "official" internal comms calendar misses

Before you can build a better comms calendar and improve frontline employee communication, you need to understand how the standard employee communication strategy falls down for frontline workers.

In many organizations, there’s a gap between the content comms teams plan and what frontline workers actually need to hear. Here’s why.

It reflects business priorities not frontline concerns

The typical internal comms calendar is organized around what the business wants to say — launches, milestones, strategic updates.

This can be useful for frontline employees. But they also need other information: what’s changed, what to focus on, how to do the job well today.

It doesn’t treat operational updates as comms

Operational updates are often shared through manager cascades or notice boards rather than through official comms channels. That makes it easy for messages to be delayed, diluted, or missed altogether.

These updates rarely make it onto the content calendar because nobody thinks of them as “comms”. But for frontline workers, these are the comms that matter most.

It assumes stability in an unstable sector

Frontline environments are subject to change. Last-minute rota gaps, unexpected site disruptions, safety updates — these aren’t planned weeks in advance.

Internal communications that are entirely pre-scheduled leave organizations without the space for unplanned moments. But these are the times that most require a comprehensive comms response.

It ignores emotional cadence

Different times of year bring different levels of frontline fatigue, stress, and morale. A piece of content that lands well in October may land very differently in the first week of January.

The standard comms calendar rarely accounts for this — which means messages are written and scheduled without enough consideration for the emotional and operational context in which they land. 

Read more: Insta vs. reality: The frontline communication gap

The unofficial comms calendar: Month by month

Want to incorporate frontline comms into the official comms calendar? Here are the kinds of comms your frontline teams need throughout the year.

January

Staff shortages are still playing out. Annual leave has depleted teams. New policies roll in with the New Year. And motivation is at its lowest point of the annual cycle, with employees experiencing back-to-work blues and post-Christmas financial pressures.

The official comms calendar arrives with vision statements and annual goals. But on the floor, people are simply wondering whether they can get through the week without any surprises.  

What frontline workers need: Stability, not inspiration. Clear guidance on any policy changes. Reassurance that leadership understands what the frontline is feeling. Well-being signposting. Manager check-ins.

February

February, with its grey weather and flat energy, is a month when comms teams tend to go quiet because there’s nothing obvious to communicate. But this is a really crucial time for comms to step in and lighten the mood.

What frontline workers need: Consistency. Recognition. Peer-to-peer connection. You can prompt employees to interact with news feed content, celebrate colleagues, and start conversations with people beyond their immediate shift.

March & April

The new financial year usually means new targets, policy updates, and process changes. 

This is when a significant volume of important information needs to reach the frontline — and there’s a risk that change communications get missed or filtered imperfectly through manager cascades.

What frontline workers need: Repetition. If you haven’t said it five times, it hasn’t landed. Effective change communication for frontline workers means repeating the same information in multiple formats, across multiple touchpoints, with clear channels for questions and clarification.

Summer

A time of holidays and heat. Shift swaps spike, coverage gets unpredictable, and project and production targets shift. New or temporary staff are onboarded quickly. 

In this environment, comms that were drafted three weeks ago may bear little resemblance to what’s actually happening on the floor.

What frontline workers need: Speed and self-serve. Updates that reach workers at the right time. Updated policies and procedures available via a searchable knowledge hub. Team messaging tools for new hire questions.

September

Back-to-school season reshapes team availability. Parents may struggle to juggle work around strict pick-up and drop-off times. Students are leaving or joining. Teams are reconfiguring at the same time that new routines are being established. 

What frontline workers need: Coordination. Shift schedule comms. Reconnection with teammates after summer breaks through the people directory and communities.

October & November

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the festive season are all on the horizon. That means increased consumer spending and increased pressure on frontline workers across sectors. 

During this time, hiring ramps up, training is a priority, and expectations of worker output increase.

What frontline workers need: Personalization and prioritization. When everything competes for attention, nothing gets through. This is the time for careful segmentation — making sure frontline staff only receive updates relevant to their role — and for comms that connect individual effort to the bigger picture.

December

A time when many frontline organizations are working at maximum operational intensity. Workers are tired, with limited mental bandwidth. But they need to maintain momentum until the festive break. During this time, stress levels are high, mistakes are more likely, and attention is a scarce resource.

What frontline workers need: Brevity and clarity. This is not the month for lengthy updates or complex policy docs. Every piece of content should be short, sweet, and to the point. Push employee recognition at this time, too — it works wonders for morale.

The types of communication frontline workers are most likely to respond to

The frontline content you choose to share will vary depending on the month. But there are some frontline communication best practices you should try to weave into your comms calendar all year round.

Personal and timely beats corporate and scheduled

A message that arrives just at the right moment carries more weight than a perfectly crafted scheduled update. Frontline comms planning should build in space for reactive, real-time communication alongside pre-scheduled content.

Peer-to-peer comms matter as much as top-down

Frontline workers return to internal comms channels when they provide space for co-worker connection. So enable and amplify peer communities, recognition, and knowledge-sharing to create a sense of engagement and belonging that top-down messaging alone can’t achieve.

Recognition in the moment beats the end-of-quarter shoutout

By the time a quarterly recognition email arrives, workers have long forgotten the specific moment you’re referencing. Recognition that’s immediate, specific, and visible to the team has significantly more impact on morale and engagement than delayed, generic praise.

Interactive comms beat passive messaging

Content that employees can respond to, react to, and participate in generates more engagement than broadcast updates. Polls, questions, short-form video, and news feed content that invites a response are more engaging and more memorable.

Multimedia beats a page of text

Frontline employees work busy shifts. They don’t have a ton of time during the workday to check in with company comms. 

For this reason, the best messages are short, succinct, and put the most important information first. They also use images and video to convey a lot of information in a short space of time.

Comms planning for frontline workers: How to build the internal comms calendar they actually need

Understanding the unofficial calendar is the starting point. Building it into your internal comms strategy requires a few practical shifts.

Overlay operational moments onto your comms plan

Map seasonal peaks, policy change cycles, onboarding waves, and predictable points of stress alongside your standard content calendar. 

For each moment, ask: what do frontline workers need to know, feel, or be able to do at this point in time? Then, craft communications based on your answers.

Give managers the tools to communicate without becoming a bottleneck

Managers are the last mile of internal comms — but they can’t carry the full weight of operational communication without support. 

Pre-written talking points, timely manager-only briefings, and clear escalation channels help managers communicate effectively without creating delays or distortions.

Segment your audience

A warehouse operative, a new seasonal hire, and a shift supervisor have very different information needs. A frontline communication strategy that treats the whole workforce as a single audience will underserve all of them. 

Segmentation — by role, location, tenure, and shift pattern — means every employee receives communication that’s hyper-relevant to their current situation.

Frontline communication planning made easy with Blink

Building an internal comms calendar that works for frontline workers requires careful planning. But executing that plan can feel hard without the right comms infrastructure.  

A desktop intranet that shift workers never log into. A bulletin board crowded with paper notices. A manager cascade that creates confusion and bottlenecks. None of these channels provides effective support for a new and improved, frontline-focused comms schedule.

Instead, you need internal communication software built with the frontline workforce in mind. Only then can you deliver effective frontline comms and a better frontline employee experience.

Blink is a unified mobile-first platform designed around the realities of frontline work. It provides:  

• A personalized news feed so you can deliver targeted content to the right employees at the right time
• Push notifications for urgent operational updates
• A searchable knowledge hub for self-service information
• Recognition and survey tools that make employees feel valued and heard
• Analytics that show comms teams what’s landing — by team, location, and time of year

Blink gives you the tools to plan, deliver, and continuously improve frontline communication — all in one place. So you can turn your comms calendar into something frontline workers actually see, use, and rely on.

Blink. And build an internal comms calendar fit for a modern frontline workforce.

You’re in the market for a new internal communications platform, but which is better: Staffbase vs. Blink?

The answer depends on what exactly you’re looking for. Both offer several similar features, but their execution is different. Let’s dive into the specifics to see which communication tool is right for you.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Staffbase vs. Blink — quick facts
• Staffbase vs. Blink: How they’re similar
• Staffbase vs. Blink: How they’re different
• Staffbase vs. Blink: pricing
• Final thoughts: Staffbase or Blink — which should you use in 2022?  

Staffbase vs. Blink — quick facts

The Staffbase employee app works best for big corporations, while Blink’s simpler format lends itself to on-the-go workers.

If a good portion of your team comprises frontline employees, Blink is the internal communications platform for you. Their mobile-first design and seamless app integrations are ideal for keeping deskless workers engaged.

Staffbase offers more robust customization features as standard with each product launch, including a custom logo and font.

A user said, “I love the look & feel of the app and the option to personalise the app for (conditional) user groups.”

But for those looking to customize their employee intranet software’s overall function and employee experience, Blink brings more flexibility, with deep integrations with existing apps inside the platform.

Within this, Blink brings existing apps to the platform via Single Sign-On integrations, while Staffbase offers more functionalities out of the box.

For example, Staffbase comes with a basic payroll function, while Blink has an end-to-end integration with Workday.

Comparing Blink vs. Staffbase on history, Staffbase has been around longer, making it a more established product with tried-and-tested service offerings. It is well-respected as a quality option.

As a newer company, Blink offers more innovation and cutting-edge features. 100% of the product roadmap is written based on customer requests, and it’s to provide feedback on the functionalities they want with each update.

The right solution for you depends on if you’re looking for a one-stop solution or something to complement your existing software.

Staffbase vs. Blink: How they’re similar

Mobile content

Comparing Staffbase vs. Blink on mobile compatibility, you’ll find both offering well-optimized mobile platforms. That means your deskless employees will have the same access to information, documents, and community as those in the office with either platform.

But some G2 reviews suggest that Staffbase’s “Admin access on smartphones is very limited with basic functionality.”

Support for XL enterprises

Both internal communication platforms are robust enough to support enormous organizations. The intranet, news, and key features are designed to aggregate and organize a large content volume across many different functionalities.

But Staffbase is best used by large corporations, while Blink also works for companies with a large frontline workforce but smaller desk-based teams. Blink’s platform requires less time to implement and works with a hands-off IT experience.

Centralized intranet solution

Staffbase and Blink are good options for those searching for an employee intranet replacement. While peripheral features differ, both offer a solution to disseminate updates, provide access to company policies, spark conversation, and track insights about employee engagement.

Although the search in Staffbase works fine for a mobile app, those using Staffbase intranet will find the lack of filters, document management, and content management tools limiting them from creating a proper knowledge base.

Staffbase vs. Blink: How they’re different

When comparing Staffbase vs. Blink at a high level, it may seem like they share many features. But the execution of those features varies greatly.

Customer input

Blink serves fewer customers, which means they can have a much closer relationship with their customers — we’re talking on a first name basis.

Blink relies heavily on customer feedback to craft its product roadmap and even maintains a Product Portal to allow customers to request features and vote on what they want to see next.

In contrast, users say that Staffbase “aren’t quick to take on board and prioritise client feedback/requests for development.” Overall, Staffbase’s updates and features implementations are less agile.

Email

One notable feature that Staffbase offers that Blink lacks is email building. Through their merger with Bananatag, Staffbase lets you create engaging newsletters, send targeted emails to subsets of employees, and measure the impact of your internal email strategy.

Since frontline workers don’t have company email addresses, email is less of a focus at Blink, although it is accessible via integrations with Gmail and Outlook.

Employee generated content

Blink focuses on decentralizing employee communication so that every employee has a voice.

Blink champions employee-generated content through a live user feed and omni-directional chat features. For organizations that want to revitalize their outdated top-down team communication structure, Blink is a great choice.

Staffbase does not make it as easy for users to share content with other users. To upload a photo, users must send a submission form to the admin — who then creates the post themselves.

This setup is ideal for companies looking for greater control over who can share news. A user appreciated this feature, saying, “It’s very easy to make someone editor of a news channel so for example a Team Leader can communicate to his own team without giving him administrator rights of the whole app.”

Integrations

Blink offers a wider range of integrations with thousands of apps via Single Sign-On. Employees can access niche industry tools, Microsoft teams, and Sharepoint without ever leaving the app. The Blink team also takes care of the dev work, making it an all-in-one solution.

Staffbase integrations are more limited. They offer integrations with Microsoft 365 and SAP. This could only work well for a company that uses other enterprise applications or has a dedicated team to customize Staffbase through their APIs. Users said, “Currently, no local programs can be integrated into the launchpad.”

Notifications

Blink offers an array of real-time and schedulable push notifications to keep employees in the loop and engage with the app frequently.

Besides regular notifications, admins can create priority posts to catch everyone’s attention or create mandatory posts that users must acknowledge. Users can switch notifications on and off and follow certain posts.

Staffbase employee app’s push notifications are less customizable, focusing only on basic functions. Users say notifications “need improving,” and “There is no way to control push notifications separately for each channel.”

Chats

Blink’s chat is designed for both socializing and collaboration — wherever you are. Advanced features like saving messages and file sharing elevate the chat as a tool for getting workflows done rather than just a social media feature.

Staffbase offers an instant messaging feature as an add-on to advanced subscriptions. The chat supports one-on-one and group chats with a 128 user cap.

Users can only send images or videos on the Apple and Android apps, rather than documents. This leads to users calling Staffbase’s chat function “very basic.”

Here’s what Staffbase supports:

Frontline focus

Blink’s core principle is that they improve frontline workers’ lives. As a result, engagement with the app is remarkably high, with an average of 10 opens per user per day.

While Staffbase is also targeted at frontline workers, many features aren’t carried through to the mobile interface. Reviewers say, “The biggest obstacle for us is to get non-desk users excited about the app and to integrate them.”

Content moderation

In Blink, administrators can assign content moderators who have complete power in managing content.

But Blink offers omnidirectional communication: User-generated content does not have to undergo a review before getting published, but any user can report and flag inappropriate content.

At Staffbase, admins have more direct control over moderating content. But there are some functional limitations around offline viewing and flagging inappropriate content which is surprising in an otherwise full-featured app.

Staffbase vs. Blink: pricing

Blink offers four levels of paid service based on company size, while Staffbase structures its pricing based on the number of features you use.

Blink levels:

• Essential: $3.40 per person, per month
• Business: Price on application
• Enterprise: Price on application
• Enterprise Plus: Price on application

Staffbase levels:

• Employee app
• Employee app + Intranet
• Staffbase NOW

Final thoughts: Staffbase or Blink — which should you use in 2022?  

Staffbase is a highly customizable internal communication software ideal for large corporations with a clear idea of what tools they need to round out their digital workplace.

Blink is ideal for businesses large and small wanting a complete out-of-the-box solution to engage frontline workers and facilitate more communication across their organization.

If you’re not sure, try a free demo of Blink and see for yourself the technology that drives a 330% increase in engagement for its users.

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