What deskless employees actually need from their managers (hint: it's not motivation)

Gartner has published its 2026 Hype Cycle for Retail Technologies, and one category sits among the highest-impact, fastest to adopt technologies on it: Frontline Worker EXTech where Blink has been named as a Sample Vendor. Gartner rates the category transformational. 

If we look at the 2026 Hype Cycle as a whole, almost every transformational technology on it points at the store: generative and agentic AI, AI-assisted checkout, smarter inventory, AI shopping agents. The store associate shows up again and again, in frontline worker technology, in associate superapps, and in workstyle analytics. Retail's new wave of technology runs through the person on the floor. The retailers with the advantage will be those who’ve thought about the journey for their frontline. 

The technology was never the hard part

Retail has spent over a decade buying frontline tools. Scheduling lives in one place, tasks in another, comms somewhere else, and a training portal gets dustier with every passing day that nobody logs on. The truth is, the gap has never been the tools. The real gap is whether they actually get opened in the first place.

If your store associates never open a tool in the aisles, its value goes unrealized shift after shift, and the operational excellence your tech stack promises remains nothing more than a phantom return on investment. So the real question behind Gartner’s research isn’t whether the category matters. It’s how you get a deskless, high turnover, always-on-the-go workforce to engage with it. If adoption never gets off the ground, even the most advanced frontline tech in retail is just a budget line item nobody uses. 

Retail is solving adoption first

We at Blink find the transformational rating credible because we’ve witnessed it happen. McDonald's reached 80% adoption in 16 days. Shake Shack hit 78% in 21 days. AG Barr got to 94% in two weeks. Domino's sees 8 in 10 employees active every month.

The best bit is that these aren’t launch-week spikes that fizzle to nothing after the second month. They're a clear, reliable pattern. Retail experiences the sharpest edge of the frontline problem: shift work, seasonal hiring, high turnover, and thin lines of comms from head office to stores at the coalface. If adoption can work here, it will get off the ground anywhere. We don’t think retail leaders are waiting for the category to mature, the potential for execution advantage in this sector is proof that it’s already worth betting on. 

What we think "transformational" actually takes

The technologies that earn the rating of ‘transformational’ do one thing: they unify the whole frontline work day. Communication, tasks, and knowledge in one, familiar place the associate already opens, on the device already in their hand.

Most platforms retrofit the frontline. Many began as a desk-first tool for knowledge workers with a mobile app bolted on, built for the office and flung at the frontline as an afterthought. Blink started there, built for the frontline first and proven across the enterprise. We think that's the difference between a category Gartner calls ‘transformational’ and software that sits unused behind the till.

What retail leaders should look for

If you're evaluating the category, three questions matter more than any feature list:

• Does it reach every worker, not just head office? The frontline makes up the majority of your workforce and they’re the hardest to reach. If a tool wasn’t built with them in mind and can't easily get to them, it can't transform anything.
• Will the frontline actually adopt it, and can the vendor prove it with numbers? Ask for real adoption data on real deployments, and sense check this usage with existing customers. 
• Does it meet enterprise security, scale, and compliance? Frontline-first and enterprise-grade don’t need to be in battle. At real scale, both should be core to the platform.

‍"Operational excellence at the frontline doesn't fail because the technology is missing. It fails because no one adopts it. Retail worked out that the people are the deployment, they shouldn’t be an afterthought."  - Peter Durkin, CMO, Blink

Where retail technology is heading

Gartner's rating confirms the category is real, high-impact, and worth investing in now, but the winners will be decided by how well the technology is adopted. As a sector, Retail is showing the rest of the frontline economy how it's done.

On 29th July we're breaking down the research with our own commentary on where retail budgets go next, real adoption numbers from the likes of Dollar Tree and Shake Shack, and a live AMA with the team that deploys this for a living. [Register for the webinar - HERE]

You can read the Gartner Hype Cycle for Retail Technologies, 2026 here. [Get the report - HERE]

Gartner, Hype Cycle for Retail Technologies, 2026, Max Panther Hammond, Kelsie Marian 30 June 2026.

‍

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark, and HYPE CYCLE is a registered trademark, of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product, or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

At first glance, it seems that internal communications and external communications couldn’t be more different. 

External communication is all about sharing your brand and its messaging with people outside of your organization. This includes customers, stakeholders, and investors.

Internal communication is focused on sharing key company developments with people inside your organization. It gives employees the information they need to do their jobs effectively.

Because of this primary difference between internal and external communication, many companies treat these two forms of corporate comms as separate entities. They fail to see how their approach to external comms can inspire a better kind of internal communication.

Here, we challenge that thinking. We look at the similarities and differences between internal and external comms — and share some ideas for improving internal communication at your organization.

Similarities between internal and external communications

Let’s start by looking at all the things internal and external business communication have in common.

Strategic importance

Both external and internal communications are important to the success of your business.  

External communication is how you share your brand with customers and stakeholders. It’s how you convince people to trust in your brand and buy your products or services — and it has a clear impact on your bottom line.

Internal communication is aimed at your employees. It supports day-to-day operations and helps you build a strong company culture. The link may not be as obvious but internal communication also has a big impact on your company’s profitability.

That’s because, when you communicate effectively with employees, you stand to improve productivity, the customer experience, employee engagement, and employee retention, all of which affect company profits.

Therefore, both types of communication are essential to an organization — and both require a detailed schedule and strategy.

Selling the brand and what it stands for

You can use external and internal communication to sell your brand to respective audiences.

To your external audience, you sell your external brand image. You show customers and collaborators what makes your brand unique — and why they should pick you over your competitors. 

To your internal communications audience, you sell your employer brand and company culture. You remind employees why your company is such a great place to work.    

Comms content differs depending on your audience. But there’s a guiding principle to bear in mind. Selling your brand is easier when you create an emotional connection between your organization and your audience.

To do this, creative visuals and persuasive copy can do a lot of the heavy lifting. But you should also communicate a brand purpose that goes beyond increasing profits. You should highlight your company’s social purpose to both internal and external audiences.  

You can take things further with your internal comms. Clearly communicate your purpose, values, and strategy to employees. This helps your staff find meaning in their work — and understand how their efforts contribute to business goals — which means better motivation.

To align employees with your purpose, values, and strategy, focus some of your internal communications plan on the following:

• Making your senior execs accessible and accountable. Holding monthly Q&As is a great way to align your on-the-ground team with long-term strategy goals. It’s also much easier for employees to relate to the humans behind your company than to a faceless corporation.
  
  
• Highlighting how your company has made a difference in the world. Showcase positive customer case studies to show how your company is making a difference in people’s lives. Also, share any company activities that support people or the planet.
  
  
• Featuring employee perspectives. Interview people from different departments and ask them what they do and what they like about their job. This helps people to build a bigger picture of their workplace and understand how everything fits together.

Two-way conversations

In both external and internal communications, communication used to travel one way. A brand and its leaders would speak. Customers and employees would listen.

But social media changed things dramatically. It’s now easy for customers to interact with brands, comment on their social posts, ask questions, and post their online reviews.

This shift from one-way conversations in external communication has changed expectations around workplace communications — and many organizations are now adopting a two-way approach as part of their internal comms strategy.

Companies are involving employees in the company conversation — whether they work in the office, at home, or on the frontlines of the organization. They’re giving them a voice with the help of employee surveys, two-way communication channels, and meetings where their contributions are encouraged.

Of course, making the decision to embrace two-way conversations can be a big deal for brands. They have to be prepared to respond to questions and criticism — from customers or employees. So why do it?

Involving customers and employees in your communications is good for engagement. It helps to boost trust and loyalty, which benefits both employee and customer attraction and retention.

For employees, two-way communication makes them feel valued and respected by your organization. This means they’re more likely to offer their valuable insights and perspectives — and they’re more likely to do their best work.

The need for engagement

Another similarity between internal and external communication is the need for engaging content.

This is a given in external communication. Marketing and PR teams are tasked with making a brand stand out from the competition. They employ eye-catching visuals and interactive content to grab and hold customer attention.  

Typically, internal communication has lagged behind. But with the "Tiktokification" of internal communications, dry, corporate comms are becoming a thing of the past.

Just like customers, employees are more likely to engage with your content when it’s creative, interactive, and visually appealing. This is why many organizations are now posting social-media-style internal content to user-friendly, mobile-first communication channels.

The need for targeting

You maximize the impact of internal and external communications when you personalize content to your audience.

Send the same external or internal information to everyone and your recipients will start to switch off from your comms. They assume that your messages are irrelevant to them and stop reading or watching them.  

So you need to segment your audiences. Then, create targeted content relevant to each group of customers or employees.

For internal communications, you can segment employees by role, location, department, tenure, and team to ensure each employee only receives information relevant to them.

Of course, there are some messages that all employees need to hear. But with proper segmentation, you don’t give retail staff an in-depth update on your work-from-home policy — or tell office-based staff about the next driver training session. Instead, all comms are appropriate and engaging.

Measuring success

Measurement is another important element of both external and internal communications. If you don’t set and track metrics, you can’t be sure that your communications are effective.

So, just as you measure the impact of your external communication campaigns, you can set internal communication metrics and KPIs. You can identify your best content and assess levels of engagement, finding ways to hone your comms going forward.

Also, in the same way that you’d conduct market research and seek customer reviews, seek feedback from employees. Use surveys to ask them about their employee experience. Find out what they think about your internal communications. Then, make informed improvements. 

Differences between internal and external communications

Internal and external comms clearly have a lot in common — and there are lots of external communication principles that you can apply to your internal messaging. 

However, there are some key differences between internal and external communication that you should bear in mind.

Your audience

Internal and external communications have different audiences:

• Your external communication audience includes customers, stakeholders, business partners, investors, and the media. 
• Your internal communication audience includes your organization’s C-suite, managers, and employees.

There is, however, some overlap. You need to share external messages with frontline employees so they can relay a consistent message to customers.

Your communications team

Usually, different teams are responsible for external and internal communications.

External comms is often run by your PR or marketing teams. You may rely on agency or in-house staff.

To communicate effectively with your employees, you need an internal communications team. This is usually an in-house team that has regular contact with:

• The leadership team
• Marketing and PR
• Operations
• HR

Your internal comms team will work with partners throughout the organization to ensure key messages are communicated consistently and employees have access to the information they need.

Content

The content you share with internal and external audiences is very different.

External communication is all about marketing messages, customer support, and building a brand reputation. Examples of external communication content include:

• A press release discussing the latest company news
• Customer emails detailing a discount
• An industry research report
• An advertising campaign for a new product

Via your internal communication channels, you’ll tend to share business updates, strategy details, operational information, and company culture. Examples of internal communication content include:

• Rota changes
• Health and safety updates
• Details of your next company social
• Recognition for employee success

The content you serve to your internal and external audiences may differ. But there are still some fundamentals that apply to both.

Comms that demonstrate honesty and authenticity are better at building brand trust. So try to communicate openly across both internal and external communication channels.

In internal communications, this means being transparent about company goals and challenges. And it means welcoming questions and ideas from employees.

Communication goals

The goal of external communication is to promote the company. You’re aiming to:

• enhance the company’s reputation
• generate sales and leads
• build relationships with customers and stakeholders

Goals for internal communications are different. Across internal comms channels, you’ll share practical and operational information to ensure the smooth running of your organization.

But effective internal communication does more than convey essential, day-to-day guidance for employees. You can use your internal communications to:

• share company values, goals, and purpose
• strengthen co-worker relationships
• recognize and motivate employees
• facilitate collaboration

Done well, internal communications helps you to build a company culture employees are excited to be part of. This is particularly important for remote, hybrid, and frontline teams.

These employees miss out on the camaraderie of the office. It’s easy for them to feel disconnected from the organization and, as a result, less engaged in their work. Internal communications — and co-worker communication channels — provide a vital link to the organization.

So use internal communications to improve the employee experience, boost employee engagement, and reduce employee turnover. Build these goals into your internal communications strategy and you’ll create a happier, more motivated, and more cohesive organization.

Communication channels

You can use some communication channels to speak to external and internal audiences. You might use emails, webinars, conferences, and newsletters to reach employees, customers — and other company stakeholders.

However, in general, you use different communication channels for each group.

Your external audience gets updates via press releases, your company website, media news, and your social media accounts. You can also grab their attention with marketing campaigns and product launches. 

Internal communication takes place over internal channels. Offline channels include company meetings and notice boards. But the best internal communications strategies make the most of digital communication tools.

Modern intranets and employee apps are a one-stop shop. They consolidate your internal communications and give internal comms teams all the tools they need to communicate with staff.  

Pick a mobile-first solution and employees can access your company comms from their smartphones, which is ideal for frontline and remote workers.

You can also find internal communication platforms that provide social-media-style tools. They allow you to post interactive content on the company news feed and give employees the chance to like and comment.

Whether your comms team wants to post a company-wide update, send out a survey, celebrate team success, or provide self-serve HR functions, it’s all possible with the right comms platform.

Finding the right tool to support your internal communications strategy

There are lots of similarities between internal and external communications — and lots of ways external comms can inspire more effective and engaging internal messaging.

So segment your audience, measure success, embrace two-way conversations, and create interactive, visual content.

Don’t underestimate the benefits better internal communications can bring to your organization. It has the power to improve employee engagement, customer experience, company culture, and employee retention.

Also, remember that embracing the principles of external communication for your internal comms strategy is easier when you use mobile-first, social-media-style, digital communication tools.

Blink is an employee super-app, with all the tools you need to deliver relevant and engaging comms to employees. With Blink you can:

• Create engaging, two-way communication with news feed and instant messaging channels
• Segment your audience so they only receive relevant communications
• Launch a content and HR hub, giving employees everything they need to do their jobs well
• Measure the success of your internal comms with analytics and employee surveys

Improve internal communications at your organization. Request a Blink demo to get started today.

There's a question HR and comms leaders hear constantly. Not from their teams. From finance, from the C-suite, from every budget conversation they've sat in.

"Can you put a number on it?"

For years, employee experience has struggled to answer this question cleanly. The work is real. The impact is real. But the costs are spread across departments, buried in different reports, attributed to different owners. Turnover sits in HR. Productivity drag lives in ops. Compliance risk belongs to legal. Nobody's joining the dots.

So the status quo continues. And the bill quietly compounds, yet the symptoms get louder and louder across the organisation.

This is the cost of inaction - and it's larger than most organizations realize.

When frontline employees don't receive the right information at the right time, things go wrong in slow, expensive ways. Managers get buried in administration instead of being out on the floor with their teams. New starters take longer to get up to speed. Safety incidents increase when critical information doesn't reach the right people. And when workers don't feel connected, absenteeism climbs and your best people start to leave.

None of these show up as a line item called "poor employee experience." But they are costing money. Every week. Across every site.

The challenge for HR and comms leaders isn't proving that the problem exists. It's translating it into language that moves a business case forward.

The most effective approach is to align on the inputs before you build the case. Work backwards from what the business already tracks. Confirm the turnover figure with HR. Ask ops for average shift-fill time. Check with compliance on how often missed communications create rework or incidents. When the data points are owned across the organization, the problem is too - and the conversation shifts from "can you prove this?" to "what do we do about it?"

That's exactly the framework behind Blink's Cost of Inaction Calculator. It takes the metrics your organization already holds - workforce size, average salary, turnover rate - and models the financial impact of communication gaps, productivity loss, employee replacement costs, and operational risk. This can then be used in your business case for employee engagement, built in the language leaders can't ignore: tangible financial impact, grounded in your own numbers.

We work alongside our customers and prospects to diagnose these symptoms every day. The goal isn't to win a budget argument. It's to make the cost of doing nothing impossible to ignore.

If you want to see how the model works in practice, I am running a live session on June 17 - The hidden cost of a disconnected frontline. The session walks through the calculator methodology, the assumptions that drive the calculations, and how to use the output to build a stronger business case with finance and operational leaders. It's also available on demand.

The investment in employee experience is easier to justify than most people think. You just need the right framework to show what inaction is already costing.

{{the-hidden-cost-of-a-disconnected-frontline-callout="/callouts"}}

Slack changed how office teams communicate.

But for the 80% of the global workforce who don’t sit at a desk, it was never designed to work.

Slack is a desktop-centric platform. It’s clunky (and sometimes completely inaccessible) for employees who are on their feet, moving between locations, and rarely sitting down at a desktop computer.

In 2026, this gap is impossible to ignore.

Frontline employees now expect workplace technology to feel as intuitive as the apps they use outside work. Fast, mobile, simple.

And they want to feel as connected to co-workers and company culture as their peers in the office.

So how do you get from here to there?

Follow in the footsteps of the many companies currently seeking Slack alternatives. Specifically, look for mobile-first employee communication tools and frontline messaging platforms.

Slack replacements for mobile-friendly team messaging are designed around the realities of deskless work. 

They meet frontline employees where they’re at with the help of intuitive comms tools, available on every employee smartphone. And they make a big difference to comms, culture, and connection in a frontline organization. 

In this guide, we’ll explore:

• Why Slack falls down for frontline organizations
• The internal comms shifts set to shape 2026
• Why mobile-first employee comms is now non-negotiable
• The features modern frontline messaging platforms must deliver
• How Blink supports mobile-friendly team messaging at scale

If your frontline teams currently rely on workarounds, WhatsApp groups, or word-of-mouth to stay informed — this one’s for you.

{{mobile-desktop-main="/image"}}

The limitations of Slack for frontline teams

Slack is one of the most widely recognized internal communication tools in the world. But popularity doesn’t always equal suitability.

Slack was built for desk-based, knowledge worker collaboration. It has lots of great features — like desktop-first team chat, organized communication channels, and app integrations. But it doesn’t make sense for frontline workers.

Frontline workers are employees whose roles require them to work away from a desk or traditional computer. They’re the people working in manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, retail.

These employees often operate in time-sensitive, high-pressure environments. They need communication that is immediate, clear, and impossible to miss. Urgent updates. Relevant content. Highly intuitive messaging tools. And this is where Slack begins to struggle.

Here are some of the key limitations of Slack for frontline use:

• Noise and information overload from chat-based streams
• Inadequate support for push notifications, role-based broadcasts, and compliance features
• Lack of centralized, evergreen knowledge resources suited for easy mobile access
• A mismatch between desktop and mobile versions

Slack vs. frontline messaging platforms

Read more: 9 best team communication apps for 2026

The internal comms shifts driving the 2026 Slack replacement trend

Organizations are choosing to replace Slack because internal communication is changing.

In 2026, three major shifts are reshaping how organizations connect with frontline teams — and exposing the limitations of desktop-based chat platforms like Slack.

Here’s what’s happening.

Shift #1: Multi-channel strategies

Internal comms teams are adopting a multi-channel approach. This is a strategy that combines different communication types — like proactive push channels (emails, SMS) and passive pull channels (intranets, knowledge hubs).

It means sending the right part of the message through the right channel at the right time, adding links between messages where necessary. For example, an urgent update sent via SMS may link to a more detailed policy document on your content hub.

Key actions for frontline organizations:

• Implement mobile-first team communication tools
• Move permanently beyond paper memos and word-of-mouth comms for frontline workers
• Define the purpose of each comms channel to reduce noise

Shift #2: AI automation

In 2026, experts predict that HR and comms leaders will be evaluated on one key thing: how much time their tools give back.

AI is no longer about experimentation. It’s about execution. So there’s increasing demand for AI-powered engagement tools, continuous feedback, and automation in team messaging.

The aim? To drive productivity and smarter workflows. And to free up time for coaching, clarity, and connection.

Key actions for frontline organizations:

• Find productivity tools that allow you to automate routine admin
• Use AI to make sense of employee feedback, employee sentiment, and platform analytics
• Use AI to create and personalize comms platform content

Shift #3: Simplified tech stacks

App overload is real.

The average employee now uses more than 100 digital tools. And frontline workers feel that burden acutely because they’re managing all those logins and tabs on a small smartphone screen.

In 2026, organizations are seeking to simplify their tech stacks. They’re looking for unified platforms that save cost, reduce complexity, reduce cognitive overload, and improve compliance.

By moving from a patchwork of point solutions to an all-in-one mobile-first employee communication platform, see fewer missed messages and improved adoption — particularly among frontline teams.

Key actions for frontline organizations:

• Audit tools through a frontline lens
• Consolidate around a small number of multi-functional platforms
• Integrate a centralized platform with other workplace software

TL;DR: Slack is struggling to keep up with the pace of change in internal comms and the wider workplace — especially in organizations with a frontline workforce. This is why many companies are moving beyond Slack’s limitations to embrace a mobile-first employee communication solution.

The importance of mobile-first employee communication on the frontline

Mobile-first is a philosophy not a feature. A mobile-first employee communication platform is built from the ground up for smartphones. It’s not built for desktop, then adapted later as an afterthought.

For frontline teams, that difference matters. It helps to ensure simple, seamless, touch-friendly experiences for users without easy computer access.

Your retail team can catch up with company news on their lunch break. Carers can swap advice in the time between clients. Your bus drivers get urgent route updates as a smartphone notification.  

You get to ditch unreliable and inefficient methods of frontline communication — desktop tools like Slack, manager phone calls, paper memos, and unsecure WhatsApp chats.

You put company comms, culture, and connection, plus essential workplace tools, at the fingertips of every employee. So you can reach, engage, and empower your frontline workers, and the rest of your workforce, too.

{{mobile-chat="/image"}}

The key messaging features frontline platforms must deliver in 2026

If you’re replacing Slack this year — and seeking a better communication solution for your frontline workforce — there are a couple of non-negotiable features you should be looking for.  

The best apps for frontline workers feature the following:

Mobile-first experience

Some internal communication platforms come with a mobile app. But that doesn’t mean they’re mobile-first. Truly mobile-first employee communication tools are built with smartphone users as a priority. That means intuitive navigation, clear layouts, and simple interactions — a tool that is easy to use on the go, with minimal training and zero frustration.

Employee engagement tools

Modern frontline platforms do more than simply deliver direct messages. They actively foster employee engagement. Features like employee recognition, a culture-boosting news feed, and co-worker chat tools help employees feel connected and valued, even when they don’t sit at a desk.

Two-way, real-time messaging

Two-way communication is another non-negotiable when looking at Slack replacements. Because communication isn’t effective when it’s only top-down. Frontline messaging platforms enable instant conversations so employees can ask questions, provide feedback, and collaborate with teammates in real time.

Content tailored by role

Role-based segmentation allows you to send tailored and secure communications to specific departments, locations, or groups within an organization. It ensures relevance, reduces noise, and helps to drive platform adoption. Look for communication tools that allow you to send targeted messages to your frontline employees. That way, each time they log in, they see content that relates to them.

Searchable, evergreen knowledge spaces

Another key feature of a modern frontline messaging platform is a central hub for documentation, FAQs, and resources. This ensures employees always have access to reliable information — without having to quiz managers or co-workers. And it makes workforce alignment, onboarding, and collaboration much easier.  

Analytics and engagement tracking

Insights are critical if you want to understand the impact of your communications. The best platforms track message reach, engagement, and behavior patterns, giving managers the data they need to optimize communication strategies and fix gaps in understanding.

AI-based workflows

AI tools can streamline routine work. Automated reminders, shift notifications, approvals, and content summarization tools save time for managers and staff, letting them focus on higher-value work rather than repetitive tasks.

Integrations and compliance

Frontline communication tools should integrate smoothly with other workplace tools, creating a joined-up system that is easy for deskless workers to navigate — even in the middle of a busy shift. Integrations also help you maintain regulatory compliance. With features like HIPAA readiness for healthcare, secure single sign-on, and audit trails, you can stay efficient and protected while connecting teams across platforms.

{{mobile-integrations-hero="/image"}}

How Blink supports mobile-friendly team messaging for frontline workers

Blink is a mobile-first, social media-inspired employee experience platform, designed around the needs of frontline workers. It streamlines communication, engagement, and operational workflows with the help of:

A multimedia news feed

Real-time messaging tools

Content hub

Employee surveys

Employee recognition

Co-worker communities

Live streams and video calling

Push notifications

AI-powered automation tools

Analytics dashboard

Built-in compliance support

Integrations

Going way beyond the capabilities of Slack (and of a standard team messaging app), Blink gives you the tools you need to transform frontline communication, employee engagement, and company culture.

And don’t take our word for it. We’ve been recognized as a Challenger in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Intranet Packaged Solutions. That means we’re executing at a high level and pushing the market forward with a bold, differentiated vision.

Organizations like McDonald’s, JD Sports, Dollar Tree, and Domino’s use Blink to connect thousands of frontline employees across stores, warehouses, and healthcare settings. Through Blink, they deliver updates instantly, reduce reliance on WhatsApp or personal text groups, and bring communication, knowledge, and workflows into one mobile-first platform.

{{how-dominos-transformed-their-internal-comms-strategy="/callouts"}}

The future of frontline communication starts now

Communication platforms are evolving fast — and 2026 marks a turning point.

This is the year mobile-first becomes the baseline for reaching a frontline workforce that’s short on time and always on the move.

It’s the year AI starts doing real work — cutting admin, surfacing insights, and giving managers more time to support their people.

It’s the year organizations get serious about simplifying bloated tech stacks.  

Organizations reviewing their frontline messaging tools in 2026 should be thinking beyond chat alone. Because the future belongs to platforms that inform, connect, and motivate your people — all from one streamlined, easy-to-use interface. 

Ready to start your search? Look for tools that provide an intuitive mobile experience, a range of comms channels, strong integrations, and clear insights into what’s actually working.

Do that, and you won’t just solve today’s communication challenges — you’ll also be ready for whatever comes next.  

Blink. And switch to a frontline messaging platform that connects your whole organization.

Searching high and low for the perfect employee to fill a complicated role can be difficult. It stresses you out if you’re already short-staffed and in a rush to get more hands as quickly as possible.  

Of course, it would be preferable not to worry about hiring at all. Retaining employees you already have can be a lot simpler than constantly hiring. And it can benefit your business too. 

While you’re probably familiar with some of the benefits of employee retention, there are several hidden advantages of employee retention that you may not have considered. 

If you’re ready to get motivated to kick your retention efforts into high gear and retain your top talent, keep reading and learn some of the lesser-known benefits of staff retention.

Why employee retention is important

Employee retention is important because it can improve the productivity of an organization.

Organizations with high employee retention profit from increased employee engagement, higher employee morale, more experienced employees, and lower employee turnover costs.

That’s why 91% of Human Resources leaders are concerned about employee turnover in the near future. 

Besides the revenue, companies with a lower turnover rate can spend time on their employees, build a cohesive company culture, and achieve innovations that outperform their high-churn counterparts. 

Employee retention’s effect extends beyond your annual revenue or quarterly performance reports — it improves each day for your workers, managers, and customers. 

In short, it’s hard to overstate the importance of effective employee retention strategies as they can impact just about every aspect of your business, including revenue, service, and company culture. 

1. More quality hires

Hiring typically increases when employees leave your company. So it should decrease as your retention goes up. 

The hidden benefit of high retention is that you can allocate more resources to the time-consuming job of sourcing new hires. You can be more selective in finding candidates with relevant experience and perfect cultural fit instead of rushing to fill a vacancy.

The candidates you hire this way are more likely to stick around and better fit your organization, which further improves your retention rate. 

Ultimately, more employees staying means more business growth and more new positions. You can focus your hiring efforts on adding to the team rather than replacing previous talent. 

2. Better employee training

Hiring new employees takes up a significant portion of your company’s HR budget and time. It’s estimated that replacing an employee costs anywhere from 50% to 200% of their annual salary. 

Retaining just one extra employee means thousands of dollars saved you can use in other areas. 

One often-neglected management area is training, with 78% of workers saying they want more training. By saving on hiring, you can spend on training. 

With more time for training, your employees will be happier, more skilled, and even more likely to stay with your organization. 

3. Improved customer relationships

Most of your return customers and clients don’t think of your business as a logo or physical store. They think of the person with whom they interacted. Your employees are the face of your business, from frontline workers up to account managers. 

Your customers rely on your employee’s knowledge of their needs and history with the company to deliver the highest level of service. So when an employee leaves, the relationships they built with your customer base leave with them. 

A PWC report found that 80% of Americans think a knowledgeable staff is the most important element to customer satisfaction, along with speed and convenience. They also pay more for things when they experience a positive customer experience. 

The benefits of employee retention reach beyond your current staff and bottom line and impact the customer experience. A high employee retention rate ultimately improves your clients’ and customers’ perception of your business.

4. Faster progress

While onboarding and formal training programs are essential for satisfied, efficient employees, these resources are hardly the only way employees learn on the job. 

One of the most valuable sources of guidance and information is your current employees. Studies show that 91% of employees with a workplace mentor are happy with their jobs. 

By retaining most of your employees, you get:

• Strong relationships between your employees that impact their performance
• Employees who possess in-depth knowledge in their fields
• Great mentors who have the technical skills and know little-known tricks in the field to help the newcomers

You benefit from the perks of high employee retention: Employees have a wealth of team members to turn to when they have a question or need advice. This turns your newest employees into your best employees.

Also, when turnover is low, you keep the work environment of cultural cohesion and the know-how of experienced employees. This results in less stress and high productivity. 

Final thoughts: 4 hidden benefits of employee retention you should know

Why retain employees? The answer is clear. 

The benefits of employee retention are wide-reaching for your entire organization. Employees, management, and customers all reap the benefits of employee retention.  

Employees benefit from greater satisfaction, higher productivity, and better support on the job. Employers can enjoy greater profit and less uncertainty. And your customers can rely on consistently high-quality and personalized customer service. 

These benefits are well worth the expense of managing incentives like healthcare, training, and work-life balance. 

If you’re ready to improve your employee retention, an all-in-one employee communication tool like Blink can maximize your organization’s initiatives.

9 ways to boost employee engagement in manufacturing organizations

The manufacturing industry has an engagement problem. Just 25% of manufacturing employees are engaged at work, making it one of the least engaged occupations in the US.

Employee engagement is the extent to which workers feel satisfied with their jobs and are aligned with organizational values. It also influences how able and willing they are to give 100% to their work. 

So the stat above is worrying. But it also presents an untapped opportunity for forward-thinking firms.

When you improve employee engagement, you create a stronger connection between employee and organization. This leads to better retention, productivity, and business results.

With Deloitte’s 2024 Manufacturing Industry Outlook listing skilled staff shortages as one of the industry’s primary challenges over the coming year, there’s never been a better time to put an employee engagement strategy into action.

Take a look at our ideas for manufacturing employee engagement to swim against the tide, attract additional employees and motivate the ones you already have.  

The importance of employee engagement in manufacturing

It is without question that employee engagement is important to every organization in every industry.

‍

Engagement has a direct impact on talent acquisition and retention. Staff are less likely to take time off sick and productivity sees a 14% uptick. Happier, more satisfied staff produce better, more cost-effective results for your company.

But in manufacturing, employee engagement can help you to overcome a range of industry-specific challenges. There’s a link between manufacturing employee engagement and all of the following:

• Quality management – engaged employees care more about company goals – they’re more likely to spot and report quality issues
• Safety and risk management – engaged employees pay more attention to the critical comms sent out, which can often include safety and risk management documents. Engaged employees also hold themselves accountable for their impact on the team and work environment, which will lead them to paying more attention to health and safety. 
• Customer experience – there’s a link between employee experience (EX) and customer experience CX) – engaged employees manufacture better products and provide a better service
• Business results – when quality, safety, and CX improve, you improve overall business results – costs go down, sales go up

Key factors influencing employee engagement in manufacturing

If you want to improve the manufacturing employee experience at your organization, you need a strategy. This plan sets out how every part of your company – not just your HR team – is going to work together to improve engagement.

Your strategy should also consider the key factors that affect employee engagement in the manufacturing workplace.  

Communication

Internal communication within a manufacturing organization can be tricky. 

To start, the majority of manufacturing frontline employees don’t have business emails. This creates an initial barrier to cross —of how to even communicate with these workers. 

Then you have teams in the office and on the factory floor, plus a variety of login, language, and time constraints. To give updates on safety protocols and equipment issues, and to share company culture, you need communication channels that deliver the right information to every employee.

The physical work environment

Your workplace should be a safe and comfortable environment for employees. Equipment and protocols have to support the physical wellbeing of workers. And staff need easy-access communication channels so they can report hazards and safety concerns.

Training and development  

Training and development are key in a fast-changing sector like manufacturing. So employees can deliver products to the expected standard. And so you can retain more of your workers by giving them new challenges and a clear career path.

Manufacturing employees are often responsible for repetitive tasks. And it can be hard for them to see how their work fits into the bigger picture. Workplace leaders bring meaning to employee work by recognizing their efforts and sharing company goals and values.  

9 ways to improve employee engagement in manufacturing

Looking to improve employee engagement at your manufacturing firm? The following ideas will help you enhance the employee experience and reap business rewards.

1. Invest in technology

AI, automation, robotics – manufacturing tech is coming on leaps and bounds. But technology doesn’t just improve manufacturing processes. You can use it to boost employee engagement, too.

An employee app like Blink supports easy communication across your organization. As a mobile-first solution, available via smartphone, you can put mandatory reads, new safety protocols, and essential company updates at the fingertips of every employee.

You also bring together the tech tools your teams already use. With next-level integration capabilities, Blink puts information and resources in one easy-access location. You provide a friction-free, user-friendly interface that your employees enjoy using.

Technology streamlines work – and keeps employees in the loop. Just be sure to choose tools suited to both frontline and desk-based workers, and accessible for those with a company email or without. In doing so, you create an equitable working environment and raise the engagement bar for everyone.

2. Open communication

In workplaces that prioritize honesty, personal openness, and mutual respect, workers are 80% more likely to report high emotional wellbeing. Open communication helps keep employees happy.

Image source

You can put the rumor mill out of action and adopt a more open communication style by letting information move freely between all members of your organization:

• Leaders keep employees in the loop, sharing key updates and supporting workers to understand the bigger picture.
• Managers have an open-door policy and regularly connect with their employees, offering feedback, updates, and – crucially – listening to what they have to say, too.
• Workers are encouraged to contribute – they collaborate with each other and feel comfortable raising issues and ideas with decision-makers

So how do you make this kind of communication a reality within your manufacturing organization?

Firstly, you need the right communication channels. These should be suited to your way of working and link every member of the workforce. In a large, modern workplace, a noticeboard crammed with paper memos simply won’t cut it.

Secondly, leaders need to leave egos at the door. Open communication means sometimes hearing things you don’t want to hear. Remember that negative feedback is often more valuable than good as it highlights areas for improvement. And encourage managers to lead by example.

Lastly, bear in mind that open communication can be taught. So train employees in information sharing, active listening, empathy, and teamwork. Teach them which communication channels are the most appropriate – and how often they should be using them. 

3. Translation capabilities

Most manufacturing organizations have a diverse, multinational workforce. And many frontline employees don’t speak English as a first language. So if you’re not already translating company comms, this is a really easy way to boost employee engagement across the board.

Resources, information, and internal communication should be available in the languages your workforce speaks. That way everyone receives the same message and enjoys equal access to information. This also eliminates the bottleneck that managers create, having to be the translator themselves and spending their hours on managing the communication channels that their employees don’t have access to.

For example,The Blink app supports over 100 languages. Contributors can translate posts and resources at the click of a button, making all of your content accessible to everyone on your team, regardless of the language they prefer to use.

With effective, accurate translation, you get everyone on the same page – and include everyone in your company culture.

4. Recognition programs

Recognition makes employees feel valued. When you appreciate and reward employees who go above and beyond, you motivate them and inspire other employees to follow suit.

So when an employee hits a professional or personal milestone, when someone highlights a safety issue before it becomes a hazard, or when a team consistently meets their targets, give them the public recognition they deserve. And encourage co-workers to praise one another, too.

You can give recognition in company meetings, on the blog, or in the newsletter. Or ensure you reach every member of staff with recognition updates by using a digital solution like Blink.

With Blink’s recognition feature, you can post instant, personalized messages to highlight staff achievements. You add a recognition post to the company news feed and start building recognition into your company culture in just a few clicks.

Praise goes a long way. But you may also like to consider perks and prizes. Gift vouchers, an extra paid day’s leave, or a catered team lunch can all incentivize your teams. For manufacturing firm, JFE Shoji Power, sweepstake competition prizes helped them to fill overtime shifts.  

But before you put a reward program into place, survey your staff. Find out what they really want in terms of recognition and reward. That way your recognition program stands to make the most impact.

5. Opportunities for advancement

It’s not just your office-based team who are keen to advance in their careers. 70% of frontline employees have applied for advancement opportunities. But this group doesn’t always get the resources or support they need to move up the career ladder.

When you’re looking to improve employee engagement in a manufacturing organization, allowing all employees to learn and advance within their roles is crucial. It gives employees something to work towards and feel excited about. And it makes them much more invested in doing a good job.

There are lots of things you can do to support career growth.

• Map out clear career goals with employees, offering training and mentor support to help them achieve them
• Give workers more responsibility during the standard work day, encouraging them to take ownership and make decisions where appropriate
• Cross-train and rotate jobs to bring variety to an employee’s workplace experience
• Ensure everyone is aware of training and career opportunities within your organization, highlighting typical career pathways and the perks of promotion

6. Regular, two-way feedback

As we mentioned earlier, open communication is an important part of employee engagement. You can facilitate this type of interaction by providing regular opportunities for two-way feedback.

Regular 1-to-1s between employees and managers help to maintain open lines of communication. These meetings are an opportunity to align goals, resolve conflicts, and identify areas for development.

Crucially, employees get the chance to raise queries and issues, too. They can provide insight into the manufacturing employee experience and any challenges they’re currently facing.

Just remember, this type of interaction needs to take place regularly, not just once or twice a year. To build trusting, open relationships, you need to build this type of communication into every single week.

That means managers spending time on the factory floor, seeing for themselves what excites, challenges, and frustrates workers. It means creating impromptu feedback opportunities. And it means using digital solutions to make feedback and communication easy, even when managers and workers aren’t based in the same location.

‍

7. Create a safe environment

The manufacturing industry in the US has some of the highest rates of occupational injury and illness. But you don’t get high rates of manufacturing employee engagement unless staff feel safe at work.

When employees feel safe:

• They can focus on their work
• They feel a greater sense of morale
• They feel valued and supported
• They trust in workplace leadership

Prioritize workplace safety and you also create a virtuous circle. Safe environments lead to better employee engagement. And engaged employees help to improve workplace safety going forward. There are 70% fewer safety incidents in the most engaged workplace environments than there are in the least.

Leaders and managers should regularly reassess the safety performance of equipment and protective wear. Careful plant design can help to mitigate safety risks, while clear risk assessment and safety protocols help workers identify and rectify issues before they lead to a safety incident.

But workplace safety isn’t just about having the right equipment and protocols. It’s about fostering a company culture with safety at its core.

To do this, you need psychological safety in addition to physical safety. This is where people feel safe voicing their opinions because they’re not worried about being judged, blamed, or punished.

Give employees a sense of psychological safety – and the right communication tools – and they’ll be more likely to report safety issues. Digital tools, rather than pen and paper methods, help safety information to travel both ways, reaching decision-makers and factory floor workers quickly.

8. Invest in training and onboarding

Manufacturing processes are prone to change. Employees need to keep their knowledge of tech and equipment, as well as their skills, up-to-date. This helps to create a safe environment for everyone working on the manufacturing team. And it boosts employee engagement, too.

Research from 2023 reveals that:

• 71% of manufacturing employees say that training and development is important to them in their work life
• 35% say they aren’t getting the quality of training and development they expect
• 28% said they would leave their employer soon because of poor training and skills development

Onboarding is not to be overlooked either. When new hires start working for a company, there’s lots to learn. Safety protocols. How to use equipment. Company values. Who they can turn to for feedback and support.  

Some organizations, lacking manpower, don’t put enough time and effort into onboarding. But this is where you lay the foundations of employee experience. And it can make or break an employee’s engagement with your firm.  

You can maximize onboarding benefits without spreading their staff too thin, with the help of a digital onboarding process.

Employees access guides, rules, and resources via the company portal. They can refer back to resources as and when they need them. It’s also easy for your teams to update resources with the most up-to-date information.

Managers and co-workers can then supplement this online learning with face-to-face input ensuring a positive experience for new employees.

9. Implement employee surveys

You can never really be sure how your staff are feeling unless you ask. So before you implement an employee engagement strategy for your manufacturing organization, it makes sense to conduct surveys.

As well as listening to employee concerns during manager 1-to-1s, surveys allow employees to give feedback on specific aspects of their role and on what they feel could be better within the organization.

Follow up with a regular schedule of surveys and you build a complete picture of the employee experience:

• Annual surveys give you insight into employee engagement progress
• Quick and easy pulse surveys give you an up-to-the-minute snapshot of employee sentiment
• Lifecycle surveys help you understand the challenges facing employees at each stage in their journey

To get feedback from as many employees as possible, you need to communicate openly. Tell employees about the insights your surveys have uncovered. And share your plan for acting upon their feedback as well as any results.

By engaging employees in every stage of the feedback process, they’re much more likely to respond next time you send out a survey request.  

You’ve read the tips. Now get some real-life inspiration! Aggregate Industries has already put these employee engagement tips into action. Find out how this manufacturing firm improved digital engagement across their frontline with Blink. Watch the webinar now.

In conclusion

In manufacturing, employee engagement can be transformational. When you improve the employee experience, you improve product quality, workplace safety, and customer service. You also find it easier to attract and retain staff in a tough labor market.

In an engaged workplace, information flows between all members of your workforce. Work is more meaningful thanks to clear company values and a sense of the bigger picture. Employees are empowered to do their best work, every day.

Getting to this point may feel like a challenge, particularly if you haven’t given much thought to employee engagement up to this point. But it’s a lot easier to make engagement improvements when you harness the power of technology.

With the help of a mobile-first employee app, you connect every employee, from your HQ office to the factory floor, regardless of their access to a company email or not. You can conduct surveys, give recognition, and provide easy-access training resources. You can translate information into a variety of languages.

Get an employee app on your team and you’ll find it easy to reach and engage every member of staff, whatever their preferred language and whatever their role.