Yes, social intranets are still relevant — here's how to use one

This article is part of Blink’s “frontline first” series: content created specifically for leaders of deskless or distributed teams. We know that the job of frontline leadership is entirely different from managing ‘desk-based’ teams, so this is for you and your unique set of challenges.

Every leader in an organization that has frontline workforce has likely experienced the 'Frontline Connection Gap' - it's the root cause of thousands of wasted hours and measurable negative impact on key business metrics like retention and productivity.

But what exactly is this 'gap', and how do you know if your organization is one of the ones experiencing it? And if it turns out that you are, how do you go about closing it (and is it even worth the effort)? In this article, we'll explore all of those questions and give you some simple answers.

What is the Frontline Connection Gap?

In a nutshell, the Frontline Connection Gap is the failure to enable frontline workers to communicate with the same ease, scale and speed as desk-based workers.

If it sounds simple, that's because it is. Think about how the average desk-based worker gets to communicate at work:

• Easy access to their co-workers via email, work apps such as Slack and video conferencing tools such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams
• Easy access to key information and updates via intranets and cloud-based drives
• Easy access to key HR processes such as booking time off and downloading paystubs through tools such as Deel or Workday
• Easy access to learning and development through dedicated Learning Management Systems
• Easy access to other parts of the organization (including leadership) through shared directories
• Easy access to feedback portals through tools such as CultureAmp or Peakon

There's more where this came from, but the key point is that desk-based workers have access to a wealth of people, processes and information within just a few clicks.

For deskless workers, the picture looks very different - let's look at those same areas again:

• Limited access to co-workers beyond those in the same physical space, often leading to isolation
• Limited access to key information, often still delivered through paper memos as many frontline workers don't have access to a company email address.
• Limited access to key HR processes such as booking time off and arranging shifts, which often requires making phonecalls or messaging managers via text and WhatsApp. Processes such as claiming expenses often still involve using paper forms.
• Limited access to learning and development, as access to computers is infrequent
• Limited access to management and leadership, leading to disengagement
• Limited ability to deliver feedback or whistleblow on critical problems

The stark difference in these two worlds all comes down to communications infrastructure (or lack thereof): without continuous access to computers and email addresses, frontline workers are in a world that desk-based workers haven't experienced in more than twenty years.

The impact of the Gap

The way to know if your organization has a Frontline Connection Gap is by seeing if anything 'disappears' into it.

For the best examples of this, look to what your Human Resources team are doing. Let's take Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs as a key case - these critical initiatives are often planned and tracked at board level, and in order for them to be effective they need to impact every single member of an organization. The roll-out of these will often work well for desk-based teams thanks to regular communications such as emails, chat groups, in-person Employee Resource Groups and video calls.

However, getting to the frontline is a different matter. Without reliable channels for communications, People leaders will often find that promoting DEI programs is restricted to a flyer on a noticeboard, curtailing awareness and participation from the very start. In other words, the DEI program has fallen into the Frontline Connection Gap.

So we see just how big a problem the Gap can be: company policies and programs might as well not exist, for all the frontline are able to engage with them. As a result, the impact of the Gap can be felt on almost any core business metric - for example:

• Retention drops because frontline employee engagement is low
• Recruitment faces challenges as the organization is unable to offer an ideal employee experience
• Customer experience is impacted when employees are ill-informed and disengaged
• Productivity drops through inefficiencies in processes such as filling empty shifts and inconsistent onboarding and training
• Safety is put at risk through failures to communicate critical information at scale
• Employee wellbeing suffers as a result of isolation and inability to access support

The list could go on - and it does. If any one of these key metrics looks different in the frontline part of your organization in comparison to the desk-based part, then the likelihood is that you have a Frontline Connection Gap to bridge.

How to close the Frontline Connection Gap

It's important at this point to remember that the Frontline Connection Gap is rarely caused through neglect or intention - in fact, many organizations have tried (and are still trying) to close it. The problem is that the strategies that they employ usually fail, and it's for one important reason: the kind of communications infrastructure that works for the desk-based will not work for the frontline.

A key example of this is using intranets. Many organizations find intranets to be a useful means of sharing information with their desk-based workers, and so attempt to roll these out to their frontline workers through a mobile-based approach. In theory, this should work: most frontline workers have access to a smartphone and are confident enough in using them to download an intranet app.

However, this strategy comes across a number of roadblocks:

• Firstly, it requires frontline workers to remember a new login and password (IT teams often find themselves facing high volumes of password reset requests as a result).
• Secondly, engagement with intranet apps will usually be disappointingly low - but the reason for this poor uptake will help you unlock the secret of successfully crossing the Frontline Connection Gap (keep reading to find out).

To close the Frontline Connection Gap, there are three simple principles to follow:

• Go mobile. With smartphone adoption having reached a critical tipping point, this is a no-brainer.
• Consolidate where you can. The more systems and apps you ask a frontline worker to instal, the more you dilute your success. If you're asking your frontline to download and login to separate systems for accessing paystubs, receiving communications, giving feedback and arranging shifts, you're adding friction with every step. Create a single point of access wherever you can.
• Put daily value at the centre of your solution. This is the crucial secret behind adoption, and the last mile of closing the Frontline Connection Gap. Busy frontline workers need a reason to engage with HQ, and that's the problem with simply rolling out an intranet on mobile: there's little in it for a frontline worker, so even if they have an app in the palm of their hand, they'll rarely take time out to log in. Success lies in inverting this, by making sure that at the heart of your communications infrastructure are processes that the frontline always need - for example, access to shifts and paystubs. By placing value at the heart of your system, you get the consistent engagement you need to close the Gap (we call this 'Chips and Dip theory'.

Despite the seriousness of its impact, the Frontline Connection Gap is actually a relatively simple problem - which thankfully means relatively simple solutions. If you're ready to get started, check out some of the best solutions on the market over here.

Employee experience (EX) is still top of the agenda in 2025.

84% of businesses see EX as a competitive differentiator — a way to attract top talent and keep them working for your organization long into the future.

But that doesn’t mean all these organizations are getting it right. Crafting an employee experience that engages workers — and has them singing your company’s praises on workplace comparison sites — is no mean feat.

It requires a consistent approach that carries through all departments and across every employee touchpoint. And it requires a deep understanding of worker needs and expectations.

To achieve all this, a solid employee experience strategy is invaluable. This plan will guide your EX initiatives, the workplace tech you use, the company culture you strive to create, and the metrics you use to assess employee experience success.

Here, we take a look at all the ways an employee experience plan benefits your business and outline the steps you need to take to create one.

What is employee experience?

Employee experience is how employees think and feel about their workplace. 

It encompasses every touchpoint and interaction throughout the employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, workplace relationships, development opportunities, and the technology you expect workers to use.

Employee experience managers are responsible for shaping EX, creating the kind of company culture and workplace environment that employees enjoy spending time in.

Why every org needs an employee experience strategy

Happy employees are good for business. High levels of employee satisfaction lead to improved talent acquisition, productivity, employee engagement, and staff retention.

The benefits of EX are clear. But many businesses are failing to deliver the kind of employee experience that inspires worker motivation and loyalty.

55% of all workers feel dissatisfied with their overall employee experience and this figure rises to 61% for Gen Z employees.

Why are these figures so high? You may have noticed that the modern workforce has pretty high expectations. Employees expect way more from their place of work than they did a few generations ago.

There are a couple of factors at play. First, we’re accustomed to personalized digital experiences at home — algorithms that know what we want before we do. And we expect the same quality and usability from the tech we use at work. 

Second, the baseline for what makes a good workplace has risen. Mental health support, flexibility, and a sense of belonging aren’t perks anymore — they’re must-haves. 

And finally, people are thinking bigger. A job isn’t just a paycheck. Employees are seeking growth, transparency, fairness, and purpose — and are willing to switch jobs to find a workplace that provides them.

Meeting these expectations is tough for any company. And — without a clear employee experience strategy — it gets even tougher.

With a solid employee experience strategy, however, you connect the dots between what your people need and what your business wants to achieve. You create the kind of workplace where people bring their A-game — where employees are engaged, productive, and with you for the long haul.

12 steps for building your employee experience strategy

Stellar employee experience management relies on a clearly defined strategy. Here’s how to get there.

1. Establish your why

Before jumping into tactics, pause and consider what you’re trying to achieve with your employee experience strategy. You need to understand the business case for improving EX. This will help guide your EX efforts — and get stakeholder buy-in.

Here are a couple of questions you can ask yourself to get the ball rolling:

• What pain points do our employees currently experience?
• How does this link to business outcomes, like retention, productivity, customer service, and engagement?
• What kind of company culture do we want to build — and how does this align with our values?

2. Map the employee journey

From day one to exit, every touchpoint matters. Working out each point in the employee lifecycle can help you uncover areas for EX improvement.

You should look at:

• Recruitment
• Pre-boarding and onboarding
• Career development and growth opportunities
• Engagement
• Retention
• Offboarding

Then, across these employee journey stages, figure out what the employee experience looks like. 

Consider employee priorities like recognition and feedback, work-life balance, and any bottlenecks in their daily workflows.

Examine the cultural environment. Things like leadership style, the quality of co-worker connections, and the effectiveness of your internal communication channels.

Also, audit the physical environment, assessing how safe and comfortable employees are when they’re at work. Ergonomic desks and chairs are a given for your office-based staff. But consider the needs of frontline employees and those who work at home, too.

With a clear understanding of the employee journey and the factors that impact EX, you can (at step 4) craft staff survey questions that cover all elements of the employee experience. But first, there’s another key area of EX to get a handle on.

3. Assess your tech-sperience

Tech tools are now a fundamental part of every work day. So the digital employee experience forms an increasingly integral part of EX.

Remember that employees get streamlined, personalized experiences on the software they use at home. So — whether you like it or not — your workplace tech is going to be compared to the very best consumer-grade tools. 

Clunky or outdated tech tools create frustration. They harm productivity and employee motivation.

Even the most cutting-edge tools can cause problems if they aren’t implemented with the proper focus on EX. Use too many different tech tools and employees can easily feel overwhelmed. They constantly have to recall login details and toggle between tabs.

So when crafting your employee experience strategy, assess your tech stack — and its impact on employees. Find out where technology is supporting a positive employee experience and where it’s creating friction.

Also, consider tech needs on a team-by-team basis, paying special attention to frontline employees. Without easy access to a desktop computer or a company email address, frontline workers often find workplace tools difficult or impossible to use, which harms the frontline experience.

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4. Ask employees what they want

Every workplace is different. And while you’ll find plenty of articles listing the workplace attributes that employees value most, these can only ever act as a rough guide.

To make a success of your employee experience strategy, you need to understand your workforce and what motivates them. Then, treat them as co-creators of your EX strategy.

That starts by gathering employee feedback. Send out surveys and polls. Launch a listening tour. Find out what employees think of EX at your organization and what would improve it. Work to discover pain points, needs, and expectations.

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This shouldn’t be a one-off event. You should aim to build employee listening and employee voice into company culture. Create two-way communication channels and foster open communication across all levels of your organization. Acknowledge feedback and tell employees what action you plan to take.

By doing so, you encourage engagement with the feedback process and prompt honest responses from employees. You also keep your finger on the pulse, which — faced with ever-evolving employee experience trends — helps you stay ahead of EX issues.

5. Dive into the data

You’ve got feedback. Now what? It’s time to analyze the data you’ve gathered from employees, looking for EX patterns, pain points, and opportunities.

Celebrate the areas where you’re doing a good job. And hone in on areas where EX could be improved.

Use the analytics tools you have access to and combine qualitative feedback with quantitative data on retention, absenteeism, and employee engagement to get a big picture perspective. 

6. Get to know EX across the organization

Segment your data and you can also find out what employee experience looks like for different sectors of your workforce.

Perhaps your office-based team is satisfied with the quality of internal communications they receive. But your frontline team has to make do with a patchwork of paper memos and word-of-mouth messages. 

It could be that Millennials are loving the option to work from their comfortable home offices. But Gen Z employees, still living in shared housing, are struggling to find a quiet and productive place to work.

Maybe one department experiences higher than average levels of turnover and lower than average instances of employee recognition. 

Only by digging deep into the data can you understand how EX at your organization looks for every member of your workforce — and start to see the patterns that will inform your plan of action. 

7. Set goals

You’re at the point where you’ve done all your EX research. Time to put down on paper what you hope to achieve with your employee experience strategy. 

Create targets that are measurable, time-bound, and based on the EX issues you uncovered during the research phase. 

Some examples include:

• Increase career development opportunities for employees
• Establish better two-way communication channels between employees and managers
• Boost news feed comments and reactions by X%
• Increase survey response rates

8. Build your plan

Keeping your goals in mind, lay out the actions that will help you achieve them.

For example, if you want to improve career development opportunities, you could launch a new mentoring program.

Or if you wanted to increase your survey response rate, you could look at ways to close the feedback loop, ensuring that employees feel their feedback is listened to and acted on.

You may like to overhaul employee pay and benefits, well-being support, or workplace recognition. You may want to focus on improving the frontline employee experience with better comms and flexible working opportunities.

9. Find the right EX tech

This is a great time to consider the employee experience tech tools that will support your employee experience strategy. The best employee experience platforms can improve EX with the help of:

• Internal communication tools — channels that support top-down, bottom-up, and peer-to-peer conversations and an engaging company news feed
• Recognition tools — that help you create a culture of appreciation

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• Integrated software — integrations with the other workplace software you use to create a streamlined digital experience
• Automated employee journey tools — features that make it easy for you to deliver the right content to employees at exactly the right time in their employee journey
• HR self-service tools — tools that allow employees to swap shifts, request leave, or view their pay stubs right from their user-friendly dashboard
• Surveys and analytics — employee survey and analytics tools that help your team keep up-to-date with employee satisfaction and EX
• Personalized employee experiences — tools that go beyond a one-size-fits-all approach to provide tailored comms, dashboards, and journeys relevant to each individual employee

10. Communicate and roll out

To make a success of your employee experience strategy, you need all hands on deck. Employees should get a consistent experience across the whole lifecycle and that relies on lots of different departments working together.  

Get everyone on the same page — including employees — by communicating your EX vision clearly and transparently. Lay out your objectives and the positive outcome you expect. Tell them what will change and why.

If you’re rolling out new employee experience software, think carefully about how you’ll get your workforce to embrace it. Start by picking user-friendly, mobile-first tools that every employee can use. Then, use a marketing campaign, incentives, gamification, and platform ambassadors to encourage employees to log in.  

11. Measure and evaluate

Is your employee experience strategy having the desired effect? As well as looking at the specific EX goals you set earlier in the process, measure your success in terms of overarching business goals too.

These include employee satisfaction metrics like:

• Employee net promoter score
• Absenteeism rate
• Turnover rate

You can also look at KPIs relating to talent acquisition, customer satisfaction, and employee productivity.

Measure employee experience and you stay ahead of any EX problems that might arise. You see where your EX strategy is bearing fruit — and where you still need to make improvements.

12. Iterate and improve

Improving employee experience isn’t a one-and-done situation. Creating and honing the perfect employee experience strategy is an ongoing task.

Use insights gained from employee surveys and analytics to keep pace with evolving employee expectations. Review your goals. Find new ways to enhance employee experience and keep staff loyal to your organization.

By treating EX as a continuous process, you’re more likely to create a strong culture, happy employees, and the business results you’re looking for.

Using your employee experience strategy to build a better workplace

A strong employee experience strategy can transform your workplace. It impacts company culture and internal communications. It boosts productivity and staff loyalty. And it can put a spring in the step of employees as they turn up to work each day.

And with 52% of employees saying they’re watching for or actively seeking a new job, employee experience strategy isn’t something you can afford to neglect. 

The occasional free lunch or mental health day won’t cut it at a time when employees demand more than ever from their places of work — and are prepared to vote with their feet if their expectations aren’t met. 

To ensure EX success, you need to consider the experience of every employee. The priorities of your retail staff, for example, are probably very different from those of your office-based team. Then, you need to create personalized experiences that make employees feel seen and valued.

An employee experience platform like Blink can make a huge difference to your employee experience strategy and its success.

With tools that automate elements of the employee journey, improve communication, streamline workflows, and include every employee in the workplace community, it becomes much easier to deliver the kind of employee experience your workforce expects.

Blink. And make employee experience your competitive advantage.

Turning work into play

The partnership introduces a new Blink gamification framework — designed to help large enterprises boost engagement, motivation, and learning across distributed teams.

The first product of the collaboration, Blink Bonanza, is a live playable game experience that showcases how fast, fun, and habit-forming interactions can drive adoption with your employee experience platform and meaningful engagement. The game, unveiled at the Blink stand at Workday Rising EMEA, will soon be available to play on Blink’s website.

“Work is changing — and so are the people doing it,” said Lauren Burns, chief operating officer at Blink. “For younger generations, play isn’t a distraction; it’s a key way they learn, connect, and stay engaged. Together with Livewall, we’re harnessing that instinct to make frontline work more motivating and rewarding — while powering better operations across the workforce.”

Gamification that drives performance

Rooted in behavioral science, the Blink × Livewall partnership brings proven game mechanics — from competition and achievement systems to progress tracking and peer recognition — into the flow of everyday work.

“Gamification isn’t fluff — it’s neuroscience,” said Brock de Wolde, product strategy lead at Livewall. “The same dopamine feedback loops that keep us playing games can also reinforce the right workplace behaviors. Blink’s platform allows us to apply that science at scale.”

McDonald’s, who pride themselves on their service, was able to reimagine engagement with a game that was adopted by 90,000 employees and played an average of 6.5 times per gamer. This activation allowed them to deliver change in a fresh, engaging way — and build hype around their workforce.

Next up: "The science of gamification" webinar

Blink and Livewall will co-host a live webinar, “The power of play: Engaging the next generation of workers,” on December 3, 2025. The session will explore the neuroscience and strategy behind gamification and feature guest insights from McDonald’s.

About Blink

Blink is the mobile-first employee experience platform built for the frontline and desk-based teams alike. Used by global organizations in retail, logistics, healthcare, and hospitality, Blink brings communication, learning, and recognition into one simple, mobile platform — empowering every employee to feel informed, connected, and valued.
www.joinblink.com

About Livewall

Livewall is a creative technology agency based in the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK. Specialising in gamified loyalty and engagement gamification, Livewall helps brands and employers drive engagement through innovative, behavior-driven experiences. www.livewall.co

Media contacts:

For Blink:
Georgie Scott— Marketing Director
📧 press@joinblink.com

For Livewall:
Brock de Wolde — Head of Product Strategy
📧 press@livewall.co

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Here's the question I come back to constantly: how do you get 16-to-19-year-olds on the shop floor to care about a message from the CEO?

It's not a rhetorical question. It's one my team has been working on for the last 18 months, and we've made a real impact.

Five generations, one workforce

JD Sports isn't a small operation. We have 90,000 colleagues across 20+ countries with25 brands under the JD Group banner. And five generations working side by side, with 70% of our workforce being under the age of 30.

That last number is the one that keeps me up at night (in a good way). The majority of our people are on shop floors, not in front of laptops. They're not opening an intranet. They're not watching the hour-long town hall recording. 

There's never a day where we don't walk into the office and think: what can we do for the stores today, and how are we going to get this message to land? Everyone has a different love language. There is no one-size-fits-all anymore, there just can't be.

The red flag: one-way, overly corporate communication

As a FTSE 100 company, we have real obligations. Results to share, legal updates to communicate, leadership directives to cascade. None of that goes away.

But the way we were delivering it? It wasn't landing.

Long messages. Lengthy calls. Content that felt designed for a boardroom, not a stockroom.

The fix wasn't to dumb things down. It was to meet people where they actually are.

JD Now: going where our people are

We launched JD Now - our internal comms platform - in the UK 15 months ago. The brief was simple: mobile-first, bite-sized and human.

Instead of polished corporate videos, we started producing 30–45 second clips on iPhones. Quick editing, often with a same-day turnaround. A CEO update became five key points, delivered straight to camera, in under a minute.

For some of our shop floor colleagues, it might be the first time they've ever seen anything from our team or leaders. Because it's on their phone and it's done in a style of content they’re already used to seeing from their other favorite apps.

But the bigger unlock wasn't the content my team was making. It was the content our colleagues started creating themselves.

When you give people a platform, they run with it

Employee-generated content has taken over JD Now — and honestly, we didn't plan it that way.

One store team created a popular movie franchise-themed video to promote an Air Max release. A group in London started recording a podcast about career progression, using an Amazon mic and an iPhone. These all became smash hits with great engagement of likes and comments from their peers and leaders. We didn't ask them to do any of this. They just did it, because they'd found a space that felt theirs.

That podcast host? We spotted him, brought him up to Manchester to host a major youth event, and then took him to a King's Trust event where he met Prince William. Because he posted on our internal comms platform.

Making leaders human

One of the most consistent things we heard in surveys was simple: there’s a big opportunity to know and understand the people who are leading us better.

We tackled this head-on with JD Now — starting with our senior leaders in retail. Many of them are known as the important people who come in, provide feedback and expect excellence (we always make sure we’re the best, of course).. However, during our launch week, and the weeks leading up to it, we empowered these leaders to use JD Now as a platform to connect with their people - not just talk about sales, but use it as a way to connect and engage in a way they might not have been able to before. They’ve leaned into it…now commenting on various posts and showcasing their personalities a bit more.

The response from colleagues? Oh, they’re normal people!

I know it sounds corny. But we were blown away by how many colleagues said: yeah, actually, employee communications can be engaging. One comment, a post, a like on a photo from a store and the ability to have more visibility did so much more for the perception and connection to that team than a dozen town hall appearances.

The numbers back it up

When we first launched JD Now, we saw an incredible 74% adoption across our initial 20,000 colleagues, and it has grown from there. Right away, we knew that our teams had a genuine desire to experience a new way of communicating. 

This was validated with a 3% increase in our overall Communication score in our first global survey following the launch of JD Now. We absolutely credit that to changing how we communicate and how we get retail leaders genuinely involved.

But the metric I care about most isn't a survey score. It's when a store manager says to me, unprompted: "We should put that on JD Now."

We didn't prompt them. They came to us. That's what matters.

What I'd tell every comms team

The future of communications isn't rooted in communication. It's about culture.

• What makes your organization you? 
• What are your values, and how do they connect with your colleagues? 

Everything else falls into place when you feel really good about what you have to offer — and when your people feel it too.

Gen Z is taking over the workforce whether we're ready or not. I'm a millennial, so I'm somewhere in the middle, but I see it every day, and understand the importance of connecting to people in a way that resonates with them, and knowing one-way isn’t the best way. 

The organizations that'll win aren't the ones with the slickest content strategy. They're the ones that make young people feel like they actually belong there.

That's what we're building at JD. And we're only just getting started!

Good internal communication is the glue that holds organizations together. It keeps everyone informed, aligned, and connected — helping employees understand company priorities and feel part of a shared purpose.

In 2026, internal communication involves more than noticeboards and scattered email threads. Organizations with hybrid or frontline teams need modern internal communication platforms like Blink to connect employees, simplify updates, and enable easy collaboration. 

A successful internal communication strategy includes all communication types: top-down, bottom-up, and peer-to-peer. These channels work together to connect employees and ensure information flows throughout your organization.

For larger or dispersed teams, achieving this can feel like a tall order. But with the right internal communication software, even global workforces can stay connected and engaged.

Luckily, many new tools and platforms can help your company improve communication. 

So, which platforms are worth your investment? 
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Types of internal communication tools and platforms

Before diving into specific providers, it helps to understand the main types of internal communication software shaping the modern workplace in 2026.

The most effective organizations use a combination of these tools — or a single employee experience platform like Blink, which combines many of these functions into a single mobile-first solution.

Instant messaging tools

Internal communication isn’t just top-down. Co-worker collaboration tools keep conversations flowing across teams and locations by enabling quick information sharing, file exchange, and informal social connections.

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Advantages:

• A communication tool that allows employees to chat and share information (along with emojis and GIFs)
• Most instant messaging tools are available on both desktop and mobile
• Messaging tools can be used for communication between co-workers, but also for information-sharing between leadership and employees

Best tools: Blink, Slack, Jive, Workvivo

Emails and newsletters

Digital newsletters have always been great for sharing essential company updates. Modern tools enhance this channel with templates, analytics, and branded content delivery.

Best tools: ContactMonkey, Axero, Poppulo, Staffbase

Audio and video conferencing tools

Rewind a decade and video conferencing probably wouldn’t be one of the top staff communication tools on your list. Today, however, in a world of remote and hybrid teams, video conferencing tools are a workplace essential. They allow employees to talk face-to-face, even when they’re not based in the same office.Now a workplace essential, these tools make remote and hybrid meetings seamless — from one-to-one calls to company-wide events.

Best tools: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams

Employee recognition center

Recognition platforms reward effort and build engagement by blending social recognition with tangible rewards to boost morale and employee retention.

Best tools: Blink, Bonusly, Unily

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Employee engagement and surveys

Engage your employees and you experience countless benefits, including improved productivity, customer loyalty, and profitability. But if you really want to improve employee engagement, you need to measure it.

Employee surveys and feedback forms are an essential part of any internal communication toolkit. They support bottom-up communication and give you valuable insight into how employees really feel about working for your firm.

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Best tools: Blink, SurveyMonkey, Bonusly, Qualtrics

Company news feed

A private, social-style feed alerts employees to company updates and important cultural moments.

Best tools: Blink, Workvivo, Staffbase, Happeo

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Project management

Project management platforms keep work visible, accountable, and collaborative.

Best tools: Asana, monday.com

Intranet

Evolving beyond traditional intranets, these tools now enable engagement, two-way communication, and document collaboration.

Best tools: Blink, Simpplr, Happeo, Unily

Employee communication app

Mobile-first employee communication apps centralize updates, messaging, and engagement features — ideal for hybrid and frontline teams.

Best tools: Blink, Workvivo

Employee experience platform

These top-tier employee experience platforms offer a user-friendly way to access messaging, news, surveys, recognition programs, and HR functions.

These platforms go beyond communication — supporting onboarding, engagement, and culture-building.

Best tools: Blink, Workvivo, Staffbase

The takeaway:

Modern internal communication relies on an integrated ecosystem or a unified platform like Blink, which simplifies your tech stack and enhances workforce connection.

Blink serves as a mobile-first communication app, a modern intranet, a recognition tool, and a complete employee experience platform. That agility makes it ideal for companies looking to streamline their technology and boost employee engagement.

20 best internal communication tools

Ready to find the right comms solution for your organization? Take a look at our round-up of the best internal communication tools for 2025.

1. Blink

Blink is a modern internal communication tool and employee experience platform that brings together messaging, news, surveys, recognition, and analytics into a single mobile-first solution. It’s designed for organizations that want to improve communication, engagement, and access to information across both desk-based and frontline teams.

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As a mobile-first internal communication platform, Blink’s unified interface lets teams share updates, message peers, and access essential workplace applications in real time, without a corporate email address — no matter their location.

Unlike single-purpose messaging apps, Blink functions as an all-in-one internal communication software, combining collaboration and employee engagement tools in one place.

Features like pulse surveys, recognition, and content personalization enable two-way communication and make company-wide updates more meaningful.

Blink also includes social-style communication features — such as Stories, Communities, and a personalized news feed — that make information sharing intuitive and engaging. Built-in analytics help leaders understand message reach, engagement trends, and content effectiveness.

Pros

• Unified internal communication toolset: Blink combines chat, news, surveys, recognition, and analytics.
• Mobile-first accessibility: It works on smartphones and desktops, and doesn`t require a company email.
• Personalized communication: Blink’s audience segmentation and employee journeys ensure targeted updates.
• Seamless integrations: Connects with Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, HRIS, and scheduling tools.
• Data-driven insights: The analytics dashboards measure communication performance and engagement.

Cons

• The search functionality could benefit from more advanced filtering and refinement options.

Pricing

Pricing is available on request

Use Cases

• Strengthening culture and alignment through data-informed communication strategies
• Connecting hybrid and frontline teams with one internal communication platform
• Centralizing all company messages, tools, and resources in a single hub

Improving engagement through interactive multimedia content

2. Asana

Asana is a well-known project management tool and, if you use it, you’re in good company. Around 85% of Fortune 100 companies say they use Asana.

With this workplace communication platform, you can create, prioritize, and allocate tasks. You can view tasks in timeline, board, and list formats — and track your progress toward milestones.

The visual format makes it easy to see which tasks your team needs to complete first. And the process of identifying and remedying project bottlenecks becomes much easier too.

Pros

• A free version that supports 10 members and comes with unlimited storage, tasks, and messages
• A clean, intuitive interface and a comprehensive selection of project and task management tools
• Comes with a mobile app so employees can keep of track of projects on the go
• Good integration with third-party tools

Cons

• A high volume of email notifications can be frustrating for users
• One of the more expensive project management solutions available
• The mobile experience pales in comparison to the desktop experience
• Collaboration tools aren’t as extensive and effective as those of other project management tools on the market

Pricing

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

Use cases

• Giving remote teams the tools they need to manage projects effectively
• Cross-team collaboration
• Status updates and reporting — leaders can view dashboards and reports to stay informed of project progress.

3. Jive

Jive is a community-building communication tool that you can use for top-down, bottom-up, and peer-to-peer connection. Team members can share photos, videos, documents, status updates, and blog posts. They can also decide whether their post gets seen by one team member, a specific group, or the whole organization.

Another great feature of Jive is its People Directory. Here, employees can search for co-workers they want to connect with, based on their skills, endorsements, and favorite activities.

Pros

• Jive is an all-purpose business communication tool
• Supports personalized news updates
• Provides a single inbox so employees can manage all company communications and conversations in one place

Cons

• Jive has a complicated interface and a cluttered layout that can be difficult for users to understand and navigate
• Limited integrations with the other workplace tools you use
• Some users say the Jive mobile app is slow and clunky with lackluster features

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

• Creating a centralized hub for updates and document sharing
• Personalizing company updates to make them more relevant and engaging
• Giving employees the tools they need to interact with leadership, managers, and coworkers

4. Zoom

Zoom is often listed as one of the most reliable video conferencing platforms. It offers excellent audio and visual quality, even when internet connection is patchy, and it’s really easy to use.

You can record meetings, direct meeting participants to breakout rooms, and make use of a meeting annotation function. Zoom offers a range of other useful features too, including an online whiteboard and virtual working spaces (known as Zoom Huddles). 

Pros

• User-friendly interface
• Can run small one-to-one meetings, large conferences, and anything in between
• Advanced features include breakout rooms and webinar hosting

Cons

• Zoom can be expensive for larger teams, with add-ons needed for meetings of more than 500 participants

Pricing

A Pro plan, for up to 99 users, costs $15.99 per user per month. A Business Plan, for up to 250 users and with a greater range of features, costs $21.99 per user per month.

Use cases

• Running live meetings and webinars
• Supporting video and audio communication for hybrid and remote teams

5. Bonusly

Bonusly gives you all the tools you need to run a successful recognition program. Via an intuitive platform, employees can tag peers and congratulate them on their accomplishments. Congratulated employees earn points, which they can then use to claim their preferred reward — a gift card, cash, or a charitable donation. 

Reporting tools give leaders insight into team dynamics and patterns of recognition. It helps you to discover top performers and identify people who haven’t had any recognition in a while.

‍

Pros

• A user-friendly interface and next to no learning curve
• The option to tailor recognition programs to fit your culture and values
• Out-of-the-box integrations with other workplace tools including Workday, Asana, and Slack

Cons

• Limited analytics — so it can be hard for companies to understand employee engagement and recognition patterns

Pricing

Monthly pricing options for Bonusly starts at $2 per user.

Use cases

• Strengthening company culture and employee morale with regular recognition, even when employees are working remotely
• Creating a culture of peer-to-peer recognition — employees can award points and praise to their co-workers

6. Axero

Axero is an internal comms platform designed to unify teams, increase productivity, and improve workplace culture. It features mass email tools, an activity stream, a blogging platform, and instant messaging.

Using Axero, you can create a central hub for files, communications, and company updates. Collaboration features also come in handy, with space for team discussions and the option to co-edit documents.

Pros

• Axero’s customer service is responsive and helpful
• Good customization and integration options
• A comprehensive employee directory that makes it easy for staff to find and connect with co-workers

Cons

• A steep learning curve — users say that Axero can be overwhelming for beginners
• Some users say that Axero functionality lags behind that of other intranet competitors
• Limited features on the mobile version 

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

• Creating a single hub for news, updates, and resources
• Supporting collaboration across your company, with file sharing and team discussions
• Building a personalized employee experience, with custom dashboards tailored to the roles and departments of employees

7. ContactMonkey

ContactMonkey is one of the best newsletter platforms available. Unlike some of its competitors, ContactMonkey integrates with both Outlook and Gmail so you can send emails from and receive replies to your usual inbox.

The platform provides an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop email builder. Multiple team members can collaborate on the same email. And analytics tools help you judge which newsletter content is best engaging your workforce, so you can create more of the same.

Pros

• Employee survey tools so you can email your surveys to the workforce with ease
• Integration with Outlook and Gmail
• SMS integration that allows you to reach employees with urgent updates
• Real-time tracking and analytics — so you get insight into email open rates and click-throughs

Cons

• You can only use ContactMonkey for internal emails, not external marketing emails
• Only supports communication over email, which may not be particularly engaging or appropriate for all organizations
• Unlikely to fulfill all your internal communication needs

Pricing

Prices start from $600 per month for 500 employees. Prices for more extensive plans are available on request.

Use cases

• Engaging email and newsletter communication for employees
• Launching employee surveys to help you acquire useful feedback

8. Slack

Slack is an instant messaging tool that supports asynchronous communication. Slack works well for desk-based employees who have access to other platforms, like Google Drive. Slack doesn’t work as well for on-the-go, field-based employees, who don’t have such easy access to separate cloud storage.

People within your organization can launch chat threads, including as many or as few team members as they like. They can create threads for different projects, departments, and topics. Teams also get access to little extras, like file sharing, message search, and a task reminder function.

Pros

• User-friendly interface
• Integration with a wide range of other workplace software
• Customizable notifications

Cons

• Doesn’t work well for teams who are on the go — Slack is most suited to desk-based teams
• Can be hard to find what you’re looking for across multiple chats and channels

Pricing

Slack offers a limited free plan. Paid plans start from $8.75 per user per month.

Use cases

• Ensuring real-time communication between dispersed team members
• Providing a variety of internal communication channels — including direct messages, group chats, and channels

Read more: Top Slack alternatives

9. SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey has made it to our employee survey top spot for its ease of use. This employee communications platform has lots of survey templates to choose from and, if speed is your priority, lots of features that help you get employee feedback fast.

You can choose from hundreds of expert-written questions or write your own. And with the help of custom templates, you can find or create surveys for any situation, whether you want to conduct 360 reviews, find out your Net Promoter score, or seek feedback on your employee engagement efforts.

Pros

• Ease of use — SurveyMonkey has a clean, uncluttered interface that employees will enjoy using
• Using the Genius Assistant and the “build it for me” feature, you can create surveys quickly
• Excellent analytics that help you make sense of employee responses

Cons

• Limited free features
• Limited customization options, so you may struggle to create complex or specialized surveys

Pricing

Prices start from $30 per user per month.

Use cases

• Boosting employee satisfaction and engagement with the help of employee feedback
• Making it easy for your teams to launch and respond to employee surveys 

10. Microsoft SharePoint

Microsoft SharePoint is a file-sharing software that integrates seamlessly with the other Microsoft tools you may already use. You can create branded document libraries called sites, customizing them for document collaboration or top-down comms.

Teams get to share news, documents, and data. They can also edit documents collaboratively — setting notifications so they know when a co-worker makes changes.

Pros

• Easy integration with other Microsoft products
• Allows you to segment employees by division, giving each division its own calendar and visual timeline
• Customization options so you can build forms, workflows, and custom applications for your teams

Cons

• Not particularly user-friendly, especially on mobile
• Cost of implementation is high and adoption rates tend to be low

Pricing

A basic SharePoint plan costs $5 per user per month.

Use cases

• Project collaboration — teams can co-edit documents and manage workflows
• An easy way for desk-based teams to access company documents and resources
• Using internal announcements and newsletters to communicate with all employees

11. Monday.com

Monday.com is a project management tool that supports comms and employee engagement. You can use this internal communications software to create and assign tasks, track project progress, and create performance-tracking templates for employees.

Team members receive notifications when action is required. And an easy-to-use visual interface makes it easy to see where each project is up to at a glance.

Pros

• A comprehensive set of project management tools
• Customizable project templates to get you started
• A weekly overview so you can see tasks and project milestones you need to tackle over the next few days

Cons

• The backend of this business communication software is complicated and involves a steep learning curve
• Limited comms tools so Monday.com isn’t useful as a standalone business communication platform

Pricing

Prices start from $8 per user per month.

Use cases

• Improving project management and work collaboration
• Task and workflow automation to streamline repetitive processes

12. Workvivo

Workvivo is an intranet software company owned by Zoom. You can use this internal communication tool to improve comms, employee engagement, and recognition, too. You can also make use of multiple communication channels and employee feedback tools.

Standout features include live broadcasting tools, so you can launch live streams and podcasts. You can also create microsites, where teams and special interest groups can create their own, tailored communities.

Pros

• Strong translation abilities for multilingual organizations
• An engaging, social-media-style interface that will feel familiar to employees
• Rich communication tools including a news feed and instant messaging (available through integrations with tools like Slack, MS Teams, and Zoom meetings)

Cons

• Chat functionality on the mobile app falls behind the desktop experience
• Advanced features — including chat, Workvivo TV, and advanced analytics — are add-ons that come at an additional cost
• Admins say they want better customization options and improved third-party integrations

Pricing

Workvivo’s Business Plan starts at $20,000.

Use cases

• Creating engaging, social-media-style communications
• Ensuring internal communications move in all directions — top-down, bottom-up, and peer-to-peer
• Opening up internal communications to deskless employees

Read more: Top Workvivo alternatives

13. Staffbase

Staffbase is an internal communication platform designed to connect and engage employees. It brings company news, messaging, and resources into one place, making it easier for you to reach your workforce — whether they’re remote, hybrid, deskless, or office-based.

With Staffbase, you can communicate over the company intranet and send emails and SMS, all from one centralized dashboard. You can also create tailored content paths so employees receive the right information at the right time.

Pros

• A great user experience across desktop and mobile versions
• Brings a range of communication and workplace functions into one location, supporting top-down, bottom-up, and peer-to-peer conversations
• Built-in reporting so you can see how employees are using the platform and interacting with your content
• You can customize the platform so it matches the look and feel of your branding

Cons

• Some add-ons and integrations come at an additional cost
• There are few out-of-the-box features on the employee app
• Search functionality and integrations aren’t as good as they could be

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

• Launching employee surveys with in-built tools
• Creating a single source of truth within your organization thanks to communication channels that all workers can access
• Making comms more personal, with the option to segment your audience and deliver relevant content to different employee groups

14. Poppulo

Poppulo is an email and mobile communications software. It also provides digital signage functionality and digital tools for desk and meeting room management.

You can target messages based on location, role, or interests to cut through the noise. You can also access tools for planning and promoting internal events, like town halls and team meetings.

Pros

• Omni-channel communications, across email, SMS, intranet, and digital signage
• Drag and drop email design tools plus advanced personalization
• Strong analytics — Poppulo gives comms teams clear visibility into message performance

Cons

• Poppulo is more complex than some of the other tools on this list, so there can be quite a learning curve
• While it brings multiple communication channels together, Poppulo isn’t comprehensive enough to work as a standalone company communication system

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

• Enterprise email communication and analytics
• Improving the quality of email messaging with employee segmentation tools
• Managing office workspace among hybrid teams

15. Qualtrics

Qualtrics is an employee survey and feedback tool. You can use it to capture employee data via surveys and passive listening — and discover how your business is doing across metrics like intent to stay, engagement, inclusion, and wellbeing.

Surveys are easy to customize, with advanced question types and logic, while analytics and reporting tools help you turn insights into actionable strategies. 

Pros

• Flexible survey design options
• Powerful analytics and reporting capabilities
• AI tools that guide you to take action based on your employee feedback findings

Cons

• Using advanced features effectively may require training
• Qualtrics can be overly expensive for smaller businesses

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

• Improving employee satisfaction and engagement with the help of regular surveys
• Creating a culture of 360 feedback to improve the effectiveness of management and leadership

16. Happeo

Happeo is a Google-based intranet that provides a centralized location for all internal communications. It provides a hub for company news, documents, and collaboration tools.

Key features include a social intranet, an employee directory, and an intuitive search function. You can also use AI tools to find and fix gaps in your knowledge base. 

Pros

• Easy integration with Google Workspace tools
• Excellent search functions so it’s easy to find the people, posts, and integrated third-party apps you’re looking for
• The option to create hubs and communities based on departments, roles, and shared interests

Cons

• Limited integrations beyond the Google suite
• A web-first platform, best suited to desk-based teams

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

• Creating a centralized hub for updates and document sharing
• Building company culture and employee engagement
• Connecting hybrid, remote, and office-based teas

Read more: Top Happeo alternatives

17. Unily

Unily is an employee experience and internal communications tool. It provides features that support its “four cornerstones” of digital employee experience: Alignment, Engagement, Enablement, and Simplicity.

Key features include email, employee feedback, and recognition tools. You can design, sequence, and automate employee journeys so staff receive relevant information at the right time. You can also use gamification features to improve intranet engagement.

Pros

• An excellent desktop version, with an engaging and intuitive user experience
• Fine-grained controls for admins
• A good range of notifications

Cons

• Mixed opinions on Unily’s customer service and ability to support its partners
• Translating Unily’s comprehensive desktop features to mobile is a challenge for admins

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

• Creating channels for company-wide communications
• Boosting employee engagement with dynamic content and gamification
• Making recognition a key part of company culture

Read more: Top Unily alternatives

18. Simpplr

A comprehensive intranet platform, Simpplr supports internal communication and employee engagement. It provides a user-friendly, social-media-style interface and provides AI-driven content recommendations.

Standout features include employee listening tools, surveys, and a recognition program. There are also lots of communication channels you can use across email, SMS, a mobile app, and desktop software.

Pros

• An intuitive, uncluttered interface
• Strong analytics that make it easy to track engagement metrics and content performance
• Great search functions

Cons

• Difficult login process, with multiple links provided
• Some users say the struggle to integrate Simpplr with their preferred third-party apps
• Advanced features can be expensive

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

• Making employee feedback and listening a key part of company culture
• Creating a centralized hub for communications, resources, and community
• Bringing large organizations and distributed teams together

Read more: Top Simpplr alternatives

19. Google Meet

Google Meet is a video conferencing and virtual meeting tool. It’s integrated into Google Workspace, so it connects easily to Gmail, Calendar, and any other Google tools your team happens to use.

It’s incredibly easy to use via an internet browser so users don’t even have to download the software. This makes it one of the most accessible virtual meeting tools currently available.

Pros

• Easy to set up and use
• The ability to hold meetings with up to 1,000 participants
• Chat, emoji, and screen share functions available during meetings

Cons

• You need additional tools to fulfil all internal communication needs
• Fewer advanced features compared to Zoom and Microsoft Teams

Pricing

Prices start from $6 per user per month.

Use cases

• Virtual team meetings, webinars, and company-wide announcements
• One-on-one video meetings
• Virtual training and employee onboarding 

20. Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams combines instant messaging, video conferencing, and file-sharing tools. As you’d expect, it offers the best possible integration with other Microsoft Office tech. You can use a selection of tools to create an all-round internal communication solution.

You can use Teams to run video meetings and team chats when your employees are working remotely or across different locations.

Pros

• Strong integration with other Microsoft products
• Secure communication and file sharing

Cons

• Interface isn’t particularly engaging and there are few social-media-style features
• Teams is designed for desktop use so mobile users don’t get the same user experience

Pricing

Prices start from $4 per user per month.

Use cases

• Creating digital channels for internal communication and project management
• Launching video and audio calls and sharing company-wide updates
• Bringing remote and hybrid teams together, even when they’re working in different locations

Read more: Top Teams alternatives

Choosing an internal communication tool for your frontline organization (2026)

The right choice depends on your organization’s structure, workforce, and goals — particularly if you operate with hybrid or frontline teams.

For frontline organizations, the most significant communication challenge is dispersion. To resolve this, every employee should receive critical updates and feel part of the same company culture, even if they rarely visit headquarters.

To build a sense of belonging, choose a mobile-first internal communication platform that’s user-friendly and equally accessible for all.

To identify the best fit, ask yourself these four questions when evaluating internal communication software:

#1. Is your organization office-based, or do you have deskless workers to consider?

Some internal communication tools suit desk-based teams, such as intranets designed for desktop access. However, these are often unsuitable for reaching frontline workers who rely on smartphones.

To prevent information gaps, look for mobile-first internal communication solutions that offer the same functionality across devices. A dedicated mobile app ensures equal access and engagement across every team member — no matter where they work.

#2. Do your employees have regular opportunities to connect during the workday?

Connection drives performance, and employees who feel they belong are much more engaged and productive.

The problem for frontline teams is that they often lack organic “water cooler” moments. Using internal communication tools that enable social-style interaction — such as chat, feeds, and communities — fosters real-time collaboration between field and office teams.

#3. How much time can your employees spend on internal comms each day?

As frontline employees are busy serving customers, maintaining operations, or working off-site, they need a simple and reliable communication platform. 

When evaluating tools, prioritize their ease of use, onboarding speeds, and precise message delivery.

Also check adoption rates and engagement levels as they’re powerful indicators of how smoothly a tool integrates into your daily workflow.

#4. How many internal communication goals do you want to cover?

Some platforms specialize in single functions, such as surveys, document sharing, or project management. Others, like all-in-one employee communication platforms, combine these capabilities.

To streamline your tech stack while enhancing connection and engagement, choose an internal communication tool that supports multiple channels — chat, news, surveys, recognition, and analytics — within one system.

The importance of internal communications in an organization

Every organization — frontline or otherwise — needs an effective internal communication strategy that unites employees behind the company culture and values, improves collaboration, and enhances retention.

Strong internal communication also supports:

• Company connection: When employees feel aligned with organizational goals, engagement and satisfaction rise
• Change management: Transparent communication ensures buy-in during transitions
• Problem-solving: Clear, direct messaging limits misinformation and strengthens trust
• Productivity: Employees perform best when information is easy to find and act upon

Many internal communication tools support these goals — from instant messaging and surveys to intranets and recognition platforms. For frontline teams, the right solution must be mobile-first and easy to access on the go.

The right internal communication software can transform a disconnected team into a cohesive, informed community. 

Blink shows how this works by helping companies like Go North West connect all their employees through a single digital hub.

Blink. And transform company communication with an all-in-one internal communication platform built for every worker.

Missed our last Quarterly Unlock release? Catch up on the details here!

Welcome to the May 2026 edition of the Quarterly Unlock — your inside look at what’s new in Blink and how it helps teams communicate more clearly, connect more easily, and get more done.

This release is built around a simple idea:

As organizations grow, they need more control — over when content goes live, how their teams connect, and how their employee experience looks and feels. Blink should be the platform that makes all of that easier, not harder.

Here’s what’s new.

‍

#1. Hub as the command center

Your Hub is only as useful as the content inside it. This quarter, we’re giving teams more control over how that content is created, scheduled, and surfaced.

Scheduled publishing

Timing is everything in internal comms. With scheduled publishing, teams can now set exactly when Hub content goes live — and when it expires.

• Plan campaigns and seasonal updates in advance
• Publish and archive content automatically
• Remove the need for manual intervention on time-sensitive updates
• Keep your Hub current without extra admin overhead

Whether it’s a benefits enrollment reminder, a policy update, or a seasonal campaign, scheduled publishing means the right content is always live at the right time.

‍

Draft pages

Teams can now prepare Hub content in draft before it’s ready to publish — building in a review step without rushing to get things live. Multi-editor support is coming soon, making it possible for teams to collaborate on pages in real time.

Featured content and Hub content carousel

New features including collapsible sections, featured content, and a Hub content carousel in the Feed give admins more flexibility to organize and showcase content — making it easier for employees to find what matters and harder for important updates to get lost.

‍

#2. Frontline-first communication

Frontline teams can’t always stop what they’re doing to type a message. This quarter, we're making it faster and easier to connect — in the moment, wherever work happens.

Voice and video calling

Blink now fully supports native voice and video calling across mobile and web. Teams can move from message to conversation without switching apps or using shadow IT like Whatsapp to connect. 

• One-to-one and group calls, all within Blink
• No need for third-party tools
• Works on mobile and web
• Protects employee privacy by keeping calls inside the platform

For frontline workers who rely on their phones to stay connected, this is a direct line — without the personal number.

‍

Mobile live streaming

Leaders and frontline managers can now start and run live streams directly from their phone. No studio. No production team. Just a fast, native way to reach distributed teams in the moment.

• Stream from anywhere, on any device
• Bring announcements, updates, and leadership moments closer to where work happens
• Keep frontline teams informed in real time

SAP SuccessFactors notifications

SAP SuccessFactors notifications are now deep-linked, taking employees directly from a notification to the task that needs their attention — no extra navigation required. This brings enterprise investments to the frontline with simple, mobile-first access so they can take action without relying on their manager every time.

#3. A more configurable Blink

Every organization is different. This quarter, we’re giving customers more control over how Blink looks, works, and fits into employees' daily workflows.

Feed and Hub widgets

New and enhanced widgets — including a Feed carousel, Hub carousel, and featured Hub content — give customers more control over the Blink experience. Whether you want to surface key content, spotlight important updates, or create a more polished home screen, the tools are there.

‍

Featured post improvements

Featured posts now support carousel options, improved image handling, livestream and VOD content, and better treatment for text-only posts. The result is a more flexible, more engaging way to put critical content front and center.

Save Feed posts for later

Employees can now save Feed posts to come back to when they have time — no screenshots, no endless scrolling. Saved posts are easy to find, easy to act on, and help reinforce Blink as the single destination for everything work-related.

Custom taglines

Organizations can now add a custom tagline to employee mini profiles — a simple but meaningful way to personalize the experience and reflect how your organization works. More details coming soon.

‍

Account claim process

Getting every employee into Blink just got easier. The new account claim process lets employees verify their identity and claim their Blink account using a few pieces of information — no email address or existing contact details required. It’s designed for hard-to-reach workers who’ve historically been difficult to onboard, and gives organizations a more flexible, more inclusive path to full activation. More details coming soon.

New post settings

Making sure the right message lands in the right way just got simpler. The new Importance picker replaces a confusing mix of Priority, Pin, Feature, and Important toggles with one clear choice when creating a post — so the most-prominent placement in the Feed always matches the most-urgent intent. Admins spend less time second-guessing which setting does what, and employees see a Feed where the prominent posts are genuinely the urgent ones. More details coming soon.

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What this Unlock means for your team

For employees

• More relevant, timely content in the Hub
• A faster, easier way to connect with colleagues
• More control over how they engage with the Feed

For leaders and comms teams

• Scheduled publishing takes the pressure off manual timing
• Live streaming puts leadership communication in everyone's pocket
• Featured content tools that actually do the work

For IT and operations

• Deeper SAP SuccessFactors integration
• A more configurable platform that fits how your organization works
• Native calling that keeps employee data private

If you're a customer, reach out to your customer success manager to discuss participation and enablement options.

If you're exploring Blink, book a demo to see how the May 2026 Unlock brings communication, connection, and action into one place.

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