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Say hello to Jackson Mannix — Boston-based Commercial Account Executive, former SDR trail-blazer, and resident champion of all things frontline.

Since joining Blink in late 2022, Jackson has helped shape our SDR program from the ground up, pushed the Southeast market into high gear, and kept the competitive-but-collaborative spirit of our culture alive and buzzing.

This week, he sat down with us to talk startup chaos (the good kind!), scaling a sales engine, and why empowering frontline workers still gets him out of bed every morning. Let’s dive in!

Which Blink office do you work out of?

I work out of our Boston office.

What is your position at Blink?

I’m a Commercial Account Executive covering the U.S. Southeast. I joined Blink in fall 2022 as an SDR.

How long have you been at Blink?

Just over two and a half years.

What initially attracted you to join Blink?

Back then I wasn’t sure which kind of company I wanted to join. I’d spent about six months bartending and serving at a local Boston bar, figuring out my next step. I knew I wanted to get into software sales — I just didn’t know where or how. More importantly, I wanted to work with people who were invested in my growth and who valued the traits I bring to the table.

While job-hunting, I tapped my network and discovered Blink. At that point, Blink didn’t have a Boston presence, but the passion I saw for Blink was contagious. The idea of helping frontline workers, not just businesses, struck a chord. Yes, we deliver huge value to organizations and improve their bottom line — but we also make life less stressful for hourly employees who are raising families and juggling enough already.

Having lived that hourly-wage reality myself, I immediately saw the impact Blink could have. We’re creating real, global change by improving work for people who often get overlooked. That combination of purpose, growth, and the chance to help build something from the ground up drew me in.

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

The evolution of our SDR program, hands down. I spent more than two years as an SDR, so it was a true career commitment. The first 4-6 months were pure learning, then — right as I hit my stride — Amanda (our Global Sales Development Director) arrived. Working closely with her and the senior SDRs, we overhauled training, processes, and feedback loops.

Seeing that transformation — from the scrappy early days to today’s structured program — has been incredible. We have a new cohort of SDRs coming in now, and they’ll benefit from a playbook built on both our successes — and our mistakes. Every miscue was a lesson that made the program stronger. I’m proud that leadership trusted me to shape the day-to-day work, give candid feedback, and help steer where the team is going.

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

Competitive, collaborative and chaotic.

Blink is competitive in the best way: We all push each other — within and across teams — to set a high bar, but never with the hope that someone else falls short. I want to beat my number, but I still want the person next to me to smash theirs, too.

That healthy drive dovetails with a spirit of collaboration that’s almost startling. From day one, people leap in to share decks, brainstorm talk tracks, or hop on a call when something goes sideways. That help hasn’t slowed for me two-and-a-half years later.

“Chaotic” sounds negative, but it’s a positive here. Priorities shift fast, new projects hit your desk with immediate urgency, and if you thrive in that kind of pressure-makes-diamonds environment — learning from the inevitable missteps and bouncing back stronger — Blink is your playground.

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

Landing big global logos will always be a thrill, but what really excites me now is cracking new verticals where we’ve barely scratched the surface.

Billions of frontline workers still lack a modern comms tool, and some operate in highly specific or newly burgeoning industries. Every so often a niche customer pops up — maybe a specialty manufacturer or seasonal service — who shows us Blink can solve problems we didn’t know existed in that space. One unexpected win like that can inspire product tweaks and reshape how we go to market.

The “green grass” feels endless, and the idea that next quarter’s most interesting deal might come from a sector we’ve never targeted keeps the future wide open.

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

I’m loving the new podcast studio. We upgraded from a basic setup to a full broadcast-quality room, and the content now coming out — clean visuals, tight edits, professional sound — has lifted our thought leadership game. Podcasts may feel crowded, but they work because people already consume information that way. Watching customers plan their own internal podcasts after seeing what we’ve built is proof we’re practicing what we preach. It’s cool to see us invest in a channel, nail the execution, and then hand clients a real-world example they can replicate for their own teams.

Why do you work for Blink?

I believe in our mission and in the people delivering it. Over the past two-and-a-half years, Blink has celebrated my wins loudly and stood by me during the lows.

When a deal closes, teammates are first to cheer; when I hit a rough patch, my teammates and leadership step in without hesitation. Amanda, for instance, showed incredible compassion when I was dealing with serious personal challenges, and the business made sure I felt heard and valued, not just judged by a number.

That genuine, reciprocal support is powerful. It’s why I log in every morning ready to push harder, and why I see a long runway for myself here.

5 practical ways to prove internal comms ROI (and finally unlock budget)

If you work in internal communications, you’ve probably been asked some version of:

“But what’s the actual impact?”

Whoever’s asking the question — an executive, a stakeholder, a budget approver — isn’t looking for engagement. Or reach. Or clicks.

They want to see tangible impact of internal comms on the business. And that question exposes a gap. Because, as digital communication and collaboration expert Sharon O’Dea put it in our recent webinar:

“It’s not that leaders don’t care about communication. It’s that the value isn’t always framed in terms they prioritize.”

That’s the real problem.

Of course internal communications drive impact across the business — but too often, the function is positioned in a way that feels disconnected from the outcomes leaders actually care about.

In the session, Sharon unpacked how to close that gap, with a practical framework for connecting comms to real business problems, measurable outcomes, and ultimately, investment.

Here are five takeaways you can apply immediately.

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1. Start with the business problem, not the comms ask

What’s leadership actually worried about?

Hint: It likely isn’t comms metrics, channels, or formats.

What keeps leaders up at night are the things that can make or break the success of the business over the long term.

Attrition. Productivity. Compliance. Change adoption.

That’s where your case needs to start. If you lead with a solution, you’re asking for budget. But if you lead with a business problem, you’re positioning comms to solve something that already has a cost attached to it.

This is where many business cases fall down early. They jump straight to the tactic — a new platform, a new channel, a new campaign — without anchoring it in a clear, existing problem.

Sharon’s advice was to slow down and do some light-touch discovery first. What’s actually getting in the way today? Where are people struggling to access information, complete tasks, or understand what’s expected of them?

Sometimes the issue isn’t a lack of tools — it’s a mismatch between what exists and how people actually work.

When you start there, your business case becomes much easier to land.

2. Find the friction — that’s where your ROI is hiding

One of the most practical prompts from Sharon points to one of the biggest unlocks:

“Where are poor comms creating measurable drag?”

Because comms teams know that ROI doesn’t live in dashboards. It lives in the day-to-day friction employees deal with.

You see it in:

• Managers repeating or clarifying missed updates
• Onboarding that takes longer than it should
• Change initiatives that stall or never fully land
• Safety issues linked to missed or inaccessible information

This is what good communication actually impacts. And more importantly, this is what the business is already paying for. They’re just not calling it “comms.”

One example Sharon shared brought this to life: An employee who said the only time they read company emails was when they were in the bathroom — because that was the only uninterrupted moment in their day.

That’s not an engagement problem. That’s an access problem.

And when you frame it like that, it becomes much easier to connect communication to productivity, efficiency, and performance.

3. Stop reporting activity, start proving impact

“We improved reach by 20%” isn’t a business case.

It’s a metric. It’s useful. But on its own, it doesn’t mean much.

Instead, Sharon encourages internal comms teams to reframe comms metrics in terms of operational outcomes:

• We reduced onboarding time by three days
• We cut policy clarification tickets by 18%
• We improved shift-fill speed

Now you’re speaking the language of the business — and building credibility for the internal comms function along the way.

This doesn’t mean you need perfect, direct ROI for everything. But it does mean connecting your metrics to something tangible.

• If reach improves: What did that enable?
• If engagement increases: What changed as a result?
• If access gets easier: What friction disappears?

The strongest cases don’t just show what happened. They show why it mattered.

4. Build a case that reflects reality, not assumptions

Comms teams are often more plugged into the business than they realize. Or as Sharon puts it, “You probably know where the bodies are buried.”

You know:

• Where people are blocked
• What leaders actually care about (even if they don’t say it directly)
• Where things break down between HQ and the frontline

But that insight, typically gathered through informal or educational conversations across the business, often remains as a qualitative input.

Building a business case is the perfect opportunity to put this invaluable knowledge to work. Use what you already know, and back it up with real examples. Pair data with lived experience. Combine survey results with actual employee stories.

This is what makes a case land. Not a 40-slide deck, not a long list of features, but a clear picture of what’s happening today — and what it’s costing.

And importantly, this is also how you build alignment across stakeholders.

Internal comms initiatives rarely get approved in isolation. Your case needs to resonate with finance, HR, IT, operations — each with their own priorities. The more grounded your case is in real business challenges, the easier it is to bring those groups with you.

5. Treat comms like infrastructure

“These things are treated as one-off programmes… and then you have to fight for them every time.”

Sound familiar?

A new tool gets funded. A project gets approved. And then two years later, you’re back at square one — rebuilding the case from scratch.

Sharon’s reframe: Good comms should be a staple of business hygiene.

When comms is positioned as a project, it’s easy to cut — but when it’s invested in as infrastructure, it becomes essential.

That shift doesn’t just change how you get budget. It changes how the business sees your role. Internal comms is no longer just a support function, but a part of how work actually gets done.

How to make the move from comms team to business translator

This is the shift.

As Sharon put it, we need to connect what we do to “specific and measurable” impact.

That means:

• Translating engagement into performance
• Translating comms into operational outcomes
• Translating investment into dollars saved

Because the value is already there.

And if you don’t make that shift, the business still pays, just quietly — in lost time, slower onboarding, missed information, and duplicated effort.

That’s the cost of doing nothing.

So the goal isn’t to make comms sound more impressive. It’s to make it visible, measurable, and undeniably fundable.

When you do that, you’re not asking for budget. You’re making a case the business can’t ignore.

It’s time for another Life at Blink feature! This week, we’re shining the spotlight on Maggie MacKay-Dunn, our Senior Customer Success Manager based at the London office. Maggie works closely with clients to ensure they get the most out of Blink’s platform, driving success across the board.

Curious about her journey and what makes Blink a great place to work? Read on to find out more about Maggie’s role and her experience with us!

How long have you been at Blink? 

I’ve been at Blink since July 2020 — 4 years and 3 months to be exact. I started in the Customer Success team — in fact, I was CS employee #1 after Florence Hunter. It was just the two of us for a while before we began expanding the CS team. Initially, we oversaw a combination of Customer Success and Implementation, but as the company grew, we separated the departments and expanded both teams.

What initially attracted you to join Blink?

I’m originally from Vancouver, Canada, and I relocated to London in 2018. After some time, I discovered Blink and thought the product was really great — but honestly, meeting the people at Blink was one of the best parts too.

I love that the platform empowers frontline workers through innovative technology. Having worked in frontline roles in hospitality myself, and with both my parents being frontline workers — my dad was a police officer, and my mom was a nurse for many years — this mission really resonated with me.

Blink’s fast-paced company culture, which values both employees and customers, also influenced my decision to join. When I started, I believe I was employee #25, so the company was still quite small back then.

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

There are so many! Since I work closely with customers, I can really see the impact Blink has on their organizations.

I love collaborating on key initiatives, whether it’s improving employee survey response rates, communicating a new campaign or strategy, helping with management communication, or optimizing processes. My favorite part is definitely working on projects, building strong relationships with customers, and being able to measure their success and demonstrate the value Blink brings.

Another great aspect is meeting people in person, attending launches, and seeing customers’ faces light up when they realize how Blink can make their jobs easier — it’s like a lightbulb moment.

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

Innovative, collaborative and passionate.

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

I look forward to seeing Blink’s continued role in transforming workplace culture through better communication tools and enhancing employee happiness and engagement on a large scale. I’m really passionate about recognizing good work across organizations and highlighting those small stories that might otherwise go unnoticed without an app like Blink. Even if something small happens at one site, you can post it on the feed and have more than ten thousand people see it. It makes employees feel valued and engaged.

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

Yes! The launch of advanced employee intelligence was a major milestone and a gamechanger for our customers. It also made a huge impact within customer success, allowing us to gain insights into how the workforce is using Blink. 

This deeper level of understanding helps teams make better decisions and improvements across all areas of the organization. It allows us to identify specific areas to boost engagement, share tips or trends on how to communicate more effectively with employees, and ultimately understand how employees are interacting with the platform.

This knowledge is key to optimizing the experience and creating a more supportive and productive work environment.

Why do you work for Blink?

I think I strongly align with Blink’s mission, and I’m passionate about helping people. I believe Blink fosters a positive environment and a mission-driven culture, which makes it feel like a meaningful place to work.

‍

Employee experience (EX) is how your organization makes workers feel at every stage of the employee journey. EX impacts employee engagement, employee productivity, and retention — which means that building a consistently positive employee experience makes a big difference to your business.

Positive EX is particularly important for frontline employees. These people are the face of your organization. The frontline experience directly affects product quality and customer satisfaction.

But the frontline employee experience is falling short: 

• A recent Quinyx report found that 1 in 2 frontline workers have thought about quitting their jobs in the past year due to low pay, stress, and irregular working hours. 
• O.C. Tanner research reveals that 2 in 5 frontline employees say they’re viewed as inferior by employees in the office, and more than a third say their work is not valued as highly as office work.  
• Frontline employees are hard to reach. Working in isolation, away from HQ, they often feel disconnected from company culture and comms — and don’t get access to the same tech tools as their desk-based peers. 

The demands of shift work. A sense of inequality. A feeling of disconnection. There are lots of barriers getting in the way of a positive frontline employee experience. To overcome these barriers, you need a targeted approach that keeps frontline needs front of mind. 

The good news is that there are actionable steps you can begin taking today to create a positive employee experience across your frontline — ultimately helping your organization boost employee engagement, productivity, and retention. 

8 steps to building a positive employee experience for your frontline workforce

To create a positive employee experience for frontline workers, consider these eight areas of opportunity:

• Develop an employee experience strategy
• Create a positive company culture
• Give employees development and growth opportunities
• Establish effective communication channels
• Recognize employee achievements
• Improve the physical and digital work environment
• Hone onboarding and offboarding 
• Ask for employee feedback

Let’s take a closer look at each of these actions. 

Step 1: Develop an employee experience strategy

Gallup looked at companies with a strong workplace culture to find out what they had in common. They found that companies with the best culture were committed to developing a positive employee experience across the whole employee life cycle.

In the most successful organizations, employee experience and employee engagement sit at the center of company strategy, informing how they hire, onboard, and develop talent. It also informs how they motivate their teams, set goals, and communicate to their employees.

Achieving this holistic approach is easier when you have a thoughtfully crafted employee experience strategy — one that tackles all five stages of the employee lifecycle:

• Attraction
• Recruitment
• Onboarding
• Development
• Separation

To create a strategy suited to each of these employee journey stages, use employee feedback to help you uncover weaknesses at each stage. You can then set EX goals that align with organizational goals — and develop initiatives that will help you achieve them. 

Step 2: Create a more positive company culture

A positive company culture supports a positive employee experience. So what can you do to improve the culture within your organization?

Define core values and incorporate them into the workplace

When you get clear on your company’s core values, you unite employees behind one definitive version of company culture and establish how people should work together and the goals you’re all working towards.

Once you’ve defined your values, think about how you’ll express them across every stage of your employee journey. Also, weave them into your internal communications regularly to reinforce their importance.

Foster a supportive and inclusive environment

Employees who feel that they belong at an organization are 5.3 times more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work. So to build a positive and productive workplace culture, you need to ensure that everyone feels supported and included.

That might mean taking an in-depth look at your diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and how they are lived across the employee journey. It might mean working to create a culture of psychological safety and open communication, where everyone feels able to share their ideas and concerns.

For frontline teams, it could mean ensuring employees get opportunities to build relationships with co-workers — and that they get access to the same tools and resources as their desk-based peers.

Promote wellbeing and work-life balance

Another characteristic of strong and resilient workplace cultures is an emphasis on wellbeing in work and in life. Companies that show concern for the holistic wellbeing of employees — caring about them as people, not just workers — are more likely to create a more engaging employee experience.

Gym memberships, mental health support, financial planning, and volunteer days can all improve the physical and mental wellbeing of employees. For many employees, work-life balance is another key factor — and there are various strategies you can use to bring flexibility to frontline work. 

You can share frontline worker shifts at least two weeks in advance, giving them more time to plan their out-of-work lives. You can give them access to shift-swapping tools so they can exchange shifts with co-workers without manager involvement.

Or follow the example of the Principality Building Society, which made the decision to shut their branches half an hour before the end of retail employee shifts. This allows employees to finish tasks and leave on time, without having to serve customers for those last minutes of the day.  

Step 3: Give employees development and growth opportunities

Frontline workers are often overlooked when it comes to training and career progression. McKinsey research shows that 65% of frontline workers are unaware or unsure of how to achieve advancement. Only 32% say that they receive education or training in the workplace.

But training and development can have a big impact on the employee experience. McKinsey also revealed that frontline employees rank job growth or promotion above pay and benefits. In fact, it’s their top priority in the workplace.  

Make it easy for frontline employees to access development resources by choosing training programs that can be accessed via mobile devices. Micro-learning features are also a good idea, allowing employees to complete short lessons, fitting learning around their busy schedules.

Communication is key, too. The connection between a frontline role and opportunities elsewhere in the organization isn’t always clear. Managers need to make employees aware — very early in the employee journey — of the career progression options available to them.

Step 4: Establish effective communication channels

Good internal communication is the foundation of employee engagement and any successful employee experience strategy. But frontline employees are more likely to miss out on vital and culture-building communications if they’re put on a noticeboard or sent via email.

Frontline workers need communication channels that they can access on the go, on their smartphones. They need streamlined channels, so they know exactly where to find the information they’re looking for. To ensure engagement, they should also only receive content that is relevant to them.

Communication channels should allow frontline workers to connect with co-workers, too. The 32,000 frontline care workers at Elara Caring, working alone in clients’ homes, often felt isolated and lonely. This harmed employee satisfaction.

Now, with the help of Blink, the team can communicate easily over a dedicated company app. This means more knowledge sharing, stronger co-worker relationships, and a more positive employee experience.

Step 5: Recognize employee achievements

Employees experience more job satisfaction when they receive recognition from managers and peers. The act of giving recognition is also good for staff morale.

You can recognize an employee on their birthday or a work anniversary. You can highlight project success or how an employee has demonstrated company values.

But giving rewards and recognition to frontline workers requires more intention: Because frontline employees don’t work in the office, there’s less opportunity for informal thanks.

This is where digital recognition tools can help. By sharing praise and rewards on your digital communication channels, you make recognition a more visible part of company culture — even for your frontline. So you get to boost employee productivity, motivation, and satisfaction across the board.

Step 6: Improve the physical and digital work environment

Design a safe and comfortable workplace

The physical work environment has a big impact on employee wellbeing and productivity. You need to ensure the workplace is safe and comfortable and doesn’t put undue physical strain on your workers.

To improve frontline workplace safety and comfort, you should:

• Provide the necessary personal protective equipment
• Conduct regular mandatory training so everyone knows safety protocols
• Provide channels where employees can communicate safety concerns quickly 
• Run regular safety audits

A well-designed work environment prevents accidents and injuries, reduces stress, and improves job satisfaction. 

Use tools to streamline processes and improve efficiency

Only 10% of frontline workers say they have high access to the tools, tech, and opportunities they need to connect and advance in their workplace. But the digital employee experience is crucial to your overall EX.

Give employees too many tools — or tools that add friction to their workday — and you risk creating frustration and disengagement. Avoid using any tech tools and you’re left with inefficient paper processes. Either way, you end up harming employee satisfaction.  

When choosing tools for a frontline workforce, look for:

• Mobile-first tools, that don’t require a company email address and are available on employee smartphones
• A tool that brings all company software into one hub, so employees don’t have to remember lots of logins and passwords

The best employee apps are built with the frontline in mind. They’re intuitive to use and offer a host of useful features. They allow workers to chat with co-workers, get company updates, select their benefits, view pay slips, complete the onboarding process, and sign up for shifts — all via their mobile device.

Step 7: Hone onboarding and offboarding

To build a better employee experience for your frontline, you need to consider every stage of the employee journey:

Craft an effective onboarding process for new employees

Onboarding is a process that should start before an employee’s first day at your organization and last for at least three months. It should incorporate regular recognition and two-way feedback, along with goal setting, team building, and skills development.

For frontline employees, it makes sense to make onboarding resources available via smartphone. That way, they can read FAQs, complete mandatory training, and learn about company policies at a time and place that suits them.

Conduct exit interviews

Exit interviews are another integral part of any employee experience strategy.

First, because when you treat employees fairly and positively even as they leave your organization, you show other employees that you value the person, not just the worker.

Second, because exit interviews can reveal areas for employee experience improvement. Whether it’s progression opportunities, pay and benefits, company culture, or internal communication, finding out what prompted an employee to leave can give you lots of food for thought.

Step 8: Ask for employee feedback        

Offboarding feedback is important. But don’t wait until employees are leaving your organization to ask what they think of their employee experience. Schedule regular employee surveys to get feedback and learn t how they think and feel about your organization.

Use employee surveys

You can use quarterly employee experience surveys to assess employee sentiment. By asking the same employee survey questions every quarter, you can benchmark your performance and see which of your employee experience initiatives are making the most difference. You can then update goals in your employee experience strategy.

You can also use pulse surveys to get a snapshot of your employee experience at any given moment. This helps to ensure any employee experience issues are identified and dealt with promptly.

For either type of survey, be sure to ask demographic questions. These allow you to segment survey responses by employee journey stage, department, or team — revealing more detailed insights without compromising employee anonymity.

Follow survey best practices

To get the most from your employee surveys, follow survey best practices by:

• Allowing employees to respond to surveys anonymously. That way, you get honest and valuable answers.
• Sending employee surveys in a format that’s accessible to everyone. Mobile-first survey software ensures every member of staff — whether they’re working in the office, at home, or on the frontline of your organization — gets to give their opinion.
• Developing a survey communication strategy. Keep employees in the loop, thanking them for their feedback and clearly communicating how you plan to act upon it. This ensures ongoing engagement with the feedback process.

The role of technology in the frontline employee experience

The digital employee experience is a big part of the employee experience. But it’s particularly important for frontline workers who don’t spend their days at a desk.

With the right technology, you connect everyone — including hard-to-reach frontline employees — to internal communication, co-workers, and vital workplace resources. This helps improve EX, boosting employee productivity and retention in the process.

Many workplace tech tools are designed for office staff. They work beautifully for your team at HQ. But don’t provide the same features and level of functionality for your frontline workers.

To prevent tech from widening the gap between the frontline and desk-based worker experience, you need tech tools and employee experience software with the following features:

• An easy-to-use, intuitive interface with a minimal learning curve
• A mobile-first design, so all features are accessible via an employee’s smartphone
• Single sign-on security, so employees can log into all workplace software with one set of login details
• No email required — some frontline workers don’t have a company email address so it’s important that workplace tech works without them

Blink’s employee app ticks all these boxes and more.

It provides a news feed, group chat, and 1:1 messaging for easy communication. It gives managers EX-boosting tools, like recognition and employee surveys. Blink also integrates with other workplace tech, creating a one-stop shop for your frontline team.  

But don’t take our word for it. Here’s what Lorna Murphy, Operations and HR Manager at transit company Abellio had to say about the Blink experience:

“Using Blink, Abellio bus drivers can access a system of simple pathways that makes it easy for them to report issues, start a conversation with management or colleagues, or go about their day-to-day tasks such as checking shifts and accessing payslips, reconnecting them back to the organization they work for via one simple, easy-to-use app.”

Use Blink to create a positive employee experience across your frontline. Schedule your personalized demo today.

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

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

Actimo vs. Blink – quick facts

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let's dive into it.

Actimo vs. Blink How they're similar

Mobile-first content

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

Customizability

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

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

Multi-lingual offering

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

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

Actimo vs. Blink: How they're different

Integrations

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

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

Employee engagement

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

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

e-Learning

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

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

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

Peer-to-peer communication

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

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

UX/UI

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

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

Frontline focus

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

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

Targetting content

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

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

Actimo vs. Blink: systems and pricing

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

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

The core product is priced in four according to scale:

• Essential
• Business
• Enterprise
• Enterprise Plus

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

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

Actimo vs Blink: final thoughts

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

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

Missed our Winter 2025 release? Catch up on the details here!

At Blink, we’re continuously evolving our employee experience platform to meet the dynamic needs of organizations and their diverse teams. Our Spring 2025 product release showcases the newest features that will soon be coming to the Blink platform.

Staying true to our commitment to exceptional employee experiences — whether in the field or at the desk — we’re thrilled to introduce our latest innovations. These new features are designed to reshape how employees connect with their organizations and with each other.

From reimagining our Hub experience and to powering event management, these updates are built to create a more curated and connected digital workplace.

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#1. A new digital era of event management

We’re excited to introduce a smarter way to plan, promote, and manage company events — so you can keep employees informed and excited, whether they’re in the office or on the go.

With a dedicated events homepage, format-inclusive setup (in-person, virtual, and hybrid), and calendar integration, hosting employee events for your organization has never been easier.

What’s new:

• Effortless setup: Create an event in just three steps using the web-based event wizard.
• Target the right audience: Choose which users and groups can discover and engage with your event.
• Planned promotions: Schedule event reminders and promotions using the post planner.
• Smart RSVPs: See who’s attending, undecided, or declining — and send reminders with a shareable link.
• Easy editing: Hosts can update details and manage attendees with flexible permissions.
• Alias support: Choose to host events under an alias for a consistent brand experience.

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#2. Smarter folder sharing in the Hub

We’re upgrading folder permissions in the Hub to give you more flexibility — without the workaround. It’s a small but mighty update that will make managing shared content simpler and smarter.

What’s new:

• Custom permissions for child folders: Set unique access rules without duplicating parent folders.
• Cleaner structure: Organize content your way, with better control over who sees what.

#3. A new page change log to track updates

We’re adding a change log to pages in the Hub, making it easier than ever to track edits, stay aligned, and maintain trust in your shared content.

Whether you’re managing shift protocols or company-wide announcements, the new page change log will help you keep your information up to date — and your teams on the same page.

What’s new:

• Full edit history: See who made what change and when, with clear timestamps and author details.
• Built-in transparency: Empower teams to confidently collaborate, knowing there’s a reliable audit trail.
• Content you can trust: Perfect for policy updates, team documentation, and any page that will be regularly changed or updated.

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#4. A richer page editing experience

We’re upgrading the editing experience in our app to help you create more beautiful, engaging pages — perfect for everything from team wikis to onboarding docs. And we’re excited to roll out even more formatting options and editing tools soon.

Whether you’re building a company knowledge base or crafting the perfect announcement, pages will now be easier to customize (and better-looking) than ever.

What’s new:

• Content organization: Add and format tables effortlessly
• Visual components: Embed images and videos directly into your pages
• Ultimate ease of use: Enjoy a smoother, more intuitive drag-and-drop experience

#5. A more curated Communities experience

We’re expanding the power of Communities with new controls that help you shape more intentional spaces — so the right people see (and join) the right Communities, every time.

From social groups to ERGs, these updates will give you the flexibility to support meaningful, relevant communities across your organization — while keeping the experience simple, engaging, and fun.

What’s new:

• Flexible visibility: Control who can discover or access each Community without making it strictly private.

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#6. A refreshed mobile navigation to find what you need faster

We’re streamlining mobile navigation to help users get where they’re going — quicker and with less tapping. This simple change will make a big difference in how employees move through Blink on the go.

What’s new:

• Cleaner layout: Now featuring four primary buttons — Feed, Chats, Groups, and Hub — plus a “More” menu for everything else. (For example, the new event management feature will live under the “More” menu!)
• Smarter structure: Groups are front and center, giving employees faster access to the people and spaces they care about most.

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