Why workforce communication is more important than ever for bus and coach teams
Across Australia and New Zealand, bus and coach operators are under more pressure than they’ve been in years. Blink is built to help you reach your entire frontline workforce in real time. Tag: internal communication
Tom King
Published:
April 16, 2026
Last updated:
April 16, 2026
Why workforce communication is more important than ever for bus and coach teams
Across Australia and New Zealand, bus and coach operators are under more pressure than they’ve been in years.
As operators work to deliver safe, reliable services every day, the industry is navigating workforce shortages, rising operational costs, accelerating technology change, and increasing pressure to do more with less. Traffic congestion, network disruptions, and unplanned service changes add to that load, and there’s very little margin for error.
For many bus and coach operators, the question is no longer whether new technology is required. It’s whether legacy ways of communicating (paper noticeboards, depot briefings, email, and word of mouth) are now making things harder, not easier.
Blink is the platform bus and coach operators use to reach their entire frontline workforce in real time. Trusted today by nearly 30,000 drivers and depot-based employees across ANZ, it replaces paper noticeboards and fragmented messaging with a single hub for communication, safety, and operational updates.
As a platform used by operators around the world, Blink brings ANZ operators proven approaches from some of the most complex transit environments globally, and feeds what works locally back into how the platform develops.
The operational reality facing bus and coach operators
The challenges are well understood. What gets talked about less is what they actually cost to manage day to day.
The cost of driver churn
When a driver leaves, the loss is not just a vacancy. It’s the sunk cost of route familiarisation, safety accreditation, and network geography training, and an increased risk of cancelled services, reduced reliability, and financial penalties when contractual KPIs are not met.
The zero-emission transition
As fleet technology continues to evolve, the knowledge gap grows. Engineering and operational teams need practical, real-time access to new maintenance protocols and safety procedures. How well operators bring their frontline through that transition will determine whether the rollout goes smoothly or creates new risk.
The “shadow IT” risk
Without a dedicated communication platform, many operators still rely on paper noticeboards, depot briefings, or informal messaging apps that lead to unmonitored conversations, unverifiable safety updates, and corporate data sitting outside company control.
Communication sits at the heart of each of these challenges. The question is whether operators have the right communication tools to effectively address each one.
Closing the frontline communication gap
Many operators already have systems for payroll, rostering, and compliance. What’s often missing is a reliable way to reach the frontline in real time, with confidence that critical messages have actually landed.
In an environment where services change by the minute, from route diversions and special events to breakdowns and severe weather, that gap carries real risk. Right now, most operators have no reliable way to know whether a message was seen, understood, or acted on.
Blink closes that gap. Operators are using it today to streamline communications across operations, safety, and corporate updates, replacing paper noticeboards and depot-only briefings with a platform that validates messages have been received and actions completed. Native live streaming takes this further, giving operators a way to bring multiple depots together in real time for safety briefings, operational updates and company-wide announcements.
It’s also accelerating staff onboarding, keeping the whole workforce aligned on network and fleet changes, and consolidating near-miss and safety reporting in one place.
For operators running complex depots and rosters, Blink also integrates directly with rostering and workforce platforms like Trapeze, Workday, and ServiceNow, ensuring updates reach the right people automatically.
Up and running in weeks
Blink doesn’t require a large-scale rollout to deliver value.
Large multi-state operators use Blink alongside established HR, operations and payroll platforms. But many small and mid-sized bus and coach businesses adopt it precisely because it delivers immediate value without needing centralised enterprise systems already in place.
Out of the box, operators can:
Digitise paper-based processes such as pre-departure checks, incident reports and leave requests
Issue polls and surveys to capture workforce sentiment, training compliance and safety confirmations
Deliver targeted communications through feed posts and short video updates, covering everything from onboarding journeys and road closures to service disruptions and company-wide announcements
Deploy simple self-service tools (custom micro-apps) for things like roster visibility, digital payslips, HR and payroll queries, uniform orders and shift swaps, particularly where access to existing systems is limited
Recognise and reward frontline employees in the moment, whether that’s acknowledging safe driving, years of service, or going above and beyond, keeping morale high and making people feel seen, no matter where they’re located
Nobody has time for a drawn-out rollout. Blink is designed so operators can be up and running in weeks, not months.
Ready to test this in your depot?
Every depot has its own rhythms, constraints and safety requirements. The most practical way to evaluate frontline communication is to test it locally, under real operating conditions.
To help Bus Industry Confederation members assess this in practice, Blink is offering a no-obligation trial for a single depot or region, so you can validate whether clearer updates, better reach and confirmed acknowledgements translate into smoother day-to-day running before committing to a wider rollout.
Get started:Start for free and get your first operational group live
Onboarding support:Book a short call with our ANZ team to align setup with your business priorities
Member benefit: BIC members can access an exclusive introductory discount
Vehicles and infrastructure will keep evolving. But the operators who pull ahead will be the ones who’ve worked out how to keep their people informed and ready.
That starts with how you communicate.
Start your free trial today
See how Blink helps frontline teams stay connected, informed, and engaged.
Jessica is a customer assistant in a retail store. She started the job six months ago, enjoys supporting customers, and has been consistently meeting her monthly targets.
But Jessica doesn’t get acknowledgment from her manager or other staff members. Not just that. The store recently hired another person in the exact same role as Jessica and — according to the grapevine — at a higher salary than her.
Jessica’s co-worker, Marco, has been working at the store for a couple of years. He knows the job like the back of his hand and is feeling bored and underutilized. But, as far as he knows, the organization doesn’t have progression or training pathways suited to him. So he’s started looking for a job elsewhere.
Jessica and Marco came into the organization with high levels of morale — and they’ve been putting in the work. But they aren’t getting what they need from their employer. So their morale dips. Customer service and productivity suffer. Employee turnover ticks upward.
This makes it harder for the organization to achieve its goals. And it’s why every company should be working to build and sustain employee morale.
Here, we look at how to boost employee morale and motivation in 2025.
What is employee morale and why is it important?
Employee morale is how employees feel about their jobs and work environment. It’s linked to employee engagement, job satisfaction, and staff retention.
What does low team morale look like?
In a workplace with low morale, employees do the bare minimum to ensure their paycheck while keeping one eye firmly on the job boards.
And unfortunately for employers, low morale is contagious. If one demoralized employee fails to pull their weight — or badmouths leadership — they hurt the morale of co-workers, making it increasingly difficult for an employer to reset the tone.
What does high team morale look like?
In contrast, in a workplace with high morale, employees are loyal, happy, and engaged in their work. They’re productive and more likely to go above and beyond their prescribed duties. These workers also tend to pitch in during times of crisis.
Employees with high morale are happy with the employee experience at their organization — and they help to set the mood. They create a wave of positivity that inspires improved morale and performance among their peers.
What’s the situation in 2025?
When we look at the current state of employee morale, the news isn’t great.
According to recent Glassdoor research, almost 2 in 3 employees feel stuck in their current roles. They might not be heading for the door just yet, but these “quiet quitters” are feeling dissatisfied and unmotivated — and they’re having a negative impact on the morale of co-workers.
It seems there’s never been a better time to boost staff morale in the workplace. Let’s find out some strategies you can use at your organization.
How to boost employee morale in 2025
Whether morale has been slowly declining or has taken a hit due to workplace changes, here are some employee morale boosters to use in your organization.
Master change management
In today’s workplace, change can feel like the only constant. But that doesn’t mean employees are used to it. If change isn’t managed and communicated sensitively, it can damage workplace culture and employee morale.
For example, imagine you’ve just announced a hiring freeze. Existing workers may assume that a downsizing initiative is on the way and start worrying that their jobs are at risk. Workforce morale suffers.
You can avoid this dip in morale by clearly communicating with employees. It could be that the hiring freeze is helping to ensure the safety of existing roles. Or that budgets are being diverted to training and development.
When implementing change, consider what employees need to know, demonstrate empathy, and follow change communication best practices to give employees the information and assurances they need.
Challenge your team
When a job is too easy, employees become bored. But a job that is too difficult causes problems, too. Employees can become discouraged.
To build staff morale, you need to strike a balance. Give employees the tools, training, and support they need to fulfill their roles. And challenge them with new tasks that push at their limits, so they develop new skills and grow their confidence.
Recognize hard work
Imagine you put a ton of effort into a project. Or you go out of your way to give a co-worker the support they need. Or you ace a presentation you’d been feeling really nervous about.
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You probably (deservedly) feel really proud of yourself. But what if your actions don’t prompt any praise from leaders, managers, or peers? You may end up feeling deflated and demoralized.
Employees who don’t feel recognized for their hard work, are two times more likely to say they’ll quit within the next year. But those who receive regular, authentic, and meaningful recognition are more likely to bring their A-game.
Progression is a key driver of employee engagement. You can raise engagement and morale by helping employees to progress in their roles and careers.
When employees get the training they need — through thorough onboarding, ongoing professional development, mentoring, and coaching — they feel more confident and less stressed. They feel valued by the organization and their performance improves.
Lay out career progression opportunities at your organization and there’s even more incentive for employees to do their best. When they can see a future with your company, they become more committed and less likely to look for a job elsewhere.
Create a sense of community
A positive and connected workplace culture is an effective employee morale booster. 83% of employees want their workplace to provide a sense of community, with more than a third willing to trade a bigger pay packet for stronger friendships and social enrichment at work.
When thinking about workplace connection, it’s worth spending a little extra time thinking about remote and frontline employees. These workers can be hard-to-reach and often end up feeling isolated from company culture.
So how do you create a sense of community for workers who don’t spend a lot of time together IRL? An employee app is an increasingly popular solution.
An app acts as a digital water cooler. With an engaging news feed and instant messaging tools, it gives employees access to conversation and company culture via their smartphones. You can also encourage workers to find their tribe, connecting with like-minded colleagues via digital Communities.
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Give health and wellbeing a boost
Show concern for employee health and wellbeing and you’re more likely to achieve high levels of morale. Workers see that you care about them as people — not just as employees — which makes them feel valued.
Here are a few ideas for how to support employee health and wellbeing:
Create a volunteering program, so it’s easy for employees to give back to the local community
Encourage employees to take a full lunch break and use their full PTO allowance
Offer flexible work options and shift swap tools to support employee work-life balance
Keep fit with exercise challenges and fitness subscriptions
Talk openly about mental health and ensure employees know who to turn to if they need to talk
Initiatives like these help prevent stress and burnout while improving employee motivation and productivity.
Communicate, communicate, communicate
Having and communicating an inspiring vision is crucial for employee morale. In many organizations, workers don’t know the “why” behind business objectives. Nor are they aware of how their own work ties in with those goals.
To keep employees motivated and on the same page, open communication is essential. And with the right internal communication tools, you can share consistent and engaging messages with all employees.
You can keep employees up to date with company updates via a multi-media news feed. You can store essential documents relating to policies and mission in an easy-access content hub. Across all internal communication channels you can amplify company culture and the values that guide it.
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Improve internal communication and you make everyone aware of company goals and the latest company news. Everyone understands what is expected of them — and they pull in the same direction — increasing employee morale in the process.
Give employees a voice
When employees feel heard, they feel valued and are more likely to do their best work. Gathering employee feedback helps in other ways too.
You can use employee surveys, listening tours, and one-to-one chats to find out what helps and harms the morale of your workforce. Let employees have their say and you’ll find meaningful ways to improve the employee experience.
As part of a well-executed employee voice strategy, you then close the feedback loop. You share your findings and your plan of action with employees. This builds trust in the feedback process and means your workforce is more likely to engage with future surveys and listening events.
Measure employee morale
You can supplement the qualitative data you gain from employee listening with quantitative data gained from analytics tools. Employee morale metrics include:
Absenteeism rates
Employee turnover rates
Productivity
Employee net promoter score (eNPS)
Benchmark and track these KPIs over time and you’ll build a better picture of employee morale. Keep your finger on the pulse and you’ll also be able to spot and address issues in real-time before demoralized employees impact their teammates.
The secret to sustained staff morale?
Building and sustaining employee morale is essential — to attracting and retaining top talent, and to getting the most out of your teams.
When employees feel valued, informed, and connected to the wider company, they’re more likely to feel motivated and engaged.
And when you understand the needs of employees and the state of morale in your organization, you’re better able to make meaningful changes to the employee experience.
With remote or frontline employees in the mix, you may need the help of morale-boosting tech tools. The right software allows you to reach all employees — giving them a voice, connecting them to co-workers and company culture, and recognizing the work they do.
Blink. And watch morale soar with the help of smarter workplace tech.
Boston, MA — May 18th, 2026 — Blink, the leading employee experience platform for frontline workforces, today announced it has raised $17 million in funding from Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI), the growth equity fund affiliated with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). Blink also announced a new global partnership with Shake Shack following a successful integration of its workforce management solutions.
As restaurants – and frontline-driven industries more broadly – continue to navigate high employee turnover, margin pressure, and an increasingly complex operating environment, Blink is helping organizations address some of their most persistent workforce challenges. By improving employee communication and engagement, Blink enables teams to stay connected, informed, and aligned – driving higher staff satisfaction, reducing turnover, and increasing overall productivity. Blink’s frontline workforce solutions empower employees to access critical company information, tools and communicate seamlessly across teams, from corporate to frontline staff, all in one unified platform. In 2025, adoption of Blink’s self-service employee tools, which enable team members to swap shifts, access pay stubs, and have more agency over their work, grew 300% year over year, and employees opened the Blink app seven times a day on average to stay informed, efficient, and connected.
“We are excited to partner with Danny and the EHI team and believe that their commitment to delivering Enlightened Hospitality is more relevant now than ever,” said Sean Nolan, Founder & CEO of Blink. “We also are thrilled to launch with Shake Shack, an industry leader who shares our commitment to a strong corporate culture that begins on the restaurant floor. As we embark on this next chapter of growth, we look forward to partnering with forward thinking brands who are empowering their people to win in this competitive market”
Blink will use the funds to invest in its product and engineering teams and drive continued innovation across its AI-first platform, while also accelerating its go-to-market strategy to reach more customers across the hospitality industry and beyond.
“I have always believed that Enlightened Hospitality – the ethos that when you take care of your people, your people take care of your customers – is how to create sustaining success in any business" said Danny Meyer, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Enlightened Hospitality Investments and Founder of Union Square Hospitality Group. "Blink’s technology puts people first by making sure team members are equipped and supported so they can, in turn, deliver their very best. Blink’s smart technology will help shape the future of restaurants."
Blink IQ, the company’s AI workforce insights platform, gives management real-time insight into trends such as workforce feedback, productivity, sentiment, and turnover to help companies identify issues early, take action fast, and improve both engagement and operational performance.
“At Shake Shack, everything starts with our people. The energy in our Shacks and the Enlightened Hospitality our teams bring to life each day are what make us special,” said Luke DeRouen, Chief Communications Officer at Shake Shack. “As we continue to grow, we are focused on giving our teams simple tools that keep them informed, connected, and engaged. Blink will help us do exactly that, enabling a more connected and consistent experience across our Support Center and Shack teams.”
Blink works with some of the world’s most recognized hospitality brands across the restaurant and hotel industry and continues to expand across verticals, including retail, transportation, healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics. In 2025 alone, the company added over 700,000 users in the hospitality sector.
By centering the platform on the employee experience, Blink helps restaurants streamline operations, strengthen culture, boost retention, and elevate every guest experience. To learn more about Blink, visit www.joinblink.com.
To learn more about this partnership, read the announcement on Business Wire and Kristen Hawley’s exclusive coverage in Expedite here.
About Blink
Blink is the mobile-first employee experience platform that connects your people, systems, and culture in one super-app. It bridges the digital divide between deskless and desk-based workers, supercharging employee communication and engagement at industry-leading companies like Shake Shack, McDonald’s, Domino’s, Booking.com, Dollar Tree, Nokia, easyJet, JD Sports, Carrefour, and Stagecoach. Blink is the top-rated Employee Communications Application on Gartner Peer Insights and a Leader in the G2 Grid for Best Employee Engagement Software. Learn more at joinblink.com.
About Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI)
Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI) is a value-added strategic growth equity firm affiliated with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). The firm was formed to leverage the brands, businesses and team at USHG to identify and invest in scalable businesses with proven category leadership and a commitment to building an employee, customer and community-focused culture. EHI partners with portfolio companies to provide strategic direction, operational experience, increased visibility and access to relationships to drive growth with our portfolio partners. EHI manages over $550M of committed capital and primarily focuses on hospitality and related technology businesses, but will also invest in other hospitality-related companies that share an employee, customer and community-focused culture.
Exploring alternatives to Beekeeper? You’re not alone.
Since Beekeeper was acquired by LumApps last year, there’s been uncertainty over the future of the platform.
The stated intention? To blend the features of Beekeeper and LumApps tools. But what this means for users during the transformation process (and beyond) is still to be seen.
That’s why some organizations are viewing this as the perfect opportunity to move away from Beekeeper and find a new employee communication app. A more intuitive and scalable platform — a solution with more customization options, better search functionality, and an improved backend experience for admins.
We’re here to help — with a shortlist of 11 Beekeeper alternatives for 2026.
From modern intranets to all-in-one employee experience (EX) platforms, these software tools can help you improve internal comms, unify dispersed teams, and upgrade digital employee experience.
Features include real-time messaging, content management, social news feeds, and analytics. You can also expect robust integrations that ensure a streamlined and productivity-boosting experience for employees.
Ready to find your Beekeeper alternative? Take a look at the best employee communication platforms for 2026, along with their pros and cons.
Best for: Companies with frontline and desk-based workers looking for unified communication, engagement, and operations.
Blink is the leading alternative to Beekeeper. It’s an employee experience platform that combines communication, engagement, and productivity tools in one easy-to-use app.
These tools are available via one unified dashboard, which — crucially — contains exactly the same features and functionality across both desktop and mobile devices.
As a joined-up solution, Blink drives engagement and transparency while reducing noise and tool overwhelm. Its intuitive UX, rapid deployment, deep integrations, and enterprise-grade security make it ideal for large-scale organizations across industries.
And you don’t need to take our word for it. Blink customers — including McDonald’s, JD Group, Children’s of Alabama, and Go North West — report high app adoption rates and measurable improvements in employee engagement, retention, and operational efficiency.
Pros:
All-in-one platform for two-way communication, resources, and operations
A social-style news feed, co-worker communities, surveys, and recognition tools
Intuitive mobile-first design with high employee adoption
Integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365, Workday, ADP, and more
Includes analytics, AI automation, and broadcast tools
Trusted by global brands including McDonald’s, JD Group, and Domino’s
Cons:
Enterprise plan required for advanced customizations
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#2. Staffbase
Best for: Large or global enterprises with formal comms teams
Staffbase is a popular internal communication platform that caters primarily to enterprise businesses — those with complex communication needs across multiple regions. It provides branded employee apps, newsletters, and intranet tools and places a strong emphasis on content distribution and corporate messaging.
While its visual editor and content scheduling features are a plus, some users find the platform content-heavy. Its pricing model is geared towards larger organizations, and the platform may take a while to configure and fully roll out.
Pros: Strong branded experiences
Cons: More focused on top-down messaging than interactivity
#3. Workvivo
Best for: Large, multilingual organizations
Workvivo blends communication features with a social media-style interface. It allows employees to post updates, engage with leadership, and access key resources in one space. Workvivo excels at driving culture and engagement, especially in hybrid or dispersed workplaces.
The platform is backed by Zoom and integrates with major HR and collaboration tools. But there are a few downsides to bear in mind. Workvivo can be hard to customize when it comes to operational use cases like task management or process automation.
Pros: Highly engaging UI, good for culture-building
Cons: Limited operational features compared to all-in-one platforms
#4. Simpplr
Best for: Companies looking for a modern intranet and a centralized knowledge hub
Simpplr positions itself as a modern intranet with a focus on employee communications and engagement. It provides a clean UI, AI-powered content recommendations, and analytics to help internal comms teams measure impact.
It’s especially effective in large enterprises with a high proportion of knowledge workers. Smaller organizations may find that some features are unnecessary and that prices are higher than budgets allow.
Pros: Streamlined UI and good customer support
Cons: Limited customization options
#5. Firstup
Best for: Global enterprises looking for advanced audience targeting and automated message delivery
Firstup is a digital employee experience platform designed to deliver personalized content at scale. It focuses on intelligent content delivery, helping large enterprises reach the right people with the right message at the right time.
With AI-powered targeting, automated employee journeys, and email tools, Firstup works well for complex internal comms strategies. However, the platform is heavily focused on broadcast and campaign-style messaging, with limited collaboration features.
Best for: Large and complex organizations looking for an AI-native intranet
Unily is a platform that combines intranet functionality with employee experience tools. It supports rich content creation, content translation, and broadcast email across a user-friendly interface.
Unily is often praised for its design flexibility and advanced features, but it takes time and developer expertise to set up. This Beekeeper alternative is best suited to companies with dedicated IT and comms teams.
Pros: Powerful and customizable
Cons: A steep learning curve; a time-consuming setup process
#7. Microsoft Viva
Best for: Microsoft-centric organizations looking to improve employee experience
Microsoft Viva is a suite of employee experience tools within Microsoft 365. It includes modules for insights, learning, and communications, and it’s a strong choice for knowledge-worker companies already using the Microsoft ecosystem.
As you’d expect, Microsoft Viva integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products, including Outlook and SharePoint. But it can be overly complex — and overly corporate for those wanting to develop a dynamic company culture.
Pros: Deep integration with Microsoft 365
Cons: Can feel fragmented; requires additional configuration
#8. Haiilo
Best for: Culture building, employee advocacy, and brand amplification
Haiilo is another Beekeeper alternative that provides employee communication and intranet capabilities. It features multiple communication channels, plus tools to amplify employer branding and build a more connected culture.
Despite the platform’s strengths, some users state that it’s overly complex, particularly for smaller businesses and less tech-savvy teams.
Pros: Great for advocacy and culture building
Cons: A complex tool with a steep learning curve; expensive for smaller companies
#9. Happeo
Best for: Google-centric organizations
Happeo is a Google-based, AI-powered intranet that acts as a centralized hub for all internal comms. It puts company news, documents, and collaboration tools in one easy-access location.
Key features include pages, channels, a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, and an intuitive user interface. But this platform lacks several useful communication tools — like direct messages, audio and video messages, and @mentions.
Pros: Easy and intuitive interface; easy integration with Google Workspace
Cons: Limited integrations beyond the Google suite; limited search functionality
#10. MangoApps
Best for: Mid-sized businesses seeking to connect dispersed teams
MangoApps provides a unified platform for communication, collaboration, and HR workflows. Key features include instant messaging, file sharing, task tracking, and employee recognition.
Users praise the platform’s ease of use but complain that the user interface — particularly on the platform’s mobile app — feels outdated compared to more modern tech tools.
Pros: Comprehensive comms features in one place
Cons: Less intuitive UI compared to newer competitors; integrations are limited
#11. Speakap
Best for: Frontline-only teams
Speakap is a communication app built for non-desk workers. It focuses on reaching employees who don’t have a corporate email or regular access to company systems. The app supports secure messaging, announcements, and integrations with payroll or scheduling tools.
Speakap is a good fit for retail or hospitality environments but offers fewer features for knowledge-based collaboration or enterprise-scale analytics.
Pros: Tailored for frontline teams
Cons: Limited scalability for enterprise-level requirements; limited team messaging functionality
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Which Beekeeper alternative is right for your organization?
The right Beekeeper alternative will depend on your organization's size, structure, and goals. But if you're looking for a platform that goes beyond messaging to deliver a truly unified employee experience, Blink stands out as a top choice.
Blink meets the needs of both frontline and desk-based teams, by bringing communication, collaboration, and productivity tools into a centralized, mobile-first hub.
With social-media-style comms tools, a consumer-grade smartphone app, and proven impact on employee engagement, it has everything you need to improve internal comms and employee experience.
Other tools on this list each offer value in specific areas — from top-down communication to culture-building to knowledge management — but Blink leads the way as a complete, scalable solution for internal comms and employee experience in 2026.
Why teams choose Blink over Beekeeper
Beekeeper's 2025 acquisition by LumApps has left many customers asking what's next for their roadmap and support. Blink offers a stable, purpose-built alternative — mobile-first, no corporate email required, and already trusted by McDonald's, Domino's, and Chick-fil-A. See our full comparison, including what the acquisition means for Beekeeper customers.
A telltale sign of whether an organization will survive and thrive into the future is its adaptability.
That’s because sooner or later, every organization will go through a big change that impacts its employees.
It may be a merger, a growth slump, an acquisition, a leadership replacement, or a company-wide policy update. To make it work – to adapt and thrive – employees need to be aligned with a company’s change efforts. This is especially true for frontline organisations.
Sadly, when it comes to communicating change, many organizational change initiatives fail miserably. A recent study by Gartner shows that only 34% of all change efforts are successful.
We’re not big on fancy jargon. So let’s keep it simple. Change communication is the process of keeping your workers updated on your change initiatives throughout a period of change.
How you go about communicating change can help employees and other stakeholders understand:
What is being changed
Why the change is necessary at this time
What’s the scope of your change efforts
How the change will affect them
What steps are required from their side
Whether you’re adopting new technology, updating a part of a business operation, or shuffling leadership, communicating change helps workers shift from where they are to where they need to be in the future.
Understanding the change communication model
If you want your change initiative to bear fruit, your workers should go through the following phases.
Awareness: informing employees about the coming change. This should be done through clear and relevant messages distributed through internal communication channels.
Understanding: helping employees what, why, and how of the change.
Acceptance: supporting employees in accepting the upcoming change effort and act in accordance with it. This will almost certainly require two-way communication.
Commitment: making sure that communication keeps flowing until the new activities become the norm, to reach full commitment.
Each of these phases is important for a smooth transition. If you rush the process and skip a phase you will encounter resistance. There are no shortcuts.
So the big question is: how can you best meet the needs of workers during each phase? We’re glad you asked. Here are some tips to help you streamline your change initiatives.
Communicating change in the workplace: how to do it right
Use visual communication
Visual communication relies on visual aids to convey information – graphs, maps, charts, infographics…
Images and videos are visual forms of content too. TechSmith’s research shows that using them saves time and leads to faster understanding than text on its own.
Visuals can help you communicate key data in a way that it’s easily digestible, comprehensible, and memorable.
Chances are your company is already using visualization in many areas. From the emoji that a coworker shares with you to the poster in the hall depicting Covid precautions, you probably come across a variety of visuals every day. So it’s only a matter of extending the same creativity to your change communications.
On top of that, tools like Canva, Piktochart, and Visme that have recently flooded the market allow even non-designers to create stunning visuals in no time.
Once you have created the visual content for communicating change, use a platform like Blink (which has a newsfeed and content hub) ensure smooth distribution and ready accessibility.
Bring in video communication
Videos are among the most engaging communication formats. Viewers retain 95% of a message when the message is conveyed with a video, as compared to just 10% from plain text.
If the thought of creating a video is conjuring images of complex video editing software in your head, worry not.
Just like with graphics, you don’t need to be a video-mixing pro to create engaging clips. What matters is that your videos are genuine and authentic – they don’t need to be slick and polished.
Tools such as Snagit, Piktostory, and Loom make it really easy to record, edit and share videos with employees in your organization.
Communicating change in the workplace: 6 best practices 1
Don’t forget face-to-face channels
It’s no secret that people are increasingly working remotely and relying on digital communication platforms to meet and keep in touch. In many ways, that’s a good thing.
But change, no matter how small, is a sensitive topic. When communicating change, it’s not just about what you’re saying, but also about how you’re saying it – the non-verbal signals you, and your employees, send out contain important information.
Take the example of a global manufacturer who held a meeting of about 200 workers right after a reorganization. There was an unease in the crowd, and when the VP got up to deliver his speech, he spotted this and took it into account: instead of embarking on his presentation, he started by addressing the elephant in the room.
He told the workers that he understood how they were feeling. Uncertain. Sad. Scared. He expressed honest, heartfelt sorrow over the senior management’s distress about letting good people go. He validated what the employees were feeling.
Had this been a virtual meeting, the VP probably wouldn’t have caught the non-verbal signals of workers’ mental and emotional condition.
Communicating change in the workplace: 6 best practices 2
So whenever possible, include in-person communication in your change management communication process. Tune in to what preoccupies your employees so you can respond genuinely. This is especially important if they are frontline workers; make sure they feel seen, heard and taken into account.
Incorporate the principles of storytelling
In the early 1980s, the airline industry went through a tough time. Scandinavian Airlines was hit particularly hard: it was facing a loss of $20 million.
To turn itself around, the business decided to make a big change in its strategy, the core of which was to focus more on business travelers. But changing the mindset of its 20,000 workers was not going to be easy.
So what did they do? The management sent a short handbook to all the employees with a visual story communicating the change. The booklet covered what the company was going through, its future goal, and how workers could help the organization get through its struggles.
Along with other change communication efforts, this approach helped the company increase its earnings by $25 million in the first year, and $80 million overall.
Stories can go a long way in reducing the fear and uncertainty associated with your change initiative, and rally your workers around shared objectives.
Change is stressful. 73% of employees affected by change report experiencing moderate to high stress levels.
When going through a transition, employees want to feel heard and validated. They should be able to share their concerns, feelings, and experiences, and raise questions.
In-person chats go a long way in giving workers a sense of being included. If that’s not possible, or in larger companies, two-way digital communication channels can make a big difference. Either way, the unspoken message you want to convey is that the management and the employees are in this together.
Create a change communication strategy
Your employees will feel reassured and get on board much faster if they have a clear view of exactly what’s happening when, and if they feel that they have a voice.
The best way to embark on a change process is to start with a change communication strategy that helps workers see what lies ahead. Not knowing generates anxiety; being in the loop alleviates it.
A proper change communication strategy will help you distribute timely, consistent, and relevant information, along with mechanisms for workers to share feedback and raise questions.
Communicating change in the workplace: final thoughts
Communicating change takes time and effort but it is often worth it. When communicated skilfully, a change effort can shift gears and successfully move your company into a desired future state.
Many organizations fail at change management because they treat it as a set-and-forget process. Don’t make that mistake. When communicating change, make sure to hammer home your key messages not just once, but again and again. Keep communicating until the change becomes second nature.
If you make your workers the protagonists in the story of your change, you’ll see a real willingness on their part to adapt and contribute.
If you are looking to implement effective change communication, schedule a demo to learn about how Blink can help you drive successful organizational change with efficient internal communications.
Looking for remote employee engagement strategies that take your company culture to the next level? Here are our best tips to engage virtual teams.
Consultants, freelancers, frontline workers, and full-time staff across time zones – they all have one thing in common. And that thing is – no points for guessing – remote work. They're 'WFH' or at a client site.
It’s no secret that remote work offers many benefits to both employees and employers. Employers get access to a global talent pool, and employees get the freedom to work from a convenient location.
No wonder remote employees are happier than office-based workers. A recent PwC study found that only 8% of remote workers want to work from their employer’s office. On top of that, 83% of employers and 71% of employees view the shift to remote work as a success.
But remote work isn’t all a bed of roses. It has its own challenges, one of which is to engage remote employees. You want to ensure that your employees are dedicated and emotionally invested in your company.
This is easier said than done, since remote teams are physically distant from the company’s main hub of activity. More often than not, they miss out on social events such as birthdays, small talks, and team lunches. Without these opportunities, remote employees can lose their sense of belonging and feel like something is amiss. The result?
Widespread disengagement.
Now as a senior leader in your organization, you can’t afford to let that happen, can you? So in this post, we’ll show you several effective strategies you can use to boost remote employee engagement.
Engaging remote employees 101
Employee engagement: remote working challenges
When looking to engage remote workers and combat this issue, senior leaders must turn to innovative strategies for boosting engagement in the virtual world such as creating meaningful connections through various channels and gathering feedback consistently - something not always possible using traditional methods such as notice boards, phone notifications, and emails due to low reach and effectiveness.
Common blockers to engagement in remote employees include:
Loss of information due to a mix of channels
Noticeboards, letters, and other tools are inefficient
Low reach and effectiveness
No clear way or consistent way to gather feedback.
Why engage remote employees?
While employee engagement may feel like something that doesn't need to be a business priority, it can actually help to improve both employee morale and productivity. And in today’s competitive landscape, these two things are key to success.
In fact, research shows that highly engaged organizations achieve a 23% improvement in profitability, 10% higher customer ratings and 18% higher sales.
In fact, there are a number of reasons why it’s important to engage remote employees:
Increased job satisfaction and employee retention
Improved collaboration between teams
Better productivity, thanks to improved communication and feedback loops
Boosted innovation as a result of cross-functional initiatives
Easier onboarding due to increased visibility into the culture and processes.
So, how can you keep remote employees engaged? Let’s take a look at some of the most effective employee engagement tactics for boosting engagement amongst your remote workers and direct reports.
12 practical tips to engage remote workers
Keeping remote workers engaged should be one of your top priorities. Communication gaps in remote teams lead to disengagement, damaging productivity and morale in the long run. Failure to get your remote employees to work inclusively can also hurt your business’s bottom line.
In contrast, employees who feel engaged are more loyal and motivated. Not to mention 87% less likely to leave their company than unengaged employees. Follow the below best practices to engage remote teams.
1. Keep remote meetings as short as possible.
Remote workers attend more meetings every week as compared to on-site employees. The 2019 State of Remote Work found that 14% of remote employees are giving time to over 10 meetings per week (vs. just 3% of those on-site).
While there’s no denying that team meetings are necessary and beneficial to keep employees aligned, too long and frequent meetings can be frustrating. So much so that this phenomenon has led to the coining of a new term - Zoom Fatigue.
Call a meeting only when it’s absolutely necessary, and try to keep it as short as possible. Consider that a best practice for employee engagement.
Have a clear agenda before every meeting and don’t let a team member prolong it with discussions outside of this agenda.
Another way to reduce the frequency of your Zoom meetings is to provide instant, accessible company updates directly to your workers’ phones. Short, important messages can be delivered via an employee app to minimize wasted time on pointless meetings, which can help both remote and deskless teams stay in-the-know without eating up too much of their valuable time.
2. Make ‘social’ events structured.
Since remote workers don’t have impromptu opportunities to connect with each other, providing those opportunities intentionally is crucial. And a great way to get started is hosting virtual social events that are not related to work.
The social event could be a cocktail-making class, a virtual concert, or a biweekly trivia game.
But here’s the biggest mistake with company-wide social activities — not structuring them. When you host a social event in a way that the talkers keep talking and the quieter ones stay quiet, it’s safe to say that the event has failed its objective.
So make sure to have rules that encourage everyone to participate. For example, a cocktail-making class with a kit will get more engagement from everyone than a simple virtual drinks session.
3. Host informal virtual all-hands.
A transparent culture fosters trust throughout an organization. And since remote teams are physically disconnected from the workplace, they need even more transparency.
Image via ekoapp.
To facilitate the same, you can conduct virtual all-hands from time to time. This event will encourage remote workers to showcase their projects across the company.
The project could be a product update, a new marketing campaign, or a transition to a new business partner. A different team will demonstrate what they are working on each week, ensuring that everyone’s in the loop. Plus, the workers can ask questions and share their thoughts with the presenting team, igniting a sense of inclusiveness.
We get it. Putting your work in front of the entire organization may not be easy. But this little discomfort is a small price to pay for virtual employee engagement, and a warm, better-connected workplace.
4. Say goodbye to email.
Email has its place for simple communication. But it’s not suitable for a lot of quick, back and forth conversations. Your organization should have a dedicated tool in place for real-time instant messaging (also known as live chat).
An employee chat app allows you to facilitate flexible, informal communication that helps remote workers build relationships and get the information they need to do their jobs, wherever they are based.
Communication is a key driver of employee engagement. So whether you have remote teams, frontline employees or in-office workers, you can keep your staff connected and engaged.
Blink, for example, offers a world-class chat feature to bring your company together with groups and one-to-one chats. And it lets your employees share not just text, but also photos, documents, videos, spreadsheets, PDFs, and more without the hassle of email.
5. Create a remote working resources library.
49% of US workers face difficulty in finding documents, as per a Nintex survey. If employees can’t access crucial information at the right time, you can’t blame them for getting disengaged. While this is a key problem for remote workers, this issue is currently plaguing the frontline workforce, too. With workers constantly on the move, they need intuitive, easy-to-access resources that can move with them.
The solution is easy. All of your company’s key information should be saved and accessible from a central hub. This information would include your policies, process manuals, onboarding checklists, and other materials.
The ability to publish content on this portal will not be limited to senior management or the IT department. Every department should be able to access, publish, and share knowledge through this hub.
Sharing their knowledge will help employees feel empowered and realize the value they are adding to the organization.
So by building such a knowledge base, you’ll be able to reduce silos between in-office, remote and deskless departments, improve information sharing, and improve collaboration.
For example, with Hub as a central feature of Blink, remote workers can instantly access policies, procedures, and guides in a single convenient location — leading to a more engaged remote workforce.
On top of that, our built-in text editor gives every employee an effortless way to create, edit, and distribute articles.
6. Make all org-wide updates digital.
Nearly 20% of remote workers feel disconnected from peers due to a lack of communication.
While communication is the key to better remote employee engagement, any type of communication will not solve the problem. It has to have the right channels and the right frequency.
You can’t constantly bombard remote employees with emails, notice board announcements, unnecessary meetings, and expect them to stay engaged.
The best way to conduct effective company-wide communication is to use a single, unobtrusive, digital communication tool. This will help establish expectations and norms without isolating or overwhelming remote workers.
Even if you’re worried about whether key information is reaching your workers, sharing the information repeatedly using multiple channels isn’t the solution. Using the right technology is.
For instance, you can use an employee app that allows you to ‘pin’ information to the top of people’s newsfeed, or has a ‘mandatory read’ option as Blink does.
7. Record all (important) meetings.
When you have multiple remote team members across different time zones, web conferencing can go a long way in reducing geographic limitations and engaging workers virtually.
But even a virtual meeting can’t solve all your problems. Employees can’t attend multiple meetings at the same time, for example. Getting the right folks together for a meeting can still prove to be a bottleneck for a project.
With an increasingly varied workforce seeing a mixture of remote, in-office and frontline workers, the battle to keep everybody on the same page is on.
So a better solution is to conduct a meeting with the people who can attend, and record it for those who couldn’t. Then keep all these recordings in one place for anyone interested in catching up.
Recording video of virtual meetings ensures that no one misses out on an important discussion, along with the visuals presented during the session.
8. Use polls and feed posts.
Most company-wide communication is static, which means that workers simply consume the content by reading, listening, or watching.
The opposite of that is interactive content. It’s a type of content that allows employees to engage and participate.
Using interactive communication from time to time is another step you can take towards remote employee engagement by helping reduce the sense of isolation.
The interactive content could be as simple as a quick poll, a short employee survey, or social media type posts that allow workers to like, comment, and tag their team members. Luckily, all these features are an integral part of Blink.
9. Celebrate employee accomplishments.
Employee Recognition can be implemented in many ways, but remote work makes it hard to carry them out. That’s why you need to put in the extra effort to celebrate contributions and achievements.
Here are some great ways to acknowledge and appreciate remote workers for their hard work:
Giving regular greetings and check-ins on shared communication channels
Conducting employee of the month programs
Thanking workers during a web conferencing session
Acknowledging personal events such as birthdays and anniversaries
Sending thoughtful notes or signed cards from managers and peers
All these activities help remote employee engagement by making workers feel valued. And contributing to everyone’s understanding of what’s happening in different teams and departments. This helps ensure the employee digital experience is a good one.
10. Understand feedback to make improvements.
Most remote employees are hesitant to share feedback, because they’re worried about how it might be perceived. That’s why you need to invest in technology that will make it easier for your workers to share their thoughts, feelings, and opinions in a safe environment.
Digital tools like Blink offer anonymous feedback surveys, which help employees share their thoughts and ideas without fear of judgment. You can use this feedback to modify processes and policies to ensure everyone is engaged and motivated. And this means productive employees.
By understanding the feedback, you’ll be able to make necessary improvements in areas like communication, collaboration, productivity, etc. By showing your virtual team that you value their input, you’ll be able to create a culture of engagement, trust and collaboration, fostering more engagement in future initiatives.
11. Make sure everyone is included in the conversation.
Ensuring that everyone is included in the conversation is an important part of remote employee engagement. Since your workers don’t have the option to physically join meetings and work on projects, they can easily feel left out or ignored.
To make sure no one is ever excluded from a discussion, use employee engagement tools like Blink which come with features like audio-video conferencing, screen sharing and file/group chats.
These features allow your workers to interact with one another in a more meaningful way, making them feel included even when they’re not physically present. Employers should also take part in the conversation regularly, so that employees can understand their objectives and goals better as a team.
12. Provide ample opportunities for team members to network and connect remotely.
When you’re working remotely or on the frontline, it’s easy to feel disconnected from your colleagues and the business in general. So it’s important that employers create the opportunity for employees to network with their peers - without the scrutiny of management’s presence.
Network building activities like virtual happy hours, ice breaker games and mini-conferences can help boost relationships between team members. Employee Resource Groups are also a great way to help the business towards ESG goals while fostering a safe place for under-represented employee groups.
These activities will help your workers build relationships, foster trust, and empower the team to work better together, even when they’re not in the same physical space.
A quick summary of best practices for remote employee engagement…
Keep remote meetings as short as possible.
Make ‘social’ events structured.
Host informal virtual all-hands.
Say goodbye to email.
Create a remote working resources library.
Make all org-wide updates digital.
Record all (important) meetings.
Use polls and feed posts.
Celebrate employee accomplishments.
Final thoughts
If you look at the above strategies carefully, you’ll realize that they all boil down to one simple thing — trying to give remote workers the same communication opportunities they would have had if they were working from an office.
Remote or office-based – the best way to engage remote employees is by giving them a voice. After all, 46% of remote workers believe the best managers are the ones who check in – really frequently.
Making time for employees’ thoughts and concerns, whether through informal small talk or structured feedback, is the golden thread that separates a good organization from a great one.
As long as you keep this basic principle in mind, you’ll not just find it easy to implement these remote employee engagement tactics, but also to generate your own ideas to engage remote workers.
So, give them the opportunity to voice their needs without the added concern of reaching out at an inopportune moment, and see your remote employee engagement levels rise at a steady rate.
And while you’re at it, remember that the right technology can make a world of difference. Blink is an internal communications tool that does everything your intranet does, but better.
Final thoughts: best practice for remote employee engagement
If you look at the above strategies carefully, you’ll realize that they all boil down to one simple thing — trying to give remote workers the same communication opportunities they would have had if they were working from an office.
Remote or office-based – the best way to engage remote employees is by giving them a voice. After all, 46% of remote workers believe the best managers are the ones who check in – really frequently.
Making time for employees’ thoughts and concerns, whether through informal small talk or structured feedback, is the golden thread that separates a good organization from a great one.
As long as you keep this basic principle in mind, you’ll not just find it easy to implement these remote employee engagement tactics, but also to generate your own ideas to engage remote workers.
So, give them the opportunity to voice their needs without the added concern of reaching out at an inopportune moment, and see your remote employee engagement levels rise at a steady rate.
And while you’re at it, remember that the right technology can make a world of difference. Blink is an internal communications tool that does everything your intranet does, but better. Request a free demo to get started.
Out of date, out of sync, out of tune. A corporate soundtrack of forgotten logins, stale pages, and “Is anyone actually using this?”
This year, Blink is changing the track. We’ve been recognized in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Intranet Packaged Solutions — not just anywhere in the grid, but as a Challenger.
For us, this isn’t just a placement. It’s a remix. For the industry. For the intranet. For every employee who’s ever thought, “Why is this so hard to use?”
Why the Gartner Magic Quadrant matters
If you’re in HR, comms, IT, or procurement, you already know the Gartner Magic Quadrant™ - to us, it’s one of the most influential industry reports in technology.
Every year, Gartner independently evaluates vendors on Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision - then categorizes them as Leaders, Challengers, Visionaries, or Niche Players.
This Quadrant has become the go-to reference for organizations choosing their next digital workplace partner.
We’re proud to debut as a Challenger. But more than that, we see it as a validation that the world is ready for a more human way to work.
Why Blink? Why now?
We built Blink on a simple belief: Work should feel connected.
In a world overflowing with tools but starved of real connection, we’re creating an intranet that people actually want to use. One that unites the CEO’s town hall with the shop floor shift briefing. One that gets frontline and office workers on the same wavelength.
Why we believe Blink was recognized
🎧 Sales and customer alignment: We deeply understand buyer pain points, backed by strategic partnerships with industry leaders like Workday.
🎧 Financial and product strength: Robust growth, an agile roadmap with continuous innovation, and a reliable product strategy built for the future keep Blink ahead of the curve.
🎧 We go beyond software: With specialized onboarding teams, strategic rollout support, and a dedication to long-term success, we’re not just a platform — we’re a true partner.
🎧 From mobile to total experience: Our platform empowers every kind of worker with personalized microapps, powerful social features, and communications that actually cut through.
Challenger energy: More than a position - a mindset
For us, being a Challenger isn’t just about where we land on the grid. It’s about how we move through the world.
We don’t believe “good enough” intranets should do the trick. We don’t do stale or static. We remix the intranet into something dynamic, modern, and centered on people.
Because what good is an intranet that no one uses?
We’re obsessed with adoption: ensuring employees actually engage, communicate, and thrive on the platform. That’s why Blink is designed with every kind of worker at heart, driven by a people-first approach to innovation.
That’s what it means to challenge the status quo. That’s what it means to Blink.
What’s the rest of the market saying?
The intranet packaged solutions (IPS) market is evolving rapidly, moving from static, web-only sites to dynamic, multichannel platforms that are central to the digital workplace.
What used to be dusty web-only portals are now vibrant, multi-channel hubs that power communication, engagement, knowledge, and culture. Today’s IPS offerings go far beyond document repositories - they’re incorporating AI assistants and supporting integrations with Workday, ServiceNow, Microsoft 365, and other leading business systems.
As Gartner puts it, intranets are once again a priority investment as organizations transform their digital workplace, reduce IT complexity, and seek consistent, people-first employee experiences.
Intranets are no longer just “nice to have” - they’re necessary parts of a modern business infrastructure. They’re becoming critical hubs for productivity, connection, and culture across both office-based and deskless workforces.
This isn’t evolution - it’s inflection. And Blink is leading the remix.
Spinning the future of work
For us, being named a Challenger is a milestone. But it’s also just the intro track.
We’re already dropping new hits:
Broadcast-quality live streaming that gives every employee a front row seat
Blink Assist, our AI-powered copilot for content creation and communication
Analytics that actually matter, surfacing predictive insights into how people engage
“Save for later” offline access, so work doesn’t have to stop when the WiFi does
Modern social features like Stories that drive adoption and give Instagram a run for its money
Our vision is simple: The future of work should feel intuitive, inspiring, and essential - not invisible. Blink exists to unlock that.
This isn’t just recognition - it’s our statement
We’re not here to play quietly. We’re here to remix the intranet.
Named top Challenger by Gartner, chosen every day by the world’s most ambitious organizations, and powered by a people-first mission - this is only the beginning.
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