Communication challenges (and how they affect your bottom line)

Nowadays, most organizations understand the importance of employee engagement. In fact, 75% of CHROs say that improving the employee experience and organizational culture is a top focus for 2024.

There’s plenty of research out there, outlining the benefits employee engagement brings to your business. Increased employee productivity and retention, better customer satisfaction rates, improved business profitability — and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

It’s clear. Businesses that prioritize employee engagement tend to be more successful than those that don’t. But one important question remains.

Whose responsibility is employee engagement? Who within an organization is tasked with devising an employee engagement strategy — and putting it into action? 

In this guide, we explain who should take ownership of employee engagement. We also look at the vital role HR teams play in establishing the strategies, tools, and behaviors that support better engagement in the workplace.

Why does employee engagement matter?

Engaged employees are happier. They’re more likely to interact with company communications and contribute to company culture.

Engaged employees are also more productive and more innovative. They come up with bright ideas, feel invested in their work, and are committed to your organization.

A focus on employee engagement benefits employees. It also has a significant impact on business results. By striving to improve employee engagement, you can:

• Increase productivity and profitability: Engaged workers outperform their less engaged peers. Gallup’s extensive research into employee engagement reveals that engaged organizations are 17% more productive. They also experience a 23% increase in profitability.
  
  
• Boost levels of innovation and creativity: An engaged workforce goes beyond the bare minimum. They’re more likely to collaborate — and more likely to demonstrate creative thinking — which spells greater business innovation.
  
  
• Improve customer experience: Engaged employees care about the customer experience and inspire customer loyalty. Whether they’re serving customers, manufacturing products, or working at HQ, your team is dedicated to customer satisfaction.
  
  

Minimize staff turnover: Higher employee engagement levels are linked to higher employee satisfaction. This boosts employee retention and minimizes turnover. In fact, organizations with high levels of engagement can reduce staff turnover by up to 51%.

Why avoid disengagement?

So, we’ve looked at how employee engagement benefits your business. But why is disengagement such a problem?

Disengaged employees are less productive and invested in your organization. They experience more stress, anger, and health problems than their more engaged co-workers — and are more likely to take time off sick.

These employees are also less loyal. They’re more likely to look for a job elsewhere, increasing your recruitment costs. Those who stick around can cause other problems for your organization.

According to McKinsey, quiet quitters account for between a fifth and two-fifths of an organization’s workforce. These workers fulfill minimum job requirements — but no more. Some also act to demoralize and disrupt other members of your team. 

It’s also worth bearing in mind that frontline employees are generally even less engaged than their desk-based peers. They’re more likely to feel burned out, three times more likely not to recommend their organization as a good place to work, and twice as likely to leave.

Whatever form it takes, disengagement is costly. According to Gallup’s estimate, low engagement costs the global economy $8.9 trillion in GDP. So finding ways to engage the whole workforce — including your remote, office-based, and frontline employees — is crucial.

Who is actually responsible for employee engagement?

IIt’s clear that high levels of employee engagement are good for an organization. But who within your organization makes that happen? Who’s responsible for employee engagement?

The most successful employee engagement strategies involve everyone within an organization. It’s simply not possible for HR to improve employee engagement significantly without company-wide buy-in.

You need all of the following parties on board:

• Leadership. Leadership is responsible for championing employee engagement. Their attitudes and behaviors filter down through an organization. So without C-suite support, employee engagement initiatives are unlikely to be effective.
• Management. Managers also play a crucial role. Because they have direct contact with employees, they’re well-placed to develop and sustain employee engagement, implementing the agreed engagement strategies.
• Employees. Workers also play a role in the success of employee engagement. They can help by supporting their teammates and by taking part in two-way dialogue with managers and leaders, providing constructive feedback. 
• HR. None of the above would be possible without HR. The people team is responsible for empowering the rest of the organization. They put in place the strategies, processes, tools, and coaching needed to build a more engaging and engaged workplace.

The HR team is uniquely positioned to drive employee engagement. As the custodians of talent, it’s HR's responsibility to manage employee recruitment, onboarding, development, and retention. For each of these key points in the employee life cycle, they can devise and implement strategies that ensure employees feel valued and engaged.

They can also support the wider organization so they understand what good engagement looks like — and the best ways to achieve it.

In a nutshell: HR and employee engagement go hand-in-hand. But they need buy-in from leadership and management if they’re to improve employee engagement and reap the associated benefits. 

The role of HR in employee engagement: 6 key responsibilities

As well as coaching leaders, managers, and employees to adopt effective employee engagement behaviors, HR is responsible for engagement in all the following ways.

1. Recruitment and onboarding

HR can support employee engagement from the very first contact a potential employee has with your organization.

By developing your employer brand and by crafting job descriptions that showcase this brand, you showcase company culture and attract candidates to apply. 

Once a new hire starts work, you can continue to engage them with tailored onboarding experiences. Support workers to find resources and forge relationships from day one and they’ll feel part of company culture more quickly.

2. Communication

Internal communications are critical to employee engagement. Relevant, personalized, and timely communications keep employees informed and engaged.

HR teams can use communication tools to regularly remind employees of workplace benefits, perks, and development opportunities. They can also encourage leaders and managers to send their own engagement-boosting comms.

Regular, two-way communication is also key to maintaining a positive relationship with employees. HR should make an effort to communicate with employees often, whether it be through secure chat, 1-2-1 meetings, or the company news feed. This helps employees to feel valued and connected to the company, boosting overall performance.

3. Recognition

Employees feel more engaged when they feel valued by their employer. So praise from a manager or co-workers, bonuses, and rewards programs should be a regular feature of the employee experience.

While it’s up to team leaders to show their appreciation, HR plays an important role in making recognition an integral part of company culture.

Your HR team can establish recognition and reward systems. They can determine which rewards are most appealing to your workforce. They can also implement user-friendly employee recognition tools, which make it quick and easy for managers to recognize the hard work and milestones of their employees.

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4. Retention

Another key responsibility for HR teams is talent retention. With employee surveys and exit interviews, you keep a finger on the pulse of your organization. You learn how employees are feeling and what could be done to improve employee engagement.  

This data can then be used to make changes that will improve employee engagement levels and drive employee retention, minimizing staff turnover and its costly consequences.

Development and progression are also key to retention. HR teams can keep employees engaged by clarifying progression opportunities and career goals. 

They can also ensure easy, online access to training and development programs — so all employees, whether they work on the frontline or in the office, can make progress in their careers.

5. Wellbeing and safety

Employees are more likely to enjoy high levels of engagement when they feel physically and psychologically safe at work.  

HR can support this aspect of employee engagement by ensuring good communication around safety. It should be easy for employees to report safety concerns and hazards. Workers should have access to a content hub that stores essential company policies and safety procedures.

For psychological safety, HR can take the lead, promoting transparent communication and an inclusive company culture across all employee touchpoints.

6. Tools and tech

The right tools and tech make employee engagement much easier. So another responsibility for HR is the implementation of tools — like employee engagement apps — which have the power to engage the workforce and amplify company culture.  

Via an employee app, employees can access an engaging news feed, employee surveys, training and development, and a content hub — everything they need to feel connected to their roles, co-workers, and the wider organization.

It’s important that these tools are available to all employees to ensure engagement initiatives reach every sector of the workforce.

So look for tech tools that are accessible via a mobile device and that don’t require a company email address. That way, frontline employees enjoy the same access as their desk-based peers.

Searching for the ultimate employee engagement tool? Here’s a quick intro to the Blink employee app.

What can HR do to improve employee engagement?

HR teams play a critical role in employee engagement — and there’s lots that HR can do to improve employee engagement within their organization.

It starts with the right foundations - here are five employee best engagement practices.

Understand BAU engagement

HR can support managers in understanding the 'baseline' or BAU (business as usual) engagement levels within an organization.

This means assessing and tracking metrics like turnover, productivity, and performance over time, as well as identifying any trends or patterns that may be affecting overall engagement levels.

With this information, HR can work with managers to identify the most suitable employee engagement activities. These are interventions that will improve engagement levels in both the short and the long term.

Learn how to measure engagement

When you measure employee engagement, you can make data-backed decisions — and don’t have to rely on guesswork. So HR teams should establish and track employee engagement key performance indicators (KPIs).

Some useful metrics include retention rate, absenteeism rate, and employee net promoter score (eNPS). You can also use employee surveys, exit interviews, and your employee intranet analytics to assess engagement levels within your organization.

Here's how we measure engagement at Blink:

• Retention: Disengaged employees are more likely to quit their jobs so employee retention is a good indicator of engagement. You need to understand why and when employees choose to leave your organization.
• Manager performance: Strong managerial support is a key driver of employee engagement, so it's important to assess and improve the performance of your managers. We drill down into the data to identify low-engagement teams and then provide those managers with extra coaching.‍
• Intranet engagement: What do your intranet engagement metrics tell you? By tracking how employees interact with our employee app, our HR team can identify disengagement and dissatisfaction.

Know how to manage for engagement

Managers account for at least 70% of the variance in team engagement and have a huge influence on employee wellbeing.

Ideally, mid-level management supports engagement by providing constructive feedback, giving recognition and rewards, and acknowledging individual strengths and contributions.

HR can support employee engagement by supporting managers. With the right employee engagement tools and guidance, managers are empowered to build happy and engaged teams.

Employee engagement training can also help managers better understand the important role they play in engaging the workforce.

Look for early signs of disengagement

Employees who are becoming disengaged may start to pull back from their work. They might make fewer contributions to the team, their output may decrease, and they might be less likely to speak up in 1-2-1s and meetings.

This disengagement isn’t always obvious to busy managers, particularly when they’re responsible for a dispersed frontline team. So HR can support them by using employee intranet analytics to identify employees who aren’t engaging with the platform.

By looking out for early signs of disengagement, HR and managers can take action to re-engage employees before they impact team morale or decide to leave the organization.

Talk about more than tasks during 1-2-1s

HR should encourage managers to focus more on fostering strong relationships during 1-2-1s.

Of course, they need to discuss work-related tasks and employee performance. But this is also an opportunity to learn about employees’ personal interests, goals, and challenges.

By creating a supportive and open environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns, HR can build the trust and connection that is critical for strong employee engagement.

In summary

Improve employee engagement at your organization and you stand to improve productivity, profitability, and employee retention.

HR teams are responsible for employee engagement throughout the employee life cycle. They play a critical role in devising and implementing employee engagement strategies.

But they can’t go it alone.

For employee engagement initiatives to be a success, you need company-wide buy-in. Leaders, managers, and employees — guided by HR — need to see the value in engagement and demonstrate a commitment to creating an engaging workplace culture together.

In today’s modern workplace, you also need the right tech tools. These tools make it easy for everyone to incorporate engagement activities into their every day.

Blink’s employee app provides all the tools you need to improve engagement within your organization:

• A personalized news feed: A place where you can build a welcoming company culture, encourage everyone to take part in two-way communication, and prioritize the most relevant information for each employee. 
• Recognition tools: Our Kudos tool makes it easy for managers to recognize employee milestones and achievements. It allows co-workers to share in the celebration, too
• Employee surveys and analytics: Gather employee feedback and view app analytics to understand, track, and make data-based improvements to employee engagement
• An integrated content and resource hub: Employees can access all tech tools and resources via a single, user-friendly interface. Just one set of login details and no company email address necessary. 

Whether you're looking for a new way to measure employee satisfaction or simply want to provide a more engaging employee experience, Blink has the tools to support and facilitate your success.

Book a personalized demo today to find out how Blink can support employee engagement at your organization.

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

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

This release is built around a simple idea:

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

Here’s what’s new.

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#1. Hub as the command center

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

Scheduled publishing

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

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

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

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Draft pages

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

Featured content and Hub content carousel

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

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#2. Frontline-first communication

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

Voice and video calling

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

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

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

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Mobile live streaming

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

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

SAP SuccessFactors notifications

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

#3. A more configurable Blink

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

Feed and Hub widgets

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

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Featured post improvements

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

Save Feed posts for later

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

Custom taglines

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

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Account claim process

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

New post settings

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

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What this Unlock means for your team

For employees

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

For leaders and comms teams

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

For IT and operations

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

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

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

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Hazard a guess. How many different tech tools do you use at your organization? If you’re anything like the average business, you’ll have a hefty 112 SaaS apps in the mix. 

But what does that mean for the employee experience (EX)? Are these tools supporting employees to do their best work? Or are they adding unnecessary noise and friction to the work day?

One thing’s for sure. With so much of our work now reliant on technology, the digital employee experience is forming an ever bigger part of EX. Slow and clunky tools cause frustration, while user-friendly tools help us achieve a state of flow.

Here, we explain what digital employee experience is. We also offer some examples and a guide on how to improve digital employee experience at your organization.

We’ll be covering the following: 

• What is digital employee experience?
• The difference between employee experience and digital employee experience
• Why is digital employee experience important? 
• Examples of effective digital employee experience
• How to improve digital employee experience
• Challenges to consider when improving DEX
• Best tools for improving digital employee experience 

Ready to level up your tech stack? Let’s dive in.

What is digital employee experience?

Digital employee experience — or DEX — describes the way employees feel when using the digital tools, platforms, and technologies you provide for them.

Workers enjoy a positive digital employee experience when your tech ecosystem helps them to do their jobs well — when it supports easy communication and streamlined processes.

Workers are more likely to complain of a negative digital employee experience when systems are outdated, difficult to use, or overly complex.

Ultimately, we can boil DEX down to:

• The number of tech tools employees are expected to use
• The user interface and user experience of your workplace technology
• How fast, reliable, and responsive your tech tools are
• How well your tech tools integrate with other workplace software
• The level of personalization and customization provided by tech tools
• The support and training employees receive when using workplace tech

The difference between employee experience and digital employee experience

Employee experience (EX) is the way employees think and feel about their time at work. It encompasses every employee touchpoint, throughout every employee work day, and throughout every stage of the employee life cycle.

EX incorporates management and communication styles, how comfortable your workplace environment is, the benefits and perks you offer, and even the relationships between an employee and their co-workers.

Digital employee experience (DEX) is just one element of employee experience. But — because the modern organization relies so heavily on digital tools — it has a big impact on overall EX.  

A video conference tool that lags. An intranet with inadequate search functions. A news feed populated with content irrelevant to you and your team. Poor digital experiences like these harm the employee experience. 

Why is digital employee experience important?

Ivanti, the global IT company, has been creating a report on digital employee experience for the past few years. In 2024, its researchers revealed that 69% of organizations saw DEX as an essential or high priority. This was up from 61% in 2023.

So why is employee digital experience rising up the company agenda? Here are a couple of very good reasons.

Poor digital employee experience causes problems

Let’s look at some more stats from Ivanti’s latest report:

• 57% of office workers say they feel stressed by the number of tech tools they use at work
• 62% say they feel overwhelmed by the need to learn new technologies at work
• 53% say they feel frustrated by their workplace tech at least once every day
• 55% of office workers say negative experiences with workplace technology impact their mood and morale

Poor DEX causes headaches for your IT team too. 86% of IT professionals say poor digital experience encourages employees to use unsafe workarounds.

People use insecure login methods or shadow IT tools because the official software provided causes too much hassle. Your IT team is left to pick up the pieces.

DEX impacts business outcomes

Business leaders surveyed by Ivanti said that high-quality digital employee experience benefits their organizations:

• 97% said that it positively impacts employee productivity
• 96% said that it positively impacts employee satisfaction
• 90% said that it positively impacts employee retention

Workers who have the tools they need to connect with co-workers and complete tasks with ease are happier and do better work.

They’re more engaged, which means they’re more productive. And because they feel tech tools are working with them — not against them — they’re also more likely to stay working for your organization. 

The tech landscape is constantly changing

There are new and more advanced tech tools hitting the market every day — faster, smarter, and more user-friendly than the last.

Workforce expectations around tech are also subject to change. Employees are used to evermore sleek and seamless tech tools at home. And they bring those same standards into the workplace.  

Without a clear DEX strategy, these changes can get the better of your organization. New tools are brought into the tech ecosystem without proper oversight. Old tools start to feel ancient. Employee overwhelm and disengagement become more likely.

To build a tech ecosystem that truly supports your workforce, you need to keep your finger on the pulse, ensuring DEX at your organization keeps up with advances in technology. 

A focus on DEX brings your organization together

In 2025, the workforce is dispersed. 80% of employees work away from a desk. Others are split between the office and remote working locations. And the digital experience isn’t always equitable across these groups.

43% of office workers say it’s not easy to access workplace tools when working remotely. 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.

When people feel left out, they check out — or leave your organization. But DEX strategy that considers the needs of all employees changes that. It levels the playing field, closes the gap, and builds an inclusive employee experience where everyone feels seen, supported, and connected. 

Examples of effective digital employee experience

So what does good DEX look like? Here are a few examples of effective digital employee experience:

• Frontline digital inclusion. Frontline employees enjoy the same access to workplace tech thanks to mobile-friendly apps, which they can access via their smartphones. Sign-in processes are simple but secure — and don’t require a company email address.
  
  
• Automated onboarding. New hires get access to tailored training materials and resources, delivered at the right time in the onboarding process — plus a chatbot that can answer questions or direct them to new information.
  
  
• Employee self-service. Employees don’t have to submit requests to HR and wait for a response. Instead, they can swap shifts, view their pay stubs, and access benefits direct from a user-friendly digital dashboard.
  
  
• Going beyond email. Modern internal communication channels support employees to chat with managers and co-workers, view a multimedia company news feed, and respond to pulse surveys. These channels help organizations engage sectors of the workforce — like Gen Z and frontline employees — who don’t always embrace email.
  
  
• An integrated experience. Employees don’t have to toggle between tabs or remember lots of different login details. They can access all workplace software from the same dashboard thanks to in-depth software integrations.

How to improve digital employee experience

A comprehensive digital employee experience strategy can make all the difference to your workplace. Unsure where to start? Take a look at these tips for improving digital employee experience at your organization.  

1. Take stock of your tech stack

First things first. Take a wide-angle view of the tech tools your organization currently uses. Look for redundant tools, areas where software overlaps, and features that are currently underutilized.

Also, assess whether any of your tools or platforms are beyond the point of no return. Perhaps you’re still using a legacy system that simply hasn’t kept pace with the demands of the modern workforce.

When auditing your software, don’t forget to seek feedback from stakeholders, including your employees. Their input can shape what stays, what goes, and what needs improving.

2. Streamline tech tools

If you’ve been steadily acquiring new workplace tech without considering its impact on DEX, it may be time to do a little pruning. A carefully curated selection means fewer platforms to maintain, fewer support requests to manage, and a more streamlined experience for employees.  

When deciding what to keep, tech tools that cover as many bases as possible are a good bet. The best tools offer lots of functionality.

They also provide deep integrations with the other workplace software you use. Via single sign-on technology, employees can then access all workplace tools from one familiar dashboard.

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Too many workplace communication tools? Read this: How to simplify your internal comms tech stack

3. Invest in employee-centric software

If you decide to seek out new and improved tech tools, keep the end-user front of mind. Perhaps even include employees when test-driving shortlisted software solutions.

The best DEX solutions feel intuitive from day one. They provide:

• Easy login options
• Simple navigation
• A user-friendly interface that works for every skill level
• Self-help resources that support employees to use the platform

With the right tools, employees can complete tasks quickly and efficiently, without having to take unnecessary steps or wade their way through confusing processes.

4. Go mobile

Want to improve frontline digital inclusion? Then you need mobile-first apps that work just as well on a small smartphone screen as they do on a desktop computer.

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The best frontline tech is designed around the realities of deskless work — and doesn’t require a corporate email address. It gives everyone the tools they need to stay connected, informed, and productive.

5. Offer training and support

Even the most user-friendly tools can feel overwhelming without the right support. You can’t just hand over login details and expect employees to get on with it.

So offer training sessions. Provide employees with accessible, bite-sized tutorials that help them get the most from your software. Appoint software champions who can share their platform knowledge with co-workers.

Also, consider rolling out new software capabilities in stages, allowing employees to get used to one new set of features before introducing new ones. This helps ensure high levels of digital engagement and better software adoption.

6. Make it personal

The best digital experiences are tailored to each employee — their role, team, location, and tenure.

Start by mapping out a few core user personas. Think about the tools and information these users need. Also, consider how, when, and where they work. You can then use this insight to shape everything from the layout of dashboards to the delivery of internal comms.

The right platforms make it easy. They allow you to customize employee journeys and permissions. You can ensure that someone in marketing sees a different homepage to someone in HR, team leaders get access to insights their crew can’t, and nobody is left sifting through irrelevant noise to find need-to-know information.

The more personalized your tech tools are, the more useful — and used — they become.

7. Measure your DEX efforts

The beauty of DEX is the ease with which you can measure it. Most tech tools provide analytics and reports that reveal exactly how employees are using your software and where they’re experiencing points of friction.

You can keep track of metrics like these:

• Adoption rates — the proportion of your workforce that uses a software solution
• App open rates — the average number of times an employee opens the app each day
• Feature usage — which features are used and how often
• Number of support tickets — how regularly your employees have to reach out for software help

Want to dig deeper? Track metrics that relate specifically to the function of your tech tools. For example, you might track content engagement rates within your internal communication tools or your eNPS score within employee engagement software.

It’s also a good idea to segment your findings for different sectors of the workforce. That way, you can find out whether tech tools are having a positive impact for both desk-based and frontline employees.

Challenges to consider when improving DEX

Digital employee experience management is not without its challenges. But understanding a few of the most common hurdles can help you clear them faster. Here are a couple of issues you’re likely to face, plus some strategies for overcoming them.  

A complex, outdated tech stack

It’s tempting to keep piling on new tools. But without a clear strategy, your tech stack can become a tangled mess. This overwhelms employees and causes confusion. Troubleshooting eats into your IT team’s productivity — and tech subscriptions eat into their budget.

Solution: Conduct a regular audit of your tech stack. Identify redundant or outdated tools and work to sunset them. Prioritize all-in-one solutions or apps with strong integrations to simplify the digital landscape. The simpler the system, the happier and more productive your team will be.

Getting senior buy-in

Digital transformation can be a tough sell at the top, especially when ROI isn’t immediately clear. But without executive support, securing the budget and resources you need is impossible. Your DEX efforts stall before they even get started. 

Solution: Build your case with data. Use employee feedback, engagement scores, and productivity metrics to demonstrate the real impact of DEX. Share success stories from other companies and propose pilot programs to get the C-suite on board.

No insight into frontline needs

If you’re only hearing from desk-based staff or leadership, you’re missing whole chapters from the story. Frontline workers often have unique tech needs — and challenges that get overlooked. This leaves critical gaps in your DEX strategy.

Solution: When choosing tech for frontline workers, involve employees early and often. Use surveys, focus groups, listening tours, or quick pulse checks via mobile-friendly tools to gather honest feedback. Design technology and processes with the frontline’s daily realities in mind, ensuring solutions truly support their work.

Employee resistance to change

New tools won’t improve employee experience if no one actually uses them. And employees can be resistant to change, particularly if they feel unsupported or unclear about tech benefits. If they’re reluctant to give new software a chance, it’s hard to build the momentum you need to achieve high levels of platform adoption.

Solution: Roll out new tech thoughtfully. Communicate openly why changes are happening and how they’ll make work easier. Provide hands-on training and easy-access support. Also, champion digital ambassadors who can encourage adoption and boost employees’ software confidence.

Best tools for improving digital employee experience

Ready to start optimizing your DEX? Then the following digital employee experience software may come in handy.

An employee app

An employee app can transform the workplace experience. And it’s a great way to reach frontline employees. They can access an app from their smartphones, without requiring a corporate email address.

The best apps feature tools for employee recognition, employee feedback, and workplace communication. They also provide easy access to all the workplace software your employees need.

From HR self-service to policy documents to company news, an app puts all tools and resources into the palm of every employee’s hand.

A modern employee intranet

To level up DEX for both frontline and desk-based teams, a mobile-first intranet, built for the modern workforce, could be just what you need. 

The best modern intranets aren’t just a repository for outdated docs. They provide a centralized hub for workplace culture, connection, and collaboration — and have a big impact on EX. In fact, there’s increasing overlap between intranets and employee experience platforms, so you can kill two birds with one stone. 

Today’s intranets act as a digital water cooler. They provide personalized and relevant experiences for every employee — and the digital tools you need to share resources, collaborate with team members, onboard new hires, and more.  

Find an intranet that comes with a comprehensive mobile app and you can improve employee experience for every member of the workforce. 

HR self-service tools

Empower employees to manage HR tasks, anytime, anywhere. By making HR self-service tools available digitally, you make life easy for employees and reduce pressure on your HR team.

With secure digital access, employees can view their paychecks, request time off, and swap shifts. They can view their benefits and access wellbeing resources.

Integration with other workplace software makes it easy for employees to access training programs and learning goals too — and to share their thoughts on the employee experience. 

Collaboration and communication tools

The right internal communication tools are a modern workplace essential. You need tools that support a range of different communication preferences.

From video calls to real-time chat to news feeds to modern social tools, the best tech combines a variety of communication channels in one platform.

It provides a link between the C-suite and employees — and allows co-workers to build connections with one another. So you can develop a positive and inclusive company culture.

These days, ticking all these boxes doesn’t mean building an internal comms platform from scratch. Off-the-shelf comms tools now have the personalization, scalability, and flexibility you need to create a platform employees will flock to, without the cost and hassle of a self-build solution.

An employee experience platform

What better way to improve your digital employee experience than with a dedicated employee experience platform? The best employee experience software helps you optimize all areas of employee experience, including its digital elements.  

It supports improved talent management, streamlined HR processes, and better employee engagement. You get the tools you need to recognize employee efforts and promote a positive company culture.

These EX tools also provide the data-driven insights you need to make meaningful improvements to every aspect of your employee experience.

Time to level up DEX: creating a digital employee experience your workforce will love

Digital employee experience is about giving every employee the tech tools they need to feel connected, supported, and set up for success in the workplace.

We’ve seen the numbers. Bad DEX causes friction, frustration, and stress while good DEX has the power to boost employee satisfaction, engagement, and retention.

So what’s next? Start with your people. Find out what they like and dislike about your current tech stack. Identify areas for improvement. Figure out how you can simplify and streamline the digital experience without losing any of the features and functionality your employees rely on.

And if you decide that new workplace tech is a wise idea, take a closer look at Blink.

Our employee app acts as a digital hub for your organization, providing employees with mobile-first access to all the workplace tools and resources you use — and a user experience we know they’ll love.

Blink. And deliver a streamlined digital experience for all employees.

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If employee turnover is causing problems at your organization, take a look at these strategies for improving engagement and retention.

The Great Resignation may be over. But employee retention is still a challenge, particularly for companies with a large frontline workforce.

Frontline organizations have it hard because reaching frontline employees — who work in various locations across different shift patterns — isn’t easy. Deskless workers can end up feeling disconnected from their organization, which leads to disengagement and churn. 

Engaging and retaining frontline talent may be tricky. But it’s well worth the investment. When you reduce employee turnover across your entire organization you boost productivity, morale, and business results.

Here, we look at the primary causes of employee turnover in 2024 — and at 14 strategies that will help you improve employee retention at your organization. 

Read more: How to calculate your employee retention rate

Primary causes of employee turnover in 2024

33% of hiring managers in the US believe employee turnover will increase at their company in 2024. And Forrester predicts an employee experience (EX) recession, where reduced spending on employee engagement initiatives leads to increased attrition.

Of course, there will always be some turnover in your organization. However, you do have the power to address many causes of employee turnover within your company. Gallup recently looked at the most common reasons people leave a job. They grouped these reasons into four categories:

• Engagement and culture. Employees left because they didn’t feel aligned with the role or company culture. They left because they felt like they didn’t belong or because job expectations were unrealistic.
  
  
• Wellbeing and work-life balance. Workers left because they struggled to manage their work schedule or balance work with personal responsibilities.
  
  
• Career growth, pay, and benefits. Workers left in search of better pay and benefits. They also sought a culture where learning, development, and career advancement were the norm.
  
  
• Managers and leaders. Employees left because they didn’t feel respected or appreciated by leadership. They wanted open communication and to be treated equitably.

As you can see, there’s a lot in there that comes down to organizational culture and internal communication — both of which you can do something about using the strategies below.

Read more: Employee experience in 2024: trends to watch

How to reduce employee turnover: 14 strategies that work

1. Focus on employee engagement

Employee engagement is linked to improved productivity, reduced absenteeism, and higher staff satisfaction.

Engaged employees are also more loyal to your organization. They’d only consider taking a job with another company if they were offered a 31% pay increase. Disengaged employees would leave for a lot less.

You can improve employee engagement by building a strong workplace culture and by looping all workers into company comms. Many of the strategies on this list support engagement and employee retention, too.

2. Cultivate a positive workplace culture

Research from MIT Sloan Management Review says that a toxic culture is by far the strongest predictor of employee turnover. In fact, it’s ten times more important than compensation in predicting attrition.

So how do you create a non-toxic culture that supports a positive employee experience?

Employees want to be part of a culture that is fair and trusting. A culture where transparency is the norm, stress is kept to a minimum, and workloads are reasonable.

In a positive culture, employees also understand the purpose of their work. They’re familiar with company goals and values — and know how their work fits into the bigger picture.

Internal communications have an important part to play in all this. With the communication channels, leaders and managers can amplify company culture. They can share workplace updates, highlight workplace values, and involve teams in decision-making. 

3. Improve your onboarding program

Those first few months of employment are the riskiest in terms of retention. Up to 20% of turnover happens within the first 45 days of employment.

If you’re not sure whether your onboarding program is doing its bit for employee retention, start by surveying existing employees. Find out what they thought of their onboarding experience. Ask if there are any areas for improvement.

Then, use your findings to create an effective onboarding program, providing new hires with the following as standard:  

• The opportunity to make meaningful social connections
• Clear expectations and goals
• An understanding of company culture and values
• Ongoing support from a mentor or manager

4. Embed training and development in company culture

When employees feel like they’re standing still in their careers, they feel less satisfied in their roles — and find less meaning in them, too. So it’s important to embed progression into your company culture.

When creating training and development plans, try to involve employees in decision-making. 90% of employees say having a say in the skills they learn is an important part of their employee experience.

It’s also important to make training opportunities available to everyone. Many frontline employees say they don’t get the right resources or support to advance their careers. This can leave them feeling disengaged and more likely to look for another job.  

Of course, sometimes, there simply aren’t enough rungs on the career ladder for employees to progress within your organization. But if an upward move isn’t possible, there are other options.

Stretch assignments, a lateral move, and cross-training programs all help employees develop new skills and prepare for the next stage of their careers. 

Bear in mind that managers benefit from training, too. 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by managers. So team leaders may need training to become more effective coaches and communicators.  

5. Make internal communication channels more engaging

If you haven’t already, now’s the time to work on your internal communication. Too often, employees are left out of the loop. Or they’re bombarded with so many messages that they start ignoring them.  

We know that employees who get enough information to do their job well are 2.8 times more likely to be engaged. And there are lots of ways to improve workplace communication.

Try to make your internal communications:

• Personalized — so employees only receive relevant internal communications
• Two-way — so employees can take part in the conversation, posting comments and giving feedback
• Real-time — so employees get critical comms quickly

You should then use internal communication metrics to track your performance. By looking at measures like message open rates, response times, and communication tool usage, you get a clearer view of what’s working — and what isn’t.

6. Launch a recognition program

Recognition is another retention strategy that needs to be firmly on your radar.

A recent Gallup and Workhuman report revealed that, by making recognition an important part of company culture, a 10,000-person organization can save up to $16.1 million a year in reduced employee turnover costs.

Recognition reduces employee churn. And the best programs allow managers and peers to provide timely, personalized praise. 

It’s worth noting that recognition doesn’t have to come from managers and leaders. And peer-to-peer appreciation has some surprising benefits. 75% of employees say that the act of giving recognition makes them want to stay at their current organization longer.

7. Facilitate informal co-worker connection

Employees who have a work best friend are less likely to leave. That’s because belonging and connection are two key elements of the employee experience.

But co-worker connection doesn’t always happen organically. It’s something that managers and leaders have to facilitate.

In-person activities work well for office-based teams. You can plan social activities, like team-building days and coffee mornings. 

You also need to allow enough time in the day for informal chats to take place. Stressed, overworked employees are unlikely to spend much time catching up at the water cooler.

When employees are working away from the office, either at home or on the frontlines of your organization, you need an alternative solution. That solution tends to be tech-based. 

Using an employee app or a mobile employee intranet you can:

• Give employees intuitive, social-media-style tools for co-worker communication
• Encourage employees to set up interest groups to find like-minded co-workers and plan social activities
• Get managers to use tech tools too, encouraging connection and promoting employee posts

8. Champion flexibility

In workplaces without flexibility, employees are more likely to feel undervalued and unable to express their opinions. But when employees are highly satisfied with work flexibility, they’re 384% more likely to stay for a year or more at their current employer.

Supporting flexibility and work-life balance looks different for different organizations. But don’t rule it out for frontline employees.

Communicating shifts in advance. Incentivizing less appealing shifts. Co-worker shift-swapping tools. There are ways to make flexibility work for everyone.

Neiman Marcus Group, a luxury retailer, has done just that. The firm offered its sales associates flexibility over which store and department they worked in — and over the days and hours they worked. The result? An impressive 20% reduction in turnover.

9. Keep an eye on compensation and benefits

We’re going through a period of inflation. So compensation and benefits packages are on the rise. You need to keep an eye on competitor packages to ensure you don’t lose employees to higher offers.

But, as we’ve already touched upon, salary isn’t the only thing that keeps an employee working for your organization.

A sense of purpose, connection, and work-life balance can be just as important. So if you aren’t in a position to raise salaries right now, consider whether there are any other levers you can pull.

10. Make it fair for the frontline

When an employee feels unfairly treated, they’re much more likely to leave. So it’s crucial that leaders, particularly those responsible for a large frontline workforce, make the employee experience equitable.   

We also know that deskless employees are less trusting, less engaged, and more likely to experience burnout than their desk-based peers. So frontline and remote working organizations need to ensure that their employee retention strategies apply to all employees.

Employee engagement initiatives, workplace connection, flexibility, training, and development. Make these things available to everyone if you want to make a real difference to your turnover stats.

11. Invest in health and wellness

Deloitte research shows that Gen Z workers don’t feel they’re getting the mental health support they need in the workplace. And 86% of employees would leave a job if it didn’t support their wellbeing.

Health and wellness initiatives are no longer a nice-to-have. For many employees, they’re an essential part of company culture and something they look for when deciding which company to work for.

There’s debate over the value of some popular workplace wellness programs. But we know that companies with honest feedback, open communication, and mutual respect have higher levels of employee emotional wellbeing than those without. Corporate volunteer days have a positive impact on worker wellbeing, too.

12. Encourage collaboration

Effective teamwork helps to create a positive working environment. Co-workers share knowledge and resources. They support one another. And everyone pulls in the same direction.

If you’re looking for ways to improve collaboration in your workplace, take a look at these ideas:  

• Solidify relationships with team-building activities
• Recognize group effort, not just the achievements of individuals, as part of your recognition program
• Promote open and honest internal communication
• Give remote and frontline employees the communication tools they need to collaborate, regardless of location or work pattern

13. Promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I)

There’s a clear moral obligation to support DE&I in the workplace. But there are benefits for your organization, too.

DE&I initiatives lead to:

• a 50% reduction in turnover risk
• a 75% reduction in sick days
• a 167% improvement in employer net promoter score

Better workplace diversity makes people feel like they belong and reduces employee turnover.

But to make a success of your DE&I efforts, you need to embed this ethos into your company culture. That may mean changing how you manage recruitment, onboarding, and employee advancement opportunities.

You need to move beyond mere compliance to build on DE&I in a tactical, integrated, and sustainable way.

14. Get to grips with retention and engagement data

Any good strategy relies on metrics. You need data that shows where you started, where you’re at now, and how you can continue to improve.

So use an employee intranet or app to gather the employee retention and employee engagement data you need. Then, dive deep into that data to discover insights.

By analyzing the data alongside employee feedback, you’ll find data-driven ways to improve employee retention at your organization.  

Using an employee app to improve employee retention

Employee retention is about improving employee engagement, internal communications, and company culture. The right tech makes it much easier to do all three. 

With a mobile-first employee app, like Blink, you can reach employees via their smartphones. You can share company news, highlight company values, and involve everyone in company comms. 

Blink is an easy-to-use tool that connects every employee, whether they’re sitting behind a desk or working on the frontlines of your organization. It provides all the following features. 

Two-way communication

Leaders can share updates and critical comms. Employees can post and comment. So everyone gets to take part in the company conversation. 

Recognition

Blink’s recognition features make it easy for managers and co-workers to celebrate great work. So you make appreciation an integral part of company culture. 

Surveys and polls 

Quick pulse surveys. Annual feedback. Employee engagement polls. Managers find it easy to seek employee opinions, helping workers to feel listened to and valued. 

Mobile access

Our employee app is available on mobile and desktop devices. So every employee is included in company culture and comms.

Content hub

Employees can access all employee apps and resources from the same central hub. So they enjoy a friction-free digital experience. 

Analytics

Use Blink analytics to track which of your employee retention strategies is having the biggest impact — and find areas ripe for improvement. 

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Gamification = a better employee experience, right?

Gamification sounds like an easy win for employee experience — sprinkle in some points, add a leaderboard, boom: engagement. Right?

Not so fast. When gamification is all gimmick and no grounding, it doesn’t inspire employee motivation. It just causes irritation. But when it’s rooted in human connection, meaningful progress, and the way employees actually work? That’s where the magic happens.

Ready to level up your workplace gamification strategies and really move the dial on employee experience? Let’s explore how.

Why gamification works

At its core, gamification taps into what makes work feel energizing — progress, recognition, and a little bit of healthy competition.

Traditionally, it takes game elements we see in customer experience, social media, and other aspects of our personal lives — like point scoring, badges, leader boards, challenges, and levels — and applies them to workplace activities.

Done right, gamification makes routine tasks more engaging and builds momentum around key goals or behaviors. By celebrating wins, making progress visible, and providing social validation, it helps to drive employee engagement.

In fact, 90% of employees say gamification makes them more productive at work. So how exactly does it work? Time for a little neuroscience.

Gamification fires up the brain’s reward system. When we make progress towards a goal or receive recognition, our brains release dopamine — the “happy hormone.”

We feel good. So we’re more likely to repeat the behavior that gave us that dopamine hit.

This is why Duolingo’s streak counter keeps millions of users practicing languages (and now chess!). It’s why Fitbit’s step goals push people to walk just that bit further. And it’s why many organizations have jumped on the gamification bandwagon.

That same psychology is what makes micro-moments of progress on modern intranet apps — think quick reactions, streaks, and bite-sized challenges — so sticky for today’s workforce.

The best programs boost employee productivity and satisfaction with regular dopamine hits throughout the day. But gamification schemes aren’t always successful.

Without a set purpose and complementary employee experience strategy, gamification can end up feeling like a gimmick and the fun quickly fades from the experience.

When “fun” feels fake: Where gamification falls down 

Gamification can boost everything in the employee lifecycle, from the onboarding experience to performance management — but only when it’s done with empathy and intention.

Not every challenge, badge, or leaderboard adds value to the employee journey. In fact, when gamification is rolled into internal comms without empathy or intention, it can easily backfire.

Here’s where gamification can go wrong:

• Meaningless badges. If employees don’t understand what a badge represents — or if a badge doesn’t feel connected to real progress — it’s just another notification to ignore. Badges should feel earned and reflect achievements that matter to employees and your organization. 
  
  
• Forced competitions. Friendly competition can feel motivating. But forcing it on people who are already stressed and stretched too thin? It becomes a source of pressure, not playfulness.
  
  
• Public shame for low performers. A leaderboard that constantly highlights the team’s “losers” is a quick way to erode morale. Not everyone wants their performance broadcast across the company.
  
  
• Praise for only some personalities. Games skewed to extroverts or competitive types leave large segments of your workforce disengaged. Everybody should have the chance to win points and prizes.
  
  
• Focus on company goals. Gamification can achieve big things for your business. Think better employee retention and improved cultural experience! But make corporate KPIs your only focus and employees see games for what they are — another performance metric, not a genuine engagement tool.

Time to reboot your gamification strategy? Let’s look at what employees really want.

Time to level up with smarter gamification strategies

Great workplace gamification isn’t about tricking people into working harder. It’s about making progress visible, recognition effortless, and participation feel natural — without the noise of points-for-the-sake-of-points.

Strategic gamification gives employees organic recognition and reward within their everyday workflow. Here’s how to improve employee experience by weaving gamification through your workday.

Figure out what you want to achieve

Gamification only works when it’s solving the right problem. Too often, organizations roll out leaderboards or points systems hoping to fix issues that need a very different kind of intervention.

For example, if your people are disengaged because they’re burnt out, they don’t need a competition. They’re more likely to need better workload balance and well-being support.

Start by asking: What’s the real challenge here? And work to fix root causes first.

Then, layer gamified digital experiences that are linked to real business goals and employee needs. When you set clear, measurable outcomes, gamification is more likely to have the desired employee experience results.

Celebrate micro-wins

Not every victory deserves a burst of confetti and a standing ovation. But every small success deserves something. 

Those micro-wins are the secret sauce — tiny jolts of momentum that keep people moving forward without the corporate fanfare. And celebrating these moments in the flow of work creates a steady rhythm of employee recognition.

Aim for something like this:

• Daily. Quick kudos or emoji reactions when small tasks are completed.
• Weekly. Shoutouts for team collaboration or creative problem-solving.
• Monthly. Digital badges or spotlight features for outstanding contributions.

The dopamine boost from these mini celebrations is real. And it adds up. By regularly highlighting micro-wins, you embed organic gamification into your company culture and start building a great place to work from the inside out.

Harness the power of peer recognition

If workplace gamification had a co-op mode, it’d be peer recognition.

Badges and leaderboards are nice to have. But a simple high-five from a co-worker can provide a much more meaningful motivation boost. That’s because public peer recognition is visible, instant, and social — everything good gamification should be.

So give employees the internal communication channels they need to award kudos, nominate co-workers for a reward, or add their congratulations to a recognition post.

These organic moments of appreciation are great for company culture. They work wonders for the motivation of both those receiving recognition and those dishing it out.

And an added bonus? When recognition happens in the moment — not buried in a quarterly award ceremony — it becomes a natural part of how your workplace culture works, not a box to tick.
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Launch news feed challenges

Your intranet platform isn’t just a noticeboard. It can be an employee’s go-to place for connection, interaction, and fun. But only if you venture beyond the standard corporate memo.

Add a few game mechanics to everyday moments throughout the employee journey. Set regular news feed challenges that create friendly competition and a sense of shared achievement. Some ideas?

• Run a caption challenge tied to a weekly theme
• Invite people to share short day-in-the-life clips or “work hacks”
• Let teams submit photos of wins, then vote for the standout moment

These micro-challenges use the same principles as gamification — visible progress, social validation, and small rewards that keep people coming back for more.

Make it interactive

Gamification thrives on interactivity — it’s the difference between reading instructions and actually picking up the controller. You can bring that same energy into your employee communications by designing moments where people see change and impact in real time.

Here are a few ideas:

• Pulse surveys and polls. Let people click and vote. Show engagement survey results instantly or follow up with a summary of employee feedback and a plan of action to show cause and effect. Mix and match employee surveys with pulse survey tools to minimize survey fatigue and better enable 360 feedback.

• Progress bars. Add visual progress indicators — for training modules, or even as an online video story plays. Also, share employee data that others will care about. For example, 82% of you have completed cyber-security training this week — can we get to 100%?

• Countdown timers. Create excitement for live events or new initiatives with a countdown. The ticking timer creates buzz, curiosity, and a sense of employee satisfaction when the new content drops.

Keep it authentic

If there’s one golden rule of gamification, it’s this — never fake the fun.

Nothing tanks engagement faster than games that feel mandatory, corporate, or designed to squeeze a little more output from already-stretched teams. Employees can spot the difference between something genuinely built to improve employee experience and something built with the company’s bottom line as a priority.

People join in when games are fun and playful. So keep things human. Make participation voluntary. And, most of all, keep things simple.

When your gamified moments feel natural — fitting with the flow of everyday work — they make the biggest difference to employee experience.

Play Blink Bonanza today

Our POV? Real engagement, not artificial rewards = employee experience results

Gamification doesn’t need to be flashy. It doesn’t need a complicated leaderboard or digital trophies. Instead, the best gamification feels purposeful and playful — and fits seamlessly within your workflow.

At Blink, we’ve seen how intuitive, mobile-first design turns everyday actions into effortless bursts of engagement. Quick reactions become micro-rewards. Employee surveys act like mini-challenges. Stories feel like new levels unlocking. When these moments are woven naturally into the workday, they spark real connection — without a single gimmicky badge in sight.

And when you base your gamification strategies around social interaction, connection and community become a reward in themselves. It stops being about badges and points, and starts being about people — meaning a more organic and meaningful employee experience.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Instant messaging tools

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

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Advantages:

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

Best tools: Blink, Slack, Jive, Workvivo

Emails and newsletters

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

Best tools: ContactMonkey, Axero, Poppulo, Staffbase

Audio and video conferencing tools

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

Best tools: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams

Employee recognition center

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

Best tools: Blink, Bonusly, Unily

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Employee engagement and surveys

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

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

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Best tools: Blink, SurveyMonkey, Bonusly, Qualtrics

Company news feed

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

Best tools: Blink, Workvivo, Staffbase, Happeo

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Project management

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

Best tools: Asana, monday.com

Intranet

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

Best tools: Blink, Simpplr, Happeo, Unily

Employee communication app

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

Best tools: Blink, Workvivo

Employee experience platform

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

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

Best tools: Blink, Workvivo, Staffbase

The takeaway:

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

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

20 best internal communication tools

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

1. Blink

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

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

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

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

Pricing is available on request

Use Cases

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

Improving engagement through interactive multimedia content

2. Asana

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

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

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

Use cases

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

3. Jive

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

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

4. Zoom

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

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

Use cases

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

5. Bonusly

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

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

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Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

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

Use cases

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

6. Axero

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

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

7. ContactMonkey

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

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

Use cases

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

8. Slack

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

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

Use cases

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

Read more: Top Slack alternatives

9. SurveyMonkey

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

Prices start from $30 per user per month.

Use cases

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

10. Microsoft SharePoint

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

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

Use cases

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

11. Monday.com

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

Prices start from $8 per user per month.

Use cases

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

12. Workvivo

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

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

Use cases

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

Read more: Top Workvivo alternatives

13. Staffbase

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

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

14. Poppulo

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

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

15. Qualtrics

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

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

16. Happeo

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

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

Read more: Top Happeo alternatives

17. Unily

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

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

Read more: Top Unily alternatives

18. Simpplr

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

Pricing is available on request.

Use cases

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

Read more: Top Simpplr alternatives

19. Google Meet

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

Prices start from $6 per user per month.

Use cases

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

20. Microsoft Teams

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

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

Pros

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

Cons

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

Pricing

Prices start from $4 per user per month.

Use cases

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

Read more: Top Teams alternatives

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The importance of internal communications in an organization

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

Strong internal communication also supports:

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

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

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

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

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