Access & activation
Communications
Personalized experience
Connected work
Insights & intelligence
Home
The personalized mission control for every employee’s workday.
Hub
A centralized knowledge base for all your policies, links, and documents.
Single sign-on
Secure, one-click access to all your essential work tools.
Events
Organize and promote company events to drive attendance and awareness.
Connect the whole organization.
Secure chat
Real-time messaging that keeps your entire team safely connected.
Voice & Video calling
High-quality calling built specifically for your workplace colleagues.
Live Streaming
Broadcast all-hands and town halls directly to every mobile device.
Blink Assist (AI)
Your AI co-pilot for drafting posts and summarizing complex updates.
Connect the whole organization.
Stories
Modern, social-first updates that make company news feel engaging.
Recognition
Celebrate wins with public awards and peer-to-peer "thank yous."
Communities
Build belonging with discoverable, interest-based social groups.
Employee Journeys
Automate key milestones from day-one onboarding to work anniversaries.
Connect the whole organization.
Digital forms
Replace paper trails with mobile-friendly forms and instant data.
Integrations
Connect your tech stack to automate workflows and sync user data.
Manager-led activation
Empower local leaders to drive fast and effective app adoption.
Connect the whole organization.
Surveys
Capture real-time employee sentiment through pulse checks and deep-dives.
Basic analytics
...
Connect the whole organization.
SMB
Explore how Blink can work for your company and role
Enterprise
Explore how Blink can work for your company and role
Franchises
Explore how Blink can work for your company and role
Nonprofit
Explore how Blink can work for your company and role
Connect the whole organization.
Connect the whole organization.
Connect the whole organization.
Connect the whole organization.
Connect the whole organization.
Product
Product overview Modern social Employee engagement Internal communications Digital access Analytics Employee app Modern intranet
Employee retention Employee experience Employee communications AI for frontline work
Features
Blink Assist Communities Hub Digital forms Employee journeys
[Manager-led activation\ [News feed\ [Recognition\ [Chat\ [Single sign-on\ [Surveys\ [Integrations\ Voice and video calling
Product
Product overview Modern social Employee engagement Internal communications Digital access Analytics Employee app
Features
Manager-led activation News feed Recognition Chat Single sign-on Surveys Integrations Live streaming Voice and video calling
A single source of truth for your workforce.
Reach every employee instantly.
Keeping your team motivated.
Digitize processes and automate workflows.
Real-time messaging that keeps your entire team safely connected.
High-quality calling built specifically for your workplace colleagues.
Broadcast all-hands and town halls directly to every mobile device.
Your AI co-pilot for drafting posts and summarizing complex updates.
Modern, social-first updates that make company news feel engaging.
Celebrate wins with public awards and peer-to-peer "thank yous."
Build belonging with discoverable, interest-based social groups.
Automate key milestones from day-one onboarding to work anniversaries.
Replace paper trails with mobile-friendly forms and instant data.
Connect your tech stack to automate workflows and sync user data.
Empower local leaders to drive fast and effective app adoption.
Capture real-time employee sentiment through pulse checks and deep-dives.
...
Explore how Blink can work for your company and role
Explore how Blink can work for your company and role
A single soExplore how Blink can work for your company and roleurce of truth for your workforce.
Explore how Blink can work for your company and role
Intranet
10 min read
The 15 best intranet software providers in 2026
Compare the 15 best intranet software providers in 2026 across features, pricing, frontline reach, and fit. From SharePoint to Blink. and Simpplr, find your shortlist.
Jess DeVore
Published:
September 1, 2023
Last updated:
June 2, 2026
What we'll cover
Quick comparison: top intranet software at a glance
Which intranet platforms actually work for your team?
Why intranet software matters for frontline workers
How to evaluate intranet software for your organization
Most intranet comparisons are written by people who've never had to get a nurse, a warehouse picker, or a hotel housekeeper to download an app. Blink. has. We've onboarded 87% of a 10,000-person workforce in 10 days, and we've watched the platforms that look great in a demo fall apart the moment they meet someone without a corporate email address. That's the lens this guide is written through.
Most intranet software was built for people who sit at desks all day. That's a problem when roughly 80% of the global workforce doesn't have a desk, a laptop, or a corporate email address ( Emergence Capital, The Rise of the Deskless Workforce). This guide compares 15 intranet software providers for 2026, covering features, pricing, strengths, and where each platform falls short. Whether you're replacing SharePoint, consolidating tools, or reaching workers who've never had an intranet before, you'll find your shortlist here.
Last updated: May 2026.
The short answer
For organizations with significant frontline or deskless populations, the realistic shortlist is Blink., Staffbase, or Firstup, with Simpplr a strong choice if your workforce is mostly desk-based and you want AI-native search. SharePoint and Microsoft Viva remain the default if you're deeply standardized on Microsoft 365 and have IT capacity to configure them. Everything else fits a more specific use case.
Quick comparison: top intranet software at a glance
Platform
Best for
Frontline-ready?
Starting price
Blink.
Frontline and deskless teams (SMB and enterprise)
Yes (mobile-first)
$3.75/user/month (Core annual)
Simpplr
AI-powered desk-based intranets
Limited
Custom
Staffbase
Internal comms at enterprise scale
Yes (with add-ons)
Custom
Workvivo
Culture and social engagement
Partial
Custom
Unily
Complex global enterprises
Limited
Custom
LumApps (with Beekeeper)
Google/Microsoft ecosystem with frontline reach
Yes (via Beekeeper, mid-integration)
Custom
Microsoft SharePoint + Viva
Organizations already on M365
No
Included with M365 (from $6/user/mo)
Interact
Mid-market organizations
Limited
Custom
Igloo
Knowledge management
Limited
Custom
Haiilo
Employee advocacy
Limited
Custom
Firstup
Intelligent multi-channel content delivery
Yes
Custom
Happeo
Google Workspace users
No
From ~$5/user/month
Jostle
Simple internal comms
Limited
From ~$5/user/month
MangoApps
All-in-one digital workplace
Partial
From ~$4/user/month
Axero
Knowledge sharing communities
No
Custom
What is intranet software?
Intranet software is a private digital platform that connects employees within an organization to company news, documents, tools, and each other. Unlike the public internet, an intranet is accessible only to authorized workers and serves as a central hub for internal communication, knowledge sharing, and day-to-day workflows.
Modern intranet platforms have moved far beyond the static page repositories of the early 2000s. Today's best intranet software includes AI-powered search, personalized content feeds, mobile apps, employee recognition, surveys, and integrations with tools like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and HR systems. For a deeper look at what these platforms should do for distributed teams, see our guide to internal communication tools.
For organizations with frontline and deskless workers, mobile-first intranet software has become essential. See our complete guide to team communication tools for deskless teams for the wider category.
Which intranet platforms actually work for your team?
Not all intranet software serves the same audience. The biggest split in this market is between desk-first platforms (built for knowledge workers with laptops and corporate email) and whole-workforce platforms (built to reach every employee, including those on the shop floor, behind the wheel, or on a ward).
If your organization has a significant frontline or deskless population, this distinction matters more than any feature checklist. A platform that scores perfectly on Gartner's criteria but requires a corporate email to log in will fail for the workers who don't have one. For more on closing that gap, see frontline digital inclusion.
Here's how each platform stacks up.
1. Blink.
Best for: Organizations with frontline and deskless workers who need a mobile-first intranet. Works across SMB and enterprise.
Blink. was built from the ground up for workers who don't sit at desks. The mobile app is the primary experience, not an afterthought, and employees can join via phone number or QR code with no corporate email required. The platform combines a news feed, team chat, a searchable Hub, surveys, recognition, and digital forms in a single app.
Key strengths:
- Mobile-first architecture with offline access
- No email or IT setup needed for workers to join
- 87% adoption at JD Sports in 10 days, 20,000+ active employees at easyJet ( Blink. customer stories)
- Native integrations with Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and major scheduling and HR systems ( Blink. integrations)
- AI assistant on the Pro tier
- Recognized in Gartner's Market Guide for Employee Communications Applications
Where it's limited:
- Less suited for organizations that want a traditional document-heavy desktop intranet
- Pure knowledge management is not the lead use case
Pricing: Core at $3.75 per user per month (annual), Pro at $5.00 per user per month, Enterprise custom. Free trial across all tiers ( Blink. pricing).
For head-to-head comparisons, see Blink. vs Microsoft Teams and Beekeeper vs Blink..
2. Simpplr
Best for: Desk-based organizations wanting an AI-powered intranet.
Simpplr has positioned itself as the AI-native intranet, earning Leader status across Gartner, Forrester, G2, and IDC reports. The platform focuses on personalized content delivery and automated governance for knowledge workers. Strong search capabilities and clean design make it popular with IT and comms teams at mid-to-large enterprises.
Key strengths:
- Leader across all four major analyst reports
- AI-powered search and content recommendations
- Clean, consumer-grade interface
- Strong governance and content lifecycle management
Where it's limited:
- Primarily designed for desk-based workers with corporate email
- Limited frontline-specific features (no QR-code sign-up, no offline mode)
- Rising fast in AI search visibility, which is making them more visible in buyer research
Pricing: Custom.
See Simpplr alternatives for competitive context.
3. Staffbase
Best for: Enterprise internal communications teams.
Staffbase is built for internal comms professionals who need to create, publish, and measure content across channels. The platform includes a branded mobile app, email newsletters, digital signage integration, and detailed analytics. Strong adoption in large European enterprises.
Key strengths:
- Purpose-built for IC teams with editorial workflows
- Branded mobile app with push notifications
- Email newsletter builder (no separate ESP needed)
- Detailed content performance analytics
Where it's limited:
- High complexity for smaller organizations
- Frontline features require additional configuration
- Pricing can be steep for mid-market
Pricing: Custom.
4. Workvivo (by Zoom)
Best for: Building company culture and social engagement.
Acquired by Zoom in 2023, Workvivo uses a social-media-style feed to drive engagement. The platform is strong on peer recognition, social features, and community building. Popular with organizations that prioritize culture and employee voice.
Key strengths:
- Social feed that feels familiar
- Strong recognition and shout-out features
- Zoom integration for video
- Mobile experience available for desk and frontline workers
Where it's limited:
- Mobile reviews on Google Play have flagged frontline usability issues
- Less focused on operational comms (shift scheduling, forms, workflows)
- Post-acquisition integration with Zoom's broader suite is still evolving
Pricing: Custom.
See top Workvivo alternatives.
5. Unily
Best for: Complex global enterprises with sophisticated requirements.
Unily serves some of the world's largest organizations. The platform offers deep customization, multi-language support, and enterprise-grade security. Strong on governance and compliance for regulated industries.
Key strengths:
- Handles complex, multi-region deployments
- Deep Microsoft 365 integration
- Advanced personalization and targeting
- Strong governance and compliance features
Where it's limited:
- Expensive and complex to implement
- Primarily desktop-oriented, mobile is a secondary experience
- Overkill for mid-market organizations
Pricing: Custom.
See Unily alternatives.
6. LumApps (with Beekeeper)
Best for: Organizations deeply embedded in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 that also want frontline reach.
LumApps integrates natively with both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. In July 2025, LumApps acquired Beekeeper in a deal valuing the combined company at more than $1 billion, backed by Bridgepoint, with a 12 to 24 month integration roadmap to deliver a combined "AI Employee Hub" ( LumApps press release).
Key strengths:
- Deep Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 integration
- AI-powered content targeting
- Added Beekeeper's frontline features post-acquisition
- Strong in knowledge management and document search
Where it's limited:
- Beekeeper integration is still maturing, two-product complexity remains
- Less intuitive for non-technical users
- Frontline features are inherited, not native
Pricing: Custom.
See LumApps alternatives and Beekeeper vs Blink. for the post-acquisition buyer view.
7. Microsoft SharePoint and Viva
Best for: Organizations already committed to the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
SharePoint remains the most widely deployed intranet platform globally, largely because it's bundled with Microsoft 365 licenses. Viva adds employee experience features (engagement surveys, learning, insights) on top. The combination is powerful for desk-based teams but requires significant IT investment to configure and maintain.
Key strengths:
- Included with existing Microsoft 365 licenses (no additional cost for basic functionality)
- Deep integration with Teams, Outlook, and the Microsoft ecosystem
- Massive partner ecosystem for customization
- Viva adds engagement, learning, and analytics layers
Where it's limited:
- Not designed for frontline workers, requires corporate email and Microsoft 365 license
- Heavy IT administration and governance overhead
- Mobile experience is functional but not mobile-first
- Configuration complexity means most deployments take 6 to 12 months
Pricing: Included with Microsoft 365 Business plans (from $6 per user per month). Viva suite is additional ( Microsoft 365 pricing).
8. Interact
Best for: Mid-market organizations wanting an enterprise-grade intranet.
Interact offers a well-rounded intranet platform with strong content management, people directories, and analytics. Popular with mid-market organizations that want enterprise features without enterprise complexity.
Key strengths:
- Good balance of features and usability
- Strong people directory and org chart
- Content targeting and personalization
- Integrates with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
Where it's limited:
- Mobile app is secondary to the desktop experience
- Less suited for large frontline populations
- Fewer AI features than newer competitors
Pricing: Custom.
9. Igloo
Best for: Knowledge management and document collaboration.
Igloo focuses on bringing together knowledge, documents, and conversations in a single platform. Strong for organizations where information findability is the primary challenge.
Key strengths:
- Document management and search
- Customizable digital workplace channels
- Good integration with existing file storage (SharePoint, Google Drive)
Where it's limited:
- UI feels dated compared to newer platforms
- Limited frontline and mobile capabilities
- Smaller market presence means fewer third-party integrations
Pricing: Custom.
10. Haiilo
Best for: Employee advocacy and social amplification.
Haiilo (formerly Smarp) combines an internal intranet with employee advocacy tools, enabling workers to share approved content on their personal social media channels. Strong with marketing and employer branding teams.
Key strengths:
- Built-in employee advocacy platform
- Content creation and curation tools
- Analytics for both internal engagement and social reach
- Multi-language support
Where it's limited:
- Advocacy features may be unnecessary for organizations focused purely on internal comms
- Less robust for operational workflows and frontline use cases
Pricing: Custom.
See Haiilo alternatives.
11. Firstup
Best for: Intelligent, personalized content delivery at scale across desk and frontline.
Firstup (formerly SocialChorus + Dynamic Signal) uses AI to deliver the right content to the right employee at the right time. The platform supports email, mobile app, SMS, and digital signage channels, making it viable for reaching workers across multiple touchpoints.
Key strengths:
- AI-powered content delivery and personalization
- Multi-channel reach (app, email, SMS, signage)
- Analytics and engagement measurement
- Designed to reach both desk and frontline workers
Where it's limited:
- More of a content delivery platform than a full intranet
- Less strong on two-way communication and collaboration
Pricing: Custom.
See Firstup alternatives.
12. Happeo
Best for: Google Workspace users wanting a social intranet.
Happeo is built specifically for organizations using Google Workspace. It adds an intranet, social feed, and knowledge base on top of Google's productivity tools.
Key strengths:
- Native Google Workspace integration
- Social channels for team and topic-based communication
- Clean, modern interface
- Pages and knowledge base features
Where it's limited:
- Google Workspace only (no Microsoft support)
- Desktop-first experience
- Smaller feature set than enterprise alternatives
Pricing: Public pricing typically starts in the $5 per user per month range. See Happeo alternatives.
13. Jostle
Best for: Simple, clean internal communications.
Jostle focuses on simplicity, offering a clean intranet experience for organizations that want to communicate without complexity. Refreshingly straightforward in a market full of feature bloat.
Key strengths:
- Very easy to set up and use
- Clean interface with low learning curve
- Good for organizations under 1,000 employees
- Transparent published pricing
Where it's limited:
- Limited customization and advanced features
- Not suited for complex enterprise requirements
- Basic mobile experience
Pricing: Public pricing typically starts in the $5 per user per month range. See Jostle alternatives.
14. MangoApps
Best for: Mid-market organizations wanting an all-in-one digital workplace.
MangoApps combines intranet, messaging, training, and workflow features in a single platform. Good value for organizations that want multiple capabilities without buying separate tools.
Key strengths:
- All-in-one platform (intranet + chat + training + workflows)
- Competitive pricing for mid-market
- Customizable modules
- Basic frontline features included
Where it's limited:
- Jack-of-all-trades means no single feature is best-in-class
- UI can feel cluttered with all modules activated
- Less polished than specialist platforms
Pricing: Public pricing typically starts in the $4 per user per month range. See MangoApps alternatives.
15. Axero
Best for: Knowledge sharing and community-driven organizations.
Axero focuses on creating internal communities and knowledge-sharing spaces. Good for organizations where peer-to-peer knowledge transfer is the primary goal.
Key strengths:
- Community and forum features
- Knowledge base and wiki capabilities
- Customizable spaces for teams and projects
- Competitive pricing
Where it's limited:
- Primarily desktop-oriented
- Less focused on news delivery and top-down communications
- Limited frontline and mobile capabilities
Pricing: Custom.
Why intranet software matters for frontline workers
Roughly 80% of the global workforce is deskless ( Emergence Capital), yet most enterprise communication technology still targets the desk-based minority. That gap is why most intranet deployments fail to reach the people who need them most: the warehouse workers, nurses, retail associates, drivers, and hotel staff who keep organizations running but rarely touch a laptop.
Frontline disengagement has a measurable cost. Gallup's State of the Global Workplace consistently finds that disengaged workers leave at materially higher rates than engaged ones ( Gallup State of the Global Workplace).
Modern mobile-first intranet platforms are closing this gap. At JD Sports, 87% of frontline workers adopted Blink. within 10 days. At easyJet, 20,000+ employees are active users. Stagecoach reported a 26% reduction in driver turnover after giving frontline staff access to a mobile intranet ( Blink. customer stories). For more on the engagement levers, see our guide to deskless worker communication.
How to evaluate intranet software for your organization
Start with your workforce profile. What percentage of your employees are desk-based vs. frontline? If more than 30% of your workforce doesn't have a corporate email address, eliminate any platform that requires one.
Define your primary use case. Are you solving for internal communications, knowledge management, employee engagement, or all three? Platforms like Staffbase excel at comms, Igloo at knowledge, Workvivo at engagement. Blink. combines comms, engagement, and operational tools for frontline-heavy teams.
Test the mobile experience yourself. Download the app. Try to complete common tasks (read a news post, find a document, submit a form) on your phone. If it feels clunky, your frontline workers won't use it. Look for platforms where mobile is the primary experience, not a scaled-down desktop version.
Ask about time-to-value. Enterprise intranet deployments can take 6 to 12 months. Some mobile-first platforms can onboard teams in days.
Calculate total cost of ownership. The license fee is just the start. Factor in implementation costs, IT administration time, training, and the opportunity cost of low adoption. A cheaper platform with 20% adoption costs more per engaged user than an expensive one with 90%.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best intranet software for 2026?
The best intranet software depends on your workforce composition and primary goals. For organizations with frontline and deskless workers, Blink leads with mobile-first architecture and consistently high adoption rates (87% at JD Sports, 96% at Dollar Tree). For desk-based knowledge workers, Simpplr and Unily offer strong AI-powered search and content management. For internal communications teams at large enterprises, Staffbase provides purpose-built editorial workflows and multi-channel publishing. Gartner's 2025 Market Guide identifies employee communications applications as a distinct category from traditional intranets, reflecting the market's shift toward platforms that reach all workers, not just those at desks. The right choice comes down to whether you need a document repository, a communications platform, or a unified employee app.
How much does intranet software cost?
Intranet software pricing varies significantly, from $4 per user per month for basic platforms like MangoApps to custom enterprise pricing for Simpplr, Staffbase, and Unily that can exceed $10-15 per user per month. Microsoft SharePoint is effectively free for organizations with existing Microsoft 365 licenses, though the hidden costs of configuration, governance, and ongoing IT administration can be substantial. A 2024 Clearbox report found that the average total cost of ownership for a traditional enterprise intranet (including implementation, customization, and administration) was $150,000-$500,000 over three years. Mobile-first platforms like Blink and Workvivo typically have lower implementation costs because they require less IT configuration and can onboard employees through self-serve sign-up methods like QR codes and phone number registration.
What is the difference between an intranet and an employee experience platform?
An intranet is a private internal website focused on information sharing, document management, and company news. An employee experience platform (EXP) is broader: it combines communication, engagement, recognition, surveys, learning, and operational tools into a unified digital workplace. The lines are blurring rapidly. Gartner now categorizes many products previously called "intranets" under the employee communications applications market. In practice, organizations in 2026 are choosing between traditional intranets (SharePoint, Igloo) that prioritize content and documents, and modern employee platforms (Blink, Workvivo, Staffbase) that prioritize engagement, communication, and reaching every worker. The choice depends on whether your primary goal is managing information or connecting people.
Can intranet software work for employees without email?
Yes, but only certain platforms support it. Traditional intranet software like SharePoint and Happeo requires corporate email addresses and IT-provisioned accounts, which excludes the 80% of workers who don't have them. Mobile-first platforms like Blink, Firstup, and Staffbase (with frontline modules) allow workers to sign up using phone numbers, QR codes, or employee ID numbers. This distinction is critical for industries like retail, healthcare, hospitality, logistics, and manufacturing where most employees work on the floor, not at a desk. According to Blink's platform data, organizations that offer email-free sign-up see 40% faster time-to-full-adoption compared to those requiring IT-provisioned accounts.
How do you measure intranet success?
The most important intranet metrics are adoption rate, active usage, and content reach. Adoption rate measures what percentage of eligible employees have signed up. Active usage measures how often they return (daily or weekly active users). Content reach measures what percentage of employees actually see important communications. Beyond these basics, leading organizations track read rates for mandatory content, survey response rates, search success rates, and mobile vs. desktop usage splits. For platforms serving frontline workers, the daily open rate is particularly revealing. Blink users open the app an average of 7 times per day, suggesting the platform has become a genuine daily tool rather than a rarely visited intranet. Benchmarks vary by industry, but adoption rates below 50% within 90 days typically indicate a deployment or content problem, not a platform problem.
Is SharePoint still a good intranet in 2026?
SharePoint remains the most widely deployed intranet platform globally because it's bundled with Microsoft 365. For desk-based organizations already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, it offers deep integration with Teams, Outlook, and OneDrive at no additional license cost. But SharePoint has significant limitations as a modern intranet. It requires IT expertise to configure and maintain, the mobile experience is an afterthought, and it offers no meaningful way to reach workers without corporate email. The addition of Microsoft Viva (engagement, learning, insights) addresses some gaps, but adds complexity and cost. Organizations with significant frontline populations increasingly deploy a mobile-first platform alongside SharePoint rather than trying to extend SharePoint to workers it was never designed for.
Related reading:- What is an intranet? Everything you need to know in 2026- Intranets vs. employee experience platforms: why the lines are blurring- 8 features every modern intranet platform should have- How AI will reinvent the employee intranet
Last updated: May 2026.
The short answer
Quick comparison: top intranet software at a glance
Platform
Best for
Frontline-ready?
Starting price
Blink.
Frontline and deskless teams (SMB and enterprise)
Yes (mobile-first)
$3.75/user/month (Core annual)
Simpplr
AI-powered desk-based intranets
Limited
Custom
Staffbase
Internal comms at enterprise scale
Yes (with add-ons)
Custom
Workvivo
Culture and social engagement
Partial
Custom
Unily
Complex global enterprises
Limited
Custom
LumApps (with Beekeeper)
Google/Microsoft ecosystem with frontline reach
Yes (via Beekeeper, mid-integration)
Custom
Microsoft SharePoint + Viva
Organizations already on M365
No
Included with M365 (from $6/user/mo)
Interact
Mid-market organizations
Limited
Custom
Igloo
Knowledge management
Limited
Custom
Haiilo
Employee advocacy
Limited
Custom
Firstup
Intelligent multi-channel content delivery
Yes
Custom
Happeo
Google Workspace users
No
From ~$5/user/month
Jostle
Simple internal comms
Limited
From ~$5/user/month
MangoApps
All-in-one digital workplace
Partial
From ~$4/user/month
Axero
Knowledge sharing communities
No
Custom
What is intranet software?
Which intranet platforms actually work for your team?
Here's how each platform stacks up.
1. Blink.
Best for: Organizations with frontline and deskless workers who need a mobile-first intranet. Works across SMB and enterprise.
Key strengths:
Where it's limited:
- Less suited for organizations that want a traditional document-heavy desktop intranet
- Pure knowledge management is not the lead use case
2. Simpplr
Best for: Desk-based organizations wanting an AI-powered intranet.
Key strengths:
Where it's limited:
Pricing: Custom.
See Simpplr alternatives for competitive context.
3. Staffbase
Best for: Enterprise internal communications teams.
Key strengths:
Where it's limited:
- High complexity for smaller organizations
- Frontline features require additional configuration
- Pricing can be steep for mid-market
Pricing: Custom.
4. Workvivo (by Zoom)
Best for: Building company culture and social engagement.
Key strengths:
Where it's limited:
Pricing: Custom.
See top Workvivo alternatives.
5. Unily
Best for: Complex global enterprises with sophisticated requirements.
Key strengths:
Where it's limited:
- Expensive and complex to implement
- Primarily desktop-oriented, mobile is a secondary experience
- Overkill for mid-market organizations
Pricing: Custom.
See Unily alternatives.
6. LumApps (with Beekeeper)
Best for: Organizations deeply embedded in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 that also want frontline reach.
Key strengths:
Where it's limited:
Pricing: Custom.
7. Microsoft SharePoint and Viva
Best for: Organizations already committed to the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
Key strengths:
Where it's limited:
8. Interact
Best for: Mid-market organizations wanting an enterprise-grade intranet.
Key strengths:
Where it's limited:
- Mobile app is secondary to the desktop experience
- Less suited for large frontline populations
- Fewer AI features than newer competitors
Pricing: Custom.
9. Igloo
Best for: Knowledge management and document collaboration.
Key strengths:
- Document management and search
- Customizable digital workplace channels
- Good integration with existing file storage (SharePoint, Google Drive)
Where it's limited:
- UI feels dated compared to newer platforms
- Limited frontline and mobile capabilities
- Smaller market presence means fewer third-party integrations
Pricing: Custom.
10. Haiilo
Best for: Employee advocacy and social amplification.
Key strengths:
- Built-in employee advocacy platform
- Content creation and curation tools
- Analytics for both internal engagement and social reach
- Multi-language support
Where it's limited:
- Advocacy features may be unnecessary for organizations focused purely on internal comms
- Less robust for operational workflows and frontline use cases
Pricing: Custom.
See Haiilo alternatives.
11. Firstup
Best for: Intelligent, personalized content delivery at scale across desk and frontline.
Key strengths:
Where it's limited:
- More of a content delivery platform than a full intranet
- Less strong on two-way communication and collaboration
Pricing: Custom.
See Firstup alternatives.
12. Happeo
Best for: Google Workspace users wanting a social intranet.
Key strengths:
- Native Google Workspace integration
- Social channels for team and topic-based communication
- Clean, modern interface
- Pages and knowledge base features
Where it's limited:
- Google Workspace only (no Microsoft support)
- Desktop-first experience
- Smaller feature set than enterprise alternatives
13. Jostle
Best for: Simple, clean internal communications.
Key strengths:
- Very easy to set up and use
- Clean interface with low learning curve
- Good for organizations under 1,000 employees
- Transparent published pricing
Where it's limited:
- Limited customization and advanced features
- Not suited for complex enterprise requirements
- Basic mobile experience
14. MangoApps
Best for: Mid-market organizations wanting an all-in-one digital workplace.
Key strengths:
- All-in-one platform (intranet + chat + training + workflows)
- Competitive pricing for mid-market
- Customizable modules
- Basic frontline features included
Where it's limited:
- Jack-of-all-trades means no single feature is best-in-class
- UI can feel cluttered with all modules activated
- Less polished than specialist platforms
15. Axero
Best for: Knowledge sharing and community-driven organizations.
Axero focuses on creating internal communities and knowledge-sharing spaces. Good for organizations where peer-to-peer knowledge transfer is the primary goal.
Key strengths:
- Community and forum features
- Knowledge base and wiki capabilities
- Customizable spaces for teams and projects
- Competitive pricing
Where it's limited:
- Primarily desktop-oriented
- Less focused on news delivery and top-down communications
- Limited frontline and mobile capabilities
Pricing: Custom.
Why intranet software matters for frontline workers
How to evaluate intranet software for your organization
Ask about time-to-value. Enterprise intranet deployments can take 6 to 12 months. Some mobile-first platforms can onboard teams in days.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best intranet software for 2026?
How much does intranet software cost?
What is the difference between an intranet and an employee experience platform?
Can intranet software work for employees without email?
How do you measure intranet success?
Is SharePoint still a good intranet in 2026?
What we'll cover
Quick comparison: top intranet software at a glance
Which intranet platforms actually work for your team?
Why intranet software matters for frontline workers
How to evaluate intranet software for your organization
Start your free trial today
See how Blink helps frontline teams stay connected, informed, and engaged.
What to read next?
\ The 8 modern intranet features your company needs](/content/intelligence/modern-intranet-features/index.html)
\ Not your parents’ intranet: 7 ways to update your outdated intranet](/content/intelligence/not-your-parents-intranet/index.html)
\ How to make your intranet an employee magnet](/content/intelligence/make-your-intranet-an-employee-magnet/index.html)
Related Blogs
Get to know your organization like never before
On a 2023 listening tour, Safeguard Global, an HR consulting company, discovered that employees were worried about their winter heating bills. The organization acted on this feedback by providing a monthly stipend to help cash-strapped workers.
Chief People Officer Katherine Loranger told SHRM, “It wouldn’t have happened without the firsthand information about how inflation was impacting those employees.”
Similarly, after layoffs at Change.org, Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Dulski used a listening tour to understand the impact on remaining employees. She found that trust was at an all-time low.
The company responded by improving transparency and communication about its financial situation. Employees came to understand why difficult decisions had been made — and felt reassured about their job security.
As organizations like these have found, a listening tour can help you find and fix employee problems before they cause undue harm to your organization. They can also surface fresh perspectives on everything from your products to customer service to the employee experience.
In 2025, a listening tour is an essential part of any good internal communication plan. Let’s look at why that’s the case — and how you can put a listening tour into action.
What is a listening tour and why does it matter in 2025?
A listening tour is a series of structured conversations with employees, designed to gather feedback and insights.
It can include:
- 1-to-1 interviews with employees
- Focus groups
- Pulse-check polls
- Workplace walk-throughs
- Town hall meetings
A listening tour goes way beyond the annual employee survey. By actually speaking to employees, asking relevant questions, and encouraging honest and expansive answers, you develop an in-depth understanding of the employee experience.
In the case of an internal comms listening tour, you get to understand the employee experience in relation to your communications. You discover what employees think of your internal communication channels and tools. And whether your internal comms plan is having the desired impact.
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Key benefits of a listening tour
Executing an impactful listening tour takes time and effort. But it’s well worth the investment. Here’s why:
It builds trust. Conduct a listening tour and you show employees that you value their input. When you act upon their feedback, employees feel heard. This strengthens their trust in your organization and its leadership.
It fosters inclusion. On a well-planned listening tour, you gather feedback from hard-to-reach sectors of your workforce — like frontline employees — who may have little chance, day to day, to share their ideas, challenges, and perspectives with company decision-makers.
It surfaces actionable insights. A listening tour provides lots of useful qualitative data. You get to know what employees are struggling with and their preferred solutions. These actionable insights allow you to make changes that make a real difference to your workforce.
Why run a listening tour now?
There’s never been a better time to run a listening tour.
We know that many hybrid and frontline employees feel excluded from the company conversation. Nearly 2 in 3 UK workers are worried about burnout in 2025. And the latest Gallup figures show that just 23% of employees are engaged at work.
In 2025, employees are also holding leaders to a higher standard of accountability and transparency. Deloitte research shows that 84% of workers and 74% of leaders say an increasing focus on trust and transparency between workers and the organization is very or critically important.
According to Deloitte, transparency is the most pressing business trend. It’s predicted to have the greatest impact on an organization’s success, both this year and over the next two years.
A listening tour helps to address all these issues. Employers can uncover what employees want from leadership and better understand employee motivation and wellbeing. They can then develop a plan to improve internal communications, transparency, and employee engagement, benefitting workers and the organization’s bottom line.
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Planning your next listening tour
So how do you make a success of a listening tour at your organization? It starts with a clear and comprehensive plan.
Set clear goals
Decide what you want to achieve with your listening tour and how your communication goals align with broader business objectives, such as employee retention.
If you’re running an internal communications listening tour, you may want to find out how employees feel about the company intranet — or the other internal communication tools you use. You may want to know if employees feel part of company culture and how they rate the transparency of your leadership team. You may also want to gauge their feedback on internal communication efforts such as key messages, internal emails, or peer communication.
Whatever your focus, establishing your goals helps to ensure your listening tour has direction and that you can measure outcomes effectively.
Identify your audience
The goals of your listening tour will help to dictate its audience segments. If you’re looking to address challenges within a single team, you only need to target that department. But for business goals that relate to your entire organization, you should look further afield.
Also, consider the diversity of your target audience. If you want to get a holistic sense of employee sentiment, speak to employees from all corners of your organization. That includes hybrid and frontline workers who experience the workplace differently from desk-based workers.
Choose the right format
The format of your listening tour needs to align with the needs and expectations of your workforce. Be conscious of time zones, shift patterns, access to tech tools, and the resources available to your interviewing team when deciding how to conduct your tour. Options include virtual sessions, in-person conversations, or a mix of the two.
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Prepare key questions
You’re more likely to achieve your listening tour goals if you set a couple of key interview questions in stone. Some examples include:
- What challenges are you facing in your role?
- How can we improve employee communications?
- What support would make your work easier?
- Which key messages do you care the most about?
- What motivates you to stay with the organization?
Pro tip: Conduct an employee survey before running a listening tour. This helps to surface issues you might want to explore in more depth during the tour.
Executing the tour
To get the most from your listening tour:
- Be present and authentic. Show genuine interest in employee feedback by demonstrating active listening skills and empathy. Leave space for them to elaborate on their answers.
- Encourage open dialogue. Use inclusive language and emphasize that all opinions are valued and confidential. Facilitate two-way communication by allowing participants to ask questions, too.
- Adapt as you go. Be flexible and prepared to pivot if certain topics emerge as priorities. Don’t be afraid to go beyond your key questions to ask meaningful follow-up questions.
- Document key insights. Designate a note-taker or record sessions (with permission) to ensure no feedback from employees is lost
Related read: Crisis communication best practices: the only 4 you need to remember
Analyzing and acting on feedback
If you’ve executed an extensive listening tour, the amount of data you now have at your fingertips can feel overwhelming. Here’s a step-by-step process for analyzing and acting upon it.
Step 1. Organize your findings
Group feedback into themes like communication gaps, technology issues, or recognition needs. You can do this manually, using a spreadsheet or sticky notes. Or you can use tech tools like AI and mind-mapping software. This helps you identify any burning issues and prioritize your action plan.
Step 2. Share what you’ve learned
Transparency builds trust. So share a summary of the feedback with employees, acknowledging recurring themes, significant insights, and any surprising findings. Also, thank workers for their input, emphasizing the crucial role they play in shaping workplace improvements.
Step 3. Take action
The ultimate goal of any listening program is meaningful workplace change. So outline specific steps the company is planning to take, along with timelines. Involve managers to ensure employees see immediate and tangible results.
Most importantly, prioritize transparent and effective communication along the way, keeping employees up to date with progress on your action plan and closing the feedback loop.
Pro tip: Seek ongoing employee feedback to find out if changes have addressed the concerns raised in your listening tour. If not, go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan.
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Beyond the tour: Building a listening culture
When you go beyond a one-off listening tour to build a culture of listening at your organization, you embed the benefits.
Employees have faith that their feedback is listened to and acted upon — and they feel comfortable voicing their opinions because there’s a wider culture of psychological safety.
As a result, you receive honest and valuable employee input, which yields more effective workplace improvements. You also get ongoing feedback, which means employee dissatisfaction is much less likely to take you by surprise.
So how do you create a listening culture? Start by putting these key foundations in place:
Ongoing feedback channels. An annual feedback event isn’t enough. Encourage employee feedback all year round with regular pulse surveys and 1-to-1s, ensuring feedback channels are accessible to all workers.
Leadership training. Equip managers with the tools and skills they need to conduct their own mini-listening tours, making open and empathetic communication a priority.
A regular schedule of listening tours. Keep your finger firmly on the pulse by turning listening tours into an annual event. You’ll improve the process — and employee input — with each new cycle.
It’s time to make listening tours a fixture of your internal communication plan
Listening tours are a commitment of time and effort. But — because they provide insights that you simply can’t get from an employee survey — they’re well worth the investment.
By embarking on an annual listening tour, deploying other employee listening tactics in the months between tours, and reliably acting upon feedback you build a culture where employees feel heard and supported.
Find new ways to improve your internal communication strategy, foster employee engagement, and build workplace trust. And make a tangible difference to the work lives of employees in the process.
Blink. And start truly listening .
Is your employee intranet actually working for your team — or is it just taking up space?
Today’s workforce is mobile, distributed, and digitally savvy. They manage their finances, shopping, and social lives through beautifully designed apps — and they expect workplace tools to keep pace.
When an intranet doesn’t, employees steer clear. That’s why clunky, desktop-first platforms are quietly being replaced by modern intranets and employee apps designed for how people actually work in 2026 — not how they used to.
Simply put: Most intranets don’t fail because they’re missing features. They fail because no one actually wants to use them.
A modern intranet needs to be more than a static homepage or a document dumping ground. It’s a living, breathing hub that helps employees do their best work.
It connects people, information, and tools — all in one place. And crucially? It’s designed around how employees actually work now, not how they used to.
So what separates a truly modern intranet from versions that have come before? Meet the eight features you’ll find on any cutting-edge intranet platform.
8 must-have modern intranet features
Whether you’re planning to update an outdated intranet or find a completely new solution, here are the must-have intranet features you need — and why they matter.
1. A mobile-first experience
Let’s start with a non-negotiable. A modern intranet should be mobile-first.
It should be designed for mobile devices as a priority, not retrofitted later as part of a clumsy glow-up. Because shrinking a desktop intranet down to fit a teensy smartphone screen just doesn’t cut it for user experience.
A modern intranet app features:
- Full functionality — not a slimmed-down version of your desktop platform
- Intuitive navigation via a user-friendly dashboard
- Easy access, even for employees without a corporate email address
- A consistent experience across both mobile and desktop
What makes this a modern intranet must-have?
Work doesn’t just happen at a desk. Employees are on shop floors, hospital wards, construction sites, and warehouses. Even desk-based employees are increasingly hybrid, remote, or on the move.
If your company intranet only works well on desktop, you’re excluding a huge chunk of your workforce.
A mobile-first intranet app closes communication gaps, puts resources within easy reach, and creates an equitable digital employee experience for everyone. So it’s easy to check policy updates, swap shifts, and even submit a safety report — all via smartphone and all in the flow of work.
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2. A central hub for information
One of the central promises of any intranet is simple: a single source of truth. That means:
- Policies, handbooks, and standard operating procedures all living in one place
- A clear structure and ownership for every piece of content
- Content management tools — so it’s easy for admins to see what needs updating when
What makes this a modern intranet must-have?
Many organizations still have information scattered across Microsoft 365 SharePoint sites, email attachments, shared drives, and unofficial WhatsApp chats.
Employees aren’t sure where to look for resources or, when they do lay their hands on the right document, whether the information it contains is up to date.
A central hub makes information reliable and easy to find. Employees spend less time digging around for documents and resources, so productivity and collaboration improve.
3. Powerful search and discovery
Even the best content is useless if no one can find it. So modern intranets treat search functions as a core feature, not an afterthought.
They provide a fast, intuitive experience — with filters, tags, and clear navigation. They surface the right content, not just the most recent.
What makes this a modern intranet must-have?
Advanced search functionality saves time, reduces queries to managers, and helps employees find the answers they need in seconds. This is particularly useful for busy frontline teams who don’t have time to hunt for the information they need.
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4. Built-in communication tools
A modern intranet mobile app goes beyond storage. It acts as a communication hub, bringing together knowledge, company news, and collaboration tools.
We’re talking:
- A social-media-style news feed for company updates and culture building
- Chat tools for quick team messaging
- Live streams and video conferencing for real-time social collaboration
- Employee surveys and polls to give everyone a voice
Employees get two-way communication channels, easy access to workplace updates, and a cohesive intranet experience.
What makes this a modern intranet must-have?
With fewer tools and tabs, it’s easy for employees to get up to speed. People are also more likely to act on your comms — they can click on a link within a message and head straight to the intranet resources it relates to.
With built-in tools, employee communication becomes more streamlined, effective, and engaging. And your intranet becomes the go-to place for company comms.
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5. Easy access to other systems
Are there barriers between your intranet and the other digital workplace systems you use? Then you’re adding friction to the work day — and missing out on another essential modern intranet feature.
The best intranets act as a digital front door for your organization. From one simple dashboard and a single set of login details, employees can access all the tools they need to do their work well. No juggling passwords or hopping between tabs.
They can check a payslip in the HR system, complete an online training module, view inventory information — all in a couple of clicks, right from your intranet platform.
What makes this a modern intranet must-have?
When your intranet acts as a digital hub, providing single sign-on and deep integrations with your existing systems, work flows more smoothly. Employees spend less time navigating tools and more time actually using them.
The payoff is less frustration, fewer support requests, and higher adoption of the software you’ve already invested in.
6. Social and engagement features
Work isn’t just about tasks and to-do lists. It’s about people — and your intranet should reflect that. It needs social features that feel natural and intuitive.
A news feed where employees can react, comment, and start new conversations. Quick-fire polls. Communities of coworkers. Short-form video stories. Public recognition that makes great work visible.
This modern social experience mimics the apps employees love to use away from work. And — done well — it doesn’t add to the noise. With smart targeting and personalization, employees see relevant, engaging content every time they log in.
What makes this a modern intranet must-have?
Employees want to feel seen, heard, and connected. Social and engagement features give them a shared space to interact — a digital water cooler where people can gather, no matter their location, shift, or time zone.
This is great for building company culture and improving employee engagement. It’s particularly useful for dispersed teams who don’t always get to see their coworkers face to face.
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7. Simple administration and governance
Modern should never mean hard to manage. Behind every great intranet experience is a setup that’s easy to run — without constant IT involvement. That means:
- Simple publishing workflows
- Clear permissions and controls
- Easy audience targeting
- Straightforward governance for content creation
What makes this a modern intranet must-have?
When administration is too complex, content delivery slows down. Pages go stale. Updates get stuck in approval loops. Before long, people stop trusting the intranet. And once you’ve lost that trust, it’s very hard to get employees back onto the platform.
The best intranet sites give comms, HR, and operations teams the confidence to manage their piece of the intranet independently. That agility keeps information fresh, accurate, and timely.
8. Analytics that show what’s working
Last on our list of must-have modern intranet features it’s analytics. Because it’s no longer enough to publish content and hope for the best. Internal teams need data that helps them understand:
- Who’s logging in?
- What content is being read?
- Where engagement is high (or low)
- How adoption changes over time
The best employee intranets provide clear, actionable insights. They present data clearly and allow you to drill down into that data to reveal trends and causes.
What makes this a modern intranet must-have?
Employee expectations and needs are liable to change. So, to keep pace, you need tounderstand the intranet experience inside out.
With access to usage, reach, and engagement data, you can continuously improve your intranet. You can make it more relevant, more engaging, and more valuable over time. So employees consistently get value from the platform and actually enjoy logging in each day.
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Making work easy and enjoyable with a modern intranet app
When all the right pieces come together, your intranet becomes an employee magnet. It also makes work a whole lot easier.
Employees don’t waste time hunting for answers or switching between tools. People communicate and work together easily. Culture shows up in everyday moments — not just leadership announcements.
That’s the difference between an intranet people avoid and one they rely on. Between a platform you’re simply paying for and one that actually gets used.
If your intranet still feels like a filing cabinet — or if it’s missing any of the modern intranet features we’ve covered above — it’s time for an upgrade.
Why off-the-shelf internal comms tools win every time
Your internal communications tool isn’t working.
Employees miss important updates. Frontline workers feel disconnected. Your IT team is stretched thin, and now you’re faced with a big decision: Build your own solution from scratch or buy a ready-made platform?
Building might seem like the best way to get exactly what you want. Total control, custom features — it sounds great in theory. But in reality? It’s a massive undertaking. Development takes months (if not years), maintenance is a never-ending burden, and by the time your internal communication software is live, it’s already outdated.
The good news? You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Today’s prebuilt corporate communication tool offers the perfect balance of speed, flexibility, extensive customization options, and a wide range of features tailored to your needs — without the cost and complexity of building from scratch.
Let’s dive into why an off-the-shelf internal communications platform is the smarter, faster, and more effective choice for connecting your entire organization.
The evolution of internal comms platforms
You may once have scraped by with a basic company intranet and SharePoint. But internal comms have come a long way — from bulletin boards and internal email blasts to mobile-first apps that deliver real-time updates and targeted, effective communication.
Today’s workforce demands consumer-grade experiences and a modern UX. So to improve your internal communications strategy and the employee experience, organizations now need platforms that are intuitive, engaging, and integrated with existing tools.
Big changes to your comms tech may feel like a daunting prospect. But if your existing internal comms platform is holding you back, remember that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
You can leverage prebuilt platforms to improve internal comms, share company content, and elevate company culture like never before.
6 reasons to buy an internal communication tool
Still on the fence about buying or building your internal communication tool? Let’s look at all the reasons why buying a solution provides everything you need and more.
#1. Easy activation
Building your own internal communication tool requires months (or years) of development, testing, and iteration. The process dominates the time of your tech team for a prolonged period.
When you buy a platform, on the other hand, you get instant access to a proven and reliable system with best-in-class key features and minimal training required. There’s no need to worry about designing UX, managing infrastructure, or fixing bugs.
You can simply configure and launch, counting on tried and tested functionality — and incredible speed, too. A bought platform can be live within months, if not weeks. So you can start making a big difference to your internal comms sooner rather than later.
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#2. Digital inclusion
In 2025, internal communication tech shouldn’t be reserved for your office-based team.
If you want to achieve high levels of employee engagement and retention across all sectors of your workforce, you need an internal communication tool that allows you to reach every employee — no matter where or when they work.
With a mobile-first employee app, you can send company updates directly to employee smartphones. Whether you have office-based workers, remote teams, or frontline employees, you can be sure that comms are getting to every corner of the company.
Staff can log in to your platform without a corporate email address and stay informed of company updates on the go. They get push notifications that alert them to critical news. And they can access advanced features that encourage an employee social network, like a news feed and instant messaging tools.
The best employee apps revolutionize workplace communication. But creating, launching, and maintaining your own employee app is no mean feat.
To ensure digital inclusion, your comms tool should be available across desktop, Android, and iOS devices. That means building and maintaining multiple apps in the app store, which is a significant burden for an internal IT team.
Opt for a turnkey solution, however, and you ensure that no employee is left out. With a dedicated tech team on hand, you can be confident that your internal communication tool will work perfectly across a range of devices and that all employees — no matter where and how they work — can onboard in just a few clicks.
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#3. Customer success
When you create employee communication software from scratch, you’re on your own. Your internal team has to build an engaging platform — and inspire employees to use it.
A purchased platform tends to come with a dedicated success team. These experts can help to optimize platform engagement, adoption, and ROI. They can also take care of training and troubleshooting, removing the burden of support from your internal IT team.
Your platform partner has walked this road before. Rolling out their platform time and time again, they’ve built up a wealth of knowledge. So your employees don’t have to be guinea pigs for a completely new system and launch process.
A customer success team can provide on-site support during the launch phase — and advise on the best ways to drive adoption. Whether that’s through a teaser campaign, employee challenges, or the simple (but very effective!) bribery of giving free ice cream cones or lunch vouchers to every employee who downloads the app.
#4. Custom branding
A common concern about a bought internal communication tool? That it won’t look and feel like your brand. That you have to sacrifice brand identity for the convenience of a bought solution.
But with more comprehensive and robust customization options available, this is no longer the software sticking point it once was.
Modern employee communication platforms allow for full customization. You can add company colors, logos, and fonts. Your company name and logo will appear in the app store, on people’s phones, and inside the platform itself.
The best internal communication software allows you to apply this customization on a micro-level within your organization — by team, role, and geography — to provide a branded and personalized employee experience.
With extensive customization options, you can use your internal comms tool to create a company culture of belonging.
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#5. App personalization
Of course, it isn’t just the look of your internal communication platform that counts. The functionality it offers should be tailored to meet the needs of your employees.
This is why some companies choose to go down the build route. They see it as a way to get a custom solution that perfectly meets their requirements.
But again, bought solutions are keeping pace. They’re going beyond a one-size-fits-all approach to give customers a tailored tool, without the hassle of building it themselves.
With intuitive platforms that offer a user-friendly interface, you can create communication channels, custom workflows, control layouts, modify notifications, and ensure employees receive relevant content for them.
Features you don’t need? No problem — turn them on and off as you see fit. Concerned about real-time messaging? All good — set up alert and time zone parameters as needed.
Bought solutions are also agile. With your platform partner’s support, it’s easy to keep up with internal communication trends and employee expectations. And you don’t have to pay for ongoing development costs every time you need a new feature.
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#6. Integration
Internal communications don’t exist in a vacuum. Your platform needs to integrate with the other workplace software you use, including HR systems, payroll, scheduling, team collaboration tools, and much more.
Creating deep integrations for a self-build solution is time-consuming and costly. It often requires expensive API development and ongoing maintenance just to keep things connected.
But a purchased solution comes with prebuilt and seamless integrations for software like Workday, ServiceNow, Microsoft 365, and more.
Via secure, single sign-on technology, employees can access all the workplace tools they need. Your employee communication tool acts as a digital company hub, providing easy access to things like employee surveys, training, peer recognition and rewards, employee feedback forms, pay stubs, and shift swap tools.
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#7. Future-proofing
The right internal communications platform shouldn’t just solve today’s challenges. It should evolve with your organization and keep your workforce connected no matter how work changes.
Building an in-house solution may seem like a way to tailor communications to your exact needs, but without ongoing investment and dedicated resources, these systems can quickly become outdated. They can struggle to keep up with shifting workforce expectations, mobile-first engagement trends, and emerging technologies.
A prebuilt platform, by contrast, is continuously updated, giving you access to the latest and greatest capabilities without the burden of maintaining and upgrading the technology yourself.
Keep in mind: Not all prebuilt platforms are created equal. Some workplace tools are owned by larger corporations, where internal comms are just one of many priorities. This can leave customers vulnerable to shifting business strategies or product sunsets.
With the right internal comms partner, you get long-term stability, continuous innovation, and a platform designed to adapt and grow with your workforce — so you’re always ahead of what’s next.
Build or buy? Get the best of both worlds with Blink
Building an internal communication app may seem like a great way to get exactly what you want. But it’s often a long, costly, and risky investment.
In contrast, buying a prebuilt platform gives you speed, scalability, and best-in-class technology. You also enjoy the expertise of a team that lives and breathes internal comms tech.
Choose a comprehensive solution like Blink and there’s no trade-off. You get the best of both worlds. The ability to brand and white label the platform. Powerful integrations with other workplace software you use. And a speedy launch — most of our clients go live within 6 to 12 weeks.
Our support is also second to none. Our team comes onsite at your company to assist with the platform launch and ensure high levels of adoption. The proof is in the stats.
With Blink, Domino’s achieved a 94% adoption rate and 81% monthly active users. A company news feed, chat features, and integrations with benefits, payslips, and shift swap tools make it easy for Domino’s to cultivate an informed and motivated workforce.
Over at Stagecoach, Blink has helped increase employee satisfaction by 46% and reduce staff turnover by 26%. What’s more, 100% of employees said they would recommend Blink’s internal communication platform to a colleague.
Don’t spend months reinventing the wheel. Ask the right questions when choosing a new employee communication tool and you can find a single platform that meets your ever-evolving comms needs and builds human connection — today, tomorrow, and beyond.
Blink. And connect your workforce with a ready-made internal comms platform.
Want to work smarter, not harder? Then these business productivity apps could be just what you and your team need to tackle that chaotic to-do list — without burning out.
These apps offer a broad range of tools. They can help you stay on top of tasks, manage projects, track your time, and collaborate with co-workers.
Some are built to improve employee engagement, which has a huge impact on employee productivity. And some come with AI tools that support automation and data analysis to speed things up even further.
Ready to meet the smartest, simplest, and most user-friendly productivity apps for 2025? Let’s make some introductions.
The best productivity apps for 2025
The best apps for productivity in 2025 are:
- Trello
- Airtable
- Basecamp
- Hive
- Monday.com
- Google Docs
- Miro
- Microsoft Teams
- Todoist
- Remember the Milk
- Any.do
- Blink
- Bonusly
- Docebo
- Clockify
- RescueTime
- Freedom
- Evernote Teams
- Otter.ai
- Day One
Now, let’s find out what they can do for your business.
The best productivity apps for project management
Keeping projects on track is easier when you have good productivity apps in the mix. These tools are designed to help project managers and project teams deliver on time and on budget, reliably tracking tasks and deadlines along the way.
1. Trello
Trello is super easy to set up and use — and for small teams, the free version with ten project management boards will probably cover your needs.
This workplace app provides a Kanban-style board, with expandable task cards you can shift between vertical columns depending on the level of completion.
This click-and-drag approach is clear and effective — and a fantastic way to get an at-a-glance view of project progress. You can also set up due dates and notifications to stay on track with deadlines.
Trello is one of the simplest project management apps out there. But it’s hard to beat, even when compared to the more expensive tools on the market.
Pricing
A free place is available. Paid plans start from $5 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.4/5
- Capterra: 4.5/5
2. Airtable
If your team regularly uses spreadsheets, you’ll love Airtable. This productivity app offers more functionality than Excel or Google Sheets and it’s perfect for managing projects.
Each cell links to a task management card. You can add attachments, linked records, and checkboxes. And there are lots of ways to view your data — on a grid, calendar, Kanban, or Gantt chart.
You can also export Airtable to Excel, Google Sheets, and other apps for streamlined data management and synchronization. Go wild with customization, or use one of the many templates available to get up and running quickly.
Pricing
Airtable has a free plan available for individuals or very small teams. Paid plans start from $20 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.6/5
- Capterra: 4.7/5
3. Basecamp
Basecamp has it all — project charts, real-time group chat, and to-do lists. The message board acts as a centralized place for announcements and updates and keeps everyone on the same page.
You can view reports to see how much time you’ve been spending on a project or get up to speed with the latest project activity. And you can even let clients view and comment on your projects, to bring all decisions, files, and communications to one central location.
Pricing
Basecamp allows teams to run one project for free. Prices then start at $15 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.1/5
- Capterra: 4.3/5
4. Hive
Hive is another project management tool you can try for free. You can quick-start a project by choosing from hundreds of templates. And you get access to project planning, task management, and automation tools.
A range of different project views ensures that different management styles are well-catered for. And with a personal to-do list alongside time tracking and team-wide resourcing features, Hive makes sure both the project manager and the wider team are working from one source of truth.
Pricing
Hive has a free plan with limited features. Paid plans start at $5 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.6/5
- Capterra: 4.4/5
5. Monday.com
For successful project management, it helps to have a tool like Monday.com. It comes with built-in time-tracking features, real-time document collaboration tools, and a variety of customizable project views.
Other standout features? Excellent integrations with other workplace software. The option to add your favorite widgets to your project dashboard. And the ability to visualize team capacity, then reassign or reschedule tasks to better balance workloads.
AI support also comes in useful. You can use AI to take on routine tasks, speeding up processes and freeing up your human team members. You can also use AI-generated insights to accelerate decision-making.
Pricing
Monday.com offers a free plan for up to two users. Paid plans start at $9 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.7/5
- Capterra: 4.6/5
The best productivity apps for collaboration
When your employees work together effectively you improve workplace relationships and knowledge sharing. Other benefits of collaboration include better employee engagement and boosted productivity.
But how do you achieve that if you’re managing a remote team — or frontline employees? With one of the user-friendly and accessible tools listed below.
6. Google Docs
Google Workspace has over 3 billion users. So we can safely say that it’s one of the more popular work productivity apps on this list. And for teams looking to collaborate on documents, Google Docs is a must.
Google Docs offers many of the same word-processing features available through Microsoft 365. However, it’s a lot easier to use. The interface is more intuitive, comments are easier to follow, and you can see — in an instant — who has added what to a document.
Granted, Google Docs lacks some of the more advanced functionality you get with Microsoft Word. But if you’re primarily using the app as a collaboration tool — and don’t intend to create high-spec print-ready documents — this is functionality you won’t miss.
Pricing
The basic version of Google Docs is available to anyone with a free Google account. However, for businesses, a Google Workspace subscription provides greater storage and security. Prices for Google Workspace start at $7 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.6/5
- Capterra: 4.7/5
7. Miro
Love the creativity and accessibility of the meeting room whiteboard? Well, Miro is a team productivity app that takes the whiteboard experience online.
With Miro, your team can collaborate using a visual tool. You can map out customer journeys, come up with new product ideas, and kick-start creative thought processes — without a single sticky note in sight.
Pricing
Miro’s online whiteboard is free, but you can expand the app’s functionality with customizable templates, workflows, and integrations via the paid version, starting at $10 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.7/5
- Capterra: 4.7/5
8. Microsoft Teams
Are you Team Zoom or Team…Teams?
Both these video conferencing platforms are packed with really useful collaboration features. But for us, Microsoft Teams tips the scales for the following reasons:
The call allowance for its free plan is 20 minutes longer (60 vs 40 minutes)
If you’re using Microsoft software already, you won’t need to engineer any complex integrations
Teams doubles up as a workplace messaging app, offering lots of Slack-like features
For times when only face-to-face collaboration will do, Microsoft Teams has everything you need to keep desk-based, remote teams on the same page.
Pricing
Microsoft Teams for business costs $4 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.4/5
- Capterra: 4.5/5
The best productivity apps for task management
Got a to-do list that never seems to get any shorter? You may need a little help managing and prioritizing tasks. And — as ever — there’s an app for that. The following apps for productivity all support task management. So you can be crossing items off that list in no time.
9. Todoist
For team leaders and project managers, Todoist offers an easy way to build to-do lists, assign tasks to employees, and track completion.
We particularly like the option to set recurring due dates for regular tasks and being able to color-code tasks by level of importance.
There’s gamification built in too, which can awaken your team’s competitive spirit and give productivity a boost. Employees accumulate Karma points when they complete tasks — and can maintain daily and weekly streaks.
Pricing
Todoist provides a free plan for individuals. Business plans start from $6 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.4/5
- Capterra: 4.6/5
10. Remember the Milk
Remember the Milk started out as a personal productivity app. But it’s evolved and now offers a number of features suited to small workplace teams.
You can use color-coded tags to categorize your tasks — and make bigger tasks feel more manageable by breaking them down into sub-tasks.
A list-sharing feature means you can collaborate with others to check off your to-do list and assign tasks to other members of the team. Email, SMS, and mobile notifications remind you what you need to do next.
This app is a little basic if you have a large team. But for smaller organizations, it may provide all the task management tools you need.
Pricing
There’s a free plan available. Pro accounts cost $49.99 per year.
Reviews
- G2: 4.4/5
- Capterra: 4.4/5
11. Any.do
With a clean, drag-and-drop interface and simple swipe-right action to remove tasks from your list, Any.do is one of the most intuitive and well-designed task management apps out there.
Headline features include a daily push notification to remind you of your schedule, adding tasks by voice command, a great scheduling assistant, and integration with Slack and Alexa.
The voice features in particular make it ideal for busy teams on the go, who’ll appreciate time saved via dictation and Alexa integration.
Pricing
Any.do offers personal plans for free and a Teams plan for $4.99 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.2/5
- Capterra: 4.5/5
The best productivity apps for employee engagement
To truly improve productivity at your organization, you need more than clever planning and time management tools. You need a workforce inspired to bring its A-game — employees who feel invested in your organization and want to do a good job each and every day they show up to work.
There’s a proven link between productivity and employee engagement. According to Gallup, highly engaged organizations boost productivity by an incredible 17%. So how do you get employees to work better and harder?
It starts with an inclusive, supportive, and connected company culture — where great performance is recognized and where open communication is the norm. Workers who enjoy a positive employee experience are much more likely to be engaged.
Want a helping hand with your employee engagement efforts? Then take a look at the following engagement and productivity apps.
12. Blink
Blink’s mobile-first employee app covers all the bases when it comes to employee engagement.
We give teams the tools they need to create a vibrant workplace community — where everyone, including hard-to-reach frontline employees, gets to join the company conversation.
An interactive news feed, modern social communication tools, a content hub, employee recognition, and employee survey tools come as standard.
Blink also offers deep integrations with the workplace software you already use, so you can use Blink’s user-friendly interface as the digital front door for your organization.
By giving all employees the information, resources, and sense of belonging they need to thrive in the workplace, Blink improves employee engagement — and, as a result, productivity.
Pricing
Pricing available on request
Reviews
- G2: 4.7/5
- Capterra: 4.7/5
13. Bonusly
Employees are more likely to do their best when they feel appreciated for their hard work. With Bonusly — a reward and recognition app — you can shine a light on employee efforts and successes.
This app allows managers to assign bonus points to employees. These points can be exchanged for gift vouchers, cash, or charity donations.
You can also automate celebrations for onboarding, birthdays, and anniversaries, encourage peer-to-peer recognition, and share stories that demonstrate the core values you want employees to aim for.
By creating a culture of recognition, visible to all employees, you give employees another incentive to up their productivity.
Pricing
Prices start at $2 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.7/5
- Capterra: 4.8/5
14. Docebo
To keep your talent engaged, skills and career development opportunities are essential. And to make L&D available to all employees, a comprehensive learning management system (LMS) comes in handy.
Docebo is a great example. The platform allows you to create your own e-learning content and purchase courses from its online marketplace.
You can integrate this software into your primary employee platform. You can incorporate gamified and immersive learning. What’s more, with the help of AI, you can build a personalized experience for every learner from onboarding, through compliance, and beyond.
Pricing
Pricing available on request
Reviews
- G2: 4.4/5
- Capterra: 4.4/5
The best productivity apps for time management
The “pets” Slack channel. A friend of a friend’s wedding pics on Insta. The recipe you need to track down for dinner tonight. It’s very easy to get waylaid from a task when you have the whole internet at your fingertips.
Enter the time management app. These tools give us a better sense of how we’re spending our time so we can identify and eliminate distractions.
Here are some of the best productivity tools for time management available in 2025.
15. Clockify
Simple but incredibly effective, Clockify is a free time tracking tool that helps you see which tasks take up the most of your time.
It takes just a few clicks to create projects. Then, click the timer on and off to track the time you spend working on them. Other features include timesheet, calendar, and time off tools, plus an auto tracker that keeps tabs on the apps and websites you use.
You can also use Clockify to better manage your work. Use invoicing and expense tools to streamline your processes — and handy reports to track trends and find areas for improvement.
Pricing
There’s a free plan available. Paid plans start at $5.49 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.5/5
- Capterra: 4.8/5
16. RescueTime
RescueTime is another excellent time-tracking tool with extra features that pack a productivity punch.
You can set custom goals. How about reducing time on email? Or quitting your addiction to socials? Then, track progress toward those goals with real-time updates, reports, and analytics.
This team productivity app also provides website and app blocking to keep you focused — and notifications that alert you when you reach milestones, spend too long working on a particular activity, or try to complete too many different tasks at the same time.
Pricing
There’s a free 14-day trial available. Paid plans for teams start at $6 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.2/5
- Capterra: 4.6/5
17. Freedom
In a recent study of working professionals, 40% said they were interrupted 10 or more times during the working day. Back-to-back video meetings and the constant ping of email notifications drag your attention from the task at hand, harming productivity in the process.
Freedom allows employees to eliminate distractions, blocking the sites and apps of their choice at set times each day.
Whether they’re liable to extend their lunch break scrolling social or find themselves messaging friends instead of focusing on work emails, Freedom helps them focus on the job, so they get things done quicker.
You — and your team — can also use Freedom to establish a better work-life balance. You can block access to emails after a certain time or carve out time for deep work on a day you want to clock off on the dot.
Pricing
You can take advantage of a 30-day free trial. Paid plans start from $99 per month for up to 100 team members.
Reviews
- G2: 4.8/5
The best productivity apps for note-taking
You can find productivity tools with all the bells and whistles. But the best apps for productivity can sometimes be the simplest.
Note-taking apps are perfect for keeping track of essential information, jogging the memory, and adding to to-do lists. They make your notes easily accessible and allow your team to do away with scribbled-on scraps of paper.
Here are some of the best productivity software for note-taking available in 2025.
18. Evernote Teams
The beauty of Evernote is how flexible it is. Your employees can use it to track their personal tasks or make their own work to-do lists. But it works equally as well as a productivity app for the whole team.
Designed to store and process notes, ideas, and tasks in a similar way to the human brain, Evernote’s task management features are completely intuitive.
There’s the option to add audio, video, and PDFs to notes, keeping everything in one place. And you can expand this functionality significantly with the paid-for version, which offers appointment scheduling, calendars, note templates, document scanning, and a handy web save tool for bookmarking useful online content.
Another benefit of Evernote? It’s super easy to use on smartphones, making it ideal for teams who don’t sit at a desk.
Pricing
Professional plans start from $17.99 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.3/5
- Capterra: 4.4/5
19. Otter.ai
Make minute-taking during meetings a thing of the past with Otter.ai, a voice transcription service.
This handy AI tool takes real-time notes during your video calls and saves them in a secure and searchable database for future use. It even creates an automated summary with action items.
With Otter.ai on your team, you free meeting participants from the burden of taking notes themselves — and get everyone working off an accurate and centralized meeting record. During meetings, teams can engage fully with the topics discussed and, afterward, recap any points they need to clarify.
Pricing
There’s a basic free plan available. Paid plans start from $8.33 per user per month.
Reviews
- G2: 4.3/5
- Capterra: 4.4/5
20. Day One
Productivity journaling is the process of regularly writing down self-reflections on your working life. It’s an increasingly popular way to improve focus and critical decision-making while reducing stress.
Why not encourage your employees to give it a go by offering them a subscription to Day One, a user-friendly journaling app that lets you reflect wherever you are?
Alongside the text editor, users can upload photos, videos, and audio, or add sketches or handwritten notes using their finger or a Stylus. It’s a great way to clear the head and track progress towards professional goals.
Pricing
Day One comes with a free basic plan. Premium users can enjoy a one-month free trial and then pay $2.92 per user per month.
Reviews
- App Store: 4.8/5
- Google Play: 4.7/5
So, which productivity apps will you add to your software mix in 2025?
There you have it — the best apps for productivity in 2025. Time to cherry-pick the apps that make the most sense for your team and business.
Whether you’re managing projects, rallying a remote team, or just trying to carve out more focused time in your day, the right productivity app makes a big difference.
In 2025, the smartest apps do more than just keep you organized. They’re intuitive and AI-powered. They support you to do less busywork and more actual work. So you find it easier to get through your to-do list and keep the overwhelm at bay.
Many of the apps on this list have functionality that overlaps with others. So it’s all about finding a combination that works well for you.
An app like Blink provides a great basis for employee productivity. It helps you create a culture where employees are engaged and inclined to do their best work.
You can also integrate other team productivity apps, providing easy, streamlined access to productivity-boosting tools from the user-friendly Blink dashboard.
Blink. And discover how Blink can power up productivity at your organization.
2025 will be a transformative year for internal comms
As we look to 2025, internal communications is no longer just about keeping employees in the loop. Today’s workplace demands thoughtful, empathetic, and tech-savvy approaches to connect and engage a diverse, often dispersed workforce.
While this coming year will bring a host of unknown changes and unexpected challenges, it will also underscore universal principles — like empathy, community, and respect — that help create workplaces people genuinely want to be part of.
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For internal comms leaders, staying on top of these trends is about more than checking the latest buzzwords off your comms resolution list. It’s about creating a work culture that feels meaningful, supportive, and inclusive.
Let’s dive into the top internal comms trends shaping the future of work in 2025.
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#1. Empathy will win in a world of division
With worldwide conflicts and societal strife stirring up strong opinions, internal communication can’t afford to be tone-deaf or dismissive. People want a workplace that doesn’t just pay lip service to empathy and respect — they want to feel it.
86% of employees say workplace empathy is crucial, yet only 50% believe their organizations deliver on it — underscoring a gap that leaders are aiming to bridge in 2025
Employees bring their whole selves to work, especially during tense times. Internal comms should acknowledge that people may feel vulnerable or uncertain. This doesn’t mean comms teams need to — or even should! — take a stance on every issue, but it does mean that they should prioritize creating a culture where all voices feel respected and valued.
Help your executive leaders create communication guidelines that promote respect and open dialogue without crossing into sensitive or divisive territories. And consider how your content can be more inclusive not only with what it says, but how it says it: Informal videos from leaders, for example, can be more impactful and human than a lengthy written email.
#2. Hyper-personalization will redefine comms
The right balance of communications can be hard to find. Too much, and you risk overwhelming employees; too little, and employees may not feel as informed.
A key way to hit the right stride is by creating a more personalized approach to comms — something that 55% of communication professionals believe will be the most impactful trend in the next 5 years. Real-time data and AI can help internal comms teams segment communications to targeted groups:
- By role: If you’re a manufacturer, the messages your boots-on-the-ground plant workers care about will likely differ from your employees at headquarters. Be sure to take your core employee groups into consideration as you develop your content.
- By location: Similarly to role-based content, consider personalizing comms by location — from corporate updates (such as new benefits in the US vs. Europe) to proximate situations (like a nearby flood warning or power outage).
- By channel: Use back-end analytics to identify the channels where employees receive their information — as well as those that, for whatever reason, tend to fall flat — so you can ensure optimal engagement.
Taking a hyper-personalized approach creates a more relevant experience that cuts through the noise and resonates with employees on an individual level.
3. Mobile-first strategies will take center stage
For frontline and mobile workers, desktop-first communication doesn’t cut it anymore. Only 23% of frontline employees feel they have access to adequate technology; this lack of access can be detrimental to the employee experience.
Streamlining workplace tech isn’t just better for the frontline — it’s better for everyone: The average desk worker juggles 11 applications to complete their tasks, leaving a lot of room for digital burnout, irrelevant content, and missed messages. Plus, mobile phones are the primary way people interact with their favorite apps and services outside of work — so mobile-friendly employee technology feels naturally intuitive and familiar.
Internal comms teams need to see mobile as the primary channel for reaching all employees. By using mobile-first employee platforms to share urgent updates and in-the-moment communication, internal comms teams can better reach people where they are.
Bonus: Create concise and visual content that’s easy to see on a smartphone — think short videos, bite-sized news updates, and mobile-friendly graphics — to make important information instantly accessible and boost engagement.
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#4. Asynchronous tools will bring harmony to hybrid teams
As hybrid and dispersed workforces become more the norm, it’s on internal comms teams to cater to employees scattered across time zones, locations, and schedules.
With asynchronous (async) communication, people don’t have to be online at the same time to receive and respond to updates — making it easier for everyone to stay informed and connected. Plus, many employees feel that async communication is beneficial because it increases productivity (42%) and fosters a sense of inclusion (34%).
Rather than sharing important information only via live town halls or in-person meetings, consider creating digital assets — like recorded video updates, in-depth FAQs, or detailed content hubs — that employees can access on their own time. This approach ensures everyone can stay on the same page without endless meetings or overlapping schedules.
Make sure your content is accessible to everyone, from employees with disabilities to those working odd hours. Use clear language, avoid jargon, and leverage diverse formats to accommodate different preferences and needs.
#5. Digital tools will look more and more like Instagram and TikTok
Social media influences everything we do, and the workplace is no exception. More internal comms platforms are adding social media-style features to make work communication more engaging.
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Employees enjoy posting, sharing, and reacting outside of work — the new year is a perfect moment in time to start bringing that energy into the workplace. Now more than ever, your employee experience tech should offer a user experience as good as, or better than, everyday consumer apps like Instagram and TikTok.
Here are some ways organizations are encouraging user-generated content that creates a sense of community and makes people feel seen:
- Stories for the workplace : Enable employees to share daily updates, work wins, and personal highlights from their workday.
- Communities that connect : Create digital spaces where employees can connect and chat about shared interests, hobbies, and personal passions.
- News Feed for everyone : Curate your comms homepage as an internal news feed, showcasing an employee’s unique view of relevant content
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Social-style features can be a great way to inspire interactivity, but it’s crucial to maintain professional boundaries. Use moderation tools, set clear guidelines, and ensure all content aligns with company values and respects the workplace environment.
#6. AI will become your content sidekick
From writing support to content recommendations, AI is becoming a game-changer to help internal comms teams boost efficiency and personalize content. And they’re already excited about the innovation: 75% of users are looking to automate tasks at work and use generative AI for work communications.
Generative AI has emerged as a powerful co-creator for internal comms, allowing teams to craft messages from scratch, refine drafts, or adjust tones with ease. Need to send a CEO message with a warm, motivational tone or an urgent update that’s clear and concise? Either way, generative AI’s got your back.
AI tools can also analyze how employees engage with content, helping internal comms teams understand what resonates and adjust messaging accordingly. For instance, if engagement spikes with video updates, teams can double down on that format.
As AI continues to evolve, comms teams will gain a deeper understanding of tone, timing, and content effectiveness, ultimately leading to internal messages that feel both high quality and highly personalized.
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#7. Employee influencers will shape internal culture
We know firsthand from social media that people connect with people more than they do with brands or businesses. After all, 7 in 10 people are more likely to trust an influencer recommendation over information straight from a brand.
By tapping internal influencers, internal comms teams can champion messages and initiatives authentically, much like influencers do externally.
Start by identifying well-regarded and highly engaged employees across departments who can act as ambassadors for key company initiatives. These ambassadors can create and share their own updates, tips, or personal stories — like on social media — giving an authentic perspective that feels relatable and trustworthy.
Whether it’s a behind-the-scenes look at a big project, a day in their work life, or a personal win, internal influencers help humanize communication and give employees a sense of ownership over company culture.
#8. Gamification will transform engagement
Gamification is huge in consumer apps, and it’s making its way into internal comms to make engagement fun and rewarding. This trend goes beyond simple points or badges — it’s about fostering healthy competition and building team spirit. In fact, 9 in 10 employees say gamification makes them feel more productive and happier at work.
Create leaderboards around metrics like onboarding activities participated in, peer recognition received, or training modules completed. This can spark a friendly sense of competition, especially when teams work toward a collective goal.
Employees can unlock digital achievements for reaching milestones like work anniversaries, completing major projects, or receiving continuous positive feedback. These achievements can be showcased in their profiles or even appear as badges in chat interfaces.
Stay ahead of the comms curve in the new year and beyond
As 2025 unfolds, internal comms teams have an exciting opportunity to lead the charge in creating thoughtful, human-centered communication.
From AI personalization to empathetic messaging, these trends can help build stronger, more connected workplaces that employees feel proud to belong to.
By incorporating these trends into your 2025 plan, internal comms leaders can set up their team for success with a strategy that hears every voice, embraces every employee, and unites teams across their organization.
Blink. And ring in the new year with a trailblazing internal comms strategy .
What makes him awesome?
Scrolling through Blink, I see so many stories about people going the extra mile and that is fantastic — we do that every day in Heathrow as part of our own expectations of ourselves. We work together to make sure that whatever needs to get done, gets done.
Jamie is the backbone of Heathrow and without him it would not be the same. Jamie was the first employee to go into a COVID household — and he isn’t even a tech! He just gets involved in all aspects of the operation. Jamie lives Medequip values and that’s why I had to nominate him.
What does he want to do next?
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