How to choose frontline employee communication software

Choosing frontline employee communication software is more than just picking a tool. It’s about finding a solution that empowers the crucial staff working your organization’s frontline roles. Frontline employees are the backbone of many industries, providing customer service, living company strategy, and keeping things moving. 

To empower the frontline, the right communications app must be mobile-first, make critical information easy to access, support two-way communication, integrate with existing systems, and be simple for frontline teams to adopt and trust over time. Better connected frontline workers perform more safely, productively, and confidently.

With so many options on the market, it can be difficult to know what makes the biggest positive impact. This guide breaks down what frontline workers really need from a communication app. We cover the strengths and limitations of common tools, and the key features and factors to evaluate so you can confidently choose software that keeps your frontline workforce informed, engaged, and connected.

What frontline workers need from communication tools

For frontline workers, effective communication software must be mobile-first, easy to access on the go, and designed for real work environments. It should support employees throughout their day by improving frontline communication and making essential information easily accessible and communication clear.

Access without being at a desk or computer

Most frontline workers don’t sit at a desk all day or even have a work laptop. They’re on the job using their mobile devices to stay connected, so success hinges on being able to access frontline worker communication apps on the go. 

A full-featured mobile app experience

Just a simple mobile app isn’t enough. Frontline employee communication apps need to enable staff to do, see, and create everything their at-desk colleagues can do.

Quick access to key, on-the-job resources

Out in the field, time is of the essence and staff need to be able to access critical resources quickly and easily. To enable quick access to key information, the platform should have:

• A clear navigation structure
• Quick links on top-level pages to key pages and information
• Search (or an AI-powered knowledge discovery tool, like ThoughtFarmer’s AI Assistant!)
• Customized homepages with information relevant to each employee’s role

Built-in two-way communication

Good frontline worker communication platforms go beyond top-down communication—they enable powerful two-way collaboration channels with features like:

• Forums that invite teamwork and questions
• Polls to collect quick input
• Online forms to gather employee feedback and input
• Comments to encourage frontline staff to interact with content

Easy access to reliable, up-to-date information

Frontline workers need to be able to rely on their communication app as a trusted source of truth for how to perform their jobs safely and accurately. An app should make it easy to:

• Eliminate duplicate content, so staff can be confident that they’re reviewing the “right resource” and all instructional information is up to date 
• Schedule content review cycles to regularly revisit content for accuracy and relevance 
• Establish clear content ownership to ensure accountability and help staff know who to go to with questions
• Provide clear approval processes through guided workflows

Pros and cons of common frontline communications tools

Frontline worker communication tools range from email and chat to SMS and intranets, but they aren’t all created equally. Understanding the pros and cons of these options is key to choosing the right approach for improving the frontline employee experience.

Email for frontline workers

While email is a standard communication channel in most organizations, it’s not always the most conducive way to connect with frontline workers.

Pros of email 

• Familiar 
• Low cost and readily available

Cons of email

• Slow, outdated, and messy 
• Easy to miss while frontline staff are on shift
• Key information gets buried in email chains
• Difficult to distinguish between what information is need to know vs. must know
• Generally has low engagement among frontline staff
• Difficult to search

Chat and collaboration tools for frontline workers

While there’s a time and place for some chat and collaboration tools, like Slack or Microsoft Teams, they often fall short for keeping frontline staff informed and connected.

Pros of chat and collaboration tools 

• Often available on mobile devices
• Most effective for one-to-one communication or inter-team coordination only
• Offer more immediacy than email 

Cons of chat and collaboration tools

• Create a lot of noise and lead to message overload
• Difficult to target communication by role, shift, or location
• Not designed to push out critical communications
• Short shelf life of messages before buried by other information
• Offer no content management or knowledge base
• Difficult to search for and find key documents and information

SMS and messaging tools for frontline staff

When not given the right tools to succeed, frontline staff may take matters into their own hands and use communication apps meant for personal use, such as Whatsapp, Messenger, or text.

Pros of SMS and messaging tools

• Available on mobile devices
• Offer more immediacy than email 
• Effective for emergency notifications only

Cons of SMS and messaging tools

• Present serious security, oversight, and governance issues
• Offer no content management or knowledge base
• Purely peer-to-peer, inhibit the ability for organizational leaders to communicate information
• Blurs work and personal life boundaries
• Not recommend for workplace settings
• Difficult to search for and find key documents and information

Traditional intranet platforms for frontline staff

Traditional intranet platforms, like Sharepoint, offer an improvement over messaging apps and email, but still leave a lot to be desired.

Pros of traditional intranet

• Can host files, documents, and key resources
• Often integrate with enterprise systems, like Microsoft 365
• Familiar to IT and some knowledge workers

Cons of traditional intranet

• Designed for desktop access, not mobile
• Require staff to proactively log in to see updates and news
• Low adoption rate among frontline staff
• Often perform like an outdated file repository 
• Challenging to navigate

Modern, purpose-built intranet platforms

A modern social intranet, like ThoughtFarmer, is an employee experience and communication platform that combines company news, job-critical information, and two-way collaboration in one central, trusted source of truth. It combines many of the pros from each of these categories into an interactive and easy-to-use platform.

Pros of a modern intranet for connected frontline employees

• Provide frontline staff a sense of belonging with interactive, social experiences 
• Connect frontline staff to company strategy with timely and targeted information sharing
• Improve productivity and confidence by providing easy access to job-critical resources on the go
• Provide a great user experience with modern design elements and intuitive interactions
• Track the ROI and prove the value of your intranet with built-in analytics and insights
• Maintain better security with login, content, and admin controls
• Keep staff in the loop with push notifications, no logging in required
• Conduct searches across both your intranet and connected drives

Cons

• Requires regular content management to keep information fresh and up to date
• An additional cost to procure intranet software
• Staff need to participate and engage with the intranet to make it more valuable 

Key intranet features for frontline employee engagement

When choosing your frontline employee communication software, look for these key features:

• A full-featured mobile app that allows frontline staff to do everything needed from their mobile device
• Custom home pages to show each staff relevant information that’s unique to their role and interests
• Targeted broadcasts and push notifications to ensure time-sensitive updates reach the right staff
• Employee directory that’s automatically generated and updated based on employee profiles
• Intuitive navigation so frontline staff can find key information and forms they need quickly
• Personalized news feeds that are personalized to each employee’s role or team 
• Two-way communication abilities, including polls, forums, forms, and comments
• Security and governance, enabling role-based permissions, content ownership settings, and admin controls
• Integrated online forms to streamline workflows, approvals, and requests

Discover more key features for modern intranets.

What to consider when evaluating frontline worker communication apps

There’s a lot to take into account when shopping for new frontline employee communication software. Success depends on how well the tools fits into real workdays—not just how impressive it looks in a demo. Here’s a comprehensive set of impactful buying factors to guide your decision.

Mobile capabilities

This is a non-negotiable for frontline teams. Basic mobile access (like mobile web or limited features) is not enough. Look for a platform with a dedicated mobile app with all the same features as the desktop platform, so they can do their jobs well.

ThoughtFarmer’s intranet mobile app delivers the same powerful tools and seamless communication your staff enjoy on desktop, ensuring everyone stays connected and productive.

Flexibility

It’s important to consider the level of flexibility you need. Frontline worker communication platforms with too much flexibility can be technically challenging to manage and often require dedicated IT support for updates. 

On the other hand, frontline employee communication tools with too little flexibility can make it feel like you’re trying to make your processes and workflows fit the intranet—instead of the other way around.

ThoughtFarmer has flexible guardrails in place, providing enough flexibility to make your intranet yours without needing to bring in IT to make a small content change. Our content management system is structured and intuitive, empowering all teams to update and manage the intranet.

Integrations

While tool consolidation is ideal, your staff will likely need to use tools outside your intranet. When you’re considering an intranet for frontline communication, make sure it integrates with other apps that are core to your everyday processes. Integrations help to streamline existing workflows and improve intranet adoption.

ThoughtFarmer’s integrations include Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, Sharepoint, and more.

Ease of use and modern design

Let’s face it—no one wants to use a tool that feels clunky, old, and dare we say it, ugly. Digital experiences have advanced to where staff expect aesthetic and modern app experiences in the workplace. 

Make sure to consider the design of the frontline worker communication platforms. Both in terms of the user experience for intranet and content managers, and the end-user experience for staff navigating your intranet.

ThoughtFarmer has a modern look and feel with an intuitive content management system that isn’t cumbersome to use. Customize your intranet with our advanced design and theming capabilities to seamlessly match your brand.

Analytics

Analytics are helpful when it comes to keeping tabs on how frontline staff are using your intranet. Use analytics to:

• See what terms frontline employees are searching for to identify content gaps
• Discover top-performing pages and make them easier to access
• Identify underperforming content so you know where to focus improvements
• Measure the adoption of your intranet among frontline employees
• See who are the top power users of your intranet

ThoughtFarmer Analytics is built right into the platform and provides all the above insights and more—empowering you to make data-driven decisions to drive success with frontline workers and beyond. You can filter your analytics by segment, so you can zoom in on just frontline workers or even smaller sub-teams of frontline staff. Get on-demand insights at a high level or deep dive into the data for a more detailed look at trends. 

Licenses and cost

Every frontline worker communications software company will structure their agreements differently. Before getting into contracts or negotiations, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your budget and organization’s needs. Here are some questions to ask:

• Do you have seasonal employees and fluctuating license needs throughout the year?
• Who in your organization needs access?
• Do you collaborate with sub-contractors, freelancers, or external consultants who will also need access?
• Are you planning to grow your organization in the near future and take advantage of economies of scale?

Licensing models can have a bigger long-term impact than teams expect—especially for frontline-heavy organizations. ThoughtFarmer offers simplified pricing. The more licenses you add, the less expensive each user is. Unlike other frontline worker communication platforms that make you pay to play for core features, we have one plan that includes all our features. Plus, it’s backed by our award-winning support and 90-day risk-free guarantee.

Implementation and customer support

During rollout and adoption, even the best frontline employee communication software requires strong support. When evaluating frontline worker communication apps, consider not just the platform itself, but the support team behind it. 

Look for a provider that offers responsive, knowledgeable support and is genuinely invested in your long-term success. ThoughtFarmer is known for our award-winning customer support and hands-on approach. We partner closely with our customers from onboarding through optimization so their intranet continues to meet frontline needs.

Community

A strong customer community is a bonus, but it’s also a signal that a company is invested in the ongoing success of its customers. Communities create opportunities to learn from people in similar industries or roles, discover new best practices, and see how other organizations are driving intranet success.

The ThoughtFarmer Community supports ongoing intranet excellence by giving customers a space to connect, exchange ideas, and continue learning long after launch.

Engage your team with an intranet mobile app

Choosing the right frontline employee communication platform takes careful consideration, but the goal is simple: keep frontline workers informed, engaged, and connected.

A modern intranet brings together mobile access, targeted communication, two-way engagement, and reliable access to job-critical information, creating a frontline employee experience that other tools can’t deliver on their own.

ThoughtFarmer’s intranet is designed specifically to support a connected frontline workforce at scale. Ready to see how ThoughtFarmer’s intranet platform can support your frontline team and improve communication? Request a demo.