Businesses across every industry are finding tremendous value in deploying apps in the workplace. Employee apps for internal communications are extremely versatile—from driving engagement to HR-self service and compliance, the possibilities are seemingly endless.
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While the qualitative benefits of creating an employee comms app might seem obvious, the financial return on investment isn’t always so clear.
Many business owners, CFOs, CTOs, and other decision-makers want to make sure the app will actually pay off before diving into development. This is a natural and logical thought process.
Key Takeaways
- Understanding ROI: Learn how to measure the financial return of an internal communications app.
- Employee Engagement: Discover how increased engagement can boost profits and productivity.
- Turnover Reduction: See how modern communication tools can decrease employee turnover rates.
- Safety and Compliance: Understand the cost implications of workplace safety and compliance.
- Operational Efficiency: Explore how communication apps enhance efficiency and company culture.
That’s why we’ve created this guide. Below you’ll learn how to measure the ROI of an internal communications app for your employees.
This information will help you crunch the numbers to ensure the investment pays off.
Increase Employee Engagement ROI
According to a recent study by Gallup, just 35% of the US workforce is engaged. Not only does this mean the remaining 65% is not engaged, but the study also found 18% of workers are actively disengaged—which is troubling.
Engagement in the workplace is more than just a metric related to how your employees focus or how much they care about their jobs. Employee engagement has a direct impact on your bottom line.
How much of an impact?
Additional research from Gallup shows that increasing engagement can increase profits by 22% and boost workplace productivity by 21%.
That’s not all. Increasing employee engagement gives you a significant competitive advantage. A study from PostBeyond found that companies with engaged employees outperform others by 202%.
Keeping employees engaged at work has become a bigger HR challenge today than ever before. With so many deskless employees working remotely, in the field, or otherwise outside of a traditional office environment, it’s easy for them to lose connection with co-workers and management.
But a mobile app keeps your staff connected and engaged regardless of location.
Companies seeking to improve employee engagement with an experience-driven approach benefit from significant results. The numbers speak for themselves.
Mobile apps are all about the employee experience. Your staff is already using their smartphones and mobile devices in the workplace—why not make their experience even better by providing them with a dedicated app for internal communications?
For every 1% increase in employee engagement, expect to see sales increase by an average of 0.6%.
Reduce Employee Turnover ROI
Retaining top-level talent in the workplace is a challenge. But one simple way to reduce employee turnover is by implementing modern communication software in the workplace.
The average annual employee turnover rate is 10.9%.
Times are changing. Unlike generations of the past, the modern workforce is always looking for new opportunities. They don’t get one job and plan on staying there for life. According to a recent survey, 52% of adults in the US and Canada plan to look for a new job in 2021.
Aside from compensation, recognition is a top reason why employees actively look for new career opportunities.
20% of those surveyed said they feel unappreciated at work. An additional 69% said their relationship with management would improve if they were recognized more often. 60% of employees say their employers seek feedback for ways to improve the employee experience, but just 16% of employers took action based on that feedback.
This is a big problem, and it all stems back to engagement and effective internal communication.
As a result, employees are churning, and it’s costing companies a lot of money.
On average, it costs about one-third of an employee’s salary to replace them. So businesses with a high employee turnover rate are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars annually that could easily be avoided.
In addition to the costs associated with recruiting, hiring, and training, you also need to look at these costs from an operational efficiency point of view.
How will your output and productivity change when a person leaves? Does this put a heavier burden on your existing staff? All of this adds to your total cost.
A successful employee app fills the gaps in communication lags. Even when your staff is working remotely, on-site, or otherwise out of the office, they can still communicate with co-workers and management.
You can set up an employee communication app with features for employee feedback, recognition badges, announcements, and more. Use the app to highlight an employee of the week or just spread positive news about top-performers in the workplace.
Use the app to build company culture, facilitate two-way communication between employees and management, send surveys, and collect feedback for improvements.
Internal communications tools like a mobile app ensure that your company’s business goals are clearly aligned with everyone in the organization, from top to bottom.
Safety and Compliance ROI
It’s tough to think of something more important than safety in the workplace. This holds true across businesses of all shapes and sizes.
In a traditional office setting, the risk of injury sitting at a desk or walking to the water cooler is fairly low. But for industries like construction, shipping, manufacturing, production, and similar industries with field service workers, the risk is much higher.
Aside from the importance of keeping your workers safe, the cost associated with injuries and non-compliance is significant. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) penalties can range from $13,653 to $136,532 per violation.
According to a workplace safety report, employers can expect to pay an additional $4 of indirect costs associated with an accident for every $1 of direct costs.
This formula adds up quickly for expensive accidents. $20,000 in direct costs becomes a $100,000 incident when you factor in the indirect costs like legal fees, productivity, moral
But what makes BuildFire so unique compared to alternative communications platforms and existing employee apps on the market is our limitless customization.
| Feature | BuildFire | Alternative Platforms |
|---|---|---|
| Customization | Limitless | Limited |
| Development Time | Reduced | Longer |
| Cost | Lower | Higher |
| Pre-built Functionality | Extensive | Varies |
We can create any type of custom feature for an internal communications app to ensure it meets the needs of your organization. So if you have a unique request to boost your ROI, our expert development team can make that happen.
That’s why BuildFire is one of the best internal communications solutions on the market today.
In terms of ROI, you can increase employee engagement, reduce employee turnover, reduce costs associated with safety and compliance, reduce costs associated with training—the list goes on and on.
| Benefit | Impact |
|---|---|
| Employee Engagement | Increase |
| Employee Turnover | Reduce |
| Safety and Compliance Costs | Reduce |
| Training Costs | Reduce |
Employee comms apps even directly contribute to increased productivity, increased sales, and higher profits.
The numbers truly speak for themselves. Just look at the case studies of real businesses that saw a phenomenal return on investment from building an employee app.
To get a more accurate ROI estimate for your specific business, talk to our team about building a workforce app for your business today. We’ll look at your needs in greater detail to determine how you can save as much money as possible with an employee app.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ROI of an internal communications app?
The return comes from several areas: increased employee engagement, reduced turnover, and stronger safety and compliance. Together these turn a comms app from a nice-to-have into a measurable business investment.
How does an employee app reduce turnover?
Engaged employees are less likely to leave, and an internal comms app drives engagement while giving staff easy access to information and self-service — factors that show up as reduced turnover ROI.
Can an employee app help with safety and compliance?
Yes. Safety and compliance is one of the ROI areas covered — an app centralises training and required information, making it easier to keep staff compliant and reduce related risk.
Is an employee communications app worth the investment?
For many businesses, yes. The versatility — engagement, HR self-service, compliance — means the value adds up across multiple areas rather than resting on a single benefit.