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McColgan's Quality Foods Improve Communication Across 300 Deskless Employees with an Employee Communications App

A smarter way to reach factory-floor teams in real time. For food manufacturers, communication is operationally critical, but often inconsistent. McColgan's Quality Foods, with over 300 employees across production and support roles, faced a common industry challenge: how to ensure that every employee receives the right information at the right time, regardless of shift or location.

Image of Grainne Elliott, Chief Marketing Officer, Thrive

By Grainne Elliott, Chief Marketing Officer, Thrive 5 May, 2026

The Challenge: Communicating with deskless employees effectively?

Like many manufacturing organisations, McColgan's relied on:

  • Noticeboards
  • Email (limited reach for non-desk staff)
  • Supervisor cascade communication

This led to:

  • Delayed or missed updates
  • Inconsistent messaging across shifts
  • Employees feeling disconnected from the wider business

The Solution: A mobile-first employee communications app

To solve this, McColgan's implemented Thrive, an employee engagement and communications platform designed specifically for deskless and distributed workforces.

Key capabilities:

  • Push notifications for instant communication across all shifts
  • Mobile access for every employee, not just office staff
  • Targeted messaging by role, department, or location
  • Centralised hub for updates, policies, and company news

“We needed a way to ensure that everyone across our business receives the same information at the same time; especially those on the factory floor who don’t sit at a desk. Thrive stood out because it is easy to use, highly effective, and built with organisations like ours in mind. It gives us confidence that our people are always informed, connected, and included.”

Grainne Hampton, Managing Director,
McColgan's Quality Foods

The Results: Better communication, stronger engagement

Since introducing Thrive, McColgan's has seen:

  • Significantly improved reach of internal communications
  • Consistent messaging across departments and shifts
  • More informed employees across production teams
  • Greater inclusion for deskless workers

Why employee communication apps are critical in manufacturing

For organisations like McColgan's, success depends on:

  • Speed of communication
  • Accuracy of information
  • Workforce alignment

An employee communications app like Thrive ensures:

  • No employee is “last to know”
  • Critical updates are delivered instantly
  • Teams stay connected across locations and shifts

What’s poor communication costing your business?

For a company like McColgan's Quality Foods with 300 employees:

  • Even a 2% reduction in staff turnover can save tens of thousands annually
  • A 1% improvement in productivity can unlock significant operational value
  • Faster communication reduces delays, errors, and missed updates

Most organisations underestimate the cost of missed communication.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an employee communications app?

An employee communications app is a mobile-first platform that allows organisations to send targeted, real-time updates to their workforce. It is especially effective for deskless teams who do not have regular access to email or intranets.

How do you communicate effectively with deskless workers?

The most effective way to communicate with deskless workers is through a mobile app with push notifications. This ensures employees receive important updates instantly, regardless of location or shift, improving visibility and engagement.

Why is communication difficult in manufacturing environments?

Communication in manufacturing is challenging because employees are often:

  • Working across multiple shifts
  • Based on production lines without email access
  • Spread across various locations

This makes traditional communication methods slow, inconsistent, and easy to miss.

What are the benefits of an employee communications app?

An employee communications app helps organisations:

  • Deliver messages instantly to all employees
  • Ensure consistent communication across teams
  • Improve employee engagement and awareness
  • Reduce reliance on outdated channels like noticeboards

How can you ensure employees receive important updates?

To ensure employees receive important updates, organisations should use push notifications, targeted messaging, and read acknowledgements. This guarantees that messages are not only sent but also seen and understood.

What is the best communication tool for manufacturing companies?

The best communication tool for manufacturing companies is a mobile-first employee app that supports real-time messaging, segmentation, and analytics. Platforms like Thrive are designed specifically to meet these needs.

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