Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council overcome communication challenges using an employee app

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council was formed in 2015 after the amalgamation of Antrim Borough and Newtownabbey Borough Local Councils. This came about as part of an overall strategy in local government in Northern Ireland merging 26 existing local councils to 11 ‘super councils’. The council serves a population of 141,000 residents across several large and small towns as well as across a large proportion of rural communities.

The Challenge - Communicating with Diverse, Dispersed Teams

As a result of the amalgamation of councils in Northern Ireland, many council employees found themselves moving location, merging into new teams and generally experiencing disruption to their previous working lives under separate councils.

The council takes the responsibility for their employees very seriously, and in 2015 they received the “Investors in People Silver Award” for their work with employees. As part of that initiative, the communications team were determined to further analyse and improve employee engagement across the workforce.

In terms of employee satisfaction measurement, internal communication scored the least - although 61% of employees stated that internal communication had either improved or remained the same, 39% of employees remained dissatisfied.

Diving Deeper

Not satisfied with these results, the council were determined to re-engage and improve morale which was low due to the merger and disruption in employee’s working lives and environment.

During deeper discussions at staff engagement roadshows, ideas were discussed concerning how the employees might feel better engaged and how communications could be made more readily available.

The suggestion of having a mobile app came from within the 50% of staff who do not have access to a computer and therefore remain outside the traditional communications loop of email and intranet.

Staff who already had access to email agreed that separating communications away from email, would lead to a de-cluttering of overloaded inboxes and reduce the chance of missing important information or communications via email.

Bridging the Communications Gap

The communications team set about solving the problem and were determined to find a way of re-engaging with those who felt left out of the communications loop.

Find the Best Solution

An employee app was the best solution which would bridge the information gap between employees who had access to corporate email and intranets and those who did not.

After researching the market, the council engaged Thrive.App as a recognised leader in the field. A team was assembled comprising of communications personnel and members of staff without computer or email access to champion the employee app within the organisation.

Clear goals were determined for the success of the employee app. It was added to improve the overall internal communication across the council, to give all employees the opportunity to participate and see the communications within the council. The app would reach those employees who did not have access to email to ensure they were connected and informed with the right information they needed to carry out their duties.

iConnect launched

Using the input from the multi-disciplinary project team, the app was built in close collaboration with Thrive.App over a matter of just a few weeks.

The ‘iConnect app' was launched. From the launch it was available to all staff for download on mobile phones and desktop regardless of the operating system or ability to access email. Everyone was given the opportunity to connect and engage with the newly developed, fresh communications channel.

Predicated by an internal marketing campaign, the launch saw 20% uptake in the first day alone. Bolstered by a positive and energising staff roadshow, the number increased in the first few weeks of use to 57% of staff having downloaded, registered and started using the app.

App users found that the information presented gave them up-to-date and useful content that enabled them to stay abreast of the news and information relevant to their job on the move.