Eric Eijgenhuijsen and Barry McDonagh discuss how Blink has improved internal communication at Metroline. Blink allows instant messaging with drivers, posting on feeds and comments. During COVID-19, updates on safety procedures took half an hour to distribute via Blink instead of using posters. Blink also lets employees know when areas have been sanitized or face masks distributed. Eric recommends making active social media users "Blink champions" to generate discussion. He is happy that Blink has changed drivers' lives by allowing them to efficiently check information over breakfast via mobile.

1. Eric Eijgenhuijsen, Group Technology
Director
Barry McDonagh, COO

2. “Blink has revolutionised how
our drivers work. It's fantastic.
It’s interactive. It's much,
much faster.”

3. Barry: Has internal communication improved at Metroline?
Eric: Yes! Now, we can instantly interact with [drivers] through Blink’s
messaging tool, as well as posting on the feed and in the comments. We
can see responses to updates. We can see the feedback from the drivers.
Barry: How have you communicated with staff during the COVID-19
crisis?
Eric: It’s now a matter of half an hour to put something together and send
it to everyone. How employees need to behave, what they can and
cannot do, what we’re doing to keep them safe.
Imagine what that would have been like before Blink… We would have to
put posters up or give people letters!

4. “We can help drivers be safer.
They instantly see we’ve hand
sanitised something, or that
we’re going to distribute face
masks.”

5. Barry: What would be your tips for keeping workers engaged on the
platform?
Eric: Find people that are active on social media already and make them
Blink champions. We have a number of people literally on Blink day after
day. They create activity, they create feedback from other drivers (…) Not
always positive, but manageable.
Barry: Do you think people will go back to word-of-mouth and notice
boards in transport?
Eric: Paper’s always been King. I've fought hard to change that. Blink has
helped people see it's better to work without paper. Payslips are a prime
example – how could anyone imagine they still needed to be printed?

6. “What makes me happy to work
with Blink is to see drivers
feedback:
“Oh my God, what would we have
done without this tool?”

7. Barry: What Blink feature has made the biggest impact at Metroline?
Eric: Having our own integration facilities and hub. Compared to similar
platforms, Blink integrates very easily into third party systems and
expands on what’s there already.
Barry: What makes you happiest about working with Blink?
Eric: It has actually really changed drivers’ lives. They can look [at Blink]
over breakfast, with cereal and a coffee: “Oh, this is what's happening,
this is what I need to do today.” It saves an enormous amount of time.
Secondly, working with the Blink team itself is a joy. The enthusiasm and
the professionalism has been fantastic.