Why go with Oneteam instead of WhatsApp for internal comms?

It may be one of the most popular apps of all time, with more than 2 billion active monthly users, but WhatsApp isn’t necessarily the best choice for all forms of communication. When it comes to internal communications for your deskless workers, for instance, an all-in-one employee experience app like Oneteam is a better bet.

The best way to connect with your deskless workforce

For the deskless workforce, it is essential that businesses can reach them with a flexible, mobile solution that combines all aspects of the employee experience into a single platform. At the same time, research indicates your employees want to keep their work at work, so keeping the work-life balance in mind is essential when choosing the right platform.

Book a demo

The differences between Oneteam and WhatsApp

In order to help you make your decision on your ultimate employee app, we’ve listed the pluses and minuses according to 5 key differentiators between WhatsApp and Oneteam.

Usage

WhatsApp

Although WhatsApp is easy to use and has a great UX, the downsides stem from the fact that it simply isn’t fit for business comms. Research shows that employees dislike receiving work-related messages via this private communication tool. In fact, 42% of deskless workers block all incoming messages in business WhatsApp groups.

Oneteam

Oneteam’s mobile-first solution lets deskless employees access messages from anywhere at any time – but, crucially, on their own terms. The app incorporates all the internal comms tools your employees need, plus modules for onboarding, eLearning, forms, checklists, surveys, and schedule integrations. But even more importantly, keeps work and personal lives separate.

"Oneteam is the most important communication channel we have. Oneteam really helps us to build a bridge between our desk and non-desk employees. It gathers all need-to-know and nice-to-know information in one easy-to-use platform."

Britt Kleinepier, Interne Communicatie Coördinator at H&M

Management

WhatsApp

Managing larger groups – of, say, more than 100 employees – is an impossible task for HR or IT managers using WhatsApp. Firstly, adding all those private numbers for internal comms is time-consuming. At the other end of the employee journey, removing the numbers of former colleagues is equally long-winded. And how do you keep messages distinct when team members may be part of multiple groups? WhatsApp is simply not designed for corporate user management at scale.

Oneteam

With Oneteam, you don’t have to manually purchase, integrate, and maintain separate platforms for each function, so you can streamline your internal communications and other employee tools in one user-friendly app. It’s a cost-effective solution that can significantly improve the digital employee experience for your organization. It’s easy to keep your teams engaged with relevant information – no matter how large they are.

“Implementing Oneteam felt like creating a Facebook account. It was super easy and we could get started right away.”

Thijs Meijnen, HR Advisor at Leussink Retail Group

Privacy

WhatsApp

When personal and professional lives collide, privacy is put at risk. Relying on WhatsApp for internal comms means your deskless workers could get thrown into groups with hundreds of other employees, making their personal phone numbers visible to everyone else. In certain European countries, guaranteeing worker privacy, particularly outside work hours, is being enshrined in law – something WhatsApp could easily fall foul of.

Oneteam

With Oneteam, it’s easy to let your deskless employees keep work at work, ensuring corporate messaging doesn’t encroach on their personal privacy. Your employees can communicate via group chats or private messages, so there’s no risk of information being shared with the wrong personnel. Plus, it’s also possible to add or hide details on the personal profiles of your employees.

“The uniqueness of Oneteam is that it includes several functions, allowing us to use one platform for internal communication, onboarding, and eLearning. With Oneteam, we can offer our employees an all-in-one solution for the digital employee experience.”

Liza de Vos, HR Manager at Stayokay

Data Analytics

WhatsApp

With WhatsApp, there’s barely any analytics available for internal communications teams to analyze. There’s no way of knowing how active accounts are, how engaged employees are with your messages, or even the option to view a simple audit trail. There’s hardly any data to view and, as a result, you can’t gather insights about what’s going well (and what isn’t) regarding your internal comms strategy.

Oneteam

One of the main advantages of using Oneteam for your internal comms is the ability to gather and analyze data across all components of the employee experience in a centralized and straightforward manner. This gives HR teams access to deeper insights regarding employee engagement, satisfaction, and productivity. They can also identify trends and areas for improvement so they reduce inefficiencies, and ultimately improve employee satisfaction and retention.

"To measure the impact of Oneteam, we sent out a survey to all our employees. When asked, "On a scale of 1 to 5, how much more engaged do you feel with Norah since using Oneteam?" the platform scored 4.3 out of 5, which reflects the positive impact Oneteam has on our organization."

Esmay Schipanski, People & Culture Manager at Norah

Integrations

WhatsApp

For your internal communication, it’s likely you’ll need to convey lots of different kinds of information. In the hospitality industry, for example, it is essential that an all-in-one communication tool can integrate with solutions that manage shift changes and real-time schedules. If you use WhatsApp for internal communications, you cannot connect these data points. It’s just not designed for connecting with other systems, like HR platforms or WFM systems.

Oneteam

Internal comms is about more than just sending messages. With Oneteam, you can integrate information from a broad range of sources – from eLearning to employee surveys – with everything your deskless workers need accessible from a single, unified platform. In a digital-first world, deskless workers already have enough apps to manage, don’t let your internal comms add to this growing list – use an all-in-one platform instead.

“With Oneteam, we have everything for work gathered in one app instead of using 6 different apps for all parts of the employee experience. People are already overloaded with apps these days, so you simply won’t install 6 apps for work. Nobody does that.”

Erwin de Bruin, Finance & Operations Director at Dudok Horeca Group

How Oneteam Works

After all these words, it’s about time to show some action. Have a look at our platform video and see how Oneteam can help your organization with an all-in-one employee app.

Don't just take our word for it

Take a look at what Oneteam users say about the platform

G2 Badges Oneteam has earned for Summer 2023