This one goes out to the editors and admins. Even though you’re often behind the scenes, we know the work it takes to create effective internal comms. That’s why Release 4.5 is all about enabling you with even more powerful options for news, pages, and seamless integrations across your digital workspace. So, as much as we appreciate a well-crafted intro, let’s cut the fluff and get into the details. Here’s what’s new in Release 4.5.
Lighten Up Your News with Whimsical Animations 🎉
As many of us continue to work from home and watch the sun slip under at 4:30 pm, we could all do with an excuse to lighten things up. While Staffbase can’t help with that in a literal sense, we do have a new way to add some sparkle and shine to your internal news. Animations give editors a new way to pep up a news article, make a celebratory announcement extra stylish, or add some joy to a Journeys post. Choose from four fun, social media-style options including:
- Confetti
- Fireworks
- Balloons
- Snow
Animations are easy to add to any article and will automatically play when an employee opens the post—no graphic design or coding skills needed. So, it’s simple to bring a bit of joy to company events or anniversaries, make an employee recognition post extra special, or just put a festive touch on your holiday message from the CEO.
To make sure no one misses out on the fun, the animation widget will be available automatically to all customers. Now, I think that calls for some balloons.
Power up Your Pages
Ensuring employees always have easy, immediate access to company information is a key benefit of the Staffbase platform. But, we also think that creating, organizing, and managing company info should be simple for editors and admins, too! That’s why Release 4.5 is making some major updates to the editorial experience for Pages.
In fact, it’s so packed with new features we can’t even fit them all in one paragraph. Keep scrolling to see how we’re making good design dead simple, cutting out the hassle of content management, and giving you a magic wand for mistakes—starting with stylish and time-saving Page Templates.
Page Templates
Pages in the Staffbase platform already help internal communicators display large amounts of information in clear and compelling ways. Now, with ready-to-use page templates, editors can minimize the time they spend designing sleek layouts and keep pages across their platform consistent and stylish for a range of topics. With Release 4.5, Staffbase is introducing templates for three must-have platform pages:
- Start pages
- Location pages
- Service pages
Each template has been specifically designed to display all your information in the most engaging and understandable format. Give your editorial team, including local editors who may not have a lot of experience, a head start creating and organizing content. And, keep your internal brand consistent, so employees can quickly find what they need displayed platform-wide in a standardized way.
For particularly large companies with specific use cases or decisive branding, platform administrators can even create their own templates or adapt existing ones for a bespoke collection fit to your company style. All of these templates can be managed centrally right in the Employee Experience Studio.
Speaking of “central” see how new design elements are bringing even more of your employees’ favorite tools and services together, all on one page.
Useful Plugins, Right on Your Pages
Employees love the convenience of checking their shift plan, registering for events, and responding to pulse surveys all in one platform. With Release 4.5, you can now feature any of the convenient plugins your employees use, like surveys, forms, calendars, or maps, directly on pages or Journey posts in your Staffbase platform.
If a new employee visits the page for their location, they could easily get directions to the worksite using the Maps plugin, see what’s on the menu at the cafeteria, and register for an upcoming safety training—all without having to follow a link or switch to a different area in your app. Talk about a one-stop shop!
Page Versioning
Ever wish you had a do-over button? Well with Release 4.5’s final page update, fail-safe page versioning, now you do! Never again sweat making changes to pages or get caught up in the confusion of multiple editors. With page versioning, you can always quickly see when the last changes were made to a page and by whom. Instantly restore previous page versions and automatically create a new version the moment you hit the “save” button—all without any calls to the Staffbase customer team. This update is especially useful for organizations with large editorial teams or decentralized editing rights. Because, let’s face it, we all need a magic wand once in a while. Now, even in moments when information is changing rapidly or multiple team members are making updates, you’ve got a backup.
These powerful page updates are all available to any Employee Experience Intranet customers. If you haven’t yet made the switch or want to see the difference a modern intranet can make for your organization, reach out to your Customer Success Manager.
Open the Front Door to Your Digital Workplace Even Wider with More Microsoft 365 Integrations
If you’re thinking, “Wait, didn’t we just have something about Microsoft in the last release?” you’re right! But what can we say? We’re committed to constantly improving our cross-system collaboration so that every employee at your organization can benefit from your Staffbase platform. And, we’re keeping updates coming!
Microsoft 365 Widgets
Release 4.5 is introducing six new ways to integrate and display Microsoft 365 tools directly in your Staffbase platform. From now on, desktop workers will be able to find and use the following MS 365 systems and services without leaving their Staffbase environment or even switching to a separate part of the app:
- Teams overview
- Teams feed
- Files
- Sites
- Calendar
- Tasks
While you might have previously embedded files or links to your Microsoft workspace, this update keeps all your employees on the same page, literally, and gives Microsoft integrations an even sleeker look and seamless fit in your employee platform. Drag-and-drop Microsoft tools onto any page, just like other design elements. Employees on desktop can find their Microsoft content or services directly on your company startpage or their location’s homepage, right next to your app’s other content. Plus, when employees log in to Microsoft 365 from their Staffbase menu, they’ll stay logged in to all their MS tools across your entire platform—no matter the page or placement.
Power Automate for Smooth Workflows & In-App Processes
Another addition to the Microsoft magic this release comes from our new connector with Power Automate. In case you haven’t heard, Power Automate is a Microsoft tool that makes it easy to automate processes or set up workflows within your digital workplace without needing a ton of IT support or even to know any code. With the new Staffbase Connector for Power Automate, you can now connect and use this tool in your Staffbase platform and start automating processes right in your app!
If you’re thinking, “That all sounds pretty fancy but what are some actual Microsoft Power Automate examples,” well how cool would it be if you could automatically:
- Notify a worker in their app when their request has been approved or their service ticket is resolved.
- Flag and address a post on your Social Wall that falls outside of company guidelines.
- Alert employees when a safety training task in their app is overdue.
With the new Staffbase Connector for Power Automate, it’s not only possible, it’s easy! Whether you’re already using Power Automate or just intrigued by the idea of cutting out manual tasks, reach out to your Customer Success Manager today and test an automated workflow yourself.
Raise Your Content’s Reach with Targeted Resend Notifications
Another throwback to Release 4.4, since July we’ve heard from many editors who are thrilled about the detailed reach reports in Analytics from Staffbase. They finally have the numbers they need for every news post to:
- Track how many employees have read an update.
- See which percentage of your audience is still missing out.
- Check who has acknowledged or interacted with posts.
With Release 4.5, we’re taking those insights and making them even more actionable! Use your reach report to see which employees overlooked your update and alert them again to content they missed the first time by sending a targeted resend-notification per push or email.
Not only do resend notifications ensure all your employees see important messages, they’re just plain smart. Notifying employees about content they missed won’t spam those who’ve already seen your news. Customizable notifications mean you’re not just resending the same update, you’re letting employees know personally, “Hey, this is important.”
In the coming weeks, we’ll be putting the final touches on the personalization options, so you can even schedule and eventually resend notifications in multiple languages. If you can’t wait to see how Smart Reach can help you boost engagement, check with your CSM and learn more about measuring and maximizing your communications with Analytics from Staffbase.
Staffbase 💙 for Editors & Admins
Whew, that was a lot. But, if you’re still with us, we know it’s because you care about creating your best internal communications using your Staffbase solution. And we hope Release 4.5 makes your work even simpler, so you can reach, engage, and inspire all of your employees with your Staffbase platform.
We look forward to seeing you again soon with the next great update. In the meantime, if you have questions or feedback, or you want to hear about all the other cool stuff that we couldn’t get to here (Event registration! Anchor Links! Deleting Chat messages!), check out our full 4.5 release notes.
