How A&M Group Launched a Fully Integrated Internal Comms Platform in Just 6 Weeks

If you’re managing 57 locations, 11 car brands, and nearly 900 employees — internal communication gets complicated fast.

For A&M Group, Belgium’s largest independent automotive dealer group, scattered tools and manual work were making it harder (not easier) to connect with their teams. Flyers, posters, intranets, WhatsApp groups — everything was being used at once. But nothing was really working.

The solution? Replace the patchwork with one single platform that could handle all of it — and actually fit the reality of a dispersed, complex workforce.

About A&M Group

• Industry: Automotive retail & services
• Employees: 850+
• Locations: 35 locations and 57 showrooms across Belgium and the Netherlands
• Workforce profile: 45% non-desk workers (mechanics, service teams, sales staff, admin, HQ)
• Languages: 19 nationalities represented

After 15+ years of growth through acquisitions, A&M Group ended up with a highly diverse and decentralized workforce — each brand, showroom, and department with its own structure and way of working. Which made internal communication… tricky, to say the least.

The challenge: A communication puzzle with too many pieces

Before Speakap, internal communication at A&M Group looked like this:

• A desktop-only WordPress site (useless for frontline teams)
• Flyers and posters to get physical messages out
• WhatsApp groups (private, unstructured, and not exactly GDPR-friendly)
• Various tools for events, registrations, and internal updates
• No targeting, no segmentation, no analytics
• No automation: HR had to manually update every tool as people joined or left

As Davy Vandenreyt, Marketing Project Manager, A&M Group, puts it:

We were communicating, sure. But reaching people? Actually connecting? That was the real problem.

In short? Communication happened — but connection didn’t.

The solution: A&M Connect, built on Speakap

A&M Group didn’t just want to digitize newsletters. They wanted to truly connect people — no matter the showroom, the brand, or the job title.

That’s where A&M Connect came in: a fully branded employee experience platform built on Speakap, designed around A&M’s specific complexity.

We weren’t starting from zero. We just needed the right platform that could actually handle the complexity. Davy Vandenreyt Marketing Project Manager, A&M Group

Why Speakap?

• Mobile-first — aligned to frontline break times, not office hour
• Fully branded — their app, their look & feel
• HR sync — fully automated user management
• Segmentation — brand, showroom, department, and function-based targeting
• Knowledge Base — mini-intranet built right into the app
• Tasks — automated event registrations, onboarding flows, and reminders
• Two-way engagement — polls, contests, leaderboards, shout-outs
• Multilingual — supporting 19 nationalities with translation features
• Leadership & union buy-in — aligned from day one

We organized a pitch involving several platforms. I already knew Speakap from past employers. Eventually, we chose Speakap again due to the platform’s features and the team’s expertise. Davy Vandenreyt Marketing Project Manager, A&M Group

The rollout: 6 weeks, start to finish

Timing was tight. The launch was scheduled to coincide with the Brussels Motor Show — a major kickoff moment for the whole company. That gave the team just six weeks (including the holiday season) to go from setup to full go-live.

• HR system fully integrated with daily user sync
• CEO, leadership, unions fully aligned from the start
• Kickoff events where every team installed and activated the app live
• Onboarding journeys pre-loaded for new hires before day one

The CEO was reading the app daily. That leadership buy-in made all the difference. Davy Vandenreyt Marketing Project Manager, A&M Group

The results: One platform. Real connection

• 67% activation within 5 months (and still growing)
• Entire workforce now reachable via mobile app — "A&M in their pocket"
• Internal emails fully replaced
• Event signups, compliance tasks, and training registrations fully automated
• Knowledge base replacing disconnected intranet tools
• Managers empowered to publish updates directly to their teams
• Full Workforce analytics via Compass to track engagement, adoption, and content performance

Why it worked and what A&M learned along the way

• Build a content team — don’t leave it to one person
• Use company profiles to post, not personal names
• Keep updates simple: "need to know" first
• Keep managers actively involved
• Run fun campaigns like A&Mbassadorship awards and polls
• Launch during a major event to create visibility

The next steps: Still evolving

• Launch weekly content calendar with recurring contests
• Add evaluation forms directly inside the app
• Fully shift event sign-ups into the app as the only registration channel
• Strengthen cross-departmental engagement

One platform. One source of communication. Real connection.

For years, A&M Group was stuck managing internal communication through endless workarounds. Now? They have one single platform that actually fits their organization — built for real people, not just email addresses.

Facing similar challenges? Let’s talk. 😉

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