How The Rank Group Plc (‘Rank’) Reached 5,500+ Frontline Employees Without a Corporate Email

What do you do when most of your workforce can’t be reached by email? Rank Group’s answer was simple: go mobile-first with Speakap.

About Rank 

Rank has been entertaining Britain since 1937. Fast forward to today when millions of people enjoy Rank’s gaming brands every year, whether that’s at 50 Mecca Bingo venues, 50 Grosvenor Casinos across England, Scotland, and Wales. Internationally, Rank operates 9 Enracha bingo venues in Spain and a growing portfolio of digital brands through their Interactive offering, which provides online bingo, casino, and slot gaming experiences. Rank employs 7,700+ colleagues across the UK, Gibraltar, Ceuta, Mauritius, Malta, South Africa, and Spain. 

The Ambition: build a strong two-way communications and engagement culture

Rank had a clear ambition: to strengthen how they connect and engage with their people — especially the 75% who spend their days face-to-face with customers and don’t have a company email address.

In 2023, they set out to build a stronger culture around two-way communication. The goal wasn’t complicated, but it was bold: give colleagues real-time information, open up space for dialogue, and make sure messaging stayed consistent and true to Rank’s values across every level of the business.

The brief was straightforward: find a solution that could actually reach and engage all colleagues, starting with the frontline, and finally move beyond traditional cascade communication. While the frontline workforce across Rank’s UK and Spanish venues was the primary focus, they also wanted to ensure the wider business — including support offices — was brought into the fold.

The Solution: a centralized, mobile-first platform — connect by Speakap

To deliver on their ambition, Rank needed more than an intranet refresh. They wanted a single, mobile-first platform that could cut through the noise of fragmented tools and inconsistent updates. Rank ran a full RFP with many vendors part of their selection process, putting venue colleagues’ feedback front and center. Usability and inclusivity mattered more than cost, which out of all of the vendors made Speakap the clear choice.

We absolutely love the product - it's so easy to use and has been a fantastic shift away from traditional communication channels.
Serina DonkinDirector of Communications and Engagement at Rank 

With Speakap, Rank created one central hub and branded it internally as connect: a single source of truth where colleagues could access everything from expenses to training to recognition. Just as importantly, it let them target comms by location, brand, or role, and translate them so that every colleague — whether in Spain or the UK — got the right message in the right way.

Why did Rank choose Speakap?

• Consultative partnership: Rank chose Speakap because they needed more than just a platform — they needed a partner who would guide them through change management, support their technical setup, and provide ongoing support beyond launch.
• Mobile-first: designed for colleagues who don’t sit behind a desk.
• Real-time updates: key information can reach the frontline instantly.
• Centralized access: one hub for HR, training, and daily tools.
• Targeted internal communication: communication can be targeted based on role, department, or location.
• Built-in workforce analytics: track usage, engagement, and reach — from active users to peak posting times and department-level trends. For Rank, this visibility was key to clearly demonstrate the platform’s ROI.
• Translation: multilingual support for a diverse workforce.
• News & events: central place for company-wide updates and upcoming activities.
• Community groups: spaces for teams and interests to connect and collaborate.
• Two-way communication: every colleague can share, comment, and celebrate, no matter their role or location.

Right from the outset, the Speakap team took the time to thoroughly understand our business needs and provided expert guidance at every stage, ensuring the final solution was perfectly tailored to our requirements.
Serina DonkinDirector of Communications and Engagement at Rank Group

The Approach: build with colleagues, not just for them

1. Co-ownership with colleagues, support from Speakap

From the start, colleagues weren’t just “end users” — they were part of shaping connect. They participated in naming it, tested features, and gave unfiltered feedback on what worked and what didn’t. In short: it wasn’t built for them, but with them.

At the same time, Rank leaned on Speakap as a trusted partner — guiding the process with training, best practices, and a consultative approach that gave their teams confidence from day one. On the technical side, Speakap worked closely with Rank’s project team to ensure HR data syncs created the right audiences.

2. A focused change management and communications strategy

To ensure a smooth launch, Rank partnered closely with Speakap’s Customer Success team to shape their change management and communications strategy — gaining the consultative support, training, and best practices needed to roll out the plan with confidence.

The messaging of their change communication strategy centered on four principles:

1. Simplicity: A single login and no email needed.
2. Relevance: Content tailored to each person's role and location.
3. Accessibility: A mobile-friendly and translatable platform.
4. Empowerment: Giving every employee a voice.

Rank made sure people actually heard about it — not just through intranet banners, QR code posters in breakrooms, training packs for managers, venue roadshows, and digital signage loops, but through ongoing consultative support. 

Weekly strategy check-ins with Speakap’s customer success team gave Rank space to discuss challenges, refine messaging, and adjust rollout tactics in real time. That combination of hands-on assets and strategic guidance ensured every launch wave landed with impact.

Speakap’s commitment to our success was unparalleled - not just empty promises, but a consistent, hands-on approach that continued long after launch day,  making sure everything ran as smoothly as possible.
Serina DonkinDirector of Communications and Engagement at Rank Group

3. A centralized communications group to improve beyond launch

After launch, Rank trained 40+ content admins and formed a central comms group. Weekly feature spotlights kept usage high, and workforce analytics reviews made sure leaders could see what was landing — and what needed a tweak. 

Here too, the consultative partnership played a role: Speakap continues to meet monthly with Rank, providing ongoing support — from training new teams and further refining audience groups, to advising on new use cases and passing along Rank’s feedback directly to the product team.

The Results:  85% of frontline employees say connect helps them feel more informed

Rolling out a new platform is one thing. Getting thousands of colleagues to actually use it? That’s the real test.

Within months, Rank blew past their own initial benchmarks:

• 78% of colleagues activated accounts within 10 months (target was 60%).
• 73% log in monthly — well over their initial 50% goal.
• 60,000+ comments, likes, and posts shared to date.
• 85% of frontline colleagues say connect helps them feel more informed.
• Daily engagement continues to rise as new features and communities launch.

The impact is clear: updates now reach the frontline instantly, colleagues have visibility across the business, and tools are finally streamlined into one place.

Speakap has lived up to every expectation, working exactly as the team described. The service and support have been consistently top-notch, and we've built a really strong relationship with the Speakap team.
Serina DonkinDirector of Communications and Engagement at Rank Group

And the ROI? Less email. Faster comms. Quicker insights. A stronger sense of community. And more than a vendor — a consultative partnership that makes the change stick. 

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