Text vs. Email: What Works Best for Engaging Your Workforce?

For years, email has been the go-to method for internal communication. It’s formal, widely accepted, and suited for detailed updates. But in today’s workplaces, especially those with deskless or mobile employees, email often fails to drive quick engagement.

If your staff includes field workers, retail associates, warehouse teams, or technicians who rarely check their inbox, then relying on email alone may be slowing down your communication efforts. This is why more companies are turning to text message employee communications to reach their teams more effectively.

In this blog, we break down the differences between text and email, and explain when SMS is the better choice for internal communication.

Why Email Isn’t Always Enough

Email is useful for sharing documents, company-wide newsletters, and policy updates. But it often struggles with time-sensitive communication or quick confirmations.

Common challenges with email include:

• Low open rates
• Delayed responses
• Inboxes cluttered with non-urgent messages
• No visibility into whether a message was read
• Limited effectiveness for deskless or shift-based workers

In many workplaces, employees don’t check email regularly or aren’t connected to a computer throughout the day. This creates a communication gap that email cannot solve alone.

How Text Messaging Fills the Gap

SMS, on the other hand, is simple, fast, and built into every phone. It’s a familiar and immediate channel that doesn’t require internet access or an app. Employees can receive and respond to messages in real time, even while on the move.

Why SMS performs better for engagement:

• 98% of texts are read within 10 minutes
• Most people reply to a text in under 2 minutes
• SMS works on any phone, not just smartphones
• No training or app download required

When you need to ensure a message is seen and acted on quickly, text messaging is often the better tool.

Email vs. SMS: Which Is Better for Each Use Case?

Different communication tools serve different purposes. Here’s a quick breakdown of when to use email and when SMS delivers better results.

When Text Message Employee Communications Work Best

SMS is a better fit when communication needs to be short, time-sensitive, or reach employees who are not sitting at a computer. Common examples include:

• Confirming last-minute shift changes
• Sending safety alerts or evacuation instructions
• Notifying field staff about route or schedule updates
• Reminding teams about training or policy acknowledgments
• Collecting responses from distributed teams quickly

These messages do not need a detailed explanation or file attachment. They just need to be seen and acted on immediately.

Why More Organizations Are Shifting to SMS

As more employees work across job sites, warehouses, customer locations, and delivery routes, the need for mobile-first communication is growing. Businesses using text message employee communications benefit from:

• Higher message visibility
• Faster decision-making
• Fewer delays and missed instructions
• Easier coordination across teams
• Better engagement from frontline staff

SMS doesn’t replace email, it fills the gaps email can’t cover.

Final Thoughts

Email continues to be useful for formal updates, long-form communication, and sharing documentation. But when time is critical, and the message must be delivered and acknowledged quickly, SMS is often the better choice.

If your current tools are not reaching every employee when it matters most, it may be time to rethink your internal communication strategy. Udext helps bridge the gap by offering a simple, powerful platform for real-time text communication. With features designed specifically for reaching deskless and distributed teams, Udext enables faster updates, clearer messaging, and better workforce alignment.