The DEX Account Manager: Five Things I’ve Learned in Three Years

by Sacha Jackman

Organizations today are changing faster than ever, and internal communication sits right at the centre of that change. As new technologies reshape how work gets done, the tools that support internal communication, including intranets, are evolving just as fast. 

As organizations invest in smarter digital tools and platforms, they are discovering that technology alone doesn’t create a great employee experience. Someone needs to sit in the middle of it all—someone who can be the bridge between IT, communications, leadership, and employees.

The problem we are solving

About three years ago, we realized that many of our clients had this problem and that we had the skills and expertise to solve it for them: the ability to connect strategic communications and technology, and a deep understanding of the way employees experience information at work. That realization led to the creation of a new role within our Digital Employee Experience (DEX) studio: the DEX Account Manager. 

Since then, I’ve been helping organizations design intranets, launch employee apps, rethink governance models, and build internal communication strategies that work in the real world.

It’s a role that sits at the intersection of people and technology, and the longer I’ve been in it, the more I’ve come to appreciate just how wide that gap can be.

The origin story

 I was born in 1997, which puts me right on the edge of two generations. Technically, I am a Gen Z, but I was raised with a lot of millennial habits. I’m comfortable with new tools, AI, and digital platforms, and I’m also the person my parents call when they can’t figure out their phone settings. My 93-year-old grandmother also asks for help with her iPad! Because of this, I spend a lot of time thinking about how people experience technology differently, and how significant those gaps can feel to the person on the wrong side of them.

Communication that works for employees

But generational difference is only part of the picture. Many of the organizations we work with have frontline employees who can’t access their phones on the job site. Others have people working in underground mines, factories, on trucks, or in remote locations where connectivity is limited or non-existent. In those environments, meaningful and relevant communication isn’t enough if employees can’t access it. That’s why the typical “just download the app” approach to digital communication simply doesn’t hold up. So instead, we get creative. Digital screens in breakrooms, mobile-friendly intranets that employees can access before or after shifts, and simple apps designed for quick updates rather than long reads. Sometimes it’s push notifications. Sometimes it’s QR codes. Sometimes it’s making sure critical information exists somewhere physical and visible.

The point has never been to force people to adapt to technology. It’s to design technology that adapts to people.

That principle—meeting employees where they are—has quietly underpinned everything I’ve learned in this role. Here are five of those lessons.

Simplicity wins every time

There’s a temptation in digital workplace projects to equate complexity with capability—to assume that more features, more integrations, and more options signal a more sophisticated solution. They don’t. The best digital workplaces aren’t the most complex; they’re the clearest. When information is well-organized, written plainly, and delivered at the right moment to the right person, everything gets easier. The goal isn’t to impress employees with what the platform can do. It’s to make their day a little less complicated.

Much of our work with clients comes down to helping them simplify and clarify their content, and focus on the things employees need most.

Internal communications is a design discipline

How information is structured matters just as much as what it says. Navigation, search functionality, page layouts, and content hierarchy all shape whether employees can find what they need—or give up trying. Poor information architecture creates invisible friction: people don’t always know why something feels hard to use, they just know it does. Good design removes that friction. It makes the right information easy to find, understand, and act on. That’s not a nice-to-have. For organizations that rely on employees being informed and aligned, it’s fundamental.

In practice, this means working closely with clients to rethink navigation, content structure, and page design so that their intranet supports the way employees look for information (not just how the organization is structured).

Employees are consumers now

People spend their personal lives using beautifully designed apps that are fast, intuitive, and constantly improving. They don’t leave those expectations at the door when they come to work. If a workplace tool feels outdated, confusing, or slow, employees will find a workaround, or stop using it entirely. This isn’t entitlement; it’s a reasonable response to a world where better alternatives are always a thumb-swipe away. The organizations that understand this don’t just ask “does it work?”; instead, they ask, “would someone actually want to use it?”

That mindset shapes how we approach digital workplace projects with our clients by focusing not just on functionality, but on experience. If a tool isn’t intuitive and relevant, employees simply won’t adopt it.

Technology doesn’t fail; adoption does

Organizations often invest significantly in great communication platforms (like intranet packaged solutions), only to watch them sit underused. A new intranet doesn’t change behaviour on its own. A new employee app doesn’t improve communication just by existing. Fundamentally, the digital employee experience isn’t about launching tools; it’s about helping people genuinely understand how the tool supports their work and why it matters. That takes time, intentional change management, and a willingness to meet resistance with curiosity rather than frustration.

This is where we spend a lot of our time with clients. Helping them think through launch strategies, leader enablement, and communication plans that make new tools feel useful from day one. Because if employees don’t see the value, adoption will always stall.

Governance is about trust

The word “governance” tends to make people’s eyes glaze over—it sounds rigid, bureaucratic, like a set of rules designed to slow things down. But good governance isn’t about control. It’s about giving teams the clarity they need to feel confident contributing. When people understand the rules of the road—who owns what, how content gets approved, where things live—they’re far more willing to participate. Ambiguity breeds hesitation. Clarity breeds confidence. The best governance frameworks I’ve seen don’t restrict people; they free them.

With clients, that often means helping them build governance models that feel practical rather than theoretical by defining clear ownership, simple publishing workflows, and guidance that people can follow.

Three years in, working in DEX has made one thing very clear: digital employee experience isn’t really about technology. It’s about people. It’s about helping someone find a policy without frustration. Helping a manager communicate clearly with their team. Helping employees feel connected to what’s happening around them, whether they’re in an office, on a job site, or halfway across the country.

If we do our job well, technology fades into the background—and work simply works a little better for everyone.

Ready to make work better for your people? Whether you need a quick health check on your intranet, a deeper audit of your employee apps and digital tools, or a complete reimagination of how your employees experience technology at work, we’re here for it. Let’s get the conversation started.