How Wave Active Unified Staff Communication with Joyned

Replacing WhatsApp with Joyned helped Wave Active streamline their operations across 66 teams.

project Snapshot

A Snapshot of Our Work with Wave Active

Keeping hundreds of casual staff connected across multiple sites is no small feat, especially when communication happens on scattered WhatsApp threads and out-of-hour text messages. Wave Active adopted Joyned and, within days, replaced informal chats with organised groups for a more structured way to keep their 450 staff connected across 15 sites.

About

Wave Active: The Charity Organisation On a Mission to Keep People Moving

Wave Active operates 15 leisure facilities, health programmes, and youth services across East Sussex. Formed in 2006, the organisation invests a lot of time and development into the community, supporting people of all ages and stages to gain confidence through improved fitness and wellbeing.

Their mission is rooted in accessibility: supporting individuals of all backgrounds to build confidence, improve fitness, and stay connected through movement. They play a vital role in improving local wellbeing, with community at the heart of everything they do.

The Challenge

Too Many Messages, Not Enough Structure

Wave Active has over 450 employees, including more than 300 casual or shift-based workers. As a result, they rely heavily on timely updates, shift scheduling, and multi-site announcements.

With no unified tool in place, operations managers and senior staff were often overwhelmed by lack of personal messaging boundaries. And their use of WhatsApp meant exposing personal contact details in group chats, a clear safeguarding and data protection issue.

As a community-first charity, Wave Active needed a more professional and secure way to manage operational updates. Here’s how Joyned was the answer to their communication needs.

People putting on workout shoes ready to exercise

The Solution

Joyned: The App Built for Simplicity and Chosen for Control

Compared to larger, more complex tools, Joyned’s simplicity and focus on operational use cases made it a great fit for Wave Active. The team selected Joyned for its communication-first features, including:

GDPR-first approach to internal messaging
Mobile-friendly onboarding via QR codes
Structured group model, with roles for each site and job type
Administrative flexibility, allowing managers to run their own groups independently

Joyned offered Wave Active exactly what they needed: a straightforward, secure platform that gave teams the structure to communicate effectively, without adding complexity or admin overhead.

Kicker: Testimonial Quote

“We onboarded 200 members within 24 hours. Then WhatsApp was shut down, and Joyned went live.” - Wave Active

The Results

Day-to-Day Communication is Transformed

Joyned’s simplicity enabled Wave Active to onboard quickly and without disruption. The team ran a focused week-long onboarding sprint, setting up groups and training managers through short, 15-minutes sessions. With a firm 24-hour deadline for full rollout, Wave Active accelerated adoption:

A total of 375 staff have been onboarded into 66 dedicated groups
WhatsApp has been fully phased out for all work-related communication
There have been no reported incidents or major issues since launch

This disciplined onboarding approach laid the foundation for fast, organisation-wide change. Since onboarding Joyned, Wave Active has seen both measurable improvements and cultural shifts across its operations.

Lessons & Takeaways

Lessons in Privacy and Connection

For Wave Active, moving to Joyned wasn’t just about simplifying communication; it was about protecting their people. Replacing informal channels with a secure, mobile-first platform helped set clearer boundaries so that every staff member could stay connected without compromising.

For the team at Joyned, the project was a reminder that connection means more when it’s built on trust. Wave Active showed us that true impact comes not only from real-time communication, but from creating a workplace where people feel safe, respected, and included.

Joyned: The Solution for Smarter, Safer Team Communication

Want to see how Joyned could support your team? Get in touch and let’s explore how Joyned’s secure, flexible communication solution can make a world of difference. Start free trial.

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