The Story of Plusco – Digitalizing Internal Communication Through the Eyes of Petr Mikšovič

How are Czech companies approaching the digitalization of internal communication? And how can the Plusco platform make a real difference? We asked Petr Mikšovič, CEO of SOVA NET, the company behind Plusco, which continues to support it strategically, commercially, and in marketing.

Why Should Companies Care About Digitalizing Internal Communication?

When you make it easier for employees to access information that’s interesting or useful for their work — and that positively affects their motivation — you naturally increase engagement. And engaged employees directly contribute to higher productivity, profitability, and lower turnover and absenteeism. Digitalization also offers an enormous range of possibilities. A major topic, for instance, is the paperless company — especially in larger organizations that aim to digitize employee-related administration.
Digitizing processes such as contract management, approvals, requests, or other documentation reduces HR costs, minimizes errors, and enables fully digital communication.

Studies show that 82% of organizations that adopted digital internal communication reported higher employee engagement, and 70% of employees in such companies said they feel better informed about company goals, leading to lower turnover. These are numbers companies shouldn’t ignore.

Which HR Areas Can Digitalization Help With?

There are many areas where digitalization can make a difference. Typically, companies want to:

• Centralize all information in one place
• Deliver the right information to the right people at the right time
• Make it easier to collect employee feedback
• Engage 100% of their workforce — even those without company email or devices
• Securely distribute payslips
• Share information about vacations, time off, benefit accounts, and internal documentation
• Provide access to company guidelines, manuals, and shift schedules
• Or even create internal spaces like company marketplaces, chats, or carpooling tools

How to Approach Digitalization to Make It Truly Effective?

We advise companies to treat employees as if they were their target customers.
That means understanding the principles of internal marketing — knowing your audience, choosing the right communication channels, tone of voice, and methods of delivery.

The key realization is that you can’t force employees to engage in internal communication — you can only motivate them.
You need to offer what’s relevant, helpful, and brings a sense of safety, satisfaction, and joy.

Of course, digitalization alone can’t achieve that — but it can provide an environment where meaningful communication across the company becomes possible.

How to Build Such an Environment in an App

The first step is understanding your employees and knowing the company strategy. Then comes the question:
Do you just need a simple chat or Facebook group, or do you want a platform that reflects your brand, culture, and identity through its design, content, and communication style?

That’s how our cooperation with Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech began in 2018.
Their goal was clear — they wanted an app that employees would love to use.
They aimed for over 90% adoption, even though 76% of their employees don’t have company IT access. Today, we’ve reached 96%.

What Was the Initial Impulse to Create Plusco?

Back in 2020, there was no similar solution on the market, and our experience with Hyundai convinced us to focus on developing this product. For me personally, the biggest motivation — then and now — is that Plusco helps build relationships. It makes employees happier, which in turn brings more positivity to their families. It helps make work more meaningful. That might sound bold, but it’s truly what drives us.
We also see huge potential in strengthening and creating communities within companies.
Through Plusco, both our team and our clients have found a sense of purpose — and we hope it shows.

How Did the Name “Plusco” Come About?

After much brainstorming, we found a name that perfectly captures the platform’s priorities.
The “CO” in Plusco stands for three key ideas:

• Community – building human connection, kindness, and togetherness
• Communication – enabling effective two-way exchange between employees and employers
• Cooperation – fostering collaboration, one of the main pillars of every community

Plusco thus represents meaningful, fulfilling, and successful cooperation for all employees. Our mission is to create a safe and accessible environment that brings employees closer together, keeps them informed, and increases their engagement.

How Long Did It Take to Develop Plusco?

Development has been ongoing for many years.
Even before working with our first Plusco clients, we built the core framework of modern web applications — modular, scalable, and secure. With our marketing background, we’ve always focused on user experience. We officially introduced and launched Plusco as an internal communication platform on September 22, 2021, at a MeetUp for entrepreneurs in Brno.

There are countless ways to develop Plusco further — but our focus is clear:
to deliver maximum value, even at the cost of fewer modules.

How Does Implementation Work?

This part is absolutely crucial.
You can’t just install the app, tell everyone “Here it is,” and expect results.

We recommend implementing Plusco gradually and thoughtfully, involving all key company groups.
The technical setup itself takes only a few days or weeks, but the content and communication strategy require collaboration

• With HR, we define content and purpose
• With marketing, we align the visual identity and tone of communication
• With IT, we handle integrations and server setup

Promotion is another key step — we help clients launch successfully with texts, videos, or even full internal campaigns prepared by our marketing team. After launch, we monitor user activity and provide feedback to administrators to help keep employees engaged.

Who Uses Plusco?

Most of our clients are companies where a large portion of employees don’t have regular access to company IT systems. Thanks to smartphones, these employees can now be fully connected to the company digitally.

Our long-term partner Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech is one such example.
Their Hyundai Plus HR portal even won the Zlatý středník award for Mobile App and Innovation of the Year in 2020/21.

Another great example is Baumüller Brno, a Czech subsidiary of a German company.
After just 12 months of using their customized app, Bappka, 92% of employees actively use it.
In autumn 2024, Baumüller also became a finalist in the HR Project of the Year Award, organized by the Employers’ Club.

And the KofoAppka for Kofola has also achieved strong results — after just half a year, it’s already used by 70% of employees.

This positive feedback constantly fuels and inspires us to keep evolving Plusco.

What’s Next for Plusco?

We receive many great ideas from clients — and we prioritize those that bring the best balance of cost and added value. That’s how we developed Baumüller’s Lunch Ordering module, fully integrated with their catering provider’s system. Other new modules include Carpooling and Attendance Tracking. In the coming days, we’ll release a new version with features for Whistleblowing, Shift planning, Offboarding support, Training management, Document approval and digital signing, Smart notifications, Enhanced targeting, And a unique integration interface.

Future updates will bring even more — like a company noticeboard, HR system integrations, engagement tools, sensor and reader connectivity, and even AI-driven dynamic behavior within the app.

There’s a lot of work ahead, but we love when clients share their ideas and needs with us. Together, we’re shaping a platform that becomes an integral part of their company culture.