Yammer’s mobile app keeps far-flung staff in the loop, even mid-merger

Telecommuting and on-the-road employees are usually less tuned in to company buzz, owing to the challenges of accessing intranets over VPN connections or via mobile phone. Add the always-stressful environment of an impending acquisition, and you have the potential for plenty of nervous workers who feel out of the loop.

That would have been the situation at Pittsburgh’s Vocollect Healthcare Systems this month, if not for the quick decision to bring in systems that would help employees stay on top of the company’s sale, whether they’re at the office or away. (Vocollect Healthcare’s voice recognition technology, AccuNurse, helps health-care workers maintain patient records via voice recordings.) The company is hoping that Yammer, the Facebook-like internal network for organizations, will make it possible for workers to trade questions and concerns as the acquisition of the company proceeds.