RingCentral’s Push to Talk (PTT) brings walkie-talkie-style communication to frontline teams through its mobile app. As we explored opportunities in this market, the PM and I identified improvements to better support daily work, reinforced by requests from customers such as Decathlon.
PTT supported instant communication, but the experience wasn’t well equipped for everyday frontline work.
1. The landing screen didn’t show which channel users would connect to. 2. The dropdown didn’t clearly identify the connected channel. Scattered controls made switching harder. 3. The bottom navigation competed with PTT controls, increasing the risk of accidental taps in busy, noisy environments.
Frontline communication offered RingCentral room to grow within existing accounts and reach more workers.
Employees at Decathlon needed more audible alerts, recovery of missed information and quicker access while working. For an important existing customer, these limitations also created retention risk.
$225 million in potential annual revenue
Illustrative internal 1% capture scenario: 7.5 million seats at $2.50 per seat per month. This is a projection, not realised revenue.
16,500 potential PTT lines
Across Office Depot, Purolator, Staples and John Lewis/Waitrose.
I worked with the PM to connect these findings to the needs of employees, channel admins and company administrators. We agreed on three priorities:
What we set out to improve
Clearer navigation, easier channel switching, audible alerts, message recovery and quicker access.
In-app channel creation, editing and member management.
Controls to assign channel admins and govern which management actions they can perform.
Our competitive review covered Microsoft Teams Walkie Talkie, Voxer, Zello, Two Way, NuovoTeam and other similar products. We looked beyond instant voice to understand how these products supported team organisation, channel access and administration.
Channel switchboard
I brought channel connection, status and switching into one simple list, so users could move between teams without opening each channel. A floating button kept the active PTT call accessible as they navigated.
Channel admin
Working with the PM and Service Web team, we introduced a channel-admin role. These users could create channels using the + button and manage members from channel details. Regular users wouldn’t see these controls.
Missed communication
We improved incoming ringtones to help workers notice messages in noisy environments. A transcript of the last message let them catch up when they missed what was said.
The initial idea offered separate ringtone and volume selection. I proposed one distinctive ringtone with three levels (low, medium and high) to give workers a simple way to adjust alerts for their environment.
Android widget
The Android widget gave workers access to PTT without reopening the app.
Our Android widget implementation didn’t support press-and-hold, so I adapted the interaction to use a configurable timer to control transmission duration.
Visual refinements
I refreshed the PTT icon set in collaboration with the design system team and added animations across the experience. These refinements helped bring PTT closer to the broader RingCentral product.
Cross-team delivery
PTT ran on video-call technology. I worked with the video team and PTT developers to adapt the available controls, and with Service Web to deliver admin permissions. I also worked on release notes to communicate the changes.
The PTT 2.0 design addressed channel switching, delegated channel administration, audio alerts, last-message transcripts and access through an Android widget.
Read the admin portal guide
~2×
Monthly users connecting to PTT channels
~2×
Monthly users speaking over PTT
35%
More accounts participating in PTT channels
"Set up and ‘IT channel’ was easy, and team members find it very simple to use, It has already brought value by reducing ticket hand-off times between IT service Desk and IT support staff."
Administrator, IT Network Engineering
"Maintenance and IT teams use it for quick communications while moving around facilities. Environmental health teams stay connected in the field, and our Sheriff’s Department uses Push to Talk for backup communications when deputies are in areas with weak or no radio signal."
Telecommunication Manager, Delware County, Pennsilvaniya
Design for frontline realities
Noise, occupied hands and divided attention shaped how I designed for frontline work.
Design across roles
I learnt to connect employee needs with team-lead responsibilities and admin controls.
Balance urgency and direction
I learnt to turn urgent customer asks into improvements that also supported broader market needs.