Boost Frontline Worker Productivity by Leveraging Mobile Intranet
Frontline workers are the face of an organization and nurturing them goes a long way in creating a healthy brand identity and good customer experience.
Frontline workers are the face of an organization and nurturing them goes a long way in creating a healthy brand identity and good customer experience. Praveen Kanyadi, Co-founder and VP of product, Groupe.io opines that bringing in a mobile-first intranet technology is the first step, but making sure the frontline workforce has the right digital tools to feel engaged and empowered requires additional thought and careful planning.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact almost all facets of life, we have seen a massive and notable shift specifically in workplace operations. While many individuals are adjusting to a work-from-home lifestyle, frontline workers at hospitals, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities are rarely factored into digital workforce strategies.
Frontline workers make up about 80% of the global workforce, but due to the deskless nature of their roles, most do not have access to basic technologies like desktop computers or corporate email addresses. This technology is typically required for traditional intranets, which automatically excludes many frontline workers from accessing the benefits of an intranet. However, businesses that loop deskless workers into the digital world through a mobile intranet are not constrained by these restrictions and are more likely to experience benefits such as operational cost savings, higher productivity levels, improved employee engagement as well as job and customer satisfaction.
Mobilize Frontline Employees With Apps and Tools
Through a mobile intranet, employee applications and other tools can be adopted to streamline communications, automation and overall operations between frontline workers and managers. The unification of processes and tools through a single source of truth, like a mobile intranet, can inspire workforce efficiency for dispersed employees.
In frontline industries, mobile-first employee apps act as an entry point to accessing important information in the digital workplace. By using search terms or keywords within a mobile app, frontline workers can directly access internal company documents like policies, benefits, memos, and safety procedures on their smartphones. These apps are also equipped with various administrative control features, allowing for organizations to create a safe and professional digital environment. While other communication platforms like WhatsApp have frequently been used by companies, employee apps offer an added level of protection to frontline workers, as there is less likelihood of data breaches and other security pitfalls. Employee apps also grant frontline workers the ability to use smartphones for official work, without the need for a corporate email address to login.
For example, WhatsApp recently announced a new privacy policy, indicating that users’ personal data will be shared with Facebook and its associated companies. As a result, many businesses are no longer using WhatsApp to communicate with employees and are moving to other platforms. In contrast, employee apps offer an added level of protection to frontline workers, as they are armed with security features like biometric authentication, remote revocations, data wipes, and strong encryptions to prevent internal documents from falling into the wrong hands. Employee apps also comply with all necessary globally accepted standards to avert risks and grant frontline workers the ability to use smart phones for official work, without the need for a corporate email address to login.
The market for employee apps is still evolving, as it has only been a few years since these enterprise products started to emerge. However, given the many benefits of these apps, the ecosystem has matured significantly and various brands are now vying for a safe niche in this space, perhaps in part due to the pandemic.
Digital communications tools are also paramount in supporting frontline workers, as they establish feedback loops with upper-level management. Task managers and digital checklists of daily deliverables, such as shift rosters and project outputs, are some features that can help frontline workers and their supervisors stay on top of operations with seamless two-way communication.
The pandemic has inevitably altered workplace functionalities and safety protocols, but through a mobile intranet, employee apps can help businesses navigate these changes. For example, a pizza chain based in the U.S. has recently deployed daily COVID-19 surveys to their frontline workers through a mobile intranet tool. Based on the received responses, these surveys indicate whether or not an employee is eligible to enter the premises in an effort to prioritize employee safety and minimize potential health risks. These mobile surveys have made it easier for store managers to keep records of pertinent information for audit purposes and have saved employees valuable time by eliminating manual processes.
Process automation and digital approvals are additional tools that can help save time and energy for frontline workers in many ways. For instance, these mechanisms can eliminate the tediousness of paper-based processes (for onboarding, etc.) which also limits the need for extensive physical contact. Recently, a large retailer with a footprint of 300 stores and 15,000 employees deployed a mobile intranet to eliminate paper based forms for inventory checks, safety inspections, approvals. After switching to digital forms, they saved up to 10,000 hours of work and experienced significant cost savings by removing the need for paper, printing, storage and handling.
Digital communications tools are also paramount in supporting frontline workers, as they establish feedback loops with upper-level management. Task manager tools ensure daily tasks are completed on schedule and flag potential delays or errors at the correct time. Digital checklists outlining daily deliverables, such as shift rosters and project outputs, can also help frontline workers and their supervisors stay on top of operations with seamless two-way communication.
Digital Tools Help Boost Employee Engagement
Not only does a mobile intranet build and sustain productivity through technological advancements, but it can also motivate frontline employee engagement. A mobile intranet helps HR and internal communications teams gather instant feedback from workers and connects distributed teams who share common interests. In a time where so many individuals are not in close proximity to one another, fostering a strong company culture and employee connectivity is crucial.
A good work culture has a major fiscal impact on businesses, as an engaged workforce means less attrition and higher positive outcomes at all levels. When employees are engaged, they become more present and motivated to do great work. A study by Gallup found that highly engaged businesses had a 41% reduction in absenteeism and a 17% increase in productivity, resulting in 21% greater profitability.
Rather than idly sit by, businesses need to leverage digital tools to build a sense of unity and motivation amongst these deskless workers. In doing so, frontline employees will feel more supported by their teammates and team leaders despite the physical distances keeping them apart. A mobile intranet acts as a central control unit to all tools within a digital workplace, including AI powered chatbots, task managers, checklists, mobile forms, and employee surveys or polls. These tools will help frontline workers feel more connected to the work they are doing and generate productivity.
For example, a hospitality group managing about 20 properties across the U.S. and Canada previously struggled to inform and connect their employees due to dispersed locations. Yet after leveraging an employee app, they enabled cross collaboration between various properties to exchange ideas, relay feedback, and share vital information with each other. As a result, they received higher satisfaction scores in their employee surveys and also experienced reduced attrition.
Keep The Frontline Workforce Moving Forward
Frontline workers have always played a meaningful role in keeping organizations afloat, even prior to the pandemic. Beyond their daily tasks and routines, a large part of their identity is to act as brand representatives and ensure customer satisfaction. To empower frontline workers in these endeavors, businesses need to grant them access to a mobile-first intranet technology and digital tools for engagement. By doing so, frontline workers will keep moving forward — alongside desked workers — into the new age of digital transformation.
