Introduction
Frontline workers make up a whopping 80% of all business employees yet recent results uncovered by Telstra’s ‘Return on Connection’ report show almost 87% of senior business leaders say they experience challenges when connecting with frontline employees. There is a significant disconnect between what businesses think frontline workers need and what tools are helpful on the ground.
“Connected workers have access to data and expertise they need to execute a job when they need it and wherever they are. Also, having the ability to input information in real-time.”
Warren Jennings, Telstra’s Head of Industry Growth
The top 3 challenges Australian leaders identified:
-
0%Implementing new technology
-
0%Driving innovation
-
0%Rising cost pressures
Leaders need to lean into the employee experience they provide frontline workers to feel connected to the organisation, the people, and the technology they need to succeed in their roles.
So, what are the top 3 challenges leaders in organisations face when it comes to frontline workers?
- Difficulty understanding and responding to safety conditions and issues of frontline workers.
- Frontline workers are frustrated by outdated and ineffective technology.
- Frontline workers feel disconnected from the broader business.
First up: Better safety and wellbeing protection
Frontline workers have increasingly been the target of violence or aggression just for doing their job which prompted the Australian government’s recent introduction of new legislation to better protect Commonwealth frontline workers from violence and aggression.
But do frontline workers feel supported when it comes to safety?
⅓
of frontline workers believe businesses have difficulty understanding and responding to safety conditions and issues they experience, such as fatigue when driving for long periods or when they are working long shifts.
This is highlighted in certain industries like mining where: half of mining sector respondents cited safety as a key pain point in their frontline worker roles.
It is important organisations recognise mobile and wearable devices are more than just business tools that can facilitate transactions.
This is why implementing a safety device and application strategy that focuses on various roles a frontline worker performs — whether in an onsite team, in one or multiple stores, or part of a multi-site team — is key to preventing and managing the frontline experience.
“Connected worker strategy goes beyond device. A true strategy is a combination of capable devices, connectivity, user-friendly apps, security, and end-to-end service management driven by human centred design. Improving people productivity and safety.”
Warren Jennings, Telstra’s Head of Industry Growth
Secondly: Aligning technology decisions and business strategy
Executing connected technology decisions and business strategy must align with the overall business strategy to succeed.
Nearly ⅓ of business leaders admitted their organisations are operating outdated and ineffective mobile technology and apps.
Outdated technology is hindering frontline workers’ productivity output and ability to stay connected on the go, with just over ¼ citing limitations in connecting with the organisation and ability to access communication channels.
Top 5 industries that called out communication breakdown between management and frontline workers as a key challenge:
Nearly one in four respondents said the top three challenges in communication were:
- Breakdown in communication between management and frontline workers.
- Difficulty to connect with geographically dispersed frontline workers.
- Difficulty in providing training and opportunities.
Glenn Carmichael, Telstra Head of Technology Strategy, Workplace and Digital, has experienced this frontline worker disconnection firsthand when working with customers. Here are his three tips to get you kick-started:
Start with observational research, this provides context which can’t be achieved from a questionnaire or interview process.
Consider workflows, the environment, and the day-to-day issues and activities that frontline workers are involved with, and face.
Have the right team in the room when co-designing solutions, including your frontline workers who use the tools and processes to support their day-to-day tasks.
Food for thought
Lastly, once the context is understood, it can help business leaders better empathise with frontline workers, allowing them to better understand the mobile and technology solutions needed to support their day-to-day tasks.
According to McKinsey, leaders who effectively support their frontline employees are likely to see a boost in employee engagement and retention.
Case study
Telstra has been scaling up its AI adoption, following promising pilots of One Sentence Summary and Ask Telstra with frontline team members. One Sentence Summary was developed to transform recent customer notes, interactions, and transactions into a concise summary of a customer’s recent history and status, and reduce the need for customers to repeat information. Ask Telstra enables employees to search the company’s extensive internal knowledge bases quickly and easily for information and gives AI-generated responses to employee queries.
Early trials show
90%
of employees saved time and increased effectiveness
20%
decline in follow-up contact
80+%
of team members agreed the technology had a positive impact on customer interactions
Wrapping things up: toolkit for leaders
Providing your team the right tools allow them the opportunity to build strong relationships and create experiences that can transform an organisation.
