Frontline workers comprise the majority of the global workforce, with more than 2 billion frontline workers forming the backbone of many of the world’s largest industries, including healthcare, manufacturing and retail. However, fewer than 25% of these workers say they have the right technology to do their jobs. While many can adjust 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. Unfortunately, due to the accelerated adoption of remote and hybrid work models during the COVID-19 pandemic, this lack of technological support has caused significant challenges for businesses.
To overcome these challenges, it is imperative to empower the frontline workforce, and to do this, any organization must focus on the five core pillars:
- Connect your workforce
- Digitize manual processes
- Accelerate onboarding
- Empower with devices
- Protect your organization
Connected Workforce
Both frontline workers and managers are always looking for new ways to make their lives easier and streamline communication. Creating a modern workplace facilitates structured collaboration on business-critical tasks between employees across locations. This can operate, for example, between frontline workers who are on their smartphones and white-collar workers who are on their personal computers or between front-liners at different locations. Managers need real-time insight into the timely completion of tasks. Front-liners need to be notified about their tasks on an easy-to-use channel, see a quick dashboard of their assignments, and be able to collaborate easily with coworkers and managers to complete their tasks in line with the SOP, on time, at the right place, and last but not the least on an authorized device.
With an advanced digitized platform such as Proceso, the frontline workforce can seamlessly connect with every facet of the organization, from back office to frontline executive to supervisors. Seamless connectivity fosters better collaboration and doesn’t leave any scope for ambiguity. Frontliners can exchange messages securely and safely, be updated about the latest communication, and, as a result, make better decisions. After all, frontline workers are pivotal to good customer experience; they must be empowered to handle challenges swiftly, boost the time to market, and increase productivity.
Digitizing manual processes
The present workforce comprises millennials and Gen Z, who are no strangers to technology and gadgets, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, having technology to digitize and automate manual processes can empower frontline workers to track and execute their tasks efficiently. Enterprises can motivate frontline workers to adopt technology in their smartphones or other devices and provide necessary training to operate. This can bring about a positive mindset, foster empowerment, and make the frontline workers more productive and efficient.
When we implement automation, we also augment it with a robust channel for everyone in the value chain. Digitization of all the assets like documents, SOPs, guidelines, etc., and the easy access to them at every point that matters simplifies processes. This keeps knowledge resources and learning readily referenceable, leading to a well-trained and well-informed workforce that can do its best for the business. Every employee can, therefore, be empowered to succeed and contribute to your organization’s success.
Accelerate onboarding
According to studies, the initial six months of employment are critical in influencing employees’ commitment to the company and their productivity levels. Having a well-designed onboarding program can boost the employee experience and bring about a positive effect on their productivity. A robust onboarding approach sets the tone and makes the new employees feel welcomed, valuable, and important.
Typically involving targeted training schedules, informative documents, cheat sheets, and how-to-articles, the onboarding program offers the frontline employees necessary resources to absorb knowledge seamlessly. Furthermore, since many frontline workers have direct liaisons with customers (such as in retail and healthcare), it is imperative that they connect with the organization’s culture, vision, and mission and feel excited and encouraged about it. Employees feel self-reliant and empowered with an advanced automation platform such as Proceso, where training documents and supporting guidelines are digitized and readily available. This results in streamlining the training and onboarding of employees with robust knowledge repositories and ultimately boosting employee experience.
Empower your frontline workers with technology and automation.
When we automate mundane processes, streamline daily deliverables and workflows, effortlessly manage shift timings, and identify the bottlenecks using technology and apps such as Proceso, we are bound to gain better overall visibility and increase productivity. Not only that, implementing automation via smartphones or smart devices along with well-structured training will boost employee experience and result in higher productivity.
With Proceso, the frontline workers can check their daily task list, execute them, report and escalate them to the supervisor, and also review and close them. Training and upgrading are also available at their fingertips along with the latest product knowledge updates and assessments. Executing everyday tasks effortlessly results in several notable advantages, such as lower process delays, minimizing errors and downtimes while increasing frontline employee productivity substantially.
To sum up
It is not just about implementing technology and providing access to robust training; boosting the frontline workers’ productivity involves a comprehensive approach. It involves adopting a robust frontline worker-specific technology that you can tailor and optimize according to the needs. The approach also encompasses streamlining practical skill development and training and aligning them with the company’s culture, vision, and mission. Along with streamlined employee onboarding, empowerment with automation and AI, and better collaboration and connectivity, organizations can have a thriving frontline workforce with higher productivity.
Implementing technology such as the Proceso app is a win-win situation for both the organization and the frontline workers as it empowers them, streamlines work and ultimately increases their productivity. If you are looking for a comprehensive automation solution, look no further. Request a demo today.