Deskless Not Voiceless 2021

Since 2019, Workplace has surveyed frontline workers about their experiences, and compared the views of line managers and leaders to the reality on the ground.

We consistently found that there is a disconnect between frontline and HQ, driven by poor communication and misalignment. It’s past time that something was done about it.

That’s why we’ve created the annual Deskless Not Voiceless: Frontline Barometer – to track four key pillars of frontline life during this tumultuous time.

The four pillars of frontline employee experience

1. Fulfilment and Empowerment

This tells us how happy frontline workers are in their current role, whether their individual contribution supports the organization’s purpose, and the extent to which they have the autonomy to make decisions and recommend new ideas or ways of working.

2. Trust in Leadership

This pillar reveals the degree to which frontline workers feel their leadership teams listen to and respect them, and the trust the frontline has in leadership in return.

3. Learning and Growth

In this pillar, we look at the training and career development opportunities provided to frontline workers, and whether the education and skills provided by employers are relevant and sufficient.

4. Wellbeing and Safety

This pillar gives us a holistic view of frontline employees’ wellbeing, including how employers support their physical health, mental health, psychological safety and physical safety.

Deskless Not Voiceless 2021: The Frontline Barometer” by Coleman Parkes (Workplace from Facebook commissioned study of 7,000 frontline workers and 1,350 C-suite leaders in the UK, the USA, Canada, Brazil, France, Mexico and Australia), September-October 2021

What have we learned in 2021?

For our 2021 Frontline Barometer, we spoke to 7,000 frontline workers and 1,350 C-suite leaders across the USA, Canada, the UK, France, Brazil, Mexico and Australia.

The good news is that we found reasons to be optimistic about the future for frontline employees across these seven countries.

It’s clear that frontline workers matter to their leaders, especially after the experiences of the pandemic. In fact, the frontline was a strategic priority at every organization we surveyed – a 20% increase since 2019*.

But there are warning signs, too. Dissatisfied employees are more than ready to vote with their feet. Fifty-seven percent of frontline workers surveyed are planning to leave for a better paid role, while 45% are considering leaving the frontline altogether.

The Great Frontline Resignation is a very real threat. But leaders still have an opportunity to put the frontline employee experience front and center. That starts with developing an in-depth understanding of the day-to-day reality facing their frontline workforce.

Understanding the frontline experience at Virgin Atlantic

When it comes to understanding the day-to-day reality of the frontline workforce, few CEOs are prepared to go as far as Virgin Atlantic’s Shai Weiss. Virgin Atlantic employees have been using Workplace for several years, so we followed Shai over 24 hours as he rolled up his sleeves to reunite with cabin crew, airport staff and engineers as they return from furlough to get a taste of daily life on the frontline.

3 areas for immediate action

What can businesses do today to improve things for the frontline and hold on to their top talent? It starts with these three steps.

Improve the employee experience

Fundamental problems across all four of the pillars in our Frontline Barometer point to a need to overhaul the employee experience for deskless workers. Today, only 55% of respondents feel connected to HQ, while 43% say they don’t have the autonomy they need to share new ideas or ways of working.

Level-up benefits

Despite a lot of positive talk, there is still a perception that frontline employees get a raw deal compared to other areas of the business. In fact, 48% of frontline workers surveyed believe that HQ colleagues get better perks and benefits. More training and better healthcare benefits are the top two requests to address this.

Inspiring moments that matter at Royal Ambulance

If you want to know what it means to really care about the day-to-day experiences of frontline employees, just take a look at Eve Grau, VP of Human Resources at Royal Ambulance, a California-based medical transportation provider and Workplace customer. Ride along with Eve as she joins the first responders who are passionate about caring for patients during the good times and the bad.

Connecting the unconnected with Workplace

At Workplace, we’ve always believed that just because some employees are deskless, it doesn’t mean they should also be voiceless.

That’s why our familiar, mobile-friendly tools connect frontline employees to their manager and HQ so they can receive information, find resources and work together.

Take a look at the video to see exactly how Workplace’s tools and features come together to make it easier for frontline workers to connect, communicate and feel like part of a community.

This survey comprised 2,000 frontline managers and 2,000 HQ managers across the UK and US and was conducted by Censuswide and commissioned by Workplace from Facebook. The survey was conducted during April and May 2019.

Get in touch

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