Engaging Frontline Teams with Effective Mobile Solutions

Over time, many organizations have invested in high-quality intranets to enhance productivity and employee engagement. However, these solutions often focus solely on information workers, leaving deskless or field-based teams underserved. But as priorities shift, reaching and engaging frontline workers is increasingly essential for improving communication, collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and productivity.

While significant challenges still exist, recent technological advancements make it easier to provide the tools frontline teams need. In this article, we’ll address frontline team needs and challenges and offer actionable advice on designing and implementing targeted solutions. To learn more on this topic, please check out this video on a Frontline Workers case study.

Frontline workers—also known as deskless, blue-collar, or field workers—include a range of roles across industries. This group typically consists of employees who work closely with end customers, like nurses, public transportation staff, retail employees, service teams, and more. It also includes factory, construction, warehousing, and distribution workers, even if they don’t directly interact with customers. Estimates suggest that close to three billion people worldwide fall into this category, making it one of the largest and most diverse segments of the global workforce.

Organizations want their intranet investments to serve the entire workforce, but frontline workers face unique challenges that often exclude them from digital workplace initiatives. They typically work without a desk or dedicated workspace, may lack a company device, email, or easy application access, and have limited time for internal communications or knowledge-sharing.

Adding to these challenges is a dispersed responsibility for serving frontline workers across departments: Communications wants to reach them with news, HR with training and forms, and Operations with productivity tools. However, thanks to advancements like digital signage, user directory management, and cost-effective device policies, these challenges are increasingly solvable.

It’s also crucial to establish clear roles and responsibilities within your organization to align priorities before starting on any frontline-focused solutions. Given their historical exclusion, some frontline workers may initially approach centralized solutions with skepticism, so it’s essential to build trust and offer tangible benefits.

The potential for improved frontline support is enormous, but success depends on a collaborative approach. Rather than launching into development, start by understanding frontline teams' needs and priorities. Form a cross-functional team with representatives from Communications, HR, Operations, and frontline users themselves to identify the most pressing needs and bottlenecks.

Engage frontline workers early in the process for UX research, hands-on testing, and pilots. This approach builds buy-in and ensures the solutions developed align with actual user needs. By asking the right questions and listening closely, you’ll be able to develop a strategic roadmap that meets frontline requirements.

When introducing new tools, we recommend starting small, then scaling and improving over time. A phased approach avoids overwhelming the frontline team with too many changes at once and ensures foundational elements like user accounts, device management, and onboarding are in place before launching.

Begin with straightforward solutions, such as tools for colleague finding, leave requests, expense handling, and other routine tasks. Prioritize these solutions based on immediate needs, adding other features gradually.Driving adoption also requires active support. Set up a network of ambassadors across departments to promote the new solutions and answer questions. A feedback channel ensures that frontline voices are heard and can guide ongoing improvements.

Creating impactful solutions for frontline workers requires a collaborative approach, strategic planning, and ongoing refinement. Begin by aligning departments to fully understand frontline needs, craft a scalable roadmap, and prioritize tools developed with direct input from end-users. After launch, stay focused on driving adoption, gathering feedback, and making continuous improvements to ensure solutions remain valuable and relevant.

If you want to discuss any frontline challenges with an Omnia Coach, please reach out. We're here to assist. We also invite you to check out the frontline capabilities in Omnia in this deep dive video.