This article will tell you everything you need to know about frontline employee communication. Furthermore, it will cover how an Employee SuperApp can help you reach traditionally neglected segments of the workforce.
Are Your Frontline Employees Being Neglected?
Frontline operations are fundamentally broken.
Your frontline employees are the beating heart of your organization. They are often the ones that interact with your customers on a daily basis.
Despite this, many organizations fail to equip their frontline workforces with the tools they need for day-to-day operations.
In short, frontline employees simply are not provided the same tools and resources that desk-based workers receive. As a result, they rely on inadequate systems and limited tools to do their jobs.
Enter an Employee SuperApp.
Frontline Employee Apps are on the rise as organizations seek out ways empower frontline employees with better access.
An Employee SuperApp is a mobile application where users can access many different micro-apps, tools, and services within one platform. For a more thorough definition, see our definition of Employee SuperApp.
SuperApps can consolidate and replace multiple apps within a single tool for the user. They can fill in the gaps that inadequate systems have created. On the whole, they can ensure that frontline employees have all the tools they need at their fingertips.
Whitepaper – Employee SuperApps
Want to eliminate information chaos and provide your workers with a unified employee experience?
In this whitepaper, we give a detailed breakdown of why Employee SuperApps are becoming increasingly popular among frontline organizations.
How To Improve Frontline Employee Communications
For organizations with mostly desk workers, mobile tools are not always a priority. However, for frontline workers, mobile-ready tools are a necessity.
Many organizations rely on inadequate systems and complex tools that make it difficult to handle even basic frontline employee communications. When information and tools are scattered across siloed apps, your workforce is frustrated and unproductive. It can also expose your organization to additional problems such as unneeded licensing costs, siloed systems, disengaged employees, information overload, and an increased administrative burden on your IT department.
This is where an Employee SuperApp comes into play.
Organizations are looking for a way to connect and enable their frontline employees. With the average person checking their phone 300+ times a day, the best way to engage frontline workers is clear. Mobile enablement can have a major impact on frontline employee retention.
With an Employee SuperApp, you can:
- Enable frontline employee communication by giving them the tools to reach their dispersed colleagues.
- Connect frontline employees with the resources & information they need within one app.
- Allow frontline employees to quickly reference necessary information while on the floor, leading to additional upselling opportunities & improved customer service.
- Provide a clear org chart and employee directory. This lets frontline workers know where to go and who to turn to for questions.
- Provide frontline employees with self-serve tools that can lead to improved operational excellence & efficiency.
- Integrate with complex systems to reduce the digital friction created by switching across apps while on the floor.
Retail Chain Empowers Workforce With Employee SuperApp
Learn how Dutch retail chain A.S. Watson enabled frontline store workers, improved customer experiences, and transformed store operations.
The Day-To-Day Experience Of Frontline Workers
Below, we’ll dive into a few common pain points that frontline workers face daily without an Employee SuperApp:
Shift Information & Scheduling
Without Employee SuperApp – Frontline employees with variable schedules rely on getting weekly or bi-weekly shift information from management. Shift information can sometimes be located in the back room on paper copy and can undergo multiple rounds of revisions. Without a dynamic digital schedule, employees have to either keep checking, or receive multiple versions via text. This is a hassle for both employees and managers, and results in frequent miscommunication issues.
With Employee SuperApp – Shift information is easily available with one click, and is always up to date. Employees access the current schedule in real time and can see any changes that are made. This is a small feature that can make a big difference in providing clearer insight into the day-to-day scheduling. See our case study on Dutch retail chain A.S. Watson for a real-world example of how this is implemented.
Siloed Apps – No Central Place To Go
Without Employee SuperApp – Frontline employees rely on individual apps and tools to accomplish specific tasks in their day-to-day work life (examples include accessing HR info through ADP, communicating with colleagues through Slack, etc.). Oftentimes frontline staff are provided with multiple static intranet pages. However, it can be unclear which ones they need to go to and if the information is even current. The end result is a confusing and time-consuming experience that can lead to disengaged employees.
With Employee SuperApp – The tools your frontline workforce need to do their jobs are now available within a single app. Frontline staff no longer need to switch back and forth across apps and try to locate specific resources/information. Everything is provided in a centralized mobile app that frontline workers can access from wherever they are. By providing a centralized place to go, you can empower your employees to operate more efficiently and effectively. Furthermore, you ensure that frontline employee communications actually make it to your workers.
Training Materials & Policies
Without Employee SuperApp – Many companies store training materials and onboarding policies on paper in a physical location. Such a system requires frontline employees to go to where the training materials are stored to access them. Cluttered paperwork often makes it difficult to tell if the information is up to date. This make it difficult for employees to stay informed on new training information. It also limits the onboarding process and sets new hires up to fail.
With Employee SuperApp – The app stores training materials and policies in an organized way. This helps frontline employees quickly access the information they need, without spending a lot of time searching for it. Newly onboarded employees have access to all the training materials they need to hit the ground running on day one.
Frontline Employee Communication Via Email
Without Employee SuperApp – For frontline employees that receive a corporate email address, email can be a massive hindrance. If there’s no central place to go to receive information, or no place for employees to communicate, organizations will rely on email to relay ALL of its information to frontline workers. That means that one email inbox is receiving countless announcements, file updates, irrelevant comms, and more on a daily basis. This can make it impossible for frontline employees to identify what information they actually need to know.
With Employee SuperApp – Frontline employees are provided with multiple channels of communication. They receive a personalized news feed that only notifies them of information that pertains to their daily job responsibilities. By eliminating irrelevant comms, frontline workers are able to stay in the loop and quickly see the information they need.
The ‘Backroom Computer’
Without Employee SuperApp – The dreaded ‘backroom computer’ is an all too familiar problem. When retail workers have to go to the back of the store or healthcare professionals have to spend time away from patients, they are disconnected from the work they should be doing. This leads to diminished productivity, disengaged employees, and a poor customer experience.
With Employee SuperApp – Effective frontline employee communication becomes possible when all the information they need is accessible from their phones. Whether it’s communicating with colleagues, accessing important resources or information, viewing a policy, checking the shift schedule, or more, your frontline workforce are enabled with all the tools they need to increase productivity, improve retention and boost engagement. The end result is a massively improved frontline employee experience.
Frontline Employee Communication Requires Mobile Enablement
An Employee SuperApp is absolutely critical for organizations with a frontline workforce. You are able to connect and engage your entire workforce in a way that was simply not possible before.
For further reading on this subject, see our guide to motivating frontline employees, our webinar on what frontline employees actually want, or case studies on TeamHealth and Petsmart.
MangoApps – The Ultimate Employee SuperApp
MangoApps is the ultimate Employee SuperApp for organizations with a frontline workforce.
With MangoApps, you’re able to give 100% of your workforce all the tools they need in one employee app to increase productivity, improve retention, and boost employee engagement.
MangoApps is customizable and offers a wide range of unique functionalities aimed at solving any business need.
To learn more about how MangoApps can help your organization, or how you can take advantage of all the benefits that Employee SuperApps have to offer, book a demo or schedule a call with our team today!
