Workplace tech has long been the business world’s digital divide. For decades, people with desk jobs have had an increasing array of technology tools to drive collaboration, productivity, and access to information. In contrast, frontline workers, who make up over 50% of the U.S. workforce (about 80 million employees), typically lack access to digital workplace tools focused on engagement, upskilling, and advancement.
This digital divide is closing rapidly, thanks to workplace apps designed for hourly employees in major sectors like retail, travel, hospitality, manufacturing, and logistics. Leaders who empower their hourly workforce with technologies that connect, engage, and upskill, while streamlining workflow and shift-related tasks, gain a competitive advantage. Providing technology access can improve employee morale, productivity, and customer satisfaction, while lowering turnover and retraining costs.
Here are four ways technology and digital tools for frontline workers can pave the fastest path to growth and progress:
1. Real-time communication in an employee’s native language
Declining investment in DEI programs is an unfortunate trend impacting workforces, despite inclusive workplaces having 5.5 times greater revenue gains than less-inclusive companies. Eliminating language barriers—especially for large, hourly workforces—is essential to an inclusive and productive workplace.
AI and natural language processing advances enable employers to deliver real-time communications in an employee’s native language, including company news, updates, recognition, and best practices. These apps give hourly employees a voice with leadership and connect them as a community of knowledge workers.
For example, a large U.S. supermarket chain uses real-time communications in 50 languages to support frontline workers in hundreds of locations. This tool helps attract new employees and communicates updates on inventory, scheduling, and shift priorities, tasks that would otherwise take managers hundreds of hours weekly. The app eliminates language barriers, significantly improving morale, engagement, and productivity.
2. Close the advancement gap
AI and technology in general are leveling the playing field in employee upskilling, ensuring both hourly and desk workers can participate. The average half-life of workplace skills is around five years, and even less in tech. The best upskilling solutions for frontline workers use AI for personalized learning recommendations and skills-based training, mapping to specific advancement pathways and credentials. Training modules completed during breaks have a powerful impact on advancement and underscore the value of frontline workers.
The combination of skills-based advancement and the shift to skills-based hiring, not educational degrees, mark a significant moment in workforce equity. For employers and employees, this will have an enduring impact on merit-based advancement, morale, culture, and growth.
For instance, Priceline Pharmacy in Australia adopted app-based tools in 2023, and by December, its 8,000 frontline employees had completed 45,300 trainings across 470 stores. These tools empowered employees with real-time updates on news, training, and operations, enhancing customer service and community connection.
3. Improve scheduling and financial wellness
A 2023 survey reported that 78% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck, disproportionately impacting hourly and part-time workers. Technology can help. App-based shift scheduling tools allow employees to set availability, pick up or swap shifts, and express coworker preferences. This improves morale, productivity, and customer satisfaction, while reducing absenteeism. Many employers also adopt payment tools that give frontline workers early access to earned wages, a vital resource for those living paycheck-to-paycheck.
The ability to pick up additional shifts can consistently boost household income for many frontline workers. It was rewarding to read a letter from a single mother noting that she was able to quit her second job simply by using an app to select shifts that opened up at the last minute, while her children were at school.
And consider the major Washington, D.C. pizza chain that used app-based shift scheduling to fill delivery roles, reducing understaffing by 50% in weeks. The flexibility to swap or pick up additional shifts became a recruiting tool for the 78-store chain, cutting delivery times—a key customer satisfaction metric—by 7 minutes and enhancing the overall consumer experience.
4. Actionable AI insights for frontline managers
Frontline managers play a critical role in managing hourly employees across multiple locations. Technology can help streamline their workload, and AI innovations are particularly promising. AI can identify anonymized employee signals, helping managers keep a pulse on morale, recognize employees, and address frustrations impacting the frontline.
For instance, if a retailer is rolling out a new training program, conversational AI might indicate employee frustration, signaling managers to take corrective action before problems escalate. This tool shifts managers’ focus from mundane tasks to understanding morale trends, recognizing outstanding employees, and addressing issues through leadership visits or “Ask Me Anything”-style Q&A sessions.
Change the way we live and work
Technology’s impact on how we live and work continues to accelerate. In 2024, workplace tech designed for frontline workers presents a significant opportunity. It can close the digital divide across the workforce and unlock the power of a skills-led economy for leading companies.
Steven Kramer is CEO and cofounder of WorkJam.
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