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The work world has experienced drastic changes over the last few years. The pandemic has influenced how businesses operate, from hybrid schedules to company policies, practices, and procedures.
Employee experience is now at the forefront of workplace culture — especially for frontline workers, as companies realize their vital role in the success of their business.
While many businesses shifted to a work-from-home model during the height of the pandemic, frontline staff were asked to keep working, well, on the front line. They essentially kept the economy running by stocking grocery store shelves, preparing meals, delivering packages, cleaning hotel rooms, and keeping supply chains in motion.
But this burden has come at a cost. Tired of feeling overworked and undervalued, frontline workers are burned out and leaving their jobs in record numbers. Despite the fact that frontline staff is often the face of the company, they're regularly left out of company-wide communications. In fact, 84% of deskless workers say they feel disengaged when they want to feel valued and connected to the larger company.
The good news is, as companies look to improve engagement, there are effective employee communication tools HR departments can use. And in a worker shortage, companies are wise to find ways to ensure frontline staff feels like part of the team.
Check out three tools you can use to improve your internal communications strategy.
Employee Engagement Surveys
In light of the significant disruption to how businesses operate, companies now recognize that frontline employees have emotional needs that must be met. When workers feel their needs are being ignored, it impacts their satisfaction with their job.
Unhappy employees tend to quit faster, take more sick days, arrive late, and interact negatively with customers. In fact, unhappy staff can cost your business substantial financial loss.
Employee engagement surveys are an excellent way to learn if employees are happy at work. Yet, despite being one of the most valuable tools, they are underutilized by organizations. A regular survey is a quick and straightforward way to understand how satisfied your frontline staff is and where there’s room to improve.
Offering employees an opportunity to provide feedback will make them feel valued — as long as you act on feedback to make positive changes where possible.
Engagement in the workplace is fueled by how satisfied one feels with their work. And engaged and happy frontline staff are good for business.
Employee Communications Calendar
Separated by geography, work shifts, and manual labor that doesn't allow for casual breaks, frontline staff often miss out on employee engagement events that office staff readily enjoy.
A great way to engage frontline employees in these company events and keep up with important dates is to plan out the year with an employee communications calendar. An annual calendar will allow frontline employees to plan ahead and feel invited to the party.
While a calendar is an excellent addition to your organizational communication, it's also a great way to improve the employee experience. Engaged staff are generally happier and more productive at their jobs, providing a better experience for customers and staff.
It's not enough to create the communications calendar, however. It needs to actually reach the people it's intended to serve. Sending out emails might sound like the most obvious option, but it isn't practical as 45% of frontline workers don't have access to email at work.
Leaders need to get creative with their internal communications strategy and find ways to push the information out to frontline staff so they know they're a valued part of the team.
Important company information should be consolidated and stored in one centralized place that is easy for all employees to access. But scheduling reminders through mass texting will ensure frontline employees know you care and that they are connected to a larger team.
Texting For Employee Communication
Snail mail, company-wide newsletters, and break room posters no longer cut it for employee communication. They're too slow, too cumbersome, and usually don't make it to the employee, anyway.
Frontline staff want to be kept in the loop, which means employers need a quick and easy way to get messages out. Since texting is the most common form of communication for adults in the US, it makes sense to use a tool that can reach employees via text message.
Integrating a texting tool into your workplace communication strategy allows frontline workers to feel more connected to their leaders, who often hold desk jobs. Regular communication from managers can help frontline employees gain the insights they need to understand why certain decisions are made and how their work relates to the rest of the company.
While there are plenty of app-based employee messaging platforms, they require staff to download an app to their phone. But not all of your employees will own a smartphone or have robust data plans, and asking them to use an app-based tool becomes an accessibility issue.
Plus, the average adoption rate by frontline employees for app-based solutions is 40% at best, and many of those who do opt-in rarely keep their notifications turned on.
Using the right employee communication tools is key. And a simple, easy-to-use text-based solution is your best bet for maintaining regular communication with all frontline staff.
Why goHappy Is The Best Texting Solution
goHappy is an app-free, text-based employee communication tool organizations can use to maintain regular communication with staff. While a robust mobile app might be tempting, the goal here is to make everyone feel included.
A mobile app is pointless if you have staff who can't receive company-wide instant messaging because they have a flip phone or not enough data. And since most of your employees are likely already texting, there is zero learning curve and no cost to them.
Need to send an announcement or quick update like shift changes? It's easy to segment your frontline workers by location, shift, etc., and send targeted messages so you don't overwhelm employees with information that isn't relevant to them.
Send out last-minute updates and employee recognition, and feel confident knowing your staff will receive your texts.
Ready to learn how goHappy can help your organization start sending company-wide text messages for a more engaged frontline? Book a demo today.
