The most successful transformations make goals tangible and actively engage people in creating change. Engaging frontline employees—like those in healthcare, retail, hospitality, transportation, and production—usually requires a high-touch, low-tech approach.
According to the World Economic Forum, almost two-thirds of the global workforce, or about two billion people, don’t sit behind a desk to do their jobs. These workers are challenging to reach through the most familiar corporate communication channels, like intranets and email blasts. Further complicating matters, they tend to have dynamic shift patterns and often work far from corporate headquarters, and the communication experience of their supervisors—who are a key source of workplace information—varies.
Best-practice organizations use a multipronged strategy to meet frontline workers where they are—not just in the course of a transformation but every day. They also harness the power of supervisors—and frontline employees themselves—to present, explain, and promote change. Their approach often involves the following tactics.
Build supervisors’ communication skills
A transformation’s odds of success increase by 5.2 times when managers make it easy for their teams to understand the case for change. However, frontline supervisors don’t always have extensive experience in communication, and especially what is needed during times of change. Building supervisors’ capabilities through classroom sessions, coaching, and directed practice can make success much more likely.
The communications team at one manufacturing company did just that. Using McKinsey’s Organizational Health Index (OHI) scores as a guide, the team asked frontline technicians to identify leadership communication gaps. The team then analyzed the data to identify the frontline leaders rated as excellent communicators and interviewed them to discover what they were doing right. Using these insights, the communications team developed a supervisor-training program and a supporting playbook to meet the needs of employees on the front line. A follow-up survey revealed a significant increase in technician scores at facilities where leaders had been trained, as well as a robust correlation between the perceived quality of supervisory communications and operational results.
Develop messages that resonate
To effect change, it’s important to consider the front line’s perspective and frame the transformation in terms that connect with their lived experience. As one longtime plant manager observed, it’s helpful to “talk about change as a stepping-stone to something better for them, not just the company.” One retail company created customer personas based on buying habits and trained frontline workers to use the personas to identify and engage with shoppers who matched each archetype. As a result, frontline workers had fewer—yet more productive and rewarding—customer conversations while minimizing interactions that would deliver little benefit to the customers or retailer.
Provide practical tools
Communication improves faster when organizations equip their supervisors with tools that simplify the process. One global manufacturer wanted to increase employee engagement to boost performance at its least engaged plants, where operations measures and communication scores also were below par. The communications team used a best-practice scorecard to measure capabilities and input from frontline leaders. Based on that information, the team created pragmatic tools that fit the rhythm of daily operations, including shift huddles and production meetings. Working in tandem with the production process made communications easier to deploy. In addition, supervisors received personalized coaching that addressed the communication issues associated with making each plant a better place to work. In less than two years, the targeted plants significantly increased engagement scores and made performance gains.
Leverage peer power
For many employees, including frontline workers, peers are the most common source of information. Therefore, organizations seeking to reach the front line should consider cultivating influencer networks to amplify messages and act as a test audience. For example, a large food-processing company created a field communications champions network to provide instant feedback on transformation communications and serve as a sounding board on corporate messaging. The network also built peer relationships across locations, fostering a sense of community so workers were less likely to feel isolated and disengaged from the broader organization. The result was a more engaged, connected, and informed frontline team that was equipped to champion the case for change in ways that resonated with their colleagues.
Use frontline-friendly channels
Selection of communication channels should be based on audience needs. A materials company kept this in mind as it sought to increase production and extend the life of its mining network through the power of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and agile ways of working. This required engaging a dispersed workforce where only 40 percent used digital channels. To overcome skepticism and employee concerns about these significant changes, the communications team tested messaging on-site with supervisors and operators and then workshopped the change story with the company’s top 100 leaders. Posters, videos, and digital signage reinforced messages in channels visible to mine employees. Local leaders reported feeling confident talking about the change, and production increased significantly.
Tap into workers’ pride
Employees want to feel proud of their contributions and accomplishments. A feeling that one’s work matters can be profoundly motivating. Managers of frontline workers have many opportunities to tap into this pride and can use those opportunities to build a network of change agents.
A plant manager noted that his facility—like many small-town factories—employed multiple generations of family members. The manager decided to organize a three-generation recognition event to honor a family where the grandfather was an operator, the father was a frontline supervisor, and the son was a manager. Family members and other team members gathered in a conference room, where the son presented a project to the CEO as the others looked on with pride. The plant manager, by identifying some of the most important influencers and putting them in the right position to radiate their influence, created a once-in-a-lifetime moment and generated transformation apostles among those who witnessed the event.
Adapt to fast-changing circumstances
Communication, like other organizational functions, must be agile in the face of change. The advantages of adaptation were especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. At a hospital system in a large metropolitan area, healthcare professionals used daily in-person, video, and dial-in briefings to communicate the latest treatment and medication options throughout that tumultuous and uncertain time. The hospital system also developed a mobile app and SMS text messaging for frontline workers, providing real-time clinical updates, guidelines for personal protective equipment, patient census information, and proposed solutions to staffing needs. Today, the methods improvised during the pandemic are still enabling the hospital system to communicate with its frontline personnel.
Designing communication strategies to meet the front line’s unique communication needs can help enlist and equip on-the-ground advocates for change. By living the change daily, these colleagues can play a critical role not just in the transformation’s operational success but also in the broader realization of a long-term strategic plan.