In the hustle of working from home or office, we forget to pay attention to the frontline workers whose lives transformed beyond our expectations. During the tough times, frontline workers were the ones working at the forefront of your customer interactions and running your business on the ground. Frontline workers have been underserved for a long time by technology and becoming a part of the “future of work” conversation.
Embee and Microsoft are empowering the frontline workers with the right digital tools and technologies to ensure that they’re a part of the hybrid working world. We can provide the suitable devices to give them a purpose, the flexibility to adjust to the new working world, and the knowledge to make grounded decisions for improving business outcomes.
Some of our founding principles to empower consumer-facing frontline workers
1. Provide a purpose – Give them a device/tools to make their work easier
2. Provide flexibility – Help them adjust to the new working world
3. Provide knowledge – Offer relevant information so they can make decisions that improve business outcomes
4. Make it safe and inviting – Ensure they’re comfortable with the technology and feel respected and valued in their work environment
The key is building trust with the frontline workers and empowering them to use digital technologies as a means of making their jobs easier. The devices should be designed to be lightweight, simple to use, and easy to understand. And finally, we must have strong customer support systems in place so that frontline workers can rely on us in times of confusion or doubt.
We must create an environment where you can learn how to best use these devices for your business goals and not only take advantage of all it has to offer but also provide a user-friendly experience for those who want more from it.
What are the challenges faced by frontline workers?
The biggest challenge that frontline workers face is the lack of knowledge and skills. With the rapid advancement in technology, it’s becoming harder for frontline workers to keep up with the advancements or effectively communicate with their customers. This is mainly because they don’t have access to the same resources as us.
Another challenge that frontline workers face is the lack of fulfilment and purpose in their work. They feel like they’re not recognized or appreciated for what they do at work or aren’t able to fulfil their potential because they are stuck in a job without any hope of progression.
They sometimes feel like everything is out of their control and there’s no way for them to get ahead in life. In addition, many employees would like to take on more responsibilities but just don’t know how with the current systems and technology available.
Why digital tools and technologies are important for frontline workers?
Digital tools and technologies provide the appropriate work ecosystem to give them a purpose. We can give them flexible workstations, so they can be individually tailored to their needs. This way, we can ensure that they are working at their best capacity.
We also need to provide training in new digital skillsets, so they have the knowledge to make decisions based on what’s important for business outcomes. As it takes time for technology to change, we need to prepare for new challenges for the future of work.
In addition, digital tools and technologies allow us to personalize our interactions with our frontline workers through remote collaboration. It will ultimately help them gain more trust from their customers, increasing customer retention and overall brand loyalty.
Here are some of the ways to support frontline workers-
1. Give your frontline workers the appropriate device
Make sure your frontline workers have the right devices for the job. Some of these may be tablets, laptops, mobile phones, or even wearables. It is important to give them a purpose and make it clear what they’re being used for. From this point on, you can customize their device accordingly.
2. Provide training to help prepare them for the future of work
With every new technology comes new skills that need to be learned. Take some time to provide training on how to use these technologies effectively to support your frontline workers in their work responsibilities and future goals. You don’t want them to feel overwhelmed when suddenly thrown into a future that they weren’t prepared for.
3. Provide flexibility with digital devices
It’s critical to provide flexibility with whatever digital tools or technologies you decide to let your frontline workers use because everyone has different schedules and priorities in life. You don’t want them feeling stuck in technology if they’re not interested in it or if it doesn’t fit their lifestyle well as a person who does not work 9-5 hours every day.
4. Have discussions about the future of work
It’s important that you talk about what’s going on in today’s working world with them so they can understand what changes are coming and how they can best prepare themselves for it all while remaining relevant in their role.
Conclusion
With remote working here to stay, it’s important to empower your frontline workers with the right set of tools and technologies to ensure business survival. Embee offers Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) along with Enterprises with remote-ready solutions to enable business continuity, robust security, and productivity while scaling their operations at reasonable cost.
