5 Benefits of a Digital Workplace for Frontline Employees

If there’s one thing that the pandemic has taught us about operational efficiency, it’s that digitization can no longer be left on the back burner. 

Since the entire world was forced to go digital, businesses have had to entirely rethink their relationship with technology. Those that had been resisting digitizing their operations found themselves scrambling to find ways of staying connected in a socially-distanced world.

The companies that had already embraced digitization, on the other hand, found this constantly shifting “new normal” much easier to adapt to. 

The best way to support your frontline employees at this trying time is to provide them with a digital workplace. But what exactly is a digital workplace? 

Quite simply, it's the digital equivalent of the physical workplace that office workers have always had, specifically designed to support deskless frontline employees. Its purpose is to support employee collaboration, productivity and continually improve performance, all by meeting your frontline employees wherever they are on their mobile devices.

Not convinced just yet? Here are 5 of the main benefits of implementing a digital workplace for your frontline employees:

RELATED: Who Are Frontline Employees, and Why Do They Need a Digital Workplace?

#1 It keeps frontline employees engaged

Investing in an employee engagement strategy is sometimes seen as a waste of money due to the high turnover amongst frontline employees. But in reality, engaged employees work harder and produce better results, because they want to do themselves and their company proud. 

Keeping your frontline employees engaged in their work at such a stressful time is no easy feat, especially when their hard work is usually overlooked.

Providing them with a digital workplace where they can receive company updates and communicate directly with HQ shows them that they are a valuable and integral part of the company.

RELATED: Why You Should Invest in Driving Frontline Employee Engagement

#2 It makes cross-company communication easy

Over the past year, we’ve all had to adjust to a new way of communicating with others - from Zoom drinks to socially-distanced walks to elbow-bumps in lieu of handshakes. 

And with government and company guidelines changing constantly due to the pandemic, clear, concise and timely communication is imperative. 

Frontline employees have proven themselves to be resilient and agile over the course of this pandemic, but it is taking its toll on them. A digital workplace which encompasses all of your internal communications makes it much easier to keep up with these rapid developments and changes in strategy, taking some of the pressure off your already overworked frontline teams.

RELATED: Frontline Employee Communications: 3 Reasons Not to Use WhatsApp

#3 It’s a cost-effective solution

Businesses across all industries are having to tighten their belts these days, so anything that improves operational efficiency and saves money is a big win. 

Rather than building or buying multiple different solutions for different aspects of your business - for example task management, internal communications and training - consolidating everything into one digital platform will help you avoid a lot of unnecessary spending.

Not only that, but the time your employees will save from not needing to switch between unrelated platforms will improve efficiency, ultimately boosting your bottom line.

RELATED: Why Frontline Employees Need a Unified Platform for Training & Internal Communications

#4 It fosters a knowledge-sharing culture

One of the great things about working in a team is that employees get to bounce ideas off each other and come up with innovative solutions to make the company better. 

But even before the pandemic took in-person meetings out of the equation, frontline employees lived pretty solitary professional lives. High turnover, shift work and a lack of interaction between branches can all make frontline workers feel isolated and out of the loop.

A digital workplace provides a space for frontline employees from across your entire organization to come together and share knowledge, experiences and best practices.

Your staff will feel more connected, and they’ll have a more developed skillset.

RELATED: 3 Top Tips for Boosting Frontline Employee Collaboration

#5 It promotes proactive learning

Not training frontline teams properly is one of the biggest mistakes a business can make - and yet we see it happen all the time.

Because many businesses don’t allocate much of their budget to training, a lot of frontline employees are only trained when they first join the company, and it’s never thought about again. In fact, 40% of frontline employees report being trained only once a year or less (Source: YOOBIC Frontline Employee Survey).

Either that, or the training methods used are so outdated that they aren’t effective. 

Giving your frontline teams a fully integrated digital workplace with training courses that are tailored to their working lives ensures that they are able to learn continuously in small, manageable chunks - and more importantly, retain that knowledge. 

Pro-tip: Use game-playing elements like battles and points so that your employees can’t resist coming back for more.

RELATED: How to Find the Best Digital Learning Platform for Frontline Employees

---

Ready to launch your very own digital workplace with YOOBIC? Request your free personalized demo below!