Summary of diving:
- According to the analysis of human resources consulting firm The Josh Bersin Co. In collaboration with UKG, frontline workers make up 70% of the US workforce, but they are increasingly difficult to find, train and retain.
- A Nov. 5 report found that three-quarters of frontline workers feel burned out, with 51 percent saying they “feel like a number, not a person,” fueling feelings of being overworked, underappreciated and disconnected.
- In addition, employers are increasingly finding that essential workers—including those in logistics, health care, and leisure—cannot be easily hired or replaced due to various economic pressures.
Diving Insights:
The report urges CHROs to acknowledge and prioritize the needs of frontline workers and review HR systems traditionally designed for administrative staff. For example, by standardizing workforce management processes, a large hotel chain enables front-line workers to easily share shifts and trade, Josh Bersin said.
In another example, a company that provides vegetation management and storm emergency response services reduced turnover by 5 percent by providing targeted training to frontline employees, according to the company. In these examples, AI played a key role by making it easier for frontline employees to access guidance and complete core HR tasks from mobile devices, the company noted.
Talent development experts say training front-line workers is a challenge due to high turnover. While 80 percent of talent development professionals told the Talent Development Association they can overcome this challenge, many said they don’t know how to actually do it.
These issues highlight the need — and opportunity — for organizations to foster stronger communication, trust and alignment with frontline employees, according to a report released by ZipRecruiter in August.
The online job market found that less than a quarter of frontline workers believe senior leaders understand their day-to-day reality, a leadership awareness gap that is even wider in the agriculture, healthcare and travel industries. Front-line workers in retail, hospitality and facility services, more than any other industry, do not believe leaders respect them for their role.
Employers should also remember that while finding the right people to fill frontline roles has become increasingly challenging, they must resist making hasty decisions, talent management solutions consultancy Talogy recently warned.
Talogy found that hiring decisions made under pressure and without going through the correct processes can lead to unintended consequences such as increased costs, reduced productivity and poor quality of work.
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