Frontline Workers Say Management Feels “Out of Touch” with Their Roles

KANSAS CITY, MO.June 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — A new survey has revealed more than 1 in 3 frontline workers (40%) feel management is “out of touch” with their role based on the communications they receive from HQ.

The YouGov data commissioned by SafetyCulture represents the views of American, British and Australian “frontline workers” – individuals who must “physically show up to their job”, including the likes of hospitality, retail, manufacturing, and logistics workers. These frontline workers make up 80% of the global workforce.

The survey revealed:

  • More than 1 in 4 frontline workers (32%) don’t have time to read or act on HQ communications and more than 1 in 4 (30%) said internal communications get in the way of performing their role and tasks.
  • More than 1 in 3 frontline workers agree the communications they receive from HQ are often irrelevant (42%) and not engaging (43%).
  • Almost half of the frontline workers (49%) also said they couldn’t “put a face to the name” of most HQ team members they communicate with.

Commenting on the data, Bob Butler, Chief Customer Officer at SafetyCulture said, “Given most businesses are dealing with the effects of supply chain issues and labor shortages, communicating with teams on the frontline is more critical than ever. However, frontline workers can be challenging to reach given they aren’t always at a desk and often don’t have a company email address.”

“Many businesses have continued to invest in providing their white-collar workers with high-quality tools and technology for remote communication but enabling the frontline is a blind spot for some organizations. There’s a real opportunity to improve in this space, particularly with low-cost mobile-first technology.”

Time for a simple ‘heads up’?

SafetyCulture is aiming to help improve communication between HQ and the frontline, via a new ‘Heads Up‘ feature in its flagship product, iAuditor. The feature creates a one-stop messaging broadcast center and allows organizations to record short videos or image-based messages and send them out to team members at the click of a button.

SafetyCulture’s new mobile-first “Heads Up’ feature is available via iAuditor free of charge for teams of up to 10 people.

About the research

All figures are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,980 adults (858 US, 553 Australia, 569 UK). Fieldwork was undertaken during April 2022.

Media contact:
Alissa Neil – alissa@alissaneilpr.com

SOURCE SafetyCulture

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