Can you remember the last time you missed a birthday?
Not your own birthday (it would be hard to miss that). A friend’s birthday or a loved one’s. Imagine you’d said you’d be there but then you had to cancel. Because you had to work.
Pause for a second and think about how that feels. It hits in the pit of the stomach right?
Now amplify this, not just for birthdays, but for celebrations, ball games, performances, being there for a friend, and all those wonderful, crazy, life-affirming times you have in your life that create bonds between you and the people you love.
When you work 9-5 in an office Monday to Friday, it’s easy to take being there for these kinds of events as a given. But, for frontline workers, the stark reality is very different - over 40% have no say over their work schedules, and 45% report that their work schedule caused them to miss family and social events or holiday celebrations because they have to work on weekends or in the evenings.
And this is a problem.
Frontline worker churn is one of the biggest problems right now for frontline organizations.
It’s easy to see things like pay rises, or bonuses, or perks as the magic bullets for retention and engagement. But they aren’t enough.
When we look at the numbers we see close to 40% of workers crave more recognition, one in three seek improved communication and a less stressful work environment, and a worrying 62% of frontline workers experience work-related stress, with a lack of flexibility being the main stress trigger.
In the eagerness to solve retention, or boost profit, or increase sales, it’s so easy to focus solely on the basics and forget about the bigger picture. And going beyond simply offering higher pay plays a huge part in creating less stress and frontline workers having a better work-life balance.
Things like saying thank you for a job well done, or making it easier to swap shifts so Dad can make the school run (nearly 80% of frontline workers lack the tech needed to swap shifts), or offering online training so workers can move up to the next rung.
We know that when employees feel like they have a stake in their future, a say in their day-to-day, and are connected to their colleagues - they stay (close to 70% of frontline workers say they would stick around longer if their company offered more development opportunities.)
With a holistic approach to managing and engaging the frontline - which includes streamlining communication and technology, offering genuine opportunities for career growth, fostering a culture of recognition, and prioritizing work-life balance - your business will thrive.
If you do this, your frontline workers - the unsung heroes who are there for your business day in and day out - can be their best selves in the workplace. They shine and, when they shine, your business shines.
And they aren’t the only ones to benefit. With the right tools in their hands, your managers will spend less time on admin and they’ll be less stressed about understaffing or finding someone to fill an empty shift. By waving goodbye to their worries and all the tasks that suck up their resources, they’ll have more to spend with their staff and will feel closer to them as a result.
This is why we do what we do.
Quinyx simply gives managers more time to manage, we help HQ to optimize for both employees and the business, and we make frontline workers feel valued.
We make work, just work.
All numbers are from our latest report State of the Frontline Workforce. Download below, for more insight and analysis!
