6 data-driven strategies to improve frontline communications

Improving frontline communications starts with fixing the fundamentals: making key information easy to access, ensuring messages are relevant to frontline employees, supporting two-way communication, and creating great mobile-ready experiences. 

When these fundamentals are in place, frontline employees can understand and act on organizational strategy, perform their jobs safely and productively, and stay connected.

The data and insights from this report are sourced from a recent Dewpoint Communication report covered in our webinar: The Deskless Challenge + Strategies to Bridge the Gap.

In this article, we build on these insights and explore what real organizations are facing when it comes to communicating with frontline workers.

4 key frontline communication challenges according to new research

Data-backed frontline employee communication challenges include staff feeling disconnected from company strategy, issues finding key on-the-job information, the use of unauthorized communication tools, and sub-par communication methods when compared to the in-office staff experience. 

Together, these challenges show that a passive approach to frontline employee communication doesn’t work. Plus, communication tools not built for the specific needs of the frontline make it even more difficult. 

One of the best ways to engage frontline employees is through a purpose-built solution—a full-featured, modern intranet designed for frontline employees.

1. Company strategy isn’t communicated to frontline employees

Dewpoint Communication’s research shows a major disconnect between company direction and frontline execution—72% of frontline workers don’t understand broader company strategy. As a result, they lack context on key company decisions and can’t act accordingly.

This isn’t because frontline employees don’t care. It’s because strategy is often communicated in ways that assume desk access or in-person connections. Frontline teams need information accessible from where they spend their days—whether it’s on the road, in branches, or in the field.

A frontline-ready intranet helps close this gap by making strategy visible and accessible.

2. Frontline staff can’t find critical on-the-job information

Access to information isn’t just a convenience issue—it’s a productivity one—and an expensive one at that. Organizations around the globe lose up to 1 million hours annually per 10,000 employees due to poor access to information. That’s a lot of wasted time.

For frontline and deskless workers, this problem is amplified. When staff leave, procedures get updated, or safety information is revised, there’s no trusted source of truth. Information is often scattered across various inaccessible sources, leading to:

• Compliance and safety issues
• Difficulty ensuring strategic alignment
• Compromised customer service quality.

This is where an intranet becomes critical as a single source of truth for all job-related information.

3. Staff are using unauthorized frontline communications tools

When frontline employee communication tools fall short on meeting frontline needs, staff find workarounds. 83% of manufacturing workers are using unauthorized communication tools to share updates, connect with fellow staff, and coordinate work.

Shadow communication channels, like personal messaging apps, create fragmented messaging. They make it near impossible for organizations to keep everyone working in the same direction, introducing serious risk factors, like:

• Cybersecurity threats
• Compliance and policy misconduct
• Missed safety updates
• Inconsistent information.

Instead, staff should be collaborating and communicating on one central platform, like your intranet.

Read our guide on how to choose frontline employee communication software.

4. Salaried and hourly staff experience different communications

Another challenge with frontline communications is that many organizations are unknowingly creating a divide between salaried and hourly workers. Office-based employees often enjoy rich experiences with modern tools and real-time updates. Meanwhile, frontline workers are left to fend for themselves with outdated, manual processes.

This gap impacts morale and reinforces the perception that frontline employees are an afterthought. Poor frontline communication erodes trust and engagement. Companies with many frontline staff can’t afford to have them feel anything but valued and prioritized.

The ROI of improving communications with frontline workers

Improving communications with frontline workers delivers an undeniable return on investment. When frontline teams have access to the right information, organizations reduce safety and security risks, make better decisions, retain more employees, and improve productivity and customer satisfaction. Investing in improving your frontline communications isn’t a “soft” engagement initiative. It offers real business impact.

Information sharing reduces risk by improving safety and security

Organizations see $4.41 in return for every single dollar invested in safety communication with frontline employees. At over a 4x return, it’s a clear reminder that investing in frontline communication delivers measurable ROI.

When safety guidance is easy to find and reinforced through everyday communication, frontline employees are better prepared to respond. For example, this approach was central to the safety culture behind the London 2012 Olympic Games. Strong communication and accountability contributed to zero fatalities during Olympic setup and operations. Outcomes like these are built through accessible communication.

Two-way frontline employee communication empowers better decision making

Everyday, frontline workers have to make quick decisions and judgement calls. If these staff aren’t looped into strategy, these decisions become more challenging and disjointed from where the organization is headed as a whole. 

It’s not just about strategic insights trickling down through the frontlines, either. Frontline workers are the true knowledge workers of organizations. They hold a wealth of knowledge only gained from working the frontlines, talking with customers, and experiencing first-hand what works and what doesn’t. This is powerful. By creating two-way communication channels, leaders can benefit greatly from these feedback loops and create a cohesive strategy.

Connected frontline staff boosts employee retention

Losing staff is costly—from slowed momentum and loss of institutional knowledge to hurt morale and the costs of training a new person. The correlation is clear. 82% of employees who rate their organization’s communication as excellent intend to stay at their company.

It’s no surprise that improving frontline worker communications saves $2.4 million in costs through improved employee retention. Yet, many companies aren’t doing enough to keep their frontline staff happy and connected through proper internal communications.

Accessible knowledge improves productivity and customer service

When frontline employees are strongly engaged, organizations see a 73% increase in customer satisfaction. Access to information doesn’t just affect how employees feel—it directly impacts their performance. 

Frontline workers are already sold on the value of clear communication. 61% believe better communication would improve productivity and performance, reduce time spent searching for answers, and increase confidence. When employees know where to look for the right information and can proceed confidently, they can better focus on serving customers and operating safely.

6 best practices for improving frontline employee communication

The best way to improve frontline employee communication is to make information relevant, use communications tools that are simple to navigate, and give employees a clear connection to leadership.

The six best practices below are grounded in data-backed realities and show how the right intranet can help organizations close communication gaps and better support their frontline workforce.

1. Ensure mobile communication tools are intuitive and full-featured

66% of frontline employees aren’t satisfied with their company’s communication platforms, and it’s easy to see why. Most people have become accustomed to using modern mobile apps every day. Frontline employees now expect that same ease of use at work—especially since many don’t have regular access to a laptop. Responsiveness, clear navigation, and appealing design are critical.

To meet these expectations, organizations need an intranet that’s more than just a scaled-down desktop version. They need a full-featured mobile experience. ThoughtFarmer offers both a desktop and mobile intranet app, ensuring your staff can access the same information and tools wherever they work.

In industries like construction, this can make all the difference. ThoughtFarmer customer, STO Building Group, increased the number of staff visiting their intranet mobile app by 46% in two years after investing in a ThoughtFarmer intranet. Overall, their intranet has amassed over 1.7 million views and counting.

2. Share information that’s relevant to frontline employee roles

When research shows that 48% of frontline employees feel that communications aren’t relevant to them, it shows there’s work to be done. Many intranets prioritize content that is relevant to staff working in a head office, but frontline employees don’t always find this same information impactful on their day-to-day work. Instead, frontline staff need easy access to information such as:

• Procedures and processes 
• Workplace forms 
• Compliance, policy, and safety guidelines
• Staff directories and contact information.

It’s also important to consider not just what you say, but how you say it. Frame company-wide news and updates to emphasize how it applies to frontline staff. 

Ensure relevant information is easily surfaced on your intranet and can be navigated to in a few clicks with targeted experiences and messaging for frontline staff. ThoughtFarmer supports this by enabling custom experiences that are unique to each employee’s job function, areas of interest, or even location with features like:  

• Customized homepages to display what matters most to frontline employees
• Custom news feeds that pull in relevant updates 
• Targeted broadcasts for timely crucial information
• Custom profile pages that showcase your employee’s unique interests and capabilities.

3. Simplify frontline employee workflows

Frontline employees are juggling tasks, people, and time-sensitive decisions in real time. If an intranet feels confusing or adds extra steps, it simply won’t be used. No matter how important the information is.

The most effective frontline communication tools are designed to make work easier, not more complicated. You should prioritize clarity, speed, and relevance over complexity. 

An interactive intranet can play a key role in eliminating unnecessary workarounds and steps. Here’s how:

• Group together resources related to completing a task from beginning to end 
• Centralize links to external tools and platforms to reduce time spent searching 
• Ensure contact information is readily available and approval processes are clear
• Use ThoughtFarmer online forms to reduce paper trails and automatically assign reviewers

For example, ThoughtFarmer customer, Rick Engineering, keeps over 100 deskless employees connected with the mobile app version of their intranet. They’ve implemented over 130 online forms with ThoughtFarmer’s form builder, FormFlow, so nearly all information-gathering is now done right from their intranet even for staff on the go.

4. Facilitate two-way communication

One-way communication nips insightful feedback loops in the bud immediately. An employee engagement intranet with two-way communication channels enables frontline employees to communicate back to your organization. 

Look for an intranet with these two-way communication features to keep frontline employees engaged:

• Forums that invite open discussions, encourage questions, and provide a transparent record
• Polls to collect quick employee input
• Online forms to collect anonymous feedback to identify gaps and areas of improvement
• Comments that encourage frontline staff to ask questions directly on relevant content

ThoughtFarmer intranet offers all these features and more, designed to make your intranet a true two-way employee communication platform.

5. Celebrate frontline employees as the backbone of your organization

Too often, frontline employees feel “forgotten” and remain in the background. In reality, these staff play a crucial role in organizational success and deserve to be elevated publicly. Make frontline staff feel valued by using your intranet to celebrate their contributions, wins, and projects. 

Here are a few ideas to bring frontline employees to the forefront:

• Ensure all employees have their profile fully filled out with fun custom fields to help staff get to know each other
• Use ThoughtFarmer spotlight that randomly showcases a new employee’s photo and profile information each time a user logs on
• Create a staff blog where frontline workers can contribute learnings or project write-ups 
• Encourage staff to use the ThoughtFarmer shout out feature that encourages staff to publicly recognize each other for a job well done
• Use forums to ask fun questions to staff to get them discussing and learning about each other

6. Connect frontline employees with leadership

46% of frontline employees don’t know who their CEO is. Plus, 24% feel like their feedback never even reaches organization leaders. This demonstrates a stark disconnect between leadership and the frontline. How can staff feel like their perspective matters if they don’t even know who’s making decisions that will impact their work? 

Use your intranet to help you bridge the gap between organization leadership and frontline employees by:

• Sharing updates directly from leaders addressing frontline employee concerns and areas of interest
• Uploading videos of leaders discussing strategy or important news
• Encouraging leaders to personally write articles or news posts to improve familiarity
• Creating an online form for frontline employees to submit ideas and feedback to leaders
• Ensuring leaders’ intranet profiles are complete and maintaining an organized employee directory, so frontline staff understand reporting lines and management structures.

ThoughtFarmer’s news feed, forums, and employee directory features can help you ensure frontline employees feel connected to and considered by leadership.

Improving communications with frontline workers starts with the right intranet

All the best practices, features, and capabilities mentioned in this article are readily available in ThoughtFarmer. With a full-featured mobile app, ThoughtFarmer is the intranet for organizations who have a large frontline workforce.

Our employee engagement intranet platform is designed to connect, inform, and empower staff, meeting them where they work everyday to make work better. 

Want to learn more about empowering frontline staff? Watch our latest webinar The Deskless Challenge + Strategies to Bridge the Gap with Dewpoint Communications.

Request a demo to learn more about the ThoughtFarmer platform.