Reaching the hard to reach: How to engage frontline workers.

4 min read

Benefit participation is critical for boosting workplace morale, improving job satisfaction, increasing productivity, and reducing turnover. Unfortunately, when it comes to frontline workers, engagement is challenging. Frontline employees typically have demanding schedules and often lack easy access corporate benefit communication channels. Today, connecting with frontline workers has never been more important. In a recent study 56% of senior executives acknowledged they are facing frontline employee turnover that is higher than normal.

Let’s explore insights from reward leaders and discover practical communication strategies that connect frontline employees with their benefits.

Understanding the audience

Frontline employees are often on the move and work in environments where access to screen time is limited. They may work unique hours, have little downtime, and may operate in noisy or physically demanding settings. To design an accessible benefits communication strategy, it’s critical to consider your peoples’ work environment.

The challenges

Before diving into solutions, let's acknowledge some communication challenges:

• Limited access to company devices: Unlike office workers, frontline employees might not have easy access to a company computer or the company intranet.
• Communication barriers: The fast-paced nature of frontline work can make it difficult for employees to absorb detailed information.
• Schedule and physical environment: Employees may work different shifts or in environments without downtime. Often there’s no perfect time or place to approach or engage frontline workers.

Strategies to engage employees no matter how or where they work

To overcome frontline benefit communication challenges, I’ve taken insights from nudge’s recent conversations with Delta Air Lines and PepsiCo to share effective tactics for engaging frontline employees. I’ve condensed these insights into the following considerations:

Accessibility first

“We are an accessibility first organization. This means offering benefit technology that’s mobile-friendly, in multiple languages, with regular reminders and prompts. Furthermore, our communications are culturally sensitive to ensure every employee has an equal opportunity to access to the benefits they are offered.” – Tim Perkins, Co-Founder & CEO, nudge.

With most employees owning smartphones, mobile accessibility is key. Implement mobile-friendly platforms that allow employees to access benefits information anytime, anywhere. Apps or mobile-friendly websites can offer features like:

• Seamless integration: Employees can quickly find what they need without sifting through complex menus.
• Prompts: Offer proactive, in-the-moment, digital triggers about open enrollment, new benefits, deadlines, etc.
• Single sign-on: Allows employees to seamlessly view, update, and enroll in benefits directly from their phones.

Creative communications

“We're not going to send home a 50-page brochure anymore, so how do we adapt that package that's arriving at home so it’s snackable, has the right links or the right sort of QR codes to quickly get to an online repository? And equally, how do we make that communication not only applicable to the employee themselves, but for the entire family?” - PepsiCo

Given the nature of physically active job roles, traditional text-heavy communication may not be effective. Instead, consider video, audio, and interactive methods to convey information:

• Videos or on-demand webinars: Allow employees to digest complex benefits information in their own time and in a simple format.
• Interactive tools: Make the experience digitally interactive and add gamification to make the experience feel exciting.

Multi-channel approach

“We do quite a bit of listening and employee surveys give us an education into the channels that specific cohorts prefer. And we must use all of the different channels available to us [to reach employees], and sometimes we need to get very creative.” - PepsiCo

Don’t rely solely on one method of communication. A multi-channel approach ensures that employees receive benefits education in ways that are most accessible to them:

• SMS, WhatsApp, email, slack: Send short, clear messages with links to more detailed information.
• Screen boards, posters, flyers: Place hardcopy materials in common areas like breakrooms to catch employees’ attention.
• QR codes: Provide a quick way for employees to access benefits education using their mobile device.

Personalized communications

“There's divisions and employee types and it's certainly not a homogeneous group which means we cannot, and will not, have a singular form of communication.” – Delta Air Lines

One size does not fit all, especially across a diverse workforce. Personalize your benefit communications to meet the needs of different employee segments:

• Demographic personalization: Personalize messages based on location, gender, age, career stage, role, dependents, interests, or unique needs.
• Relevant education: Ensure that the information is pertinent to the employee's life stage or work situation.

Invite champions to lead

“Celebrating what we call our wellness champions, how do we sort of also tap into someone who's got a passion for lobbying and how do we build that community, build their understanding of our programs and essentially build a group of ambassadors who are out there and sort of extensions to our team.” - PepsiCo

We naturally enjoy learning from those “like us”. In the workplace, organizations that successfully nurture champions or engage their ERGs/ARGs enable valuable communication streams that establish:

• Community and belonging: Especially for underrepresented or remote employees, offering personalized support and a channel to confidently voice concerns is critical.
• Trusted points of contact: Trusted employee champions help bridge the gap between the greater organization and frontline employees.
• Inclusivity: Regardless of their role or location, ensure that all employees are heard and supported.

Reaching hard to reach employees requires teamwork, creativity, and thoughtful personalization. By understanding employees’ unique challenges and communication preferences, you can ensure that all employees informed, connected, and feel valued.

Ready to further engage your frontline workforce? Get in touch or learn more on how nudge engages PepsiCo & Delta’s frontline workers.