Frontline employees play an immensely important role in every aspect of a business. They are the first persons customers get to meet and they go about their roles representing your business and overcoming any obstacles that may arise.
Simply put, these people are everywhere: on the phone, face to face, on social media…
It’s no wonder, then, that it is essential to provide satisfactory work conditions for them as well as proper training and advancement options.
Importance of Frontline Employee Retention
Needless to say, effective frontline employee retention is crucial. Workplaces that generate high retention rates employ engaged workers who get more jobs done.
In the case of frontline employees, this translates into better customer relations and better time management.
Some Popular Roles Typically Included in Frontline Teams
There are many frontline roles out there, the most common ones of which include:
Service personnel
Customer service agents
Retail assistants
Bank clerks
Social media planners and executives
Hospitality personnel
Field sales executives
Consultants
What sets all of these people apart from the rest of the employees is that they possess specific skill sets not everyone does.
Because frontline employees work, first and foremost, with customers, they need to be masterful at soft skills as well as hard skills. They should be able to handle any situation that arises from the customer side.
Common soft skills all frontline employees need, regardless of their particular role, include a balanced nature, empathy, common sense, composure, emotional intelligence and adaptability.
How to Make Your Workplace a Perfect Fit for Frontline Employees
Let’s face it — the overall success of your business relies heavily on the effectiveness of the frontline employees. That’s why you need to make an effort to provide these people with all the resources and know-how they may need to be successful in their respective roles.
Offer the Latest Tech
Benefits of field management software are many, so make sure to choose the best tech for your frontline teams.
There are certain trends that will help you with job management as well as make things easier for your teams.
Presently, the following are trending:
IoT for asset management
Cloud-based software for remote work
Artificial intelligence for business automation
Inventory management software for supply chains
Lastly, use timesheet templates to eliminate the boring manual work that can be too time-consuming.
Master Job Management
Management often seems like a complex process, but the truth is that it is, actually, composed of clearly defined steps, as follows:
Customer acquisition – Use marketing, advertising, and promotion
Estimating & quoting – Estimate a cost and ask for customer feedback
Task outlining – divide the job into smaller tasks
Scheduling – Allocate the necessary resources and staffing +
Timesheeting –Record employees’ working hours
Emailing & document exchange – Dispatch documents relevant to the job to stakeholders
Cost management
Work-in-progress management
Invoicing
Reporting – Collect the data for further reference
Empower Team Communication
Effective and timely team communication is crucial for frontline employees. To that end, make use of any apps and tools you see fit.
Basically, there are three types of business communication:
Communication via email
Communication via messengers
Communication via project management apps
Depending on the actual role of your frontline employees, other communication channels may also come handy (social media, e.g.).
Offer Viable Training Options
It goes without saying that frontline employees need to be properly trained. However, keep in mind that they should not be overloaded with information.
Allow them to learn things at their own pace. To be certain they will be properly trained in time to face the customers, start from onboarding training.
First, you should make sure that everyone understands the company’s mission and values, and only then should you proceed with skill training.
Key Takeaways
Frontline employees can make or break a business. These people are commonly the first addresses customers get to, so it is important to train them, ensure they have all resources they need, and keep an eye on employee retention.
In addition, it is crucial to provide them with the latest tech. Keep in mind that this is an ongoing process, as software and trends evolve all the time.
Finally, polish your job management skills to ensure everything is going smoothly from day one. Only in this way will you be able to keep your frontline employees happily engaged.
Angela Ash is a professional writer and editor, and she works with Flow SEO, a boutique agency founded by Viola Eva.