With an estimated 2.8 billion people engaged in frontline jobs, it is imperative that companies look toward digitalization to improve frontline productivity. When frontline workers are given a thoughtful and strategic mix of technology to perform their jobs, productivity is estimated to increase by 22% on average (Deloitte).
Understanding the Status Quo:
In a recent post, Deloitte explained how companies have failed to do right by their frontline workforces when compared to their hybrid and more white-collar employees. Only 23% of frontline workers believe that they have access to the technology they need to be productive, and 80% of frontline employees say that their company provides few connection opportunities at work. This data clearly indicates that frontline workers feel their companies can do more by providing them with the right digital tools to do their jobs better, faster, and, most importantly, with increased productivity.
Currently, frontline workers’ lack of digital literacy and a lack of integration between applications and complex tools, which makes workers’ jobs more cumbersome and complicated, leave a lot of room for digital transformation. The frontline needs tools that enable better execution of current workflows and won’t necessitate repeating every manual activity on new digital interfaces.
Realizing the Opportunity:
Deloitte explains that investment in the frontline will produce tangible benefits, predominantly in the areas of employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and the most critical of them all, profitability. So as some companies struggle to expand and grow their digital initiatives and others continue to mull over their plans on the drawing board, companies that swiftly use solid strategy to initiate digital transformation at the frontline might just gain an unassailable advantage in their industry space.
For a better digital workplace, improvement in workforce productivity is just the start. Deloitte claims that frontline workers are more likely to stay at a company if they are equipped with the tools that they need to do their jobs successfully. This reduces the cost of turnover and the hassle of recruiting new employees and expediting training to avoid any lost productivity.
Deloitte also claims that organizations with a high rating for workforce experience are 1.6 times more likely to achieve better customer outcomes. Organizations in the top quartile for workforce experience reflected a two-time increase in customer satisfaction, which was reflected in their net promoter score. After customer satisfaction comes profitability, and organizations in the top quartile for workforce experience are 25% more profitable than competitors in the bottom quartile. In fact, Deloitte claims that organizations with the highest degree of digital connectivity and empowerment—involving 75% of their frontline workers—saw more than 20% growth.
Modern workplaces need to put frontline workers and their digital needs first. Empowering and engaging only knowledge workers will result in suboptimal results, not to mention higher frontline turnover due to disenfranchisement. Companies need to act quickly and decisively. However, simply infusing an organization with more tech is not the solution. Any strategic decision involving frontline-workforce tech must be driven by solid business priorities and goals.
Making it Happen:
In order to succeed, companies should focus on a workflow-based and holistic approach. Such an approach should involve the deployment of a capable frontline-workforce platform to digitize existing workflows and make tasks better, clearer, and easier to execute, so workers can focus on actual value creation instead of trying to figure out the digital conundrum placed in front of them.
Figure 1 explains how Deloitte thinks digital technology should work in the frontline for retail, healthcare, and manufacturing. While this is just a glimpse, it allows us to see the possibilities and helps us figure out the critical business deliverables a future platform would address. Each scenario and business outcome makes it clear as day that digital technology at the frontline should first and foremost alleviate cumbersome paperwork and create efficient digital workflows.
Figure 1- Source: Deloitte
The Webalo Platform is helping global manufacturing companies improve their frontline workforce productivity through process-wide workflow digitization and mobile apps that help with faster adoption for workforces of all ages and capabilities, as most are comfortable with the use of mobile apps.
Webalo covers an entire operation and creates a Workforce Intelligence Center that allows the frontline to have a digitally integrated experience, collaborate cross-functionally, and deliver the highest possible value in the least amount of time. All production-related forms are digitized and automated for workers to access and use on the go; there is no need for workstation-based work. Applications are integrated, and action-rich data is served to the frontline for faster and more effective decision-making. Real-time alerts reach all requisite stakeholders, with the platform acting as the tool that also facilitates collaboration. Frontline workers are better able to visualize their work and metrics on their mobile devices, which allows them to improve their performance and zero in on exactly what needs to be done to increase performance levels. Optimization happens through improved visualization, pointed action, and platform-based intelligence.
Deploying Webalo could be the best strategic move you ever make as a manufacturer looking for the digital edge. The manufacturing scenarios for ideal digital-frontline tech that Deloitte outlines make a strong case for Webalo, which works on the premise that digitized workflows should be easier to traverse and effective collaboration and faster problem-solving should be facilitated by platform alerts and collaboration tools.
Aside from creating an Intelligence Center, the Webalo Platform is ideal for training existing and new workforce members. It is an intuitive platform that allows for faster upskilling, which is considered a must in the new digital-industrial landscape. So, think enhanced workforce productivity, think Webalo!
