Whenever the public at large talks about workers in frontline heavy industries like retail, restaurant, hospitality, manufacturing, etc., it’s often in a dismissive way. And it’s typically focused on discussing the minimum wage or who these jobs are supposed to be for.

For companies that employ roles like cashiers, servers, and assembly line workers, these team members are critical to operations. It wasn’t long ago that we called them “essential” as we tried to navigate the pandemic.

However, these workers present a unique set of challenges for L&D teams:

• High turnover.
• Deskless/reliant on mobile devices.
• Hourly.
• Limited experience.

There are others, too, but I want to focus on the first one — high turnover. It’s accepted as a given that these industries have a famously higher turnover rate than others. Many factors feed into that, not the least of which is the nature of many of the jobs — they are seen as transitory.

 

Doing it better > doing it faster

From my learning/HCM analyst days and in speaking with current clients and listening to guests on my They Learn, You Win podcast, I’ve seen that the turnover challenge creates two basic approaches when it comes to frontline employees and learning:

• Get training done as quickly as possible so people either a) get up and running or b) out of the way.
• Find ways to get people to stay longer by growing and developing their skills.

Guess which one seems to have better results?

It’s understandable why #1 gets so much traction. These are fast-paced work environments, and investing too much in people who are simply going to leave can seem pointless. It turns out, however, that’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

True stories from the frontline

In partnership with Ben Eubanks and the Lighthouse Research & Advisory team, Schoox conducted a study, polling 737 employers and 1,050 frontline workers in food service, retail, hospitality, construction, and manufacturing organisations about their training experiences. When some employees indicated they were planning on leaving their jobs, many pointed to a lack of support, not enough training, and simply feeling like they didn’t know what was expected of them while on the job. This is what happens when you cram a bunch of static training into a two-week onboarding period (approach #1).

The study also found that 85% of frontline workers were interested in growing into another role within their company. That ultimately means less turnover if given the opportunity, the pathway, and the tools to succeed (approach #2).

My favourite Schoox customer stories are from brands that recognise this and present their new hires with all the available possibilities. This means a commitment to development and career pathing. These brands also know that these pathways are not for everyone, and they continue to develop and support those workers — whether they plan to move on or stay in their current role.

 

Training has to be more than tracking

The research also sheds light on how the companies that use each approach view technology. We asked employees if they felt their company was invested in its frontline employees. Among those companies rated highly, the employer was much more likely to say their learning management system (LMS) is an essential tool for driving performance (approach #2). For others, the LMS is only viewed as a compliance and tracking tool (approach #1).

When organisations invest in a workplace training system to properly develop employees' skills, the return on investment for the business and the employees is incredible. It is no longer just a nice thing to have, but an increasingly vital component to any organisation reliant on a strong, productive and safe workforce.

The bottom line is that investing in frontline employee development is never wasted. Even if they leave at some point, they are more likely to stay longer, perform at a higher level, and be a positive brand ambassador for the company after they leave.

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David Wentworth 

VP, Talent Platform Evangelist at Schoox