We have more tools to engage employees’ attention than we ever have before, but for many companies, it still feels impossible to reach the front line. And this is a big problem; for companies in manufacturing, retail, foodservice and more, frontline employees represent the vast majority of the workforce and the primary point of contact with your customers, so the messaging that gets to them matters. Here are three reasons you’re not able to reach the front line in2025 — and what you can do about it.
1. You’re only focusing on digital.
There are tons of tools in 2025 to help get messaging out to your employees, like intranets, Microsoft Teams and Viva Engage, but if your frontline workforce isn’t looking at a computer for their jobs, it won’t make an impact. If you have a heavily non-wired, non-desk workforce, sometimes it’s better to focus on print communications. If it’s digital, it’s probably invisible to them. Go analog, with printed materials, home mailers or workplace posters and signage.
2. You’re not investing in the right tools.
The right digital tools do reach the front line. There are lots of platforms today helping to engage employees who may not sit at a desk, like Blink and Workstep. Investing in one of these tools, in conjunction with the right messaging strategy for your frontline audience, can help you engage the people doing the work.
3. You’re not rewarding them for paying attention.
I like to use “Pavlov” as a verb, and I think it’s helpful in most of life’s contexts. I’m not going to go back to a new restaurant if the food’s not good, and I won’t go back to a website if I don’t see anything interesting. Your frontline employees feel the same way about engaging with your communications, whether they’re digital or not. If you’ve demonstrated a pattern that they can disregard your messaging and they won’t see any impact, or there’s no clear benefit to paying attention, they won’t waste their time.
This doesn’t mean you always have to bring them information regarding their pay, benefits or something else mandatory —sometimes it’s as simple as spotlighting a frontline story where they can see someone in a role like theirs being celebrated and recognized for their contributions.
Reaching the front line is hard, but it’s worth it. Want to do a better job engaging the largest part of your workforce? Tribe can help.
