Empowering Frontline Workers to Drive Business Transformation

Empowering Frontline Workers to Drive Business Transformation

Frontline workers are a key part of the workforce in the majority of organizations. Out of approximately two and a half billion non-desk/frontline workers around the world, an estimated one billion require tailored communications and collaboration tools to complete their job tasks.

There is no perfect definition of frontline workers. Generally, frontliners are employees within an organization who must be physically present at a business or customer location to perform their job duties. Frontline workers comprise a diverse category of workers that typically do not perform their job tasks full-time at a desk. Other characteristics that frontline workers have in common include indoor or outdoor mobility and the need for wireless connectivity, hands-free communication tools, ruggedized communications devices and integration with vertical apps and/or IoT devices.

Frontline worker communications and collaboration requirements differ based on the job tasks they perform. Workflows vary significantly by industry and job function, which suggests that communications and collaboration tools must be tailored for different types of frontline workers.

Most technology vendors and service providers still lack clearly defined frontline worker strategies. Certain vendors have, however, launched vertical strategies, which aim to provide tailored capabilities to both desk and frontline workers in selected verticals.

To empower frontline workers, technology developers and service providers must understand key industry challenges, trends and workflows. Tailored solution functionality, packaging and pricing may be required. Broader solutions portfolios that enable one-stop shopping can provide value in certain verticals. Dedicated vertical experts within provider organizations, as well as multi-party industry alliances can help communications providers develop strong value propositions for targeted verticals.

A combination of legacy and next-generation tools, tailored for each vertical, can provide the greatest value to different frontline workers. Alongside the communications and collaboration tools typically used by office workers, equipping frontline workers may also require unique devices and services:
• Devices and solutions to support on-premises or campus mobility: digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT), voice over wireless local access network (VoWLAN), push-to-talk, walkie talkie, overhead paging and wearable devices and peripherals, intelligent voice assistants and/or custom-tailored hands-free/voice-controlled devices
• Devices and solutions to support field or customer jobsite mobility: vehicle-mounted devices designed for hands-free use and tracking, “communications in a box” for kiosk or emergency deployments, ruggedized devices for harsh environments
• API-enabled integrations to embed communications with shift scheduling applications, inventory management, property management systems and other vertical solutions
• Vertical-specific integrations and deployments
• Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled data reporting analytics
• Artificial reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR)-enabled tools
• API/communications platform as a service (CPaaS)-enabled notifications and alerts
• Industry compliance (e.g., Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Payment Card Industry (PCI), USA Patriot Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, Basel II)

This study provides an analyst perspective on the opportunity to empower frontline workers with advanced communications and collaboration tools. It includes data from a survey of global IT and telecom decision makers to quantify investment priorities and gain insights into tools used to enhance frontline worker productivity. The study also identifies best practices and growth strategies for technology developers and service providers targeting organizations employing frontline workers.