7 ways to improve employee mental health on the frontlines

Effective workplace communication is clear, consistent, and engaging. It produces the desired result, and it helps you avoid misunderstandings.

Organizations with a successful internal communication style are happier and more productive. But effective employee communication isn’t always easy, especially if you manage a frontline workforce.

There are practical challenges to overcome. Frontline employees don’t have a computer. They don’t always have an employee email address. They have changing shift times and locations.  And they often lack access to tools their office-based peers have as standard.  

Nevertheless, overcoming these barriers to communication is important. Fail to reach everyone with effective workplace communication and:  

• critical messages are missed
• you struggle to develop a strong company culture
• employees end up feeling disconnected, demotivated, and more likely to look for other jobs

Essentially, if communication doesn’t reach every member of your organization, we can’t call it effective.

So how do you close the gap between frontline and office-based staff? How do you improve workplace communication for every person in every team?

Here we explore the benefits of effective communication, and offer ideas on how to achieve it at your organization. 

Benefits of effective workplace communication

93% of business leaders say that workplace communication is the backbone of business. But 3 in 4 say their company underestimates the cost of poor communication.

Here are the things companies miss out on when their communication isn’t up to scratch.

Team collaboration

Collaborative teams are more productive and successful. But you can’t have collaboration without good communication.

When teams interact openly and inclusively, they develop a shared understanding of goals and processes. This makes it much easier for them to harness team strengths and work together.

Enhanced employee engagement

Employee engagement is how connected and committed your workers feel to their workplace.

It’s something the majority of business leaders plan to focus on in 2024. That’s because high levels of employee engagement are linked to better productivity and staff retention.

There’s a direct link between workplace communication and employee engagement. Improve the former and you improve the latter.

Conflict resolution

Workplace conflicts are natural and inevitable. But you can’t allow mountains to become molehills. You need to get team members in a room to talk it out.

When teams communicate effectively, you resolve conflicts quickly, collaboratively, and conclusively. Good employee communication also prevents conflicts from developing in the first place.

Improved productivity

What could you do with an extra 7.47 hours per team, per week? That’s the time business leaders say they lose because of poor communication.

Employees rely on the right information to complete tasks. When that information is readily available and easy to find, workers get the job done quicker. And employee productivity sees a considerable uptick.

Improved employee morale

According to a Forbes study, nearly 50% of workers say that ineffective communication harms job satisfaction. And 42% say it makes them more stressed.

When communication is poor, workers also feel less confident professionally. And they’re more likely to look for other jobs.

Ineffective communication damages team morale. But when you adopt good communication practices, you find it easier to motivate and retain staff.

Increased innovation

For the best shot at developing innovative new ideas, you need to enlist the help of as many people in your organization as possible.

People have to bounce ideas off of one another. And you need a way to communicate your culture of innovation to the company at large.

Innovation relies on good communication. So with effective communication strategies, your company will come up with bigger and better ideas.

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Better decision-making

When communication flows between all members of an organization, leaders make more effective decisions.

That’s because they don’t make decisions in a silo. They take into account the ideas, opinions, and perspectives of all employees. They base decisions on information, not instinct.

It’s the same for employees. An incredible 28% of workers say they don’t understand their company’s goals. So imagine how much more effective their day-to-day decision-making could be with clear communication from leadership.

Business results

According to Grammarly’s State of Business Communication report, US businesses are losing $1.2 trillion every year because of ineffective communication practices.

Poor communication can lead to increased costs, lower customer satisfaction, missed deadlines, and the erosion of brand credibility.

It’s clear. Effective employee communication isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a fundamental pillar, with the power to make or break your business.

Using technology for effective employee communication

Many organizations are having trouble hanging onto frontline staff. But we know that effective communication can make staff happier and encourage them to stay.

Traditionally, messages may have been passed to the frontline via word of mouth, a cluttered team noticeboard, or personal messaging apps.

These communication methods are inefficient and time-consuming. There’s also a big risk in terms of reliability. Employees may get the wrong message – or no message at all.

Technology offers an alternative solution. Today’s best communication tech is designed around the modern workplace. It offers:

• Top-down, bottom-up, and peer-to-peer communication: communication moves in all directions thanks to communication channels everyone can contribute to
  
  
• An intuitive user experience and integrations: it’s easy for employees to find information; tools work well with any other tech you use and don’t add to the noise
  
  
• Real-time communication: 61% of workers prefer real-time communication; moving beyond email, employees get access to instant messaging and video conferencing
  
  
• Access for every employee – whether they work in the office, on the shop floor, or on the road, all employees get the same access to communications and communication tools

In today’s workplace, communication tech is essential. But the right tech solution looks different for every business. 

For desk-based teams, modern company intranets are ticking most boxes. However, frontline teams need a tech tool that isn’t chained to a computer and doesn’t require a company email address for login. 

Enter the employee app. For organizations with large frontline teams, an employee app like Blink has all the features and functions you need for effective employee communication.

It’s a mobile-first app so all employees can access Blink from their smartphone. All communication is available in the same place so employees know exactly where to find it.

Blink supports surveys, recognition, and – crucially – allows leadership to communicate with the frontline workforce they’re so often disconnected from.

88% of business leaders want tools that make communication easier and more effective. Frontline workers are calling out for effective tech, too, with 52% saying they would quit their jobs over poor tech tools.

With leaders and the frontline seeing the value of good tech, implementing this type of tool is one of the primary ways you can improve workplace communication. 

7 ways to improve workplace communication

Getting the right tech on your team is central to improving workplace communication. But you can’t stop there. If communication at your workplace is subpar, there’s work to be done.

These tips provide the other pieces of the puzzle. Put them into place and you’ll develop a strong and successful internal communication strategy.   

1. Lead by example

Leaders set the tone of your organization. So if you want employees to communicate regularly, openly, and clearly, your leaders have to, too.

Encourage leaders to be active and visible on employee communication channels. And to engage with employees at all levels of the business.

Training may be necessary. There’s a presumption that good communication comes naturally. The truth is it doesn’t. But it can be taught.

By gaining new skills, your leaders can become clear communicators and active listeners. They’ll also find it easier to establish a culture of positive communication.

2. Establish clear communication channels

Lots of noise? Not much being heard?

Channel overload makes it hard for employees to find information that’s relevant to them. This impacts their productivity. It can also lead them to disengage with internal communications.  

So establish clear communication channels and consider streamlining, too. When there’s one source of knowledge and information, it’s easier for employees to use it.

Also, share guidelines on how you expect employees to use your chosen channels. Perhaps there’s one space for informal team chat and another for company-wide updates. Maybe some types of messages are only relevant to certain team members.

With clear guidance on where they can find information and how to contribute to the conversation, employees are more likely to get involved.

3. Prioritize two-way communication

Employee communication used to mean leadership speaking to the rest of the organization. But times have changed. And this type of one-way communication now feels outdated.

It’s also ineffective. Organizations with an open communication culture are more inclusive, productive, creative, and collaborative. That’s why the majority of today’s employers strive to give their employees a voice.

To develop a culture of two-way communication, you need: 

• communication channels that everyone can use easily and intuitively
• a company culture where everyone feels able to speak out

When you develop a culture of psychological safety, everyone feels comfortable speaking out. Employees are happy to admit mistakes, ask silly questions, and voice criticism. People say more of what they feel, which aids meaningful communication.  

4. Provide regular updates

While two-way communication is important, don’t neglect top-down communication. Regular updates from leadership are still important.

They help employees align their work with organizational goals. They support good decision-making. And they give employees the contextual info they need to do their best work.

In office-based organizations, leaders can share the latest company news in short, face-to-face standups.

But when you’re managing a frontline workforce, company standups aren’t always viable. When people are working different shifts in different locations, it’s nearly impossible to get everyone in the same place at the same time. 

This is where your chosen communication tech tool can help. Via a company newsfeed post or a video upload, you can share up-to-the-minute info with your whole workforce and keep everyone on the same page.

5. Establish a feedback loop

According to the Harvard Business Review, around 72% of workers believe their performance would improve if they had open, honest feedback.

But effective employee communication isn’t just about giving feedback. It’s also about encouraging employees to give you theirs. 

You can support employees to speak up and give their opinions – on processes, the employee experience, leadership, or anything else – in two key ways.

First, by promoting a culture of psychological safety. And second, by making it easy for employees to have their say.

You can use tech tools to launch surveys. Annual surveys that help you benchmark feedback year on year. And pulse surveys that give a real-time view of your company.

Regular one-to-one meetings also build supportive manager-employee relationships. They’re a safe space in which employees can share any concerns or questions.

However, to make this process truly effective, you need to establish a feedback loop that follows these four stages:

• Information gathering – asking your employees for feedback
• Analysis – making sense of the data you’ve collected
• Action – using the data to make a plan of action
• Notification – telling employees what their feedback revealed and what you now plan to do  

By creating a feedback loop you keep employees invested in the process. You ensure their participation in future surveys and one-to-ones.  

6. Celebrate success

90% of employees find recognition motivating. But celebrating employee success doesn’t just encourage better, harder working.

Peer-to-peer recognition strengthens co-worker relationships. 3 in 4 employees say that the act of giving recognition makes them want to stay at their current organization longer.

And according to Gallup research, employees who regularly get recognition are more engaged, more connected to their culture, and less likely to experience burnout than those who do not.

Gallup also handily outlines the five features of effective recognition. It is:  

• Fulfilling – appropriate to the accomplishment
• Authentic – genuine rather than forced
• Personalized – adapted to the preferences of the person being recognized
• Equitable – all employees have the chance for recognition
• Embedded – it’s part of the value and practices of your organization

For frontline teams, recognition has to be intentional. You can’t always highlight employee work in a company standup or pop by a frontline team member’s desk.

This is another way that a tech tool like Blink can help improve workplace communication. Blink’s recognition feature allows both managers and co-workers to celebrate fellow employees.

They can publish a recognition post in the company newsfeed or send a DM. And wherever an employee is working, they get recognition sent straight to their smartphone app.

7. Address conflict promptly

Workplace conflicts often arise because of miscommunication. So simply putting the other tips on this list into action should reduce the number of disagreements you have to deal with.

But some conflict is inevitable. And how you deal with it is crucial. Unresolved conflict can cause negative workplace relationships – and even a toxic workplace culture.

So it’s always best to recognize and tackle conflict promptly. When managers become aware that a conflict has arisen, they need to get both parties together and bring issues out into the open.  

This is another area where tech can make a difference. When you conduct company communication over a tech tool, you get access to lots of data.

This data can help you to visualize workplace relationships. You see where positive and negative relationships lie, who likes to chat and who doesn’t. You can then intervene early to support strained relationships and help everyone feel more connected.

Measuring the effectiveness of workplace communication

As with any initiative, when you want to improve workplace communication, you need a clear way to measure progress.

Start by looking at the qualitative data you gather through employee one-to-ones and surveys. Find out what employees think of workplace communication – and what ideas they have for improving it.

You may also like to track a selection of the following key performance indicators (KPIs):

• Content engagement: message open rates; survey response rates; number of post comments and shares 
  
  
• Content channel engagement: communication tool adoption rate; the number of tech tool logins; employee profile completion rate
  
  
• Employee engagement: absenteeism rates; employee turnover rates; employee net promoter score (eNPS); employee satisfaction rates
  
  
• Business impact: customer satisfaction rates; sales figures; the number of met and overdue milestones; costs saved

Viewed together, these KPIs will show whether new communication channels and strategies are working to improve workplace communication and overall business results. You can then use these findings to optimize your approach going forward.

How Blink can help your organization with effective employee communication

For frontline organizations, it can be hard to find communication tools and strategies that suit your version of the workforce.

That’s why we created Blink.

Blink is an employee super-app. It allows easy communication between frontline and office-based teams. 

With real-time messaging, a company newsfeed, and seamless integrations, Blink is a streamlined communication solution. 

Whether you want to ask for employee feedback, notify staff of available shifts, or simply recognize an employee’s hard work, you can do it all within the intuitive Blink interface.

Case study: Elara Caring

Let’s take a look at Elara Caring. They started using Blink because they had a huge communication problem. They were struggling to connect the 32,000 carers who worked for them.

Before Blink:

• morale was low
• there was no opportunity for peer-to-peer connection
• annual staff turnover stood at 65%
• managers had to call hundreds of personal phone numbers to book carers onto shifts

Now, 96% of employees say they would recommend Blink. Our app is Elara’s destination for everything – from paystubs to schedules, to the latest company news.

All employees can join the company conversation, receiving critical updates and shift information straight to their smartphones.

They also feel more included in company culture. Employees can connect, share their stories, and learn from each other. They also get regular recognition from peers and managers, plus in-app access to L&D resources. 

At Blink, we help companies to improve employee communication. We’re closing the gap between frontline and office-based teams. So organizations can create richer cultures and reach their business goals. 

Want to join Elara Caring and lots of frontline businesses like them? Book a personalized demo to see what Blink could do for you. 

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Those with a significant portion of their workforce on the frontlines — hospitality, retail, and transport — know the unique challenge that comes with ensuring communications reach their employees. 

A mobile-focused internal employee communications app is often a great solution to the problem of engaging those employees seamlessly. 

But among the many frontline-focused solutions, which one is right for you?

Today we’ll compare Beekeeper vs. Beekeeper to see which one is a fit for your needs.

Beekeeper vs. Blink — quick facts

Both Blink and Beekeeper are employee communication apps highly focused on frontline workers. Their difference lies in their specialities.

Beekeeper specifically targets workers in the hospitality industry. Blink serves a broader range of frontline workers, with an emphasis on transport and healthcare. 

In addition, Beekeeper is designed with primarily frontline companies in mind, as they offer a shift scheduling feature as a prominent communication tool within the app.

Those with a mixed workforce of desk-base and mobile employees may find that it “Works best with smartphones; it is not as good on computers.”

How they’re similar

Comparing Beekeeper vs. Blink, there are a few notable similarities:

Mobile content 

Both Blink and Beekeeper have optimized their employee experience apps for mobile, with support for both Android and iPhone. Communications and updates are available on a scrolling feed or stream, similar to any other social mobile app. 

Frontline focus

Blink and Beekeeper’s software are both mobile-first, designed to provide full functionality and access from just a phone. 

Not only are the UI elements in line with consumer mobile apps, but the features included are carefully designed to be more useful to the needs of frontline workers. 

Fast implementation 

Blink and the Beekeeper app are both designed for ease of use straight out of the box. 

Some internal communication platforms require extensive onboarding for employees to understand how to use them. Or they require a lot of IT manpower to make them work for your team. Not so with these apps. 

Single Sign-on

Blink and the Beekeeper software both integrate with other existing software through a secure, simple process known as Single Sign-On.

How they’re different

Although both apps aim for the same purpose, their execution differs in several areas. 

Social feed 

In Blink’s app, the primary source of up-to-date messages, photos, and notifications is called the Feed.

That is a personalized, constantly updated collection of photos, videos, updates, and stories. Users can filter their feeds by teams for an even more specific view. 

Beekeeper breaks up their feed into multiple topic-based ‘streams.’ This helps make the information more manageable but adds a layer of effort for the user since there is no aggregated view. 

Beekeeper users also say they want to “Improve some functionalities to allow for more personalization, such as more flexibility in choosing streams you want to have or not.”

In comparison, Blink’s feed is more intuitive to use. 

CMS

The Blink Hub is an end-to-end content management system that brings the policies, systems, and files your people rely on together on one dashboard.

Employees can find anything they need with the universal search function and save time by previewing the content before opening it.  

There is no equivalent to this intranet software feature in Beekeeper, which is one of the reasons why it’s more optimized for entirely mobile teams. 

If most of your workforce never needs to upload and manage documents, removing this feature streamlines the employee experience. Users can share basic documents like PDFs, but they are not easily searchable, and the layout options are limited. 

Schedules

Beekeeper has a well-built schedule function right in the app. Workers can check when they’re expected and submit time-off requests, and the admins can make sure all the necessary functions are covered. 

Blink can serve a similar schedule function, but it requires the use of an additional pre-built app add-on and is not a standard feature. 

Automation

While Blink focuses on fostering more authentic real-time connections, Beekeeper is slightly more focused on operational efficiency. 

That is evident in Beekeeper’s numerous automated features. It offers onboarding workflows when users first join the app and a chatbot that can answer employees' questions about their benefits and the products. 

Organizations can create custom checklists and workflows for frontline employees to use in the app to complete tasks relating to their roles. 

Digital signage 

Although Blink and Beekeeper are designed to reach employees just about anywhere — only Beekeeper has a feature that can reach employees without phones. 

The Beekeeper software allows admins to upload slideshows and push important messages through digital signage in break rooms to reach as many employees as possible. That gives new meaning to the idea of a digital workplace. 

Chat function 

Blink’s chat is an instant messenger with tons of useful collaboration features. 

Users can share documents, save messages, archive chats, search their conversations, and even start a video call from the app. However your team wants to use the app, it can be customized.

In one on one situations, Beekeeper’s chat is also well-rounded. However, its collaboration in group settings does not offer chat deletion, message forwarding, or saving messages. 

Beekeeper user reviews say they don’t like that they “Can’t delete old chats or polls.” One advantage over Blink is the in-line translation feature that is especially useful for teams who need to communicate across language barriers. 

Integrations 

Although both apps offer integrations with other services, Blink integrates directly in the app. Those integrations are brought into the Hub, so the apps are accessible within Blink — without ever having to leave the app or go to the cloud. 

Hundreds of apps are available, from Salesforce and Microsoft 365 to niche industry tools. 

Beekeeper also offers a wide range of integrations, but they rely on other cloud storage services like Zapier and Google. 

That may complicate security assurance for some companies. Users say the Beekeeper is “Focused on communication with a community but more difficult to combine with more functionalities which leads to use of more than one application.”

Both platforms offer custom development integrations with API.

Text formatting tools

Designed to make it as easy as possible to create engaging content intuitively, Blink’s rich feed editor lets you change fonts, headings, add emojis, and embed rich media like video, audio, and images. 

Beekeeper offers no dynamic text editing to emphasize or draw attention to new and old posts. Users say, “The desktop version could have some more editing tools for posts (emojis, bold text, picture resize).”

Beekeeper vs. Blink: Systems and pricing

While many employee apps, including Beekeeper, offer varying levels of features, Blink is an all-in-one solution that gives you access to all of its tools right out of the box. 

For that reason, Blink sets pricing tiers based on organization size:

• Essential: $3.40 per person, per month
• Business: Price on application
• Enterprise: Price on application
• Enterprise Plus: Price on application

Beekeeper bases its pricing model on the features used:  

• Standard
• Professional
• Enterprise

Final thoughts: Beekeeper vs. Blink — which should you use in 2023?

If your workforce is primarily on the frontlines, especially in the hospitality industry, and your goal is to make sure they receive vital information and improve your overall operational efficiency, then the Beekeeper app or one like it is probably a good choice for you. 

However, if you have a combination of frontline and desk-based workers whose primary goal is to improve employee engagement and efficiency, Blink is the better choice for you. 

If you’re still not sure, try out a free demo of Blink to see how our powerful app can transform your organization’s internal communications. 

It’s no secret that when employees are happy at work, they tend to perform better. While happiness isn’t necessarily causing employees to go above and beyond the call of duty, there’s no denying that happiness, productivity, and teamwork are all inexorably interconnected. One factor that can influence all of these things is your employee mobile apps.

The mobile apps for employees that you choose can have a big impact on how people work at your company because it involves employee engagement. Remember, an engaged and satisfied workforce will work harder, faster, and more efficiently. This means that every employee mobile app (check out our mobile worker app) you ask people to use during the average workday should contribute to engagement and reduce frustration.

The good news is that there are so many great mobile apps for employees designed to prioritize, enhance focus, streamline tasks, and improve communications. However, choosing between them can be tough, so we put together this post to help you better understand how mobile employee apps can boost happiness at your workplace and why less may actually be more when you’re looking for tech solutions.

Before we dive into those topics, let’s take a look at why happiness in the workplace matters.

Happy employees are more productive

Company culture matters a lot to a business's bottom line because research has shown time and time again that happy, engaged employees are better employees. One recent study conducted by Professor Andrew Oswald, Dr Eugenio Proto, and Dr Daniel Sgroi from the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick found that happy employees are 12% more productive than unhappy employees. In another study, companies that made it onto the Fortune Top 100 Companies to Work For list (which you don’t do with disgruntled employees) saw their stocks rise much faster over time than the competition. And companies with happy employees outperform the competition by 20%!

What’s the connection between employee happiness and productivity — and eventually profits? That’s simple. Employees are happiest when they’re in a low-frustration workplace. This includes that they can see how what they’re doing matters, they get plenty of recognition, they have opportunities to collaborate and grow, and they feel they have a voice. These workers are less likely to give up when the going gets tough, better able to persevere when selling, more loyal, less likely to call in sick, and driven to meet not only their own goals, but the goals of the organizations they work for.

Every company wants to attract employees like that, and the good news is that you can if you promote a culture of happiness at your workplace. It’s not about Aloha Fridays and cool swag (though that kind of thing is nice), but rather about making it easier and more rewarding for your employees to do what they were hired to do.

How employee mobile apps can boost happiness

The best intranet software apps for your employees will depend on the nature of your business, but there are some common factors that make certain apps for employees stand out. To get the biggest happiness boost with technology, you should always look for employee mobile apps that:

Reach employees where they are

Connected employees are happier. Whether you’re looking at corporate communications apps, bookkeeping platforms, or mobile HR solutions, the business management software you choose needs to be accessible from anywhere. Deskless, frontline, and customer-facing workers should be able to use any apps you choose in the field instead of having to sit down at a computer, which can interrupt the flow of the day or take up time that could have been spent doing something more productive.

This is especially important when you’re looking at communications apps and full employee intranets. Your workers should be able to access and share information, find the resources they need in the field, and work collaboratively with their in-office colleagues without encountering frustrating barriers.

Help you show workers you appreciate them

One of the easiest but most powerful ways to increase employee happiness and productivity is by showing your appreciation. A Work.com study found that 69% of people worked harder when they felt their efforts were appreciated, while nearly as many would be quick to quit if they were working at businesses that showed no appreciation at all. This is especially important when it comes to your deskless and frontline employees who aren’t regularly in the office and may not be exposed to the same praise.

An employee recognition or award program is one way to say thank you to those workers who consistently do their best. Rewards and bonuses can work wonders, provided you’re giving them out fairly and regularly. You can also choose a communications app like Blink that gives you a platform from which to showcase the accomplishments of your top talent. A simple shout-out can go a long way, so don’t hesitate to applaud great employees and to tell them how what they do matters.

Stop the endless email flood

The average office worker receives more than 200 emails each day and spends roughly two and a half hours managing them. It's not a particularly productive way to spend working hours, and all of that email doesn't do a thing to increase an employee’s happiness. Quite the opposite, in fact. Email is a constant distraction, and the feeling that one needs to be “always on” can lead to big-time burnout.

The daily email influx is an unavoidable reality, but there are apps like Blink that can automate email to some degree (when paired with Zapier) and apps that make it easier to communicate without using email much at all.

Provide opportunities for growth

Employees are happiest when they feel not only challenged but also that there's room to grow. The problem is that providing opportunities for growth can be tough. Even if you find great classes, conferences, and continuing ed programs, there may not be the resources or the manpower available to encourage and then manage employee enrollment. There are employee mobile apps that help you share learning opportunities with more employees and promote these valuable programs to more people. Blink is one of them.

Remove communications roadblocks

Many of the biggest happiness-draining frustrations workers face revolve around internal communications. These range from time wasted spent trying to find missing resources to being unable to get company updates while on the frontline. Here's why smooth internal comms translates into productivity: When people communicate more efficiently, they have more time to get their core work done and to innovate. There are lots of apps out there designed to make organizational communication easier. Blink was created to address multiple comms challenges. It makes everything findable with a unified search feature and archives everything that has been posted, shared, or mentioned in chat. Even photos. It also makes communication a two-way street, giving employees a louder voice.

Empower telecommuting

Not every role lends itself to telecommuting and some workers thrive on mobile devices using facetime but there are good reasons to allow it for employees (especially talented introverted employees) who can reasonably do their work from anywhere. A study by FlexJobs found that half of workers were more productive when they were outside of the office and would be willing to take a new position for less pay if telecommuting was an available perk. The typical barriers to effective telecommuting are manifold (e.g., lack of communication, lack of access to resources, feelings of disconnect or disengagement) but there are apps for employees like Blink that can nullify these issues by ensuring that employees can stay connected no matter where they are.

Support a culture of fun

Some apps for employees (in particular, intranet apps) will support your efforts to create a culture of fun at your workplace. This is important because creating opportunities for play inside and outside of the workplace has numerous benefits. Employees who spend time together doing fun activities like cooking or playing with each other’s puppies on bring your dog to work days are less stressed, better at collaboration, quicker to resolve interpersonal conflicts, and more motivated.

There are employee apps (including Blink) that allow employees to create after-work events, create interest-based online communities, invite colleagues to see them in performances or go to their sports games, and otherwise get to know their coworkers better. Fun can also foster feelings of cohesion among teams, even when the members of those teams are located thousands of miles apart from one another.

Give employees a voice

Giving your workforce a way to share ideas and communicate (and not just to receive information from up above) lets you learn a lot about how happy or frustrated employees are. Why do you need an app for that? Most workplace surveys aren’t anonymous and many employees who feel unhappy don't want to say as much for fear that they'll be seen as less loyal. In an app like Blink, however, you can create anonymous polls and surveys that make finding and then creating solutions to employee pain points easier. Employees also have the means to reach out to their supervisors to share their ideas about how to optimize workflows, make customers happier, and get more done.

Cut down on mandatory meetings

Pointless meetings are at the root of so much lost productivity, and we all know from experience that sitting in long, boring meetings doesn't make anyone happy. Apps for employees can make most meetings unnecessary. Instead of gathering twenty-five people in a conference room for a quick project update, you can shoot out an update in an app like Blink and confirm that everyone has read it.

Serve as a platform for peer-to-peer recognition

Employee appreciation can go a long way to increasing happiness at your company, but you can take it even further by giving workers a way to recognize and reward each other's accomplishments. Formal recognition often takes a long time, whereas peer-to-peer recognition may be almost instantaneous. The apps that facilitate this type of recognition can help you boost morale, engagement, and happiness among your employees.

Facilitate collaboration within and between teams

The most successful companies with the happiest and most engaged employees think regularly about how to encourage collaboration. Teamwork is, after all, the foundation of business success. Two heads are better than one when it comes to idea generation, and what’s even better than that are entire teams. When employees work together, they bring diverse skill sets, backgrounds, and more to the table. Make sure that any employee apps you’re using allow your employees to work together toward their common goals.

Enable flexible work

In one study, more than a third of small-business employees reported that more flexible work schedules can increase happiness and minimize burnout. You don’t need to create complicated flex-time policies to take advantage of this happiness boost. Choosing employee apps that give your employees the freedom to work flexible hours or remotely when the alternative would be taking a day off is a super smart move.

Your company will benefit from the fact that employees are productive on days they might otherwise have been absent (e.g., on the day of the a.m. kindergarten concert or when someone has car troubles), and employees will love the fact that they work for an organization that respects that they have lives and obligations outside of the office. Apps that enable flexible work are especially useful for employees with young kids, those caring for ageing relatives, and anyone with health issues.

There are a lot of employee apps out there, but remember that not all of them are worth investing in. You may be tempted to invite your workers to try every new app under the sun, but most of the time, less is more. If you can find a single employee app that does of all the above and is easy to use for less technically minded workers, your teams and your tech budget will thank you.

Blink is an all-in-one employee experience app designed to reduce frustration and boost engagement across industries. Request free a demo.

How engaged your frontline employees are directly impacts how successful they are as a team. If you can encourage engagement then productivity, quality, care, commitment, and retention surely follow.

Yet, no matter how clear the correlation is, it’s not always as clear how to achieve frontline employee engagement.

In this guide, we share expert insights for your employee engagement strategies — helping you create a positive working environment that inspires satisfaction and success.

From understanding the importance of communication and collaboration across the organization to leveraging technology for better team performance, this guide will cover the activities and tools needed to foster an engaging frontline culture.

The current state of frontline employee engagement

Recent employee engagement statistics tell us that only 21% of employees are engaged at work.

The percentage is likely lower when it comes to the frontline.

That’s because frontline employee engagement is often handled as an afterthought. There’s a misconception that when workers are out in the field, then they don’t ‘need’ to feel connected to the wider business. Or that because their role doesn’t require a computer, they won’t want digital tools to improve their experience.

We see from our work with frontline organizations that these assumptions are wrong, and that frontline employees do want to feel engaged.

Communication starts to flow much more freely when the right tools are in place (as much as 10x more for certain Blink customers); frontline staff are more willing and able to provide feedback (survey responses increase by 300%); and you can help almost every employee to better connect with the company’s mission and vision.

So why do so many attempts at frontline employee engagement fall flat?

Workers might resist not because they don’t want to engage, but because they have become wise to empty frontline engagement projects and initiatives. The programs that fail are the ones that misunderstand what frontline workers need to succeed — or that ask too much of them while delivering too little.

“Great, another thing to remember”

“It’s not a natural part of my day”

“It’s a one-off thing”

“It’s too hard to use”

To help create frontline employee engagement initiatives that work, we first have to understand why these employees have become disengaged in the first place.

Why frontline employees become disengaged

1. Lack of the right technology

According to Blink research on the health and social care space:

• Over one-third (34%) of employees can’t easily access workplace systems on their mobile
• Nearly 20% aren’t using their company’s intranet
• … and two-thirds of this ~20% aren’t even sure how to log on

Disengagement with — or lack of access to — company platforms leads to missed information and feelings of isolation. At best, this can impede a frontline worker’s ability to do their job (maybe they miss an important update or never receive new guidance). At worst, it distances them so much from the rest of the business that they exist in their own, dissatisfied silo.

52% of frontline workers say they would leave their job over tech tools, making leveraging the right technology a very easy win for keeping your frontline engaged and retained.

But we can’t take the same tech stack that desk-based workers use and apply it to the frontline.

As Ian Gordon, former President of Administrative Operations at Elara Caring, told us in an interview:

“Being a frontline worker can feel like you’re on an island by yourself, and the solutions that you need must be quicker and more succinct. You can’t spend a lot of time signing in and navigating. You need to get to your answer now.”

The ‘right’ technology for frontline engagement will:

• Be intuitive and frictionless
• Allow the most essential, day-job-critical messages to cut through
• Facilitate the workflows that are most important to the ‘deskless’ front line: shift swapping, accessing pay stubs, providing feedback, and so on.

If your frontline tools don’t deliver on the above, then your frontline employee engagement efforts will be wasted.

2. No sense of belonging

Frontline disengagement can also result from a lack of community.
80% of frontline employees say that they are afforded few connection opportunities at work, according to McKinsey research.

And even if these opportunities exist, frontline workers aren’t always engaging with them. McKinsey found that frontline workers were taking part in the below methods of community and connection just once a month or less:

• Internal corporate communications (e.g., town halls)
• Watercooler talks with co-workers
• Employee resource groups
• Other work-related events

Touchpoints like these are all essential for building team spirit and rapport within frontline teams. And if workers aren’t engaging with them, then this speaks volumes about the types of community events that frontline leaders should invest in.

The best way to learn what works for your frontline is to ask them.

We touch on the concept of outside-in thinking in our whitepaper, ‘The frontline engagement roadmap: A step-by-step guide to driving transformative change’. Download your copy today.

3. No clear development opportunities

If you think that all engaged frontline workers are ‘rockstars’ — satisfied with mastering the job they have today rather than looking to step up — then think again.

There’s a very good chance you have ‘superstars’ in your frontline workforce as well. When engaged in a role, these employees are further motivated by the idea of career progression and will actively seek out opportunities to advance and develop. 70% of frontline workers apply for advancement opportunities when they are offered, seeking greater financial security, learning, and development.

But how easy is it for these employees to find this professional development?

Lack of development opportunities came up as a theme — and a reason for leaving a role — among the health and social care workers we spoke to in 2021. Further research has found a similar trend in the retail space, where 32% of frontline workers cite a lack of career development as a turnover factor.

“The vast majority of deskless workers (97%) report that they would stay in their current roles if their conditions improved. Such conditions go beyond a pay rise, meaning that HR needs to offer deskless workers the same opportunities as their deskbound counterparts.”

Frontline leaders should strive to offer clear development opportunities to frontline workers, plus training and learning resources wherever helpful. This could include anything from providing access to relevant training courses and a Hub for training materials, or offering them direct opportunities to move into managerial roles.

There’s also something to be said for training and empowering first line managers to help frontline workers develop. 73% of frontline employees agree that having a manager who supports their career progression is key to career advancement.

4. They don’t feel listened to

The 2021 Blink research we mentioned earlier was called our Listen campaign. And it got its name for a reason.

In it, we surveyed 1,000 frontline UK health and social care workers to find out how their day-to-day lives could be improved. And one word cropped up again and again: listen.

Over one-third of the frontline workforce feels their organizations would fail to act on employee feedback — and that needs to change if we want them to keep providing it. To truly empower your frontline employees, you need to show them that you value what they do and that you hear what they say.

No more out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality. No more assuming your frontline is ‘getting on just fine’. If your frontline workers don’t feel heard, your engagement strategy isn’t working. It’s as simple as that.

5. No culture of, or channels for, recognition

Nearly 4 in 10 (37%) frontline workers don’t feel as valued as their desk-based counterparts. We were saddened to learn this from our Listen research, but not all that surprised.

After all, the recognition strategies that work for desk-basked employees can’t be efficiently deployed for the front line. A line manager can’t send a team-wide or company-wide email celebrating someone’s contribution. You can’t all get together at 5pm on Friday to toast the week’s achievements.

As with the tooling and community-building tactics we looked at above, frontline recognition requires a unique approach. How can you bolster both technology and community to give credit where credit is due?

It’s also important to make sure that feedback is given as soon after the event as possible. So ask yourself: what are the platforms that allow a quick turnaround of employee recognition in a fun, engaging way?

Help employees feel valued with Blink

Frontline employees deserve to be recognized for the hard work they do: for being the backbone of an organization’s success.

Without this, it’s no wonder they become disengaged.

6. Inefficient communication strategies

In our research, almost one-fifth of workers state that they don’t receive relevant internal communications from their employer organization.

An effective comms strategy combines group and 1:1 Secure Chats, regular Feed updates, engaging company news announcements, and more — all wrapped up and delivered in a platform or platforms that frontline workers want to engage with.

Given anything less than this, frontline teams can feel left out of the loop and unable to participate fully in their organization’s culture.

Get your frontline-centric communication strategy right and you can expect to see frontline employee engagement pay off in a myriad of ways.

Blink’s best advice for frontline employee engagement

Use tools that work for them

Your frontline staff need digital tools that work for them: where they need them and when they need them. From seamless integration with your current tech stack, to push notifications, single sign-on capabilities, and more, there are a number of tools that make it easy for frontline employees to engage on the go.

A frontline engagement app like Blink allows your workforce to easily access everything from one single platform. We’re talking company news, training materials and resources, inter- and intra-team communications, feedback surveys — the list of features keeps growing.

No more complex systems to navigate or multiple passwords to remember. Blink provides you with a simple, intuitive mobile app that gives your frontline employees the power to stay connected and engaged.

Book a free demo today

Conduct regular pulse surveys

Your frontline staff are the eyes, ears, and face of your organization. Listen to what they have to say, and you can learn more than you’d realize about your product or service, how happy customers are, and how well your processes are working today.

Pulse surveys offer up a consistent and user-friendly way to gather frontline feedback, no matter where your teams are working.

The data you gather can help identify areas of improvement — both internal and external to the business. This, in turn, will have a positive impact on all the essential metrics: frontline employee engagement, customer satisfaction, plus revenue and ROI.

💡 Learn more about How To Conduct Your First Employee Engagement Survey today.

Listen to and action feedback

Remember that statistic about frontline workers not believing their feedback will be actioned? Now is your time to win back their trust.

Remember, employee engagement should be earned. It won’t be given freely.

As a frontline leader, making sure that feedback is heard and put into action should be an essential part of your wider engagement strategy.

Be open and honest with the results of your surveys — and communicate what you’re doing as an organization to action this feedback.

Never present results as better or worse than they actually are, and always encourage an open dialogue about the outcomes of feedback initiatives. If you want your employees to offer their feedback on an ongoing basis, you need strategies that communicate to them how you’re hearing what they say.

You could even share your survey findings in a company-wide Feed announcement, along with specific objectives the organization has taken from the results and when these new initiatives will be put into place.

This doesn’t add any extra pressure to your frontline, but it does make your employees feel heard and valued.

Create engagement champions

Setting off on a frontline employee engagement transformation isn’t easy — or, it doesn’t feel easy at the start, at least.

We look at the power of allies in our frontline engagement roadmap and Ian Gordon also referenced how influential they can be:

“You need to find someone who has the energy, passion, and is empowered enough to lead the initiatives. That person could be the project lead, but preferably it’s someone from the frontline or with frontline experience. The frontline needs to have that relationship with management all the way up and be comfortable to share their concerns.”

Ian Gordon, Former President of Administrative Operations at Elara Caring

These allies, or engagement champions, can help drive initiatives both top-down and bottom-up, facilitating two-way communication between management and staff. They can also support the adoption of new tools, ensuring that frontline workers are comfortable and engaged as new technologies are implemented.

Blink Champions are the cornerstone of a successful launch with the frontline’s leading engagement app. Their role includes:

• Working with other Champions to ensure the launch is a success
• Raising awareness of Blink
• Encouraging others to use the app
• Being active in the Feed
• Educating their team on how to use the app
• Being an advocate for Blink
• Becoming an expert on Blink

Get commitment from every level of management

Ideally, you’d have engagement allies from the front line to your C-Suite.

If your company’s mission is to boost frontline engagement, then every staff member in an authority position needs to show their support. Yes, engagement should be enabled by managers buying into the right digital solutions, but it should also be held up by your company’s values and all aspects of your leadership.

Our research also demonstrates that frontline staff want senior management to listen to them, communicate with them, and respond to them. A simple, yet frequently forgotten, task.

First line managers could be a particularly interesting group to engage with: making up 50% – 60% of a company’s management and directly supervising as much as 80% of the frontline workforce.

When employees interact with their first line managers daily, it’s essential that those individuals set an example and demonstrate engagement through their behavior.

Managers should also be available to listen to frontline workers and act upon any issues they identify. This will help drive the desired engagement from the bottom up, inspiring the workforce to keep engaging regularly.

Recognition and reward

Forward-thinking companies are already investing in co-worker recognition tools. This helps deliver meaningful recognition and rewards to their employee base, reminding employees how valued they are.

Such approaches can quickly encourage motivation, nurture employee wellbeing, raise employee morale, and boost engagement levels across the board.

You should also consider directly rewarding engagement (interactions with your employee app, for example) to reinforce and reward the behavior, creating a positive ripple effect to inspire more engagement.

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What your business stands to gain

Frontline employee engagement = fewer absentees

Teams within the top 20% of employee engagement scores realize a 41% reduction in absenteeism. Imagine what your frontline organization could do with fewer empty shifts and less time spent finding staff to cover sickness — plus the additional revenue this will inevitably create.

Frontline employee engagement = lower turnover, higher retention

The cost of replacing an employee can range anywhere from 50% – 250% of their annual salary. So it’s no surprise that 87% of HR experts consider employee retention one of their highest priorities.

Why are we telling you this in an article about employee engagement? Because engaged workers are more likely to stay with their employers.

Disengaged workers will either be in an active search for their next role or much easier to sway should a desirable opportunity arise elsewhere. If you can create an engaging employee experience, however, you’ll retain your best talent.

Frontline employee engagement = a healthier bottom line

Engaged frontline employees deliver better quality of service, leading to customer satisfaction and loyalty.

92% of business executives believe that engaged employees perform better. And with engaged frontline workers performing at their best, better business outcomes are a natural development.

Bottom line improvements for highly engaged organizations include:

• 10% higher customer ratings
• 18% higher sales
• A 23% difference in profitability

In this way, an increase in engagement from frontline employees can be felt by every stakeholder, in every department, and at every level of the business.

What now?

Achieving operational excellence is a challenge on its own. Doing so while also investing in employee experience can leave frontline management teams feeling overwhelmed.

So let’s break it down into simple steps.

If you understand why frontline employees disengage, what motivates them, and how to keep them engaged, then you can establish a frontline engagement strategy that truly works.

Companies can unlock tremendous value from their workforce, demonstrate a real commitment to their employees, and drive positive business outcomes — all by leveraging the power of frontline employee engagement.

How can Blink help?

At Blink, we understand the importance of engaging with frontline employees. We’ve helped over 250 frontline organizations increase engagement and performance throughout their frontline.

Our frontline engagement app helps you measure and manage employee engagement in real-time to drive sustained improvements across your business. With our advanced analytics and tailored solutions, you can quickly identify problem areas, create action plans, and keep your employees engaged.

With our comprehensive suite of solutions, we’ll help you unlock the power of your frontline and achieve the results you’re looking for.

Get started with a free demo

By Lauren Burns, Chief Operating Officer, Blink

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Big news for small businesses

At Blink, we believe every worker — not just the ones glued to a desk — deserves to feel connected, in the loop and part of something bigger.

Until now, Blink has been the go-to for massive organizations keeping their frontline teams buzzing.

But today, we’re flipping the script. For the first time, everyone can try Blink free right from our homepage.

That’s right: no red tape, no long sales calls, no IT headaches. Just instant access to the same platform trusted by retail and hospitality giants, healthcare heroes and transport legends around the world.

Why this matters

If you run a small or midsized business, you know the struggle:

• Important updates vanish into the black hole of your email inbox
• WhatsApp groups spin out of control, with current employees frustrated with the lack of work-life balance and ex-employees still lurking in the wings
• Your “intranet” is basically a dusty folder no one dares to open

Meanwhile, your people — especially those on the frontline — are ready for a better way to communicate. They live on mobile, expect apps that feel as easy as Instagram, and they hate feeling disconnected.

That’s exactly why we built Blink. And you don’t need enterprise money to experience it.

What you’ll unlock in your free trial

Sign up today and you can start building your employee communications hub — via an intuitive set-up experience — in minutes:

• A social-style news feed that people actually read and post to
• Secure chat and groups that replace rogue WhatsApp chains
• Fully branded and personalized so your intranet reflects your brand at every touchpoint
• Everything in one place with a one-stop shop for policies, shifts, training, and more
• Recognition and surveys to keep morale sky-high

All of it designed for quick adoption and lasting engagement. And the best part? Your team already knows how to use it.

A big moment for small businesses

Here’s the truth: The future of work isn’t just for enterprises. When every team, no matter the size, gets world-class communication and collaboration tools, big things happen. Morale grows. Operations run smoother. And the culture you’re building has a digital home that matches the energy of your people.

But this is just the start. What comes next is even more exciting: unlocking the potential of your people. 

Our Blink for Everyone team is driven by one simple mission: to make it easier for people to find, try, and love Blink. So I want to also take this opportunity to thank all of our founding Blink for Everyone customers, some of whom are celebrated on our Customer Wall of Love. 

There’s nothing to hold you back. The same tech trusted by global enterprises is now in your hands — free to try, starting today.

‍Blink. And start your free trial today.

The Shift went live on Thursday April 20th, hosting an 'Ask Me Anything' session on the topic of frontline stress and wellbeing. Ahead of the event, we asked our audience to send in their questions about burnout on the frontline. The response we got was phenomenal.

Here, we list — and answer — the questions that weren't covered in the live discussion (now available to watch on-demand). These questions are all in search of practical insights: how to help employees who are struggling with burnout, what strategies other managers have had success with, why managers sometimes don't feel confident handling burnout conversations and how to build that muscle.

A big thank you to our 'Ask Me Anything' panel who helped put these answers together:

• Chris Stewart, Managing Director of Minding Minds, a Mental Health First Aid training company
• Ian Gordon, former President of Administrative Operations at Elara Caring
• Simon White, VP of People at Blink

Understanding frontline burnout

Q: What are the early signs of burnout?

Burnout can show itself in several ways and, because we're dealing with people, everyone is individual in their responses. That said, the 'warning signs' are usually:

• Exhaustion/tiredness — You see this when employees still look tired on a Monday morning; the weekends don't feel long enough and just aren't touching the sides in relieving the fatigue. When tiredness becomes extreme, people will not only feel physically drained, but they'll also lose interest in the tasks they used to find enjoyable. This is also a warning sign for depression.
  
• Difficulty concentrating — Coupled with the above, employees may experience a 'butterfly mind', flitting from one thought to another. They may chase issues or tasks, but never stay on them long enough to make progress.
  
• Preoccupation with work and being overly driven — It might sound counterintuitive, but some people approaching burnout will throw themselves into their work and lose themselves within it...
  
• Presenteeism/drop in productivity — ...And yet, being 'at work' doesn't mean you're getting work done. It takes a person longer to complete their tasks when they start to burn out. 10 hours of work may only reap 2 hours of results; they're working more hours, with less output, and lower quality. Of course, the opposite can be a warning sign too. Some people will do less, attend work less, or leave work early due to a lack of interest or bandwidth.
  
• Loss of motivation or outlook — This can be a very corrosive warning sign, and we should always be looking for changes to someone's regular demeanor. Are they displaying more negativity than usual? Are they becoming more cynical? It's unlikely that the individual will notice this change in outlook as they are already in that belief system. It's a manager's role to notice this change. It's an important 'tell' that something is seriously wrong.

• Physical signs — Stress shows itself physically as well. Difficulty sleeping, gastrointestinal issues, aches and pains, low immunity and so higher levels of sickness; if someone is falling ill more often than they used to, burnout may be the root cause.

Q: How can we have an immediate impact on someone who is struggling with mental health?

As mentioned above, everyone's symptoms will be different — and their needs will be too. One thing we can all do is develop the skills to spot the warning signs, approach the person for a conversation, uncover the issues, and respond to their individual needs. There has to be a conversation. That's the most immediate action we can take to help.

Q: Is there a point of no return with frontline burnout or can it be reversed with early identification?

We can think of burnout like an elastic band. You can really stretch it, and though it's under stress, it's still holding. Hold it at a stress point for too long, though, and you'll alter the shape and elasticity of the band forever, even when it's released.

And what happens to an elastic band when we pull it too tight without relieving it? It breaks. You can tie the band back up and it will still serve its function, but it will never regain its original capacity for stretch or stress.

People's capacity for stress never seems to return to their pre-burnout point. Their stress container has shrunk with the experience. But there's a positive within this: when people do return to work post-burnout, they have little choice but to take stress management seriously. People may focus in different ways and manage stress much more effectively.

So, the answer is yes, burnout can be reversed. But given that the warning signs include a preoccupation with work and a drop in productivity or change in emotional outlook, it's up to the organization to have systems and support in place to pick up on these signs and stop them from developing. The individual may not even know they are going through these early or mid stages of burnout.

We have tachographs for lorry drivers and pilots because we know the risks associated with a lack of relief or downtime. The same applies to our people. The company tachograph must look at more than just hours logged, though. Clear and communicated support, with honest feedback sought, and ongoing risk assessment are all essential.

Q: What is the top question you're getting from managers who are on-site and helping lead the frontline?

The biggest question frontline leaders usually have is: "Even if I think there's an issue, how do I broach talking about mental health? I'm not qualified to deal with this. I have enough to deal with already. I am under-supported and under-skilled".

Q: How can you fight and mitigate stress in a mostly remote or deskless work environment? As someone in the corporate office and not close to the frontline, what can I do to help?

Start with communication. This is one of the most powerful ways of fighting and mitigating stress: you have to understand how your frontline is doing and they have to know that you care.

Next, there's advocacy. As a leader, you're either in or close to the seat of power, and you can get buy-in at the top for frontline wellbeing support.

Third, you need to make life easier for the frontline where you can. Reduce the stress that comes from unnecessary cognitive load. Help make them more efficient at work with proper tooling that makes a meaningful difference to their day-to-day.

Q: What can an individual do to support their own mental health?

Check for the warning signs in yourself, where possible, and start to learn what the beginning of stress feels like for you. It's important to take responsibility for your own stress and wellbeing, and to communicate with others when you're feeling the symptoms.

Wellbeing solutions and strategies for frontline teams

Q: Do you have any unique or innovative ways of improving engagement with key wellbeing initiatives? How do you increase morale?

One great example comes from Salutem, a leading care provider in the UK. Like many businesses, Salutem's staff were left feeling stressed and with low morale following the pandemic. The organization was disconnected and disengaged, and Salutem's leaders wanted a new, inspiring way to give employees a voice.

Salutem launched S.E.L.F (the Salutem Employee Listening Forum), with managers using Blink to nominate S.E.L.F Reps using the Feed. These Reps were responsible for moderating Blink Channels for their regions and following up with their teams. Co-workers were encouraged to share their thoughts and have candid conversations regarding their concerns and ideas for improvement.

Given how essential conversation and communication is for promoting wellbeing and mitigating burnout, creating these connections can deliver a lot of impact, fast.

Social and peer proof can also be powerful. There will always be workers who appreciate the importance of taking care of themselves more readily than others. Enlist these people to advocate for your wellbeing initiatives — as fellow frontline workers, they might just be more influential than management.

Q: What are your tips for making stress management accessible and relevant for frontline workers to use in real time? What delivers immediately?

The first truth we need to remember is that what works for desk-based employees typically won't work for the frontline. A frontline worker's 'real time' situations look vastly different compared to someone sitting in head office; they are out in the 'field', on the go, with little access to desktop files. This means that any stress management support we provide has to be easy to access from anywhere, at any time.

Not only that, it has to be easy to access from a usability standpoint too. Adding another platform or tool to the frontline's already unintuitive tool stack will do more harm than good. Don't labor them with another set of log-in details to remember in order to access wellbeing resources.

This is where an 'all through one' employee app like Blink has value.

Get a Blink demo

Q: In healthcare specifically, how do you get people to take care of themselves when they've cared for others all day?

This is the classic 'Caregiver's Dilemma'. Caregivers are amazing people and, by choice, they place their health and wellbeing second to that of the people they care for. And, to be clear, that's not just how they are at work — it's how they are in every aspect of their lives.

We can encourage better self-care in caregivers by helping them realize that poor self-care will only render them unable to care for others. More than that, they may become the one thing they all fear: a burden on the people around them.

You can also run on-site check-up days for caregivers, where other healthcare professionals come in to perform mental health assessments — like a physical health check, but for stress and wellbeing. Doing so not only makes stress awareness more convenient for the caregiver, but you create a dedicated time slot in their otherwise fully-booked days.

Q: How can managers become more confident and comfortable in leading wellbeing conversations with their frontline workforce?

This question was answered during the live event. But given that managers often feel under-qualified, under-skilled, and under-supported when it comes to approaching these topics, it's worth recapping the answer again.

Confidence and comfort come from two-way conversations around stress and wellbeing. Ian referred to this as 'inverting the hierarchy' — managers making themselves vulnerable to open dialogue up, being present, and acting as a 'servant leader'. Chris explained that managers don't have to stand back and pretend they are all well; empathizing with an employee's experience makes everyone feel more at ease.

These conversations are a core part of your job, says Ian. Once you start breaking down those barriers you remove the fear factor for everyone. You're just another person; someone they trust to have their back and whose job it is to support them. Once you've shown that you value your employees, they will feel much more able to open up to you with personal and professional truths, and you will feel more able to start these conversations too.

This wellbeing resource is available whenever you need it

You can watch The Shift LIVE: 'Ask Me Anything' on frontline stress and wellbeing here at any time.

And make sure you're subscribed to The Shift — Blink's fortnightly newsletter for frontline leaders. That way you'll be the first to know about our next 'Ask Me Anything' event, coming soon.