Frontline Focus: Recognizing and Retaining the Workers Who Keep Business Running

For frontline workers, meaningful support can sometimes mean opening a door that once seemed out of reach. 

At Confluent Health, Alyson Cadman, senior director of organizational effectiveness, helped launch a program that pays student loans over five years for frontline employees who return to school to become physical or occupational therapists. The impact, she says, extends well beyond those enrolled in the program: “They’re first-generation college students, and they would not have gone back. They don’t have access, but now they [do].” As Cadman has seen firsthand, investing in frontline workers can create a ripple effect that strengthens their connection to their employer and their communities.

Frontline workers keep businesses running, yet they face some of the highest turnover rates and lowest engagement levels. Supporting them isn’t just important; it’s essential. How can leaders better connect with and retain frontline staff? What benefits, training, and recognition matter most to them, and how can employers uncover those needs? What tools or approaches can improve their workplace experience, especially in environments where technology isn’t always accessible? Leaders shared their expertise on these questions and more during an executive panel at From Day One’s Austin conference.

Understanding the Perspective of Frontline Workers 

It can be challenging to fully understand the needs of a frontline workforce, especially in fields like healthcare, where roles vary, and work may be spread across several locations. Having a comprehensive employee listening strategy is key. “Engagement surveys give us really good data on where we think the team members are feeling, what they’re thinking, what their engagement is, and how long they’re going to stay. But then we have to reconcile it with what they’re actually telling us” through targeted listening sessions, said Jeannie Virden, EVP and chief people officer at Central Health. “The biggest thing that helps for everyone is really when our leaders listen, when they get to know their team members. That’s where the retention sits.” 

Cultivating a strong understanding of employees’ needs and experiences can also help develop training and skill-building programs. “It’s important that any type of design that goes into a learning program is actually something that is relatable and highly relevant,” said Emlyn De Leon, tasks and skills redesign, strategic workforce planning lead at USAA. For example, employees who frequently handle difficult customer service conversations could benefit from an AI tool that lets them practice those talks. 

“Some of these employees have those skills, they utilize them well, but they also want to be recognized for utilizing them well,” said moderator Cory Mose, journalist and anchor on KVUE TV. 

It’s crucial to have recognition programs that are attractive to frontline workers, keeping in mind that their values might not be the same as those on a corporate level. “They may not be doing their everyday jobs focused on your company’s core business values. They may be more interested in safety or quality work,” said Hari Date, principal consultant at Workhuman. His organization offers a variety of intake and output systems for recognition that meet employees where they are, whether it’s calling in recognition by phone, sending a paper form, walking up to a kiosk, integrating into Slack or Teams, or using a mobile app. He shares that for one client, a mining company where some frontline workers have difficulty with reading and writing, they circle pictures to give feedback.

Date emphasizes focusing on ROI when deploying a recognition strategy. “The impact of a 1% drop in turnover, which is a small movement in the right direction, is millions of dollars in savings. You take a fraction of that and invest that back into your employees to say, ‘We see you. You matter. Your voice matters. We care that you’re here,’” he said. “That little gift turns into a huge moment of building culture and that sense of belonging and purpose.” 

Comprehensive benefits and professional development offerings that speak directly to frontline employees’ needs can contribute to that sense of community. “Frontline workers must feel like they belong, and in the future, they can see themselves continuing to belong, which means there is a clear growth path, and the financial pieces of it, the systems pieces of it, support that growth,” Cadman said.

Guiding Workers Through Their Unique Set of Challenges 

Frontline work can be stressful enough on its own, but it can also add compounding personal pressures. One of the biggest concerns for today’s frontline workers is economics. “The harsh reality of today’s economy is that more than half of frontline workers are living paycheck to paycheck,” said Carly Brush, SVP, strategy, planning, and growth at DailyPay. Financial wellness offerings can therefore be a major benefit to help alleviate stress. 

“It’s easier to get to work when you can afford to figure out emergency transportation [or] emergency childcare, and that leads to higher productivity and lower turnover,” Brush said. Education on mortgages, flexible payroll offerings, retirement savings options, and student loan repayment plans are all avenues of support. 

Artificial intelligence is another major stressor in the modern workplace, as workers fear being replaced. Cadman offers important advice when integrating AI into your workforce, especially in light of recent daunting headlines: never forget the humans at the heart of your organization. “AI is so scary in so many ways. The thing that I have the most control over is how I relate to it and how I take care of myself, and how I connect to other people, and that’s the humanity component,” Cadman said. 

“As we serve people and as we lead people, it’s so wildly important to equip them to be able to do that, because of the amount of change with AI and the amount of holes that it reveals, and how much people crave true belonging and connection and the ability to sustain within themselves. We can’t do that unless we also consider the human at the center of all of it,” said Cadman. 

When frontline workers feel supported both personally and professionally, they are more likely to stay. “How can we help them with childcare? How can we help them with flexible scheduling? We need to listen to them and get creative in the ways that we help support them and meet them where they are,” Virden said. “When we’re talking about benefits, we need to talk about holistic total rewards. So, it’s compensation, but it’s also your health, your mental, your physical, your financial—all of that is wrapped into one, and that’s where we need to focus.”

Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost, Top Think, and several printed essay collections, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.

(Photos by Josh Larson for From Day One)