Is your frontline, front of mind?

Hello there, welcome to my latest newsletter…

This last week has been an interesting one with news of the UK budget, the inevitable commentary from it (the good, the bad and the ugly) and the US election.

But before we go any further…

A little closer to home, this week I was lucky enough to go along to the Care Roadshows North East event in Leeds and mingle with many teams the care sector (an area close to my heart, following many projects in this sector).

One particular seminar at the event was focused (in part) on retention. Let me start by saying that this conversation is long overdue, and while there was a load more that could have been said, my main take home from this session was the importance of active listening and understanding through getting onto the shop floor…

Which leads nicely onto this week’s subject…

Is your frontline, front of mind?

How can you make sure you’re not missing out on communicating with your frontline colleagues?

It could be argued that some organisations communicate from the top down (with senior leaders taking the lead, and then passing the message through to their management teams and then onto the frontline).

While “on paper” there may not be anything wrong with this, I’d argue that by using this method in isolation, you’re missing a critical part of the jigsaw – your frontline colleagues.

Often overlooked, and sometimes seen as ‘the hard to reach’ frontline colleagues (deskless workers, or whatever term you use in your organisation) are vital, and need to receive communication too.

?‘Hard to reach’ frontline colleagues are vital, and need to receive communication too.

If I think back to some of the projects that I’ve worked on over the years it's always been great to work with colleagues on the ‘coalface’ to find out what it’s really like. Think about it, they have unique insights into how things really happen, and what’s actually working (and what’s not). It’s because of this, that we should communicate with them as much as we can.?

How are you bringing your frontline teams into your internal communication plans?

Insight is your friend:

Frontline colleagues (sometimes called hard to reach, or deskless workers) are your eyes and ears, they are the colleagues who work with your customers, or operationally and see first-hand what’s working and what isn’t.

By involving these colleagues in your internal communication plans, you can gain a better picture of how something is going to land (and how best to share the message), meaning any solution is far more informed than it would have been if you just rolled it out.

Build in time to get out and visit frontline teams so you can start to build a better understanding of how things would land, and work in your organisation.

It works both ways… connect in two-way communication to build engagement and trust:

Colleagues who feel heard are more likely to be engaged and invested in their work. How are you using colleague groups, forums and town halls to share key information?

Face to face communication can be difficult to manage for remote teams, but hearing a message first hand is so much easier to engage with.

Dedicated colleague forums are a great way to build up trust and understanding, and can also be used to share key messages to the wider teams. Don't be afraid to use monthly get togethers with specific subjects and discussion points as another great way where information can be shared and discussed…

How can you start to bring voices to your frontline, so you can build a culture of inclusivity and understanding?

Use the right communication tools to get your message across:

Don’t be afraid to use ‘old school’ communication tools – the poster on the back of the toilet door works (along with the ‘table talker’ or the A frame at the swipe in machine!) while not as environmentally friendly solutions, they are still a cost effective for teams with little or no budget. These tools mean your message can be consistent, and also link to ‘online content’ such as video updates and more detail where needed… ?

While organisations may see paper as old and outdated (and may have been replaced with electronic screens), they can be just as effective as any other communication tool.

Technology can be your friend:

Covid has a lot to answer for, but for many organisations this led to a fresh look at how they could connect with colleagues digitally. If you work in an organisation with colleagues who don’t have regular access to company email or an intranet, digital communication tools are going to be ideal (especially now that the majority of colleagues have access to a mobile phone). ??

There are so many different apps and mobile solutions available that allow you to share key information. While not for everyone (and many colleagues choose not to engage) it’s another way to share key information and to encourage two-way communication.

To help drive engagement, many organisations have now aligned their online benefits, payslips, holiday booking and other key information into one space (along with communication) which means that this becomes a real ‘destination’ for colleagues to use.

Celebrate innovation:

Linked closely to how you communicate, is the importance of creating a feedback culture and allowing anyone to raise a specific concern or ideas that will help improve how an organisation is run.

A word of caution on this, it’s vital that any ideas or concerns are acted upon – if colleagues don’t see any follow up or action from what’s been shared this is where trust can be eroded, and many great new ideas are never shared.

That’s why celebration is so important as part of your communication – any idea should be celebrated and followed up. By sharing success stories wider in an organisation, you’ll be able to boost morale and create a sense of pride. It also sends a message that colleagues and their ideas are a vital part of the organisation, whose work, and opinions matter.

In summary:

If you fail to communicate with your frontline teams, you’re missing out on a critical part of your organisation. Ideas, insights and thinking is essential to any business, and giving a voice to all colleagues (along with sharing information) will only enhance the organisation and its productivity.

In other news: Time to renew your spark? ?

Over the last 20 years I’ve been lucky enough to work with so many different organisations, helping to build and develop internal communication strategies, lead on change programmes, M&A activity and create events that sparkle.

In the final quarter of the year, I’m launching a brand new product to help internal communication teams realise the potential that they have.

It’s called renew your spark and is a chance to press the pause button, create some time to think and review of current activities, plans and strategies (and also looks at communication tools too!).

If you'd like to know more about renew your spark (or any of my other programmes), please do get in touch.

Want to know more?

It’d be great to connect again! Maybe you’ve got a question or an idea, either way… let me know! ?

Link to my website: www.sparkconsultants.co.uk

My LinkedIn profile: David Barber

Thanks, and speak soon

Dave

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