How an Enterprise Social Network Helps Better Integrate Your Frontline Workers

In companies, there is often a divide between head-office employees (known as “white-collar workers”) and field workers (known as “blue-collar workers”). To bridge this gap, the enterprise social network (ESN) is a powerful lever. Here’s why.

Re-connecting the field (blue-collar) and the office (white-collar)

When people think about an enterprise social network (ESN), they picture desk-bound employees exchanging best practices at their computers. But what about field workers — those known as “blue-collar workers”*? Should they be left out of the social network? Absolutely not! Far from being excluded, they use it just as much as their office-based colleagues.

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By providing email-free access to an enterprise social network, geographical distances, differences in job roles, and social barriers are removed. The social network becomes a tangible expression of a single, unified company. It conveys the organization’s values and culture, and helps people get to know one another better. It is also the ideal channel for recognizing the roles and achievements of every employee.

The result: employees develop a stronger sense of belonging to the company, as well as a greater sense of being valued.

* blue-collar workers: a generic term (a reference to the blue overalls worn by manual workers) for field workers: employees, labourers and technicians in industry, construction, hospitality, retail, healthcare, tourism or local government.

Multiple communities to connect, organize, and stay informed

Thanks to the enterprise social network, field workers (also known as “ deskless workers ” or “ frontline workers”), can connect with their peers. They share information about their work and skills, and can join discussion groups (by job, team, location, project, or area of interest) to communicate and coordinate. This is especially valuable for teams working staggered shifts, for example. « The Campanile hotel in Lyon Centre uses our enterprise social network, and the morning and evening teams love it. Since they started using it, information handovers have become much smoother and the teams have gained in efficiency », says Benoît Renoul, Marketing Director at Talkspirit.

The ESN is also a hub for sharing best practices. At Traiteurs de France, for example, chefs share their recipes and upcoming events. Being able to connect with colleagues they would never otherwise meet (one based in Brest, another in the Paris region) allows them to both enrich their knowledge and feel part of a community.

In groups and communities, discussions can of course extend to other areas, sometimes outside work. Because the enterprise social network is also a real driver of conviviality. « In many companies, you’ll find a Running group, for instance, where employees organize lunchtime jogging sessions ", notes Benoît Renoul.

Giving everyone a voice

Your field workers hold valuable information. But in a large organization, it is hard for that information to reach the top. In a large retail network, you might succeed in collecting data from store managers or team leaders, but you won’t necessarily hear from the sales associate on the floor. With an enterprise social network, your frontline workers can post all kinds of updates: a security breach, a hazardous spot in a store, a spilled product causing cleanliness issues, and more.

Collecting feedback is made easier with the social network. Any employee can start a discussion group, comment, contribute to a debate, respond to or launch a poll, propose ideas… On the ESN, it is possible to set up collaborative monitoring, allowing everyone to share news or best practices found here and there.

Blue-collar or white-collar: whoever posts a message, joins a discussion, or launches a poll becomes audible. They take part in the conversation, in full view of everyone. Giving every employee a voice prevents communication from being purely top-down and shows that all employees can have their say. The enterprise social network gives them the opportunity to speak “in front of witnesses” (their colleagues) and to keep a record of what has been discussed, since all posts are timestamped. This also helps field teams integrate more fully into the organization.

Streamlining internal communication

The social network makes it easier to circulate information within the company, “in 3 dimensions”: top-down, bottom-up, and cross-functional. As mentioned above, thanks to the ESN all employees (including frontline workers) can start discussions, debates, and share ideas. It also simplifies real-time personal interactions through chat and video calls, and makes it possible to share a live event with the rest of the company in real time (via livestream video, for example).

By being connected to the same social network as their colleagues, “ deskless (or frontline) workers” have access to the same internal communication as their office-based colleagues, at the same time. “That is the foundation if you want to build a sense of unity!”, says Benoît Renoul.

On a daily basis, the enterprise social network gives them access to useful tools such as the directory, whose search engine (by name, location, skill and so on) helps them find the right person on a given topic at any time. By speeding up identification and first contact, the enterprise social network makes exchanges between employees more agile, flexible and rapid.

Read also: Frontline workers don’t want to be left behind in the digital transformation!

Facilitating the onboarding of new hires

There is the integration of “ deskless workers” already present in the company, but there is also the better onboarding of new hires! From day one, they can be added to the relevant groups on the ESN and immediately access the flow of information linked to the group, in their news feed. Just like employees who have been with the company for years. No more risk of new hires being left out of ongoing email chains!

In groups and communities, everyone has access to the same information. New members can access the full history of exchanges that took place before their arrival, allowing them to get up to speed on context and past decisions. All conversations and documents are centralized in one place (rather than scattered across individual email inboxes). The result: when an employee leaves, no information is lost, and conversely a new recruit has access to all the material and the full history of exchanges from day one. An invaluable time saving for management and employees alike!

Connection vs. disconnection

By definition, field workers do not work at a PC. And the majority of them also do not have a company phone. Given that the ESN gives them access to a wealth of useful information and makes it easier to connect with colleagues, why would you deprive them of it?

However, to access the enterprise social network, they would need to download the app on their personal smartphone. Yet is it acceptable to ask this of employees? How many will agree to install a professional app on their personal phone? “ On this topic, there is no single answer. A company can absolutely offer this option to its frontline workers, but on an optional basis. The level of uptake varies from one company to another, depending on many factors such as company culture, the nature of the job, or the degree of attachment to the organization. But almost always, the response is very enthusiastic! ”, notes Benoît Renoul.

The enterprise social network is a professional application that makes employees’ daily lives easier, and they know it, whether they are white-collar (office) or blue-collar (field) workers. On one condition: guaranteeing them a “ right to disconnect”: that is, the ability to turn off notifications outside working hours, to protect their personal lives.

Read also: The stakes of the right to disconnect

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As you will have gathered, the enterprise social network is a powerful lever for building a sense of belonging among frontline employees! It helps foster a better atmosphere, strengthen company culture, and improve internal cohesion.

It also creates a better “employee experience”, which makes your company more attractive to candidates and improves their working environment. Finally, giving every employee the opportunity to speak up increases their motivation. And their day-to-day engagement can only benefit!

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– Author: Laure Marchal