The development gap for frontline workers: “We forgot about them.”

The neglect may not be intentional, but it’s quite real. Employees in operational roles have access to just a tiny fraction of the development opportunities available to office workers.

The result is poorer performance, health, and retention—as well as fewer opportunities for the very people who need them most. 

It’s not fair and it’s not right. And companies we work with want to do something about it. Here’s a practical innovation we’re working on together.

“We forgot about them”

You’ll meet frontline employees in a wide variety of settings: in manufacturing plants and service centers, in retail and in hospitals. 

Every company we work with understands the importance of these employees and the contributions they make. And they are quick to offer specific technical training that helps employees carry out a particular task.

They recognize the need for other kinds of training too: for personal development, behavioral change, and wellness. But they say that time away from the job is simply too expensive unless there is clear benefit to the bottom line. 

And so they feel stuck. One company, known for their robust learning and development offerings, expressed remorse at the lack of opportunities for operational staff. “We forgot about them,” they said. And, like many others, they are looking for ways to do better. 

A practical innovation

In the past month alone we spoke to five different companies about a social learning method we developed that is being used in factories and hospitals.

The method is based on research related to self-determination theory and job crafting. And the goal is to shift the employee’s feeling of psychological empowerment. If we can do that, then there is overwhelming scientific evidence that the company will see improvements in performance, wellness, retention, and other areas. 

Since the employees are typically in time-constrained operational environments, the method is simpler and lighter-weight than other Working Out Loud social learning methods. Employees meet in groups of three for 30 minutes a week for eight weeks. There is no need for computer access (unless the group meets by video). 

So far, we developed two variations of this method: “WOL Shop Floor” and “WOL Healthcare.” We have run programs in five different countries.

Change at three levels

Although the training is only four hours long (eight weeks for 30 minutes), the participants typically experience three kinds of changes. First, they see a change in themselves, a shift in psychological empowerment. Over the eight weeks, they experience greater self-determination at work that sparks a greater sense of initiative, empowerment, and well-being. 

The second change is how they view their colleagues. As with other WOL social learning methods, they discover they have more in common with their peers than they imagined. Feelings of “us and them” are replaced with feelings of greater understanding, trust, and belonging.

The third change is how they view their company. At one organization going through a transformation, for example, a participant in WOL Healthcare was pleasantly surprised that such a personal development opportunity was supported by the CEO:

“That our company offers such a program shows me there is a change." 

Next steps and collaboration opportunities 

It’s still early for these methods, and a few questions remain about the best way to implement them. Should we customize the materials for each company? What’s the best way to match participants in groups? Is it better in person or across locations? And, of course, there is always the question of measuring the benefits. 

To address that last question, we are working on integrating standard psychological empowerment surveys into the next version of the method. This will enable ways to collect (anonymized) data on progress, and take advantage of the vast amount of research tying such progress to specific business benefits, making it easier to quantity the value of these development opportunities.

To answer the implementation questions, we are talking with companies who want to offer more to their employees in manufacturing, service centers, retails, healthcare, and other operating environments. 

The chance to make more of your job—and more of yourself—shouldn’t be limited to employees in offices or who work from home. Everybody matters.

If you are interested in working with us, please send an email to support@workingoutloud.com.