A comprehensive roadmap for frontline learning

Top barriers to frontline success (and solutions from real-life L&D leaders)

Frontline work is not a typical office job. It makes up 70 to 80% of the global workforce and represents the largest segment in frontline-centric organizations. Unlike corporate roles, where fewer people perform a wide range of tasks, frontline teams are large groups doing similar, if not identical, work.

This commonality defines the “frontline persona” and demands a unique approach to learning and support—one that addresses their specific needs, from being constantly on the move to having limited access to technology and time. To truly empower these teams, we need a learning strategy tailored to their reality.

Let’s examine the key attributes of frontline work, with real-life stories of organizations that faced similar challenges.

The reason we share these stories? Simple: To let you know that you’re not alone! In fact, as we’ll walk you through real-life stories, huge retailers like Walmart and Kroger encounter training challenges too.

But, with the right support and direction, L&D and HR leaders can modernize their training to adapt to the way their frontline works:

Distributed and mobile workforce

Frontline workers are spread across various locations and often on the move, making it hard to reach them with timely and relevant training.

For example, consider O’Reilly Auto Parts, an auto parts retailer with 6,000 locations in two countries. The company’s decentralized work model adds complexity to its training efforts.

Across industries, frontline workers are not only geographically spread out, but they’re also constantly on the move—whether that’s within a store, on the road, in trucks, on airplanes or even in the middle of the ocean on a cruise ship.

Traditional training methods just don’t cut it in these environments. Instead, leaders need innovative, technology-driven solutions to meet the frontline’s unique needs.

At O’Reilly Auto Parts, investing in frontline employees became a priority to ensure consistent and effective training across all locations. Jonathan Andrews, Senior VP of HR and Training, pointed out:

“The frontline employee is critical to our business. The more comfortable new team members in a retail setting get with the products, the nature of the business and the customer service requirements, the more comfortable they get in their day-to-day job.”

Limited technology access

Many frontline workers use less advanced technology in their daily tasks—think two-way radios, handheld scanners or point-of-sale computers—rather than more advanced tools like laptops or mobile phones.

The limited access to tech makes it harder to deliver training and support effectively, as workers may not have constant connectivity.

Lauren Hayes, Head of Global Learning at Foot Locker, uncovered this problem in her conversations with frontline employees. “When I asked about their “wish list” or ideal training state, so many team members asked about the possibility of using their phones. We recognized right away that we needed a more digital approach to learning that would meet our team members where they were,” she said.

🏆 Foot Locker solved the problem by embracing mobile-first, bite-sized training, making learning more accessible and engaging. Read the full story here.

Time constraints

Frontline workers are often under tight time constraints and heavy management, which leaves little room for them to engage in training or professional development.

For example, in contact centers, workers are managed down to the minute, and they often lack the flexibility to step away from their tasks for additional training.

Sage, a global software provider in the U.K., recognized that frontline employees struggled to find time for training due to their busy schedules and constant demands, making it hard to keep up with essential learning.

Led by Maxine Grundy, Sage’s Global Learning Support Manager, the company used its real-time data to quickly identify issues and deliver targeted training updates, reducing the need for long training sessions and allowing employees to learn without disrupting their work.

Diverse workforce needs

The frontline workforce is diverse in experience, language preference and motivation. Each worker, from high school students to seasoned professionals, brings unique needs and challenges. Designing training that caters to this inherent diversity while maintaining relevance and accessibility is crucial.

Because everyone deserves a chance to do their best.

Natasha Kassim from RBC saw the need to think broader. “You need to think where can we get the best minds to work in our organization that will enable the continued growth of this organization? But in order to do that, we need to take stock of where the biases are in the process and to address those biases,” she said.

🎨 Check out how RBC makes learning irresistible for a vast and diverse workforce.

Infrequent training opportunities

Frontline training often happens during onboarding, compliance periods or seasonal trends, which can lead to information overload and insufficient support during critical moments. Managers, who are already overwhelmed, struggle to provide adequate guidance, exacerbating the problem.

Green Valley Equipment, a John Deere dealership,  saw the need to help its sales staff maintain expertise on a massive amount of product knowledge and stay compliant. The training methods they were currently using (seasonal online courses and quizzes) were costly, time-consuming and not optimized for knowledge retention.

As Curwin Friesen, President of Greenvalley Equipment shared, “We forget things and we have to be reminded of them at certain times when we need to—because we have yet to have an employee that remembers everything that they’ve learned forever.”