ectively approach the holiday period, this is an alarming statistic. The ‘Deskless, not Voiceless’ 2020 report from Workplace from Facebook found that out of the 1000 managers surveyed, 55 per cent of frontline managers didn’t feel valued by their head office counterparts, despite overseeing up to 80 per cent of a business’ workforce. “Frontline staff will remain pivotal to the Covid-19 response and have a critical role to play,” Workplace from Facebook’s APAC lead Vicky Skipp told Inside Retail. “Organisations will need to continue to listen to and check in with their frontline staff more than they ever have before if they’re to support them through these unusual circumstances.” The three main issues The report identified three major gaps in the way head office managers and frontline managers work: How they communicate, the way they feel valued, and the differences in culture between the office and shopfloor. During the pandemic, a vast majority of head office workers relied on company email as a method to communicate with co-workers (91 per cent) compared to only 20 per cent of frontline workers. Instead, these employees turned to the speed of messaging apps and phone calls to receive information quickly and accurately, rather than waiting on a decision from on high. “In a world where regulations can change by the hour, frontline managers can’t afford to wait for the green light from head office to do what is right for the customer and staff – they need to feel empowered to make strategic decisions,” Skipp said. However, despite the faster pace of communication, compared to their head office counterparts, only 49 per cent of frontline managers feel empowered to make decisions. In contrast, 77 per cent of head office managers feel they have a say in the decision-making process. Meanwhile, only 26 per cent of head office workers have increased their understanding and empathy for the work frontline managers do, compared to the 61 per cent of frontline managers who think head office workers probably understand their problems. Suffice to say, frontline managers aren’t understood by head office, and the lines of communication are getting blurry. It’s clear that there is a culture gap, and according to Skipp, Covid-19 has shown the importance of involving all employees in the direction of the business. “Businesses must prioritise the employee experience for workers in a way that is inclusive, productive and open to new ideas. Covid-19 showed office workers what it’s like to work in dispersed teams, and we now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure everyone in an organisation feels connected, invested in and empowered,” Skipp said. “Giving everyone a voice will positively impact employee retention, allow ideas to bubble up from the frontline and ultimately impact a business’ bottom line.”