3 Ways the Culture Gap Is Impacting Frontline Workers

Frontline workers are vital to your business – but research reveals the vast majority feel disconnected from wider company culture, leading to fractures that impact their sense of belonging and engagement.

For our recent Frontline Gap report, we surveyed over 7,500 global frontline workers across multiple industries to understand how they really feel. We found that 87% of global frontline workers aren’t certain their company culture applies to them, while 37% say it’s something they hear about but not something they can feel.

But where does this disconnect stem from – and what can you do to fix it? Read on for the key takeaways, and download the full report to learn more.

1. Knowledge gaps lead to culture gaps

More than half (56%) of frontline workers aren’t confident they know what their company’s mission and values are. This suggests that many businesses aren’t sharing important company information in ways that are accessible to – and that resonate with – frontline workers.

It’s no surprise this causes a sense of detachment and leads many frontline workers to question whether their company’s culture is even relevant to them. After all, how can you feel connected to a culture you don’t know?

🌉 Bridging the gap

Bring key company documents and real-time updates to the frontline with mobile-first comms and knowledge management. This ensures that everyone has access to the same mission-critical information and enables frontline workers to engage with it on their terms, wherever they are.  

Discover 10 ways to connect frontline workers with your company strategy and vision→

2. Frontline workers are creating their own microcultures

In the absence of an overall company culture that feels real to them, frontline workers turn to their peers for support and connection. We found that half of all global frontline workers feel their team has its own workplace culture, with 61% saying they feel more loyal to their coworkers than to their company.

This has pros and cons. While team camaraderie and loyalty are great, the formation of microcultures reflects a clear fracture between frontline and desk workers that only widens the gap between them – and can lead to further disengagement.

🌉 Bridging the gap

Just because employees aren’t in the same physical space doesn’t mean they can’t make meaningful connections. Unite frontline and desk workers with a shared employee experience platform (EXP) that enables them to communicate across the company and bring your culture to life virtually.

Read our complete guide to improving the frontline employee experience→ 

3. Different cultures have different culture gaps

North and South America are leading the pack when it comes to company culture: 1 in 5 respondents in LATAM say they feel connected to their company’s culture, while 27% of frontline workers in NAMER say they ‘definitely’ care about their company’s mission and values.

This is in stark contrast to APAC, where only 3% of frontline workers are confident their company culture applies to them, and only 4% say they ‘definitely’ care.

These findings highlight that there’s truly no one-size-fits-all approach to implementing company culture. For example, teams in NAMER and LATAM show clear signs of engagement that HR and internal comms teams can (and should) build on, satisfying their craving for company culture with strong communication programs. On the other hand, frontline workers in APAC are significantly less bought-in, requiring a completely different approach that takes their unique circumstances into consideration. 

🌉 Bridging the gap

If frontline employees don’t feel engaged with company culture or think it doesn’t apply to them, it’s worth asking why not. Use an EXP like Workvivo to launch surveys to specific employee cohorts (like frontline workers in specific regions) to understand the reasons they feel the way they do – and get their candid feedback on how you can improve.

Learn how to improve frontline employee engagement→ 

Creating a company culture for everyone 

These results are a stark reminder that company culture can’t be dictated – it has to be felt.

Frontline workers deserve to feel the same sense of belonging and connection as desk workers, but disconnected comms strategies and poor engagement tools make it difficult to truly showcase your company culture in a way that feels accessible and real to them.

To bring your company culture to the frontline, use a mobile-first EXP to proactively create employee experiences with your frontline workers in mind – so they can feel connected, engaged, and valued, right where they are.

Check out the Frontline Gap microsite to learn more.