80% of the global workforce works in the field, often with no assigned desk and no regular access to a computer. Here's what derails platforms in industrial environments, and how to avoid it.
Microsoft estimates that frontline workers make up about 80% of the global workforce, close to 2 billion people. Yet many internal communication platforms were historically designed around the needs of office employees. BRIX helps industrial companies close the gap between the office and the field.
When a platform doesn't work for construction, plant or transportation crews, delays pile up. Procedures go unnoticed. Risks increase. This article looks at the 7 most common reasons frontline platforms can fail at scale in industrial environments.
Quick guide: the 7 common frontline platform failures
Industrial companies face unique challenges. Crews work on remote sites, in noisy warehouses or on the road between deliveries. A tool that works in an office doesn't necessarily meet the same needs.
1 in 3 frontline workers say they don't have the right technology to do their job effectively.
Microsoft — Technology Can Help Unlock a New Future for Frontline Workers
Mobile accessibility
Can the tool be used on a phone, between two tasks, without forcing an experience built around the desk?
BRIX Connect is built for crews who are always on the move, with no work computer or work email.
Content relevance
Do messages reach the right people at the right time?
BRIX Connect lets you target posts by role, site, trade, team or department.
Operational value
Does the tool help get the work done, or does it just add to the load?
Frontline adoption
Do supervisors and frontline managers actually use it?
Technical resilience
Does the app work where connectivity is weak or intermittent?
01
The tool requires a computer
Many internal communication platforms were designed around employees who work at a desk. For frontline teams, that logic can create a barrier from day one.
When the mobile experience is just a shrunken version of the desktop one, using it gets frustrating. Menus are hard to navigate, flows are too long and key features are sometimes easier to use on a computer.
80% of the global workforce, about 2 billion people, works in the field.
Microsoft — Frontline Workers Research
Warning signs
What looks positive
What causes problems
02
Messages that concern no one
Traditional intranets can quickly become places where employees see a flood of information from head office. A worker on a Montréal job site doesn't necessarily need the same information as an administrative employee.
When crews open an app and see content that doesn't concern them, they can quickly see the tool as not very useful.
Targeting becomes essential. BRIX Connect lets you target posts by role, site, trade or department, cutting the noise and bringing relevant messages to the surface.
Warning signs
What looks positive
What causes problems
03
A digital bulletin board
A platform that only publishes news and hosts documents can quickly become a simple digital bulletin board.
Platforms gain more value when they let employees take concrete action: look up information, complete a training, open a procedure or track their skills.
BRIX Train & Engage brings together training, progress tracking, certifications and the Skills Wallet in a single mobile experience.
Warning signs
What looks positive
What causes problems
04
Impossible to find the information
When an operator searches for “lockout procedure” and gets dozens of irrelevant or outdated results, they give up fast.
The problem goes beyond user experience. Time spent looking for information is a real productivity issue.
McKinsey also estimates that an easily searchable information system could cut the time spent searching by 30 to 35%.
20% of knowledge workers' time is spent searching for and gathering information.
McKinsey — Capturing business value with social technologies
Warning signs
What looks positive
What causes problems
05
Supervisors don't use the tool
Frontline adoption depends heavily on supervisors and frontline managers. They set the daily habits and expectations for their crews.
In other words, a platform launch shouldn't only target employees. Managers also need to be equipped to use it and build it into their day.
Warning signs
What looks positive
What causes problems
06
No adoption strategy
Technology doesn't create adoption on its own. Launch is only the beginning.
Without a change management plan covering awareness, training, reinforcement and feedback, even a good platform can lose momentum after the first few weeks.
McKinsey's research on enterprise social technologies shows that adoption and value creation depend largely on how these technologies are built into work practices and organizational change.
Source: McKinsey — Organizing for change through social technologies
Warning signs
What looks positive
What causes problems
07
Privacy concerns
Trust is essential when an organization introduces new technology, especially when it's used on a personal phone.
Workers may wonder what data is collected, who can see their activity and how their answers are used.
McKinsey notes that social technologies can create organizational value when they come with practices that support their adoption and integration into how people work.
Warning signs
What looks positive
What causes problems
Before rolling out a new platform, evaluate it from the point of view of the least connected employee in your organization. Ask the vendor:
BRIX offers a demo of its platform, built for the realities of frontline teams.
Organizations need to build their strategy around the reality of teams who work without a fixed desk. Priority criteria should include:
Microsoft stresses the importance of giving frontline workers the right digital tools to do their job effectively.
Launches led by frontline managers also deserve special attention: Gallup identifies managers as a major driver of team engagement.
BRIX closes the gap between the field and the office by bringing communication, training and engagement together in an experience built for frontline workers.
BRIX Connect lets you send communications targeted by role, site, trade or department and keep conversations organized.
BRIX Train & Engage adds mobile training, progress tracking, skills, certifications and recognition.
The platform is built for industries where crews work far from the office: construction, transportation and manufacturing.
BRIX gives frontline teams a better way to communicate, train and stay connected across sites, shifts and projects.
Why do communication platforms fail in industrial companies?
The difficulty often comes from a gap between how platforms are designed and the reality of frontline workers. Crews working on job sites, in plants or on the road don't necessarily have access to a computer or a traditional office setting.
Frontline workers make up about 80% of the global workforce, about 2 billion people according to Microsoft, which makes their access to the right digital tools especially important.
BRIX meets that reality with a mobile experience built for frontline teams.
How do you measure the success of a frontline platform?
Key indicators can include:
BRIX offers tracking and analytics tools to help managers follow team progress and engagement.
What sets a native mobile platform apart from an adapted app?
A mobile platform built for frontline teams designs the experience around the phone and the real constraints of mobility.
The goal isn't simply to shrink a desktop interface onto a smaller screen. It's to simplify access, cut the number of steps and make information available in the real context of the work.
BRIX is built precisely around this mobile-first approach for frontline workers.
How do you get frontline supervisors on board?
Supervisors should be treated as key players in the rollout, not just as extra users.
They need to be trained, involved and able to use the platform in their daily work.
BRIX lets managers track training progress and communicate with their crews.
How important is content targeting for adoption?
Targeting keeps workers from being buried in information that has nothing to do with their role or site.
BRIX Connect lets you target communications by role, site, trade or department.
For frontline teams, it brings the most relevant information for their daily work to the forefront, instead of repeating one uniform message meant for the whole organization.