Why frontline workers need secure internal communication – and how to get it right

• Effective internal communication is beneficial for employee engagement, well-being, health & safety, and overall business performance. 

• Yet, the majority of frontline workers say that communication is not effective at their company. 

• The company communication tools frontline workers receive are unfit-for-purpose. This compounds the problem. 

• To communicate, workers resort to unsanctioned tools and technology. This ‘shadow IT’ poses severe data privacy and security risks.

• To keep the business secure, deskless employees need more than secure tools. They need easy-to-use, accessible tools they'll actually use.

From shop floors to factory floors, front of house or behind the wheel, frontline employees form the backbone of key industries the world over. 

They’re essential, and nothing runs smoothly without them.

And yet, the frontline rarely operates like a perfectly oiled machine. At least, not according to the 1,000 deskless workers across the UK and Germany that we quizzed for our latest research. In fact, the majority (58%) report stress or burnout at least once a month. 21% admitted they’re doing the bare minimum to keep their jobs.

Our survey data doesn’t just show us what’s going on. It also shows us why. 

Respondents struggling with their satisfaction or motivation at work cited multiple factors. Compensation, development, and leadership were common themes. But a less obvious factor emerged as a top predictor of worker engagement: Communication.

In fact, frontline workers at companies with effective internal communication showed remarkably higher engagement:

Trouble communicating is surprisingly common on the frontline. 

Of the 1,000 deskless workers we spoke to, just 41.5% agreed that communication is effective at their company. For context, the same percentage agree they are paid fairly for their work. This failure to get accurate information to and from workers is risky – for them, and for the broader business.

Satisfaction and retention

Satisfied employees are vital for an engaged workforce. And effective internal communication is a top predictor of employee satisfaction. 

Our survey data found that workers at companies with effective communication are 8.2x more likely to report job satisfaction.

Meanwhile, disgruntled employees experience bad comms across the board. Just 1% of dissatisfied frontline workers reported effective communication at their company. 

Motivation, productivity, and performance

The other key element of engagement is motivation.

The effectiveness of your internal communication plays a huge role here, too. Frontline workers who believe that their company communicates effectively are much more willing to go the extra mile:

So it comes as no surprise that communication predicts performance and productivity.

Poor comms threaten poor outcomes here, too. One third of all respondents said that poor communication is impacting their work quality and productivity.

Health and safety

Information not getting through to frontline workers can cause more harm than wasted time or hurt feelings. 

We asked our survey respondents how they receive critical safety updates from their business. Alarmingly, 1 in 10 told us they do not receive this information at all. 

These communication barriers aren’t just top-down, either. Of those who said poor communication affects quality and productivity, 28% struggle to report hazards or issues at work.

Well-being

The harms of poor internal comms extend to employees’ broader well-being, too. Amongst workers who reported poor well-being, 41% pointed to ‘poor communication’ as a key cause. 

It was blamed more frequently than:

• Unsociable working hours

• Lack of career progression

• Poor relationships with managers, customers, or colleagues 

Meanwhile, workers at companies that communicate well were nearly 13 times more likely to say they have good or excellent well-being.

Other risks lurk in organisations where communication proves challenging. 

We’ve seen from the survey data that frontline employees know communication is a problem. When people see problems, they problem-solve. 

That’s not always a good thing. In this case, an absence of accessible solutions drives workers to find their own. 

Thirty percent of our frontline survey respondents admitted they rely on apps like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger for work-related communications. This unsanctioned ‘shadow technology’ brings its own risks to the business, including:

Security threats

Unofficial channels often lack enterprise-grade security features. This raises the risk of data breaches and cyber threats like malware or phishing attacks. 

Even encrypted channels like WhatsApp or Telegram aren't safe for sensitive information. The lack of company-controlled user access management creates a high risk of unauthorised data access.

Take, for example, a data breach at the UK’s National Health Service. In 2023 it emerged that NHS Lanarkshire staff had shared personally identifiable patient information in their WhatsApp group chat. Not just once, but over 500 times.

Even worse, a worker added a non-staff member to the group by mistake.

Compliance issues and fines

Understandably, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) wasn’t happy. NHS Lanarkshire received a reprimand for violating the UK GDPR. 

While the NHS avoided a monetary penalty, regulatory violations don’t always come cheap. Even unintentional non-compliance can carry a hefty fine.

Inefficiencies & poor visibility

Even when nothing goes drastically wrong, unofficial channels and shadow IT drain efficiency.

Poor adoption of company tools, unused paid licenses, and non-existent analytics undermine past purchasing decisions and make future investments more difficult to justify. 

Worse, shadow IT makes it yet more difficult to reach the hardest-to-reach of your workforce: Frontline employees.

At Flip, we work alongside frontline employees and their employers every day. From our observations, there are three key reasons that deskless workers turn to insecure solutions:

No internal communications channels

Some frontline workers opt for apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger because it’s their only option.

When asked how they receive different kinds of information, many of our survey respondents reported not receiving key company updates whatsoever. 

1 in 10 frontline workers do not receive company news and almost a third (31%) are left out of communications around company culture initiatives.

Irrelevant communications

For others, the content of the communications poses the problem – and a distraction. A third report receiving too many irrelevant updates from their employer. 

In this case, frontline workers technically can receive information and updates. But their internal communication channels provide no value to them. They just don’t see the point in engaging.

Unsuitable communication tools

For many, unsanctioned tools represent a significant upgrade on company-provided solutions. 

Some frontline workers are expected to use antiquated or paper-based channels. More respondents reported using noticeboards (24%) than a company intranet (21%), for example.

These analogue internal communication channels might eliminate the direct risk of cyber threats. But they're inconvenient – and unreliable, too. It’s no wonder workers turn to shadow IT when their only sanctioned internal communication solution amounts to a few pieces of A4 paper. 

That said, not all businesses are stuck in the dark ages. Most employees we surveyed have access to a digital internal communication channel like company email, Teams, or an intranet.

These employees don’t lack tools. They just don’t use them.

When we asked frontline workers why they don’t use company-provided digital channels, the overall feeling was frustration. They cited confusing user experiences, complex password requirements, and difficulty accessing tools during work hours. 

Plenty don’t see the point in using them. Many called them a ‘waste of time.’ One respondent simply said ‘I have no need for [Microsoft] Teams in my role’. Memorably, one worker remarked that ‘a potato has better processing power than the digital trash cans we have at work.’ 

For these employees, the issue isn’t an absence of internal communication channels. It’s that frontline workers don’t derive value from them.

Frontline workers want tech to streamline their workflows and speed up the flow of information. Unfortunately, the tools they usually receive ‘make [the] job harder’. 

While these internal communication channels may be ‘secure’, their security features offer little benefit if your employees use WhatsApp instead. 

Effective internal communication on the frontline requires a tool that frontline workers will actually use. That means combining water-tight security with ease-of-access and features that meet frontline workers' needs.

So, what does a tool that makes the job easier look like?

Your frontline communication solution checklist

Frontline workers will only adopt secure internal communications tools that account for the reality of frontline work. 

That means selecting a solution that is easy to access from the factory floor or on the move. A tool with a simple login experience and functionality that speeds up their workflows. 

And with a diverse frontline workforce, it must be easy to use for digital natives and digital noobs alike.

Employee apps for secure frontline communication

While internal communication channels come in many formats, employee apps and employee engagement platforms offer a distinct advantage. These tools meet the needs of frontline employees.

Many come with enterprise-grade security features – without the functionality limitations on the frontline. Head here to see how they stack up compared to common internal communications channels like intranets and instant messengers.

86% of the 1,000 frontline workers we surveyed said they’d be open to using a secure employee app. Those who have used them report a significant increase in communication effectiveness. 

Find out how Flip can help you harness your people power through better internal communication.

Poor communication on the frontline creates direct risks to health and safety, worker retention, productivity, and business performance. It also indirectly threatens security and data privacy as frustrated workers use insecure solutions to get the job done. 

Whether it’s paper-based communication methods or technology that’s not fit for frontline work, these risks emerge because employees aren’t given the tools they need. 

Providing employees with accessible, easy-to-use communication tools boosts more than the flow of information. It makes frontline work easier, and frontline workers less frustrated. It positively impacts their job satisfaction and well-being. 

What’s more, the impacts extend far beyond the frontline. 

By reducing risks to safety and security, to productivity and performance, better communication benefits more than the deskless workforce. It provides competitive advantage for their employers, too.