The Josh Bersin Company has released new research highlighting an urgent need for organizations to adopt a "Frontline-First" strategy, shifting focus to the 70% of the global workforce often overlooked in traditional HR planning. The report, "Powering the Frontline Workforce," produced in collaboration with UKG, reveals that despite being the true drivers of customer experience and business performance, frontline employees are experiencing high levels of disengagement, with 75% feeling burned out and 51% feeling like a number rather than a person.
Quick Intel
Frontline workers represent 70% of the global workforce but are often neglected by HR strategy.
75% of frontline workers report feeling burned out, and 51% feel dehumanized.
High-performing companies are adopting "Frontline-First" strategies to improve retention and engagement.
Key recommendations include investing in competitive pay, flexible options, clear career pathways, and unified technology.
AI and conversational tools are pivotal for delivering HR support to deskless employees.
The $40B HR tech industry has historically underserved this segment, but new solutions are emerging.
The Business Case for a Frontline-First Approach
The research identifies a direct link between investing in frontline workers and achieving significant business value. Case studies demonstrate that targeted training can reduce turnover, saving one company $500,000, while standardized workforce management tools can revolutionize hiring and growth. The report warns that economic and demographic pressures are making these essential workers harder to replace, turning frontline retention from an HR issue into a critical business imperative. Organizations that fail to adapt risk a severe competitive disadvantage.
A Blueprint for Action: Integrating Strategy and Technology
The study provides a clear blueprint for CHROs, recommending a multi-faceted approach. This includes adopting a Frontline-First mindset with competitive pay and career pathways, strengthening management with better tools, and unifying siloed HR, payroll, and scheduling systems. A key enabler is harnessing AI to provide conversational employee experiences, dynamic scheduling, and personalized coaching tailored to the unique needs of deskless workers, finally closing the technology gap that has long separated the frontline from corporate support.
This research launches a major initiative to reframe the strategic importance of the frontline workforce. It signals that the era of prioritizing white-collar workers at the expense of those on the front lines must end. For organizations to thrive, they must recognize frontline employees as a strategic asset and deploy the cultural shifts and technological investments necessary to support, engage, and retain them.
UKG is a leading global AI platform for HR, pay, and workforce management. Unifying award-winning solutions with the world's largest collection of workforce data and people-first AI, UKG delivers unrivaled insights into today's workforce, helping organizations in every industry turn data into decisions that elevate productivity, culture, and the customer experience. Trusted by more than 80,000 organizations across 150 countries, tens of millions of employees — from small businesses to global enterprises — use UKG every day.
The Josh Bersin Company is the world's most trusted human capital advisors, providing research-based insights on talent, leadership, and organizational performance.
Unlike traditional consultancies, we capture our integrated models, research, and guidance in a structured, scalable knowledge base—Galileo™—making trusted advice and decades of expertise accessible to anyone, anywhere, in real time.
With a dedicated team constantly tracking market change, testing ideas, and applying a unique business lens, we help over a million HR and business leaders address their most pressing people challenges—aligning work, knowledge, and skills for maximum impact.
TechIntelPro empowers B2B technology decision-makers with the latest industry trends, deep insights, leadership perspectives and actionable intelligence to drive both organizational and professional milestones—and thrive on the tech pulse.