At Beekeeper, we’ve had the privilege of working with innovative companies that have successfully taken their businesses through a transformation journey, from customer engagement to productivity, all while fostering a strong company culture.
Download the complete eBook, “Proven Strategies to Supercharge Frontline Success” here
Through our experience, we’ve identified four important pillars that consistently drive success among our customers:
- World Class Communication
- A Competitive Employee Experience
- Digitized Processes
- Data-Driven Insights
At our annual Frontline Success Summit, our Chief Product Officer, Kees de Vos revealed what truly drives frontline success for our customers. We also heard real frontline success stories from global brands like Caribou Coffee, and Resorts World Las Vegas, and how these companies have bravely embarked on a journey to improve customer engagement, and productivity, and build a strong workplace culture in partnership with Beekeeper.
Watch the complete recap of the session here.
In his session, Kees revealed his top four pillars of frontline success and why they’re so important:
1. Effective Communication
Effective communication is the cornerstone of any successful frontline team. It needs to be instant, multilingual, secure, and cater to various forms of communication such as text, video, and voice. But communication goes beyond just being functional; it also needs to be engaging and fun. Opening up communication across the entire company, connecting teams, departments, and even frontline workers with executives, is crucial for driving real change and unlocking frontline success.
In our experience, effective communication needs to be a two-way street. Top-down communication and information may be useful initially, but it will eventually lose its impact. To truly drive success, companies need to foster a culture of two-way conversations, where employees feel heard and valued.
2. Employee Experience
In a time where employee turnover rates are at record highs, creating a great employee experience is essential for retaining your workforce. To do this, companies must put the frontline worker at the center of their thinking. Instead of focusing solely on what the company can provide, think about what the frontline worker will gain from the experience.
Making routine tasks like finding their shift schedules and pay slips easier can be a game changer for frontline workers.
In fact, it should take less than 30 seconds for your frontline workers to do the following:
- Request time off
- Access their shift schedule
- Find their pay stubs
- Locate training and safety materials
Additionally, investing in on-the-job training and opportunities for growth and development creates a more engaged and productive workforce.
3. Digitizing Processes
Many frontline jobs still rely on pen and paper, but it’s time to bring these processes into the 21st century. By providing frontline workers with tools and technology they are familiar with, companies can improve efficiency and productivity.
It’s important to start small and consider processes that will benefit both the frontline worker and the company. For example, implementing a simple process for requesting time off or holidays can result in significant time and cost savings. As companies embrace frontline success technologies and digitize paper-based processes, they will see immediate benefits, not only in terms of efficiency but also in employee satisfaction.
4. Data-Driven Insights
By analyzing data and reporting, companies can gain a deeper understanding of which teams are thriving, engaged, and productive, and which ones are struggling. This information allows companies to improve their strategies and make informed decisions. For example, insights can help identify areas where employees are not receiving the necessary information, leading to dissatisfaction and potential strikes. On the other hand, insights can also highlight engaged teams and potential future leaders within the organization.
By putting the frontline worker at the heart of decision-making, starting small, and combining communication, employee experience, and digital processes, companies can create momentum and achieve higher levels of engagement and productivity.
Now let’s recap the discussion with Jessica Monson, Chief Legal Officer at Caribou Coffee, who will share firsthand insights on how Caribou Coffee has successfully implemented these strategies to drive frontline success. We’ll also hear from Bob Napierala, VP of Human Resources at Resorts World Las Vegas on how the company became the employer of choice on the Las Vegas Strip by being the most technologically advanced property on the strip. Leveraging all 4 pillars of driving frontline success.
How Caribou Coffee Uses Beekeeper to Foster Connection
With over 7,500 employees across 11 countries, Caribou Coffee doesn’t just serve coffee but aims to create, as Jess puts it, “Day-making experiences that spark a chain reaction of good for our team members, our guests, and our community.”
This purpose drives their commitment to authentic interactions and personalized service.
Starting with their General Manager conference, known as “BooCon,” Caribou launched the “Spark Stories” stream on Beekeeper. It began as a platform for sharing experiences from the conference but quickly evolved into a channel for sharing both work-related updates and personal moments, connecting distant team members and fostering a sense of community.
For Caribou Coffee, there was a pivotal shift from considering Beekeeper a nice-to-have tool to an essential element of their operations. The onset of the pandemic revealed the limitations of traditional communication methods, like their ‘Red Book,’ a journal for in-store notes and updates. This inefficiency prompted a reevaluation of their communication processes and the need to streamline information flow, especially to their frontline team members, predominantly comprising part-time baristas.
The evolution from paper-based communication to the streamlined and dynamic Beekeeper platform marked a turning point. The tool not only bridged communication gaps but also facilitated an open, engaging culture. Its adoption signaled a fundamental change in the way Caribou Coffee operates, transforming Beekeeper from a mere convenience to an indispensable component of their day-to-day functions.
One of the key benefits of Beekeeper for Caribou Coffee was the sense of connection and empowerment it created among its employees. Through Beekeeper, frontline workers were able to communicate and support each other, whether it was covering shifts for family events or sharing feedback about product issues. This instant connection and ability to help each other out fostered a sense of teamwork and camaraderie among the employees.
Beekeeper also played a crucial role in creating a positive and engaging employee experience for Caribou Coffee’s frontline workers. The platform made their jobs easier and communication more efficient, ultimately improving productivity and engagement. Beekeeper empowered employees to have a voice and feel like they were part of the decision-making process.
How Resorts World Las Vegas Used Beekeeper to Onboard +5,000 Employees In Record Time
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Resorts World Las Vegas faced the unique challenge of effectively communicating with their frontline workers. With 5,000 team members to hire and a need for efficient and seamless communication, they turned to Beekeeper to bridge the gap.
Bob, a member of the Resorts World Las Vegas team, shared his experience of taking on the mission of hiring and onboarding 5,000 team members during the height of the pandemic. With traditional training sessions and in-person communication not feasible, Bob and his team turned to Beekeeper to communicate with their employees.
The first hurdle Bob faced was getting buy-in from the executive team. As a luxury property, they were not accustomed to employees having their phones with them. However, they soon realized the value of having team members engaged and equipped with the necessary information to provide exceptional service. Beekeeper became the communication system that allowed for seamless communication between management and frontline workers.
One of the key goals for Resorts World Las Vegas was to provide a great onboarding experience for their new hires. With team members joining just two weeks before the property opened, it was crucial to communicate as much as possible before they arrived on-site. Beekeeper facilitated this by providing a platform where employees could access important information such as parking instructions, uniform guidelines, and more. By alleviating anxieties and providing a seamless onboarding process, Caribou Coffee created a positive employee experience from the start.
The use of Beekeeper didn’t stop at onboarding. Resorts World Las Vegas leveraged the platform to foster a sense of connection and engagement among their employees. They implemented a culture of recognition and acknowledgment, where team members could recognize and welcome each other through the app. Additionally, they organized contests and used the app to track volunteer hours, further driving engagement and camaraderie among the team.
From an operational perspective, Beekeeper proved to be a valuable tool for driving efficiency. Resorts World Las Vegas utilized the app as a one-stop shop for employees, providing access to time-off requests, training resources, and more. They also implemented attendance call-outs through Beekeeper, eliminating the need for managers to listen to voicemails and streamlining the process for both employees and management.
A Sneak Peek At Beekeeper’s Roadmap to Empowering Frontline Workers
One of the main focuses of Beekeeper’s roadmap for the future is enhancing the communication experience for frontline workers. The goal is to make conversations more engaging and interactive by allowing users to share rich content such as videos, documents, and images. Additionally, Beekeeper plans to introduce the ability for users to react to content with emojis, adding a fun and expressive element to the communication platform.
Another key aspect of Beekeeper’s vision is delivering the right information to frontline workers at the right time. To achieve this, Beekeeper is developing a new feature called the Frontline Workspace. This personalized space will provide workers with the most relevant and timely information based on their roles and current tasks. The Frontline Workspace has already shown promising results in terms of app engagement, productivity, and completion rates of surveys and forms.
In line with the need for quick and accurate information access, Beekeeper is also introducing artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to its search functionality. The AI-powered search will interpret queries in multiple languages and provide relevant content, ensuring that frontline workers can find the information they need efficiently.
Collaboration among teams is another area of focus for Beekeeper. We are working on an enhanced version of group chats that will enable teams to actively collaborate and access relevant information within the chat context. This feature will foster a collaborative team spirit and streamline workflows by providing all necessary information in one place.
Beekeeper is also revamping its analytics and reporting capabilities with the integration of AI and machine learning. This will enable users to create custom reports and gain insights into their team’s performance. The addition of sentiment analysis earlier this year has already provided valuable insights into team engagement, and Beekeeper plans to expand these capabilities to further optimize operational processes.
Overall, Beekeeper’s roadmap showcases our dedication to empowering frontline workers and helping them succeed in their roles. We’re committed to surpassing customer expectations and delivering software that not only drives frontline success but is also enjoyable for frontline workers to use.
