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Frontline Innovators
By frontlineinnovatorsTechnology
Frontline Innovators episodes
- Proper Prioritization - Frontline Innovators - Episode # 076
Casi Morris is the Change Enablement Lead at MTX Group. She notices that not only is the speed of change an issue for deskless workers, but also the changing priorities that come with the breakneck speed of change. Casi joins host Justin Lake to talk about some of the biggest challenges facing deskless workers today.
Takeaways
- The shifting priorities are one of the biggest challenges facing frontline workers today. With so much going on, they aren’t sure what they should really focus on.
- Sometimes you have to give up a certain amount of productivity to help move change along so it is a smooth experience.
- There’s been so much change within the last couple of years that people aren’t as excited or enthusiastic about change, even when it’s incredibly beneficial.
- Finding out what the change brings for the person delivering change and those receiving it will help to resonate with everyone on each level.
- You want people to understand that the change is what is best for the company, which can be difficult to do so timing is important.
- When it comes to incentivizing employees, focus on the less tangible benefits such as saving them time on their day.
- Communication is important when it comes to incorporating change. You want to cause the least amount of disruption of their daily job and be crystal clear about what they can expect.
Quote of the show
10:27 “You got to give people snacks on a go live day.”
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/casimorris/
- Company Website: https://www.mtxb2b.com/s/
Ways to Tune In:
- Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2f4ecd92-6468-4769-b0bf-254e236510b7/FRONTLINE-INNOVATORS
- Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frontline-innovators/id1572329402
- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/29m3wnK8pbFjdSvJ9wjmyS
- Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/frontline-innovators
- Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZnJvbnRsaW5laW5ub3ZhdG9ycy5jb20vZmVlZC54bWw
- YouTube - https://youtu.be/B0JPUvX-URY
40 min - The Root of Change - Frontline Innovators - Episode #075
Tiffany Caswell is the Change Management Specialist Commercial Data & Analytics at Alcon. She’s also a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and a prosci certified change practitioner. Tiffany joins host Justin Lake to talk about change management and how we can better support frontline workers.
Takeaways
- Understanding the true problem that frontline workers face and getting to the root of the problem are the biggest challenges facing deskless workers today.
- You want to make sure that everyone is getting the same level of training so that everyone is on the same page.
- Not all technology is intuitive, so it can’t be treated as if it is easy for everyone to understand as everyone has a different background.
- One of the biggest pieces of communication is making sure that everyone clearly understands what is happening. You can never communicate too many times.
- When it comes to change, you want to start small and work your way up to bigger change.
- Practice changes internally and making sure that everyone understands it before they bring it to the customers or end users.
- It’s normal for people to be hesitant to change. That’s why it’s important to make sure that the change process is smooth so they remember that and not a bad process that didn’t work.
Quote of the show
16:42 “Sometimes something that seems so easy and so intuitive may or may not in fact be. So we always try to, whether it's myself or someone directly going to be impacted by the change, to go in and kind of play with it… and I think that's a really important thing to always do.”
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-caswell-377404104/
- Company Website: https://www.alcon.com/
Ways to Tune In:
- Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2f4ecd92-6468-4769-b0bf-254e236510b7/FRONTLINE-INNOVATORS
- Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frontline-innovators/id1572329402
- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/29m3wnK8pbFjdSvJ9wjmyS
- Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/frontline-innovators
- Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZnJvbnRsaW5laW5ub3ZhdG9ycy5jb20vZmVlZC54bWw
- YouTube - https://youtu.be/6o8Pb6getgk
45 min - The Lens of Empathy - Frontline Innovators - Episode # 074
Maria Fung is the Program Change Manager in the IT organization at W.L Gore & Associates. She knows how much strain is being put on the frontline workers not just in terms of workload, but also by how they are physically separated from everyone else at an organization. Maria joins host Justin Lake to talk about that and other challenges facing frontline workers.
Takeaways
- The biggest challenge facing frontline workers is the physical distance between them and the associates in the office because of COVID restrictions.
- Because of the distance between workers, it has created a ripple effect that creates a lack of trust and a lack of the sense of community amongst workers.
- You want to make sure the stakeholders are also engaged in the change, so mapping out the direction of change is a good idea.
- You have to wear the “lens of empathy” for different stakeholders and really understand where they are coming from in order to get them to buy into change.
- Frontline workers have their own community and you need to be able to speak their language to get them to be interested in change.
- You want to make a solid foundation for change and make the reason it is done very clear and how it affects them, so that everyone is on the same page.
- To create a desire for change, you need to show frontline workers the future and the value of change.
Quote of the show
15:37 “I had the chance to really see what change management actually means. And it really covers human centric solutions… how to really wear the lens of empathy for different stakeholders.”
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-fung-4590a689/
- Company Website: https://www.gore.com/
Ways to Tune In:
- Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2f4ecd92-6468-4769-b0bf-254e236510b7/FRONTLINE-INNOVATORS
- Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frontline-innovators/id1572329402
- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/29m3wnK8pbFjdSvJ9wjmyS
- Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/frontline-innovators
- Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZnJvbnRsaW5laW5ub3ZhdG9ycy5jb20vZmVlZC54bWw
- YouTube - https://youtu.be/z_9jknRZh-Q
38 min - The Change Network - Frontline Innovators - Episode # 073
Marquell Hunter is the Change Enablement Manager at Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. She sees how deskless workers aren’t represented largely enough in an organization when it comes to the planning phase and wants to make sure their voice is heard. She joins host Justin Lake to talk about some of the issues facing frontline workers and how they can be overcome.
Takeaways
- The biggest issue facing frontline workers is representation in the organization. They don’t always get a seat at the table during the planning phase.
- Adoption is key. You want to make sure that when you introduce technology changes that you make it so that everyone will want to use it and make it easy to learn as well.
- Your employer is really the one who determines what the division is between communication and learning and development.
- There are plenty of different types of frontline workers, and each of them face issues that are unique to their department and how you can reach them.
- The change network is the best tool to make sure that you are getting representation across business units or countries.
- You want to make sure that you aren’t surprising people when you begin to roll out new changes.
- Good change agents should model the behavior that they are looking to implement in an organization.
Quote of the show
6:13 “Adoption is key. We roll out something for a certain reason, to impact the bottom line, to improve morale, to improve the focus of the employee. And they don't adopt it. That's a key reason why I am focused on change management now, because I've seen from the technology aspect and from the communications aspect, we put a lot of thought and effort into things and they just don't hit. They don't resonate with anyone.”
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marquell-hunter-01907758/
- Company Website: https://www.stanleyblackanddecker.com/
Ways to Tune In:
- Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2f4ecd92-6468-4769-b0bf-254e236510b7/FRONTLINE-INNOVATORS
- Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frontline-innovators/id1572329402
- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/29m3wnK8pbFjdSvJ9wjmyS
- Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/frontline-innovators
- Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZnJvbnRsaW5laW5ub3ZhdG9ycy5jb20vZmVlZC54bWw
- YouTube - https://youtu.be/-QU-Mz6Xs5Q
50 min - A Social License to Operate - Frontline Innovators - Episode # 072
Alvin Haygan is the Global IS Change Management Leader at the Lubrizol Corporation. He used to work at Wendy’s and from that job he saw what having change done to you feels like, and it inspired him to make sure that change is done with people rather than to them. Alvin joins host Justin Lake to talk about his experience in change management and how he wants to positively impact frontline workers.
Takeaways
- Understanding what the frontline workers go through is one of the biggest challenges that they face today.
- You don’t want to change to be something that is done to you, but rather you want to be a part of the process.
- Prior preparation prevents poor performance. If you set up any changes in a company, you should do prep work ahead of time to make sure it will be successful.
- Change managers have a “social license to operate”, or an agreement that both sides understand they are going to work on the change together.
- You want everyone to have bought in on the change. You have to have the perspective that it is positive and good for everyone and then people will pay more attention to it.
- Change localization is where you focus on one particular area and the change that will be occurring with that area.
- Change is about empowering people. If you are empowering people, you provide them with strategies and listen to what input they might have.
Quote of the show
1:50 “You don’t want change to happen to you, you want it to happen with you.”
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvinhaygan/
- Company Website: https://www.lubrizol.com/
Ways to Tune In:
- Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2f4ecd92-6468-4769-b0bf-254e236510b7/FRONTLINE-INNOVATORS
- Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frontline-innovators/id1572329402
- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/29m3wnK8pbFjdSvJ9wjmyS
- Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/frontline-innovators
- Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZnJvbnRsaW5laW5ub3ZhdG9ycy5jb20vZmVlZC54bWw
- YouTube - https://youtu.be/vIZIz_q5uTM
47 min - Having Empathy - Frontline Innovators - Episode # 071
Kyle Spitzley is the OKR Coach and Change Management Professional at Amway. He has a wide span of experience within change management, using many many different mindsets to show how change can be effective. Kyle joins host Justin Lake to talk about some of the challenges that face frontline workers and how actions speak louder than words.
Takeaways
- The greatest challenge for frontline workers is that they are the least represented at moments of strategic planning.
- Don’t build to the average means of everyone. Each employee has different needs and thoughts so change will look different to each person.
- Gemba is Japanese for “Go see”, and it’s an important mindset when it comes to working with frontline workers. You want to spend time going and see how they do their job.
- SCARF is a model of change that stands for - Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness
- Actions speak louder than words. You want to be there with the frontline workers and go through the change with them, rather than doing change to them.
- Customers have a choice to buy or work with your company. You treat that with care and cater to their needs. We need to do that with frontline workers as well.
- Have empathy for those on the frontline. They are the ones dealing with customers and trying to solve problems while out in the field.
Quote of the show
1:05 “I think the challenge is how do we make sure the voice of the frontline worker is not only heard, but is valued, is listened to and is incorporated into the strategic decision-making that goes on at a company”
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylespitzley/
- Company Website: https://www.amwayglobal.com/
Ways to Tune In:
- Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2f4ecd92-6468-4769-b0bf-254e236510b7/FRONTLINE-INNOVATORS
- Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frontline-innovators/id1572329402
- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/29m3wnK8pbFjdSvJ9wjmyS
- Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/frontline-innovators
- Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZnJvbnRsaW5laW5ub3ZhdG9ycy5jb20vZmVlZC54bWw
- YouTube - https://youtu.be/FF4ztgjcF2c
43 min - Essential Workers - Frontline Innovators - Episode # 070
Elliott Woyshner is the Change Management Specialist at Hallmark Cards. He spent time as an officer in the Army, and uses the skills he learned from that career to help understand frontline workers and how to communicate about changes to them. Elliot joins host Justin Lake to talk about some of the issues facing frontline workers and how to help them overcome those roadblocks.
Takeaways
- A lot of organizations are going through the same type of digital transformation. A lot of the changes come down to how those on the frontline are feeling with the change or adding extra steps.
- Getting employees to accept change is a routine process. You need to check in with them and make sure they are comfortable with everything going on.
- You need to build a space for employees to engage with the change in their way and at their own pace.
- If you are adaptable and flexible during times of change, then you are more likely to think ahead on the outcomes of a project.
- Consider who you are talking to and how you will talk to them. Your audience is important and understanding them is key to having change be successful.
- To build people’s capacity for change, you need to be clear and concise. If you explain clearly what the steps are and why they are involved they are more likely to be willing to accept the change.
- You need to address concerns early on when it comes to introducing change into a company. Feedback will help make a project better.
Quote of the show
5:13 ”Getting [employees] on board is not as simple as answering some questions during a standup. It is checking back in with them, it's this routine process and it has to be a routine process of making sure people are processing the change so they'll get on board with it a lot smoother.”
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliott-woyshner-822a3a165/
- Company Website: https://www.hallmark.com/
Ways to Tune In:
- Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2f4ecd92-6468-4769-b0bf-254e236510b7/FRONTLINE-INNOVATORS
- Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frontline-innovators/id1572329402
- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/29m3wnK8pbFjdSvJ9wjmyS
- Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/frontline-innovators
- Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZnJvbnRsaW5laW5ub3ZhdG9ycy5jb20vZmVlZC54bWw
- YouTube - https://youtu.be/ODqOmdl3U2g
56 min - The Digital Age - Frontline Innovators - Episode # 069
Drey Taylor is the Director of Services at Acuity Brands. He used to be a frontline worker himself, riding in the bucket trucks. He uses his knowledge of his time as a deskless employee to be able to bring positive change that is much needed to those on the frontline. Drey joins host Justin Lake to talk about the biggest challenges facing frontline workers and how they can be overcome.
Takeaways
- Being human is one of the biggest challenges facing frontline workers. It goes back to communication and explaining what is in your mind and what you understand to the customers.
- Everything has become digital in the last decade. It’s important to keep up with these innovations and make sure they are properly adjusted.
- The frontline workers don’t typically use email, while in a standard office setting emails are the primary form of communication. It’s important to meet the frontline workers on their means of communication.
- The “genba” is where the real work is done. It refers to the places that frontline workers are typically found working in.
- You want to make sure the reason why change is being implemented is clear. If the message isn’t clear, it won’t be a successful change.
- As a leader, you have to listen more to those on the frontline. There is a feeling or a need that is being communicated back to you.
- We carry our emotions and experiences into a conversation, so we might misunderstand someone when they are talking with us.
Quote of the show
4:09 “Technology is coming at us left and right. And it's changing the way that we interact with our workspace, with our customers, with our employees, with our boss, with the company at large.”
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drey-taylor-9069b517/
- Company Website: https://www.acuitybrands.com/
Ways to Tune In:
- Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2f4ecd92-6468-4769-b0bf-254e236510b7/FRONTLINE-INNOVATORS
- Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frontline-innovators/id1572329402
- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/29m3wnK8pbFjdSvJ9wjmyS
- Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/frontline-innovators
- Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZnJvbnRsaW5laW5ub3ZhdG9ycy5jb20vZmVlZC54bWw
- YouTube - https://youtu.be/emOjPfZedjA
50 min - Bearing the Weight of Change - Frontline Innovators - Episode # 068
Ciprian Porutiu is the Vice President, Operations & Delivery at Marsh McLennan. He believes the most important part of a company are the employees, and that feeds into his passion for change management. He joins host Eugene Signorini to talk about some of the biggest challenges facing frontline workers and how they can be solved.
Takeaways
- The frontline workers are the ones bearing the weight of any change. They should be trained to be the experts in the change and given whatever tools they need.
- It’s important to make sure that they are able to give feedback on what they are hearing from clients and others using the new technology.
- You want to be agile when it comes to change management. To do this you want to deliver small values incrementally with a lot of feedback.
- When trying to reach an objective, you need to set a plan to reach those objectives. Those plans need to be adopted by someone, and everyone needs to be on the same page.
- Face to face interactions allow for more of an in depth understanding rather than on video calls or phone calls.
- The most important asset of a company is its employees. The more you leverage the value of a company, the company gets put in a better position.
- If you want to have frontline workers accept change, then they need to be part of the process of the change and have their voices heard.
Quote of the show
21:26 “The most important asset of a company are its employees. So the more you're able to leverage the value and the richness that every single employee has, the better position is the company in.”
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ciprianporutiu/
- Company Website: https://www.marshmclennan.com/
Ways to Tune In:
- Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2f4ecd92-6468-4769-b0bf-254e236510b7/FRONTLINE-INNOVATORS
- Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frontline-innovators/id1572329402
- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/29m3wnK8pbFjdSvJ9wjmyS
- Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/frontline-innovators
- Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZnJvbnRsaW5laW5ub3ZhdG9ycy5jb20vZmVlZC54bWw
- YouTube - https://youtu.be/Bi_nhzpiOQo
44 min - Layering the Learning - Frontline Innovators - Episode # 067
Susan Evans is the Change Management Manager at Ecolab. She sees the rapid pace of change in technology and how that can present a challenge for frontline workers, and she wants to ease that burden on them. Susan joins host Justin Lake to talk about that and other issues that are plaguing frontline workers.
Takeaways
- The biggest challenge facing frontline workers today is that they are having to learn new tasks and processes while they are on the go.
- When new technologies get rolled out it is easy to get wrapped up in deployment of the new technology but there are underlying process changes that need to take place at the same time.
- Frontline workers need to help the sales team and customers adapt to technology changes and meet their needs.
- Oftentimes deskless workers don’t get time to learn and develop in a way in a pace that works for them. They often have to learn it fast and that can be daunting.
- There needs to be a focus on frontline managers and help them coach the reps on integrating digital processes into their work days, so that they can understand the change as well.
- Make sure that frontline workers know that it is ok to ask questions and ask for help. It can help make the process smoother and go better for the next change.
- Use all the technology to your advantage. Now with virtual reality, you can use that and other tools to help support frontline workers.
Quote of the show
1:44 “Digital presents an additional layer of that learning. There's so much more that they have to learn faster. We are advancing faster everyday in our digital applications and how they need to integrate those into their processes. It's a lot of new content that they need to learn, but they're also changing their behaviors, how they interact with a customer, and in how they change their daily activities.”
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-evans-b815301a/
- Company Website: https://www.ecolab.com/
Ways to Tune In:
- Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2f4ecd92-6468-4769-b0bf-254e236510b7/FRONTLINE-INNOVATORS
- Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frontline-innovators/id1572329402
- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/29m3wnK8pbFjdSvJ9wjmyS
- Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/frontline-innovators
- Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZnJvbnRsaW5laW5ub3ZhdG9ycy5jb20vZmVlZC54bWw
- YouTube - https://youtu.be/l8zX3wF36xE
47 min
About Frontline Innovators
From the publisher's feed
This is Frontline Innovators. Host Justin Lake speaks with experts who are leading the way and driving digital transformation to the frontlines. We explore how to overcome challenges and achieve success when we empower our essential workers.
This podcast is sponsored by Skyllful, on a mission to help frontline workers learn and use the technology needed to succeed in their jobs.