Frontline Unscripted

Technology has transformed retail. Online ordering, curbside pickup, on-demand delivery and personalization are now parts of our everyday shopping experiences. Technology may be the face of retail, but there’s still a frontline team working to execute these digitally-enabled experiences. How has technology transformed the employee experience, and what can retailers do to improve their teams’ digital skills?

JD explores the human side of digital retail transformation with Carl Boutet, Founder and Chief Strategist at Studio Rx. Carl joins us live from The Retail Technology Show in London to share his insights into how companies can leverage the wave of digital transformation to improve frontline capability, engagement and execution.

JD also shares his tips on how to overcome red tape and bring BYOD to life on the frontline. 

In The Know is brought to you by Axonify, the mobile-first training and communication solution that helps make sure your frontline workforce is ready for anything. To learn more about Axonify’s digital learning experience and check out success stories from companies like O’Reilly Auto Parts, Longo’s, Briscoe Group, Citizen’s Bank, MOL Group and Etihad Airways, head over to axonify.com.

Did you hear Cornerstone is acquiring Edcast? 

The learning tech marketplace is undergoing major transformation as familiar providers consolidate while new players continue to emerge. But what does this mean for workplace learning? How can L&D pros keep up with nonstop digital transformation and make smarter tech decisions?  

JD called on the most knowledgeable person in learning tech to set things straight. Join Christopher Lind, VP and Chief Learning Officer at ChenMed and host of Learning Tech Talks, for practical tips on how to navigate the changing learning tech landscape.

JD also shares his perspective on the seven reasons for applying technology within workplace learning. 

In The Know is brought to you by Axonify, the mobile-first training and communication solution that helps make sure your frontline workforce is ready for anything. To learn more about Axonify’s digital learning experience and check out success stories from companies like O’Reilly Auto Parts, Longo’s, Briscoe Group, Citizen’s Bank, MOL Group and Etihad Airways, head over to axonify.com.  

Did you know the same percentage of employees who quit due to pay also quit for not having career advancement opportunities (63% - Pew Research)?

JD sits down with Matthew Daniel - Principle for the Career Mobility Center of Excellence at Guild Education - to talk about what it takes to improve talent mobility on the frontline and create meaningful career and life opportunities for essential workers. 

JD also provides a new perspective on the skills gap and why organizations need to focus on prioritizing development opportunity before investing in skills-based talent strategies.   

In The Know is brought to you by Axonify, the mobile-first training and communication solution that helps make sure your frontline workforce is ready for anything. To learn more about Axonify’s digital learning experience and check out success stories from companies like O’Reilly Auto Parts, Longo’s, Briscoe Group, Citizen’s Bank, MOL Group and Etihad Airways, head over to axonify.com.  

We’ve (virtually) traveled the world over the past year to tell the frontline story. We’ve explored a range of frontline forward industries and themes, from grocery and contact centers to resilience and burnout. Now, on the one-year anniversary of The 80 Percent, it’s time to wrap up our podcast series with one final story.

JD sits down with Martin Cerullo, Group Talent Director at Dairy Farm Group, to discuss the connection between workplace learning culture and business agility. Dairy Farm Group is a leading pan-Asian retailer that operates over 10,533 outlets and employs 220,000 people in businesses that span the retail marketplace, from grocery and convenience to health and beauty to home furnishings. 

Martin highlights the critical role frontline enablement plays in facilitating rapid business transformation, including keeping up with the rise of digital commerce, implementing advanced health and safety measures and launching a new customer loyalty program. Prior to Dairy Farm, Martin worked in leadership roles for organisations providing consulting services to the Human Resources function, including Alexander Mann Solutions. 

Thank you for listening to The 80 Percent. We hope our stories have helped you improve the way you support your frontline team as they continue to keep our businesses and communities moving forward.

We will continue to tell the frontline story in our work at Axonify. If there’s anything we can do to help you better support and enable your frontline, let us know.

This story features clips from past episodes, including:

• EP 10: Resilience in Grocery (Part 2)
• EP 8: The Realities of Reskilling
• EP 3: Still Learning at Home
• EP 21: Preventing Frontline Burnout with Jennifer Moss
• EP 9: Sustaining Frontline Resilience
• EP 4: A Global Perspective

The full 35-episode run of The 80 Percent podcast will remain available on Apple, Google and Spotify as well as axonify.com/podcast. Please share your favorite episodes with peers who are passionate about providing the frontline with the support they need and deserve. 

The 80 Percent has been brought to you by Axonify. To learn how you can provide communication and training to your frontline workforce that actually works, visit axonify.com.

Join the #FrontlineForward effort by visiting axonify.com/frontlineforward to access free training content, download the 2020 State of Frontline Employee Training Report and subscribe for the updates.

Welcome to Frontline Questions, a bi-weekly segment in which JD answers the most popular questions we receive from The 80 Percent listeners.

Today's question is ...

Does gamification work in frontline training?

Send your frontline question to [email protected] so JD can answer it on a future episode.

Check out gamification books, articles and resources from Dr. Karl Kapp.

Explore an example of gamified learning (and plus your language skills) with Duolingo.

Download The Ultimate Guide to Frontline Training for more tips on how you can provide right-fit support to your frontline teams, including how you can dramatically improve engagement.

The 80 Percent is brought to you by Axonify. To learn how you can provide communication and training to your frontline workforce that actually works, visit axonify.com.

Join the #FrontlineForward effort by visiting axonify.com/frontlineforward to access free training content, download the 2020 State of Frontline Employee Training Report and subscribe for updates.

Welcome to Frontline Questions, a bi-weekly segment in which JD answers the most popular questions we receive from The 80 Percent listeners.

Today's question is ...

How can I translate frontline training content more quickly and cheaply?

Learn more about how artificial intelligence can be applied to improve workplace learning with these curated resources from LearnGeek.

Send your frontline question to [email protected] so JD can answer it on a future episode.

Download The Ultimate Guide to Frontline Training for more tips on how you can provide right-fit support to your frontline teams.

The 80 Percent is brought to you by Axonify. To learn how you can provide communication and training to your frontline workforce that actually works, visit axonify.com.

Join the #FrontlineForward effort by visiting axonify.com/frontlineforward to access free training content, download the 2020 State of Frontline Employee Training Report and subscribe for updates.

Do you feel exhausted at work?

Do you feel increasingly distanced from or negative about your job?

Are you noticing reduced quality in your work output?

Then you may be experiencing burnout, a legitimate medical condition related to the workplace. In August 2020, 58% of US workers identified themselves as experiencing burnout, up from 45% at the beginning of the pandemic. This issue is damaging workers’ physical and mental health as well as productivity and innovation in the workplace. It’s especially problematic on the frontline, where employees have significantly less control over their day-to-day work experience. Unfortunately, fixing burnout isn’t as simple as taking up meditation or getting more sleep. That’s because burnout is a workplace problem, not a worker problem, and requires changes to the systems and processes that guide how work is done. 

JD speaks with Jennifer Moss to learn what organizations can do to protect their frontline teams from burnout. Jennifer is an award-winning journalist, author, public speaker and nationally syndicated radio columnist who researches topics related to happiness and workplace well-being.  To acknowledge her contributions to business and public service, Jennifer was named a Canadian Innovator of the Year, an International Female Entrepreneur of the Year, and recipient of the Public Service Award from the Office of President Obama. 

The Burnout Epidemic: The Rise of Chronic Stress and How We Can Fix It by Jennifer Moss publishes on September 28, 2021.

Learn More About Preventing Burnout:

• Beyond Burned Out (HBR)
• Burnout Is About Your Workplace, Not Your People (HBR)
• Preventing Burnout Is About Empathetic Leadership (HBR) 
• How the Pandemic Exacerbated Burnout (HBR)
• 6 Causes of Burnout and How to Avoid Them (HBR)
• Burnout is an official medical diagnoses, World Health Organization says (CNN)
• How to Not Let Pandemic Fatigue Turn Into Pandemic Burnout (Everyday Health)
• 3 strategies to fight burnout and foster engagement in frontline grocery associates (Axonify)
• 35 more WFH practices (LearnGeek)

If you have a frontline story you’d like us to explore on a future episode, let us know at [email protected]

The 80 Percent is brought to you by Axonify. To learn how you can provide communication and training to your frontline workforce that actually works, visit axonify.com.

Join the #FrontlineForward effort by visiting axonify.com/frontlineforward to access free training content, download the 2020 State of Frontline Employee Training Report and subscribe for the updates.

Welcome to Frontline Questions, a bi-weekly segment in which JD answers the most popular questions we receive from The 80 Percent listeners.

Today's question is ...

How do we implement BYOD on the frontline?

Send your frontline question to [email protected] so JD can answer it on a future episode.

Download The Ultimate Guide to Frontline Training for more tips on how you can provide right-fit support to your frontline teams, including how you can dramatically improve engagement.

The 80 Percent is brought to you by Axonify. To learn how you can provide communication and training to your frontline workforce that actually works, visit axonify.com.

Join the #FrontlineForward effort by visiting axonify.com/frontlineforward to access free training content, download the 2020 State of Frontline Employee Training Report and subscribe for updates.

What if you could take any random person off the street, plug them into your contact center operation and have them fielding customer calls right away? 

It may sound too good to be true. After all, contact center agents have to solve complex customer problems while keeping up with new products and process changes. They typically spend weeks in a classroom before they’re allowed to speak with customers. Managers need them on the phone NOW to deal with spikes in call volume, but they also want agents fully knowledgeable about the company’s offerings. How can contact centers accelerate agent training while making sure they provide great customer service?

JD chats with Sebastian Tindall, Head of Learning and Development Operations at Vitality, who shares his approach to developing highly-capable contact center agents within a fast-paced insurance and wellness operation. They explore resource-based learning, which focuses on providing information and tools agents can access in the workflow to solve problems and build their knowledge. 

Check out these recommended resources and professionals to learn more about applying a resource-based approach to learning. 

• Bob Mosher - Chief Learning Evangelist, 5 Moments of Need
• David James - Chief Learning Officer, Looop
• Josh Bersin - Global Industry Analyst
• Modern Learning Ecosystem Framework (LearnGeek)

Listen to Sebastian’s appearance on the Learning Uncut podcast with Michelle Ockers. 

The 80 Percent is brought to you by Axonify. To learn how you can provide communication and training to your frontline workforce that actually works, visit axonify.com. If you have a frontline story you’d like us to explore on a future episode, let us know at [email protected]

Join the #FrontlineForward effort by visiting axonify.com/frontlineforward to access free training content, download the 2020 State of Frontline Employee Training Report and subscribe for the updates.

Welcome to Frontline Questions, a bi-weekly segment in which JD answers the most popular questions we receive from The 80 Percent listeners.

Today's question is ...

How do you measure the impact of frontline training?

Send your frontline question to [email protected] so JD can answer it on a future episode.

Download The Ultimate Guide to Frontline Training for more tips on how you can provide right-fit support to your frontline teams, including how you can dramatically improve engagement.

The 80 Percent is brought to you by Axonify. To learn how you can provide communication and training to your frontline workforce that actually works, visit axonify.com.

Join the #FrontlineForward effort by visiting axonify.com/frontlineforward to access free training content, download the 2020 State of Frontline Employee Training Report and subscribe for updates.