Not every job requires a desk. Florists, skilled tradespeople, mechanics, cashiers, or bakers work "on the front line," directly with the product or the consumer. However, in many companies, the onboarding strategy is designed for office employees. Even in those companies that primarily employ so-called first-line workers. This leads to problems. This article shows you the challenges to be overcome when onboarding first-line workers and presents a success story.

High turnover among first-line workers

It is not just highly specialized industries that complain about the skills shortage. Competent first-line employees are quitting in record numbers. This leads to high turnover and puts a strain on companies. So, once you have found good staff, you cannot afford to lose them again.

Onboarding plays a major role in this. Because: at the beginning of their job, many newly hired employees feel lost if they do not receive clear guidance for the onboarding process. This uncertainty quickly leads to frustration and, in the worst case, even to resignation.  In our whitepaper, you can read more about how resignations can be prevented through better onboarding.

Onboarding for first-line workers must be "hands-on"

Standard onboarding strategies are tailored to office jobs. Therefore, most first-line workers find them inefficient, unhelpful, or even arduous. This is what makes onboarding first-line workers special:

• First-line teams are mostly spread across different locations. In-person training and instruction are costly and inefficient. The consequence? Onboarding must be digitized.
• Comprehensive written documentation is usually not well received. Anyone who works with their hands every day first has to laboriously translate written information into their own everyday working life.
• Training materials are often only available in German. For employees with a different native language, these are often difficult to understand.

The following success story shows how mobile onboarding connects with first-line workers in particular.

Use Case: How an onboarding app relieves flower shop employees

A flower shop with numerous branches in German-speaking countries employs new staff as florists. The previous onboarding process involved training days that took place twice a month at headquarters. Here, new florists learned everything about company values and internal regulations, but also technical skills in the form of workshops on flower arranging. Here is what has changed since the introduction of an onboarding software.

Read more about Blume2000's journey with keelearning.

Most new hires had to wait a few days before they could dive into onboarding. During this time, they were not very efficient because they lacked necessary knowledge. This led to frustration and, in some cases, even to resignation in the first few days of work. New hires also represented an additional burden for already trained staff. This is because experienced colleagues would take over onboarding in places to close knowledge gaps before the official training day.

The management made the decision to try a more agile, leaner, and "hands-on" approach to onboarding. They introduced an onboarding app. The app can be accessed from anywhere; the new hire only needs a mobile device—such as a smartphone or tablet. These are everyday companions for most of us anyway, so there is no extra effort for employers or employees. New employees do not even need an email account, as access is also possible via a voucher code.

This is how the new onboarding process was designed:

1. New hires receive a registration code for the onboarding app and can access it via the app or browser from their private device.
2. Already before starting work, the app informs every new employee about what to expect in the first few days.
3. A pre-installed course library shows information on general topics such as data protection and occupational safety. No training day at headquarters is necessary for this.
4. In the first few days, a training module with basic binding techniques and information on product presentation is offered. In this module, colleagues from different branches show step-by-step instructions. These can be imitated by new hires themselves from day 1.
5. The second training module follows a gamification approach and offers small "bites of information" on different topics that are relevant in the first few weeks of work. At the end, there is a quiz to see how much you have already internalized.
6. The autotranslate function ensures that all content is available in the preferred language of the new employees at the push of a button.

Conclusion: What the company achieved with the new approach

• The time for technical training was reduced by half.
• New employees are productive from day 1.
• Existing staff were massively relieved, as many questions are already answered by the app.
• Instead of two intensive training days per month, only one monthly workshop for all employees (new and old) is held at headquarters to deepen professional knowledge and conduct team building.
• Resignations in the first few days of work almost never happen anymore.

Would you like to learn more about how our mobile onboarding app can also be used in your company? Then book a free and non-binding expert consultation here: