Still using bulletin boards and email for frontline communication? It might seem simple, familiar, even “good enough.” But if your communication system relies on printouts, Outlook chains, and word-of-mouth updates, you’re not just behind — you’re at risk.

This piece unpacks the hidden costs of outdated frontline communication and shows what a mobile-first platform — built around the way your workforce actually operates — can unlock.

What is frontline communication 

Frontline communication is how companies share information with non-desk employees — retail associates, logistics crews, factory teams, healthcare workers. It’s how you keep the people on the floor, in the field, and face-to-face with customers aligned and informed.

By the way, a frontline employee? That’s anyone whose job happens without a desk, email, or access to traditional corporate tools. Think: no Outlook, no SharePoint, no time to scroll an intranet.

These employees often make up 80% of the global workforce (UKG), yet they’re the last to receive updates, if they receive them at all.

Why frontline employee communication needs a rethink

Most internal communication strategies were built for the office — not the frontline. That mismatch is creating more than frustration; it’s creating real business risk.

Especially, since there are over 100 million frontline employees in the US (BCG) — and globally, frontline employees make up 80% of the world’s working population (UKG). They power everything from logistics to retail, healthcare to manufacturing.

And yet — most of them operate without consistent, reliable access to company updates. Even companies relying on consumer messaging apps or repurposed corporate platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams often find they fall short: built for knowledge workers, not shift-based teams.

The illusion of savings: why old methods feel easier

Here’s what “communication” looks like for a lot of companies:

• Newsletters sent via HQ email
• Printed memos tacked to the breakroom wall
• Verbal handoffs passed down shift-by-shift

It feels budget-friendly. But these tools only work under perfect conditions — and that’s not how the frontline operates. Even when teams say “it’s working fine,” that often means issues are only visible when something goes wrong: a missed safety protocol, an uncovered shift, a forgotten update.

The actual cost of “good enough” communication?

• Missed shifts
• Outdated safety practices
• Delayed feedback
• Repetitive manual follow-up
• Misalignment between teams
• Rework and delays due to outdated or incorrect info
• Lack of visibility into who’s seen or understood the message

As Kathy van der Wijden from Shell put it: 

We used to send PDFs to franchisees and just hope the message would trickle down. But we had no clue if the people actually doing the work ever saw it.

The real costs of poor frontline communication

• Missed messages → missed shifts, mistakes, unhappy customers
• No feedback → no visibility, no improvement
• Misinformation → rumors replace facts, managers waste time clarifying
• Paper trails → don’t scale and don’t prove much
• Compliance → turns into guesswork without digital read receipts
• People feel left out → which leads to disengagement, attrition, and cultural drift
• Lost operational time → slower task execution, scheduling chaos, and inefficient handovers

At IABC World Conference, internal comms leaders echoed the same theme:

When comms doesn’t reach the frontline, it’s not just a missed update — it’s a missed opportunity to protect your people, your customers, and your bottom line.

Signs your current frontline comms setup is failing

Let’s check the symptoms:

• You’re still posting updates on a wall and hoping people notice
• People miss training or deadlines because they “didn’t see the email”
• HR is manually collecting signatures for compliance
• You spend more time following up than actually communicating

Sound familiar? Then your communication system wasn’t designed for the frontline — it was adapted for them. There’s a difference.

What better frontline communication looks like

Frontline communication isn’t about sending more messages. It’s about:

• Reaching the right people at the right time
• Tracking visibility and acknowledgment
• Giving people a way to respond, clarify, and act
• Ensuring clarity across roles, shifts, and locations

That’s where mobile-first platforms come in — just like Speakap. And before you worry about “another app,” remember: this isn’t added noise. It’s the system that replaces three others — bulletin boards, printed notices, and untraceable group chats.

Why mobile-first just makes sense

With a mobile-first employee communications platform like Speakap:

• Messages reach every employee, regardless of location or shift
• Updates are role-based — no noise, just relevance
• Read receipts show who’s seen what (and who hasn’t)
• Feedback flows both ways — not just from HQ down
• Managers aren’t buried in follow-up
• Communication becomes an asset — not a bottleneck

As Monique Muller, Head of Communication at SPAR, notes: 

We now work with a central source of truth. And that makes everything — operations, feedback, engagement — so much more effective.

Mobile-first doesn’t mean high effort. Speakap is designed for fast rollouts, minimal training, and adoption that sticks. And the ROI? Fewer mistakes, faster updates, more aligned teams.

Speakap: Communication that meets your frontline where they are

Speakap isn’t just another internal comms tool. It’s a mobile-first communication platform built around how frontline teams actually work.

Companies like Shell and SPAR have replaced bulletin boards and manual updates with Speakap — and seen measurable results:

• 93% weekly engagement from frontline staff
• Faster training completions
• Real-time feedback from store teams to HQ

Your bulletin board can’t reduce turnover. But better communication can

Outdated tools might feel harmless — until they start costing you trust, time, and team performance. Frontline communication isn’t an afterthought. It’s operational infrastructure. And it needs to be treated like one.

Still relying on email chains and taped-up memos? Then let’s talk about what that’s really costing you.

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