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BCG x Flip report

Report: Facing Deskless Labor Shortage with Technology

The globe's huge deskless workforce is overburdened. Facing unique challenges, they're disengaged, burned out, and on the hunt for new roles. This low engagement is impacting their employers, too – lower productivity, more safety incidents, and difficulty finding the right talent.

In this report, Flip has teamed up with BCG to explore why a disengaged frontline workforce is costing your business – and how to lighten the load. We explore how to optimise the employee experience for deskless workers, focusing on how the right tech can help businesses reach and engage the frontline, and transform the way they work.

Get your copy of Facing Deskless Labor Shortage with Technology below.

BCG Flip report: Facing Deskless Labor Shortage with Technology, September 2024, on grid table.

The guide at a glance

Connecting the disconnected

What makes deskless work different?

The majority of the world's workforce don't sit behind a desk. Instead, they stand on shop floors and factory floors, man the tills, or walk the warehouse shelves. They have different working patterns, limits on their flexibility, and increased physical demands compared to their back-office peers. And where back-office workers have a suite of tech solutions to make their working lives easier, deskless workers are digitally disconnected.

Smiling frontline worker, symbolizing Employee Experience Platform, Mitarbeiter App, Agentic AI.
What are the costs of low engagement among deskless workers?

This disconnection has deskless workers feeling burnt out and neglected – and almost half of them are looking for new jobs. But it's not just retention that wanes when frontline workers suffer. Safety, absenteeism, quality defects, and even productivity are at risk if the deskless workforce continues to disengage.

Chef in kitchen, symbolizing Employee Experience Platform, Mitarbeiter App, Agentic AI für die Frontline.
How do we optimise their employee experience?

Improving the employee experience is key to boosting frontline employee engagement. Find out which factors are pivotal in boosting satisfaction and retention amongst the deskless workforce – and the role that technology has to play.

Smiling frontline worker in factory, symbolizing Employee Experience Platform, Mitarbeiter App, HR-Portal.
What does best practice look like when it comes to frontline tech?

Deskless workers are digitally disconnected, leaving them without the tools needed to work seamlessly and effectively. Discover how big the digital divide really is, and get practical insights into building a connected deskless employee experience with examples from large European companies.

Man inspecting machinery, symbolizing empowered frontline with Mitarbeiterplattform, Employee App.
Your 5-point deskless employee experience checklist

Unsure where to start with digitally connecting your deskless workforce? Get BCG's 5-point checklist to assess the employee experience you currently provide.

Bäcker im Betrieb, Fokus auf Frontline Empowerment, Mitarbeiterplattform, Employee Experience.

'There was a two class society in our company' – HR leader

43%

of deskless workers are looking for a new job

33%

higher turnover at companies with lower employee satisfaction

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