November 26, 2024 Supporting Frontline Workers on Black Friday

How manufacturers can address employee concerns while navigating the holiday season.

By Cris Grossmann, CEO and Co-founder, Beekeeper

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are right around the corner, and shoppers are gearing up for the deals. But for manufacturers, it’s the busiest — and often the most stressful — time of year. 

For consumers, Black Friday (BF) and Cyber Monday (CM) are relatively simple affairs: browse, buy, wrap, and gift. For the frontline manufacturing workers tasked with keeping production running behind the scenes, however, it’s a whole different story.

For HR professionals, supporting frontline teams during this busy season is critical. The long hours and physical demands can take a toll on workers, creating stress and lowering morale. Beyond the human cost, unmet worker needs often translate to significant productivity losses.

Even the slightest disruptions in the manufacturing process can trigger cascading effects — a concern at any time of year, but especially during the holidays when operations are running at peak capacity. Keeping operations on track requires a new approach to frontline communication — one that ensures workers feel supported, valued, and heard.

Seasonal demands and their toll on the frontline

Behind the record-breaking sales figures — $9.8 billion on Black Friday and $12.4 billion on Cyber Monday in the U.S. last year — lies an immense amount of manufacturing labor. The sheer demand generates an influx of orders that inevitably create a strain. 

The higher volume of orders means frontline workers need to work more while often working faster. Quite often, they’re also working alongside colleagues they’ve only just met, as BF/CM at every stage of the supply chain relies largely on seasonal and part-time employees. 

Adding to these pressures are the usual headaches that come with any manufacturing surge: raw material delays, equipment breakdowns, transportation bottlenecks, and more. For an industry already grappling with high turnover — 44% of manufacturing workers switched jobs last year — the holiday rush can deal a big hit to morale and retention.

Strengthening frontline support through better communication

The holiday season doesn’t have to be a headache for manufacturers. In fact, manufacturing teams often rise to the occasion during surge conditions, drawing on resources they may not have even known they had. But creating the right conditions for success takes work. More than anything, it requires a renewed, vigilant focus on communication.

Every worker wants to feel supported and heard, but this is especially true for frontline roles — and even more so during the stressful holiday season. When frontline communication breaks down, frustration and burnout increase, leading to disengagement and higher turnover. In today’s workforce, employees won’t tolerate feeling unsupported and undervalued — they’ll leave instead.

Strategies to keep frontline teams engaged and supported

Leaders can improve frontline communication to boost engagement and retention in several ways. Regular check-ins are essential for addressing issues before they escalate. Too often, problems fester unnoticed by management until suddenly, it’s too late — the employee has put in their resignation, and nothing can be done about it. Consistent attention to how employees feel can make all the difference.

Flexible shift scheduling and easier shift coordination can also make a big impact. Frontline workers often juggle demanding responsibilities outside of work, from caring for young children to caregiving for elderly parents. The ability to quickly swap shifts with a colleague can be hugely empowering — making life easier for frontline workers and helping them perform at their best.

Technology plays another critical role in improving frontline communication. HR and productivity apps have already reshaped the nature of white-collar work — why not frontline work, too? If anything, it has more of a role in this space, given that — unlike in conventional offices — frontline workers often work in the field or facilities many miles from HQ. 

By integrating modern communication tools built for the way the frontline works, managers can stay connected, monitor employee sentiment, and act quickly when morale dips. Two-way communication and engagement platforms enable honest dialogue with workers, helping everyone stay grounded and focused on getting the job done. During the holiday season, when stress is high and workloads peak, these tools become even more important.

Empowering frontline workers beyond the holiday rush

The holiday surge offers a clear reminder of how important it is to take a frontline-focused approach to manufacturing operations. Effective communication, easier shift coordination, and tools designed specifically for frontline teams can go a long way in reducing stress, keeping morale up, and staying efficient — even under peak demands. These strategies aren’t just for surviving Black Friday and Cyber Monday — they’re for building engaged, empowered frontline teams that can carry organizations forward long after the holiday season ends.

About the Author:
Cristian Grossmann is the CEO and co-founder of Beekeeper, which solves the disconnect between frontline workers and their managers in the retail, hospitality, manufacturing and construction industries. Cristian, a former frontline worker himself, understands first-hand the technology that is required to make the frontline workforce more effective. Prior to founding Beekeeper, he worked for Accenture on high profile international projects in the field of IT Strategy for the financial and public sectors. Cristian studied Chemical Engineering and got his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, both at ETH Zurich. Before moving to beautiful Zurich, he was born and raised in an entrepreneurial Swiss-Mexican family in Mexico City.

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