Harvard and Workplace from Meta have jointly launched Deskless not Voiceless, a comprehensive campaign that explores the frustration experienced by front line employees caused by the disparity in experience between the front line and headquarters. Through insightful thinking and emotional video content, Deskless not Voiceless tells the story of 7,000 frontline employees and illuminates life on Virgin Atlantic and Royal Ambulance’s frontline.
“Frontline employees have always been at the center of our mission to connect everyone, regardless of their location,” says Olivia Calvert, head of Global Comms & PR. “Since 2019, we’ve been exploring the constant mismatch between the perception of leadership and the reality for frontline employees.”
“But as Covid-19 brought universal recognition for the people who support our community – from community caregivers and delivery people to drivers and bus manufacturers – we knew more was needed. Our goal this year was to give the human experiences and stories of frontline employees their moment.”
To gain insight into the frontline experience on a global scale, the new annual Deskless Not Voiceless: Frontline Barometer surveyed 7,000 employees and 1,350 C-suite leaders to track four key components of frontline life – realization and empowerment, trust in leadership, learning and growth, well-being and safety.
The study highlights the very real threat of Big Front’s resignation: 57% of Frontline workers plan to leave their current positions for a higher-paying role, and 45% are thinking about leaving the Frontline altogether. The campaign brings these experiences to the forefront and encourages leaders to gain a deep understanding of the daily realities facing frontline personnel if they are to retain talent.
‘Living on the Frontlines does just that. Through a series of short documentaries, Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss and Royal Ambulance Vice President of Human Resources Eva Grau share their journey through a day in the life of their frontline crew. From briefing aircrews before a flight to dispatching ambulances to those in need, these leaders show what it means to be a responsive leader as they experience ecstasy and heartbreak with their teams.
Reaffirming its commitment to keeping employees connected on the front lines, Workplace from Meta used the campaign launch to pre-announce its planned integration with WhatsApp, which will allow businesses to share posts from the workplace via WhatsApp.
“The campaign balances rational content and an emotional story to shed light on a normally ignored audience. The film series demonstrates the impact of technology without demonstrating the technology itself – and also a rarity in B2B,” states Andrew Last, MD Marketing, Harvard. “All of this was made possible by Meta’s forward-thinking client at Workplace and the positive support they gave to Virgin Atlantic and Royal Ambulance, two businesses with fierce front-ends.”
Launched in January 2022, Deskless not Voiceless is being activated through PR, digital and marketing channels in the UK, US, Canada, Brazil, France, Mexico and Australia.
