Today, we talk as if every single job requires a desk, a laptop and a Teams login—as if knowledge work is the only real work. But of course, that framing makes no sense when you consider that 70% or more of the employees in the United States are not in any kind of office at all. They’re on the front lines, serving customers and doing the actual work that keeps things running.

Globally, that percentage is even higher. Frontline workers are the people who directly interface with customers and clients—hotel or restaurant guests, patients in your hospital. They are the drivers of the trucks, trains and ships who ship goods from points A to B. And for far too long, HR (and the business) have treated them as an afterthought.

Was this oversight for good reasons? Maybe. Frontline workers have always been more challenging to capture and understand within traditional HR systems. They’re often paid hourly, their schedules are less predictable and their work involves real shift and staffing complexity. Unlike salaried employees, their pay isn’t a single field in a spreadsheet; it fluctuates with overtime, shift swaps and variable earning opportunities. Recruiting and onboarding require entirely different approaches than those designed for office employees. And traditional computer-based HR systems or email communication don’t reach them because they don’t have a computer, and often not even a company email.

But organizations can no longer afford to overlook these workers. When replacing frontline workers was easy, organizations could afford this approach. Not anymore. These roles require real skill and training, and demand is now outpacing supply. As experienced workers retire, too few younger workers are entering essential trades like construction, plumbing and electrical work. Frontline labor has become one of the tightest constraints in today’s workforce—and you can’t count on demographics or immigration alone to solve this problem.

The stakes are significant: Unhappy, underpaid or high-turnover frontline teams directly affect customer and patient experience, which ultimately impacts company performance, in ways most white-collar departures typically never do. Yet, despite their importance, our research shows this workforce is often overlooked: Seventy-five percent report feeling burned out, and 51% feel like a number, not a person. As automation and chatbots reach their limits, skilled human workers become increasingly essential for delivering the authentic experience customers need.

HR needs to broaden its focus

CHROs who don’t know how to work with frontline employees are putting their organizations at risk. These roles are becoming strategically vital to survival, which means action can’t wait. That means adopting tools grounded in frontline reality, spanning everything from recruiting and sourcing, development, coaching, employee experience, productivity, and pay and rewards.

HR tech suppliers are addressing this new reality

How can organizations become more “frontline-first”? Until recently, even the most frontline-minded CHROs were constrained by systems that weren’t designed for this workforce. Today, HR tech vendors are catching up. Big moves such as the 2020 formation of UKG through the merger of two companies, Ultimate Software and Kronos Incorporated; Workday’s recent swoop on Paradox; and SAP’s new approach to workforce scheduling—all point in the same direction: Practical AI is increasingly being used to support deskless workers, especially in recruiting, scheduling and compensation.

What’s emerging is a new generation of AI-enabled, frontline-first HR platforms designed to meet workers where they are. Adopting these platforms requires effort and a shift in HR priorities, as the needs of frontline employees differ from traditional office roles. But the upside from making that effort could be significant: mobile-first, AI-powered tools that fit how deskless workers actually live and work, benefiting both employees and employers.

Adopting a frontline-first approach

Aligning organizational efforts to fully support this vital class of employees will be easier if you:

• Adopt a frontline-first mindset by investing in higher wages, flexible schedules, safer workplaces and clear career pathways.
• Strengthen frontline management by the provision of targeted development, peer support networks and integrated tools for planning, scheduling and engagement.
• Leverage unified technology and connect payroll, HR, scheduling and workforce management systems instead of maintaining silos.
• Use data-driven insights so as to identify links across operations, people and culture to improve outcomes systemically.
• Harness AI for the frontline by looking to enable conversational (gen AI-supported) employee experiences, dynamic scheduling, personalized coaching and real-time feedback.
• Focus on culture by actively seeking to learn from frontline colleagues’ insights to create an environment they want to grow and thrive in for the long term.
• Measure and benchmark performance by continuously assessing progress and buy-in with surveys and workforce data to optimize support of a frontline-first HR orientation that finally aids the 80%, not just the favored 20.

In the era of change, uncertainty and AI disruption we’re in, organizations must engage the missing 80% and deliver HR services for their entire workforce.

See also: Frontline burnout, turnover and the technology gap HR must address

Doing so isn’t just equitable; it drives business performance, strengthening customer experience, loyalty and organizational stability. Frontline-first thinking is already proving its value: Chipotle reduced hiring time by 75% with AI built for frontline roles, enabling it to open nearly one restaurant per day. Aimbridge reinvented scheduling across 1,400 hotels, turning an administrative burden into a competitive advantage. And FedEx found that even modest improvements in retention significantly enhanced delivery speed and quality.

The companies that truly prioritize the frontline are outperforming their competitors. Yet most HR tech vendors still treat these workers as an afterthought—even as restaurant turnover reaches 150% and healthcare faces a projected 10 million-worker shortage by 2030.

In today’s era of rapid change, uncertainty and AI-driven disruption, organizations must engage the often-overlooked 80% of their workforce and provide HR services that reach everyone.

This approach not only ensures equitable support for all employees but also strengthens the bottom line—enhancing customer experience, fostering loyalty and reinforcing organizational stability.

For more on the data drawn on to support these arguments, see the Powering the Frontline Workforce: How Frontline-First Companies Thrive research here.

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