New research from theEMPLOYEEapp reveals a double-digit increase in the number of frontline workers engaging with their employers via SMS text messaging compared to the previous year.

Today, 57% of employers are communicating with their frontline employees via text message--a 13-point increase over the previous year. Younger employees aged 18-24 indicated a preference for receiving communication from their employer via text messaging instead of email or even face-to-face communication. The full results of the survey of frontline employees and managers across four key industries are now available in a new report, “2023 Survey Results: State of Frontline Worker Communication.”  

The 2023 report gathered and analyzed the feedback of 1,000 frontline employees (43% male, 57% female) across the logistics, hospitality, retail, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors to gain insights into their opinions about how their employers communicate. About 54 percent manage other workers; 46 percent do not. The data from the survey shows that a majority (49%) of frontline employees are “satisfied,” and 21% are “extremely satisfied” with the communication they receive from their employers. This is slightly higher than the previous year’s report, an indication that improved methods of communication are helping companies reach their increasingly dispersed workforces.

However, the survey revealed a gap between manager and non-manager satisfaction with communication. Similar to the previous year, 76% of frontline managers were “satisfied” or “extremely satisfied,” while 60% of non-managers reported that level of satisfaction.  

"We were encouraged by the results showing that most frontline workers are happy with corporate communication and feel included in their company culture," said Amy Jenkins, Director of Client Strategy and Success at theEMPLOYEEapp. "The data does show that there’s more work for communicators to do to ensure that non-managers are as happy as managers with the messages they receive. We also noted a sizable shift in the channels through which frontline employees want to be reached by their employers. While email and face-to-face communications were still the most-used channels, more companies now report using text messages and employee apps for communication than they did last year, with demand for these channels increasing."  

The 2023 State of Frontline Worker Communication report also uncovers:

•  Which topics are of greatest interest to employees when it comes to communication
•  Whether frontline employees are still engaged at work and plan to stay in their current jobs
•  If frontline workers trust the company and their managers
•  A breakdown of communication satisfaction levels of frontline workers by industry