Company alignment has been a top topic lately. The way people work is changing, the number of mobile workforce is growing every day more and more. For this and many other reasons, alignment should become a priority for anyone. It will not only allow companies to excel in their industry but also keep their employees engaged and motivated.

The technology landscape is changing. The way the web is being accessed is entirely different from how it was before. People are switching from using big and chunky to lean and small screens. More and more mobile usage is exceeding desktop usage, 70% of all Americans own smartphones and 50% own tablets. These mobile devices are responsible for 71% of the country’s digital traffic. Tasks that were limited to the desktop now are fully done through a smartphone. People shop, interact, and work using their phones. 

Gallup found that about 43% of American employees do their jobs away from an office at least part of the time and that this number is rising. In 2030 the demand for remote work will increase by 30% thanks to Gen Z preferences, according to Gartner. So with the landscape of daily work life transforming, how can traditional companies keep up?

Society is integrating with A.I. more and more every day but many people don’t realize this. Alexa and Siri use voice recognition to find your favorite song, your navigation app is constantly learning faster and easier ways to get you home, and the customer service rep you’re chatting with online is probably a bot. Artificial Intelligence isn’t reserved for tech giants working in front of a computer all day long. Even industries that may not traditionally be seen as modern or cutting edge are using A.I. and machine learning technology.

Engaging your frontline employees is critical to a company’s success and leadership needs to take the lead. Your frontline workers are the ones who interact directly with customers, they’re on their feet, in the open and represent your brand. Here are some tips to effectively engage with your frontline workers: 

The flexibility and freedom that remote work provides might actually be what employers fear the most. Remote work poses many questions and concerns for leadership. If an employee is left to their own devices, will their work get done? If they aren’t in the office every day, will they feel like a part of the team? Will they understand the culture of the company or its vision? Will they build loyalty to the company or will they leave after a few months? 

Did you know that 65% of all lost customers can be traced to a disengaged employee?  In many ways, the deskless workforce is the face of the company that customers see first and interact with directly. They’re on the sales floor, greeting you as you enter a store, working the lines in factories, performing inventory and more. They’re on their feet, in the field, facing customers daily. They're the backbone of most large companies making them an invaluable tool for leadership. They are who provide information on the pulse of the company’s day to day business. Who else knows the customer better? For these reasons and more, it’s crucial that deskless employees are aligned with leadership and a company’s vision.

The 9-5 workday is old-fashioned. People, especially millennials in the workforce, simply expect more from their employer. They want flexibility and freedom, the feeling of not being tied down, and an escape from the traditional. So what’s so great about working remotely?