Harvard and Workplace from Meta collaborate to launch Deskless not Voiceless, an integrated campaign that explores the frustrations felt by frontline employees, caused by a disparity of experiences between frontline and HQ. Through insight driven thought leadership and emotive video content, Deskless not Voiceless tells the story of 7,000 frontline workers and spotlights life on the frontline at Virgin Atlantic and Royal Ambulance.
“Frontline employees have always been at the heart of our mission to connect everyone, no matter their location”, states Olivia Calvert, Head of Global Comms & PR. “Since 2019, we’ve explored the consistent disconnect between the perceptions of leadership and the reality for frontline employees on the ground.”
“But as Covid-19 brought mainstream recognition for the people keeping our societies running – from community carers and delivery people to bus drivers and manufacturers – we knew more was needed. Our goal this year was to give the human experiences and stories of frontline employees their moment.”
To get a measure of the frontline experience globally, the new annual Deskless not Voiceless: Frontline Barometer surveyed 7,000 frontline workers and 1,350 C-suite leaders, to track four key components of frontline life – fulfilment and empowerment, trust in leadership, learning and growth, wellbeing and safety.
The research highlights the very real threat of a Great Frontline Resignation, with 57% of frontline workers planning to leave their current positions for a better paid role and 45% considering leaving the frontline altogether. The campaign brings these experiences to the fore and pushes leaders to develop an in-depth understanding of the day-to-day reality facing frontline workforces if they are to retain top talent.
‘Life on the Frontline’ does just that. Through a series of short documentaries, Virgin Atlantic CEO, Shai Weiss, and Royal Ambulance VP of Human Resources, Eve Grau, share their journey living a day in the life of their frontline teams. From briefing aircraft crews before flight, to dispatching ambulances to those in need, these leaders show what it means to be an empathetic leader by experiencing the ecstatic highs and heartfelt lows alongside their teams.
Reiterating its commitment to keeping frontline employees connected, Workplace from Meta used the campaign launch to pre-announce its planned integration with WhatsApp, that will enable businesses to share posts from Workplace over WhatsApp.
“The campaign balances rational content and emotive storytelling to shine a light on a typically overlooked audience. The film series demonstrates the impact of technology without showing the tech itself – also a rarity in B2B”, states Andrew Last, MD Marketing, Harvard. “This was all made possible thanks to a visionary client in Workplace from Meta and the positive advocacy they’ve fostered with Virgin Atlantic and Royal Ambulance, two businesses with a fierce frontline focus.”
Launched in January 2022, Deskless not Voiceless is being activated across PR, digital and marketing channels in the UK, USA, Canada, Brazil, France, Mexico and Australia.
Explore Deskless not Voiceless here.
