- I don't think you need to be an economist,
or a CEO to know one really important truth
that the hardest job in America right now
is to be a frontline supervisor.
There's a very good chance that you are new in that job.
There is a virtual certainty that everyone who works for you
is new in their job, that there are pressures from the top,
from the side, from customers, from your leadership.
The really good news is that there are a set
of very simple things that companies can do
to wrap their arms around those frontline leaders,
to attract and retain the people who attract
and retain everyone else.
The very first thing
that we can do is actually just appreciate
their contribution, that's both financially--
we can appreciate people in terms of money--
but also in terms of recognition, just appreciating
and honoring the service and loyalty
that many frontline supervisors have given
to the organization.
The second, and this is revealed very clearly
in BCG's Deskless Worker Survey, is we can create clear
and transparent career pathways that might not be a ladder,
that might be a career honeycomb,
but we can have open, honest, authentic conversations
at the individual level about what it will take
to achieve the next role.
And the third is that we can consistently invest
in that population--in our frontline leaders--
to give them the skills, not only technical,
but also managerial, social and emotional,
corporate history, cultural, that will enable them
not only to advance into the next role,
but to flourish and thrive in the job
that they're in right now.