Untapped Potential: Rethinking Talent Development for Deskless Frontline Workers

In preparation for an upcoming benchmarking lab, the ATD Forum recently hosted a virtual discussion with thought leader JD Dillon on Untapped Potential: Rethinking L&D for the Deskless Frontline Worker. His message was clear. Frontline workers are among the most important and most underserved employees today. These are the people who keep the world running: cashiers, manufacturing employees, healthcare workers, restaurant staff, construction crews, and countless others. They represent 80 percent of the global workforce, yet they are often left behind when it comes to training, enablement, and support for career advancement.

Why Frontline Work Is Different

JD shared a personal story about his early experience as a movie theater employee who was promoted to supervisor. When he transferred to a new location, his potential was overlooked. Despite demonstrating capability, he was not recognized for it until he put on his old supervisor uniform and began acting in the role. Within two weeks, he was officially scheduled as a supervisor again. This story illustrated a larger truth. Frontline employees often have untapped potential that goes unnoticed because managers fail to see beyond job titles and/or immediate tasks.

The reality of frontline work is different from office work. It is highly structured with scheduled shifts managed to the minute. It is directed with limited autonomy. It is mobile, rarely desk-based, and often technology-constrained. It varies in terms of worker backgrounds and motivations. It is also limited, bound by compliance, safety, and high-risk environments. These conditions create unique challenges that L&D cannot solve with a one-size-fits-all corporate playbook.

Barriers to Frontline Enablement

During this session, JD highlighted the obstacles organizations face when trying to enable frontline workers. These include a lack of time for learning, a lack of digital infrastructure, union complexities, regulatory constraints, limited reinforcement, and a lack of manager buy-in. Many organizations simply try to repurpose corporate solutions for the frontline, but as JD noted, frontline enablement must be different.

As I listened, I was reminded of how often well-intentioned initiatives fail because they do not account for the day-to-day realities of workers. Training cannot succeed if employees do not have time, access, or relevance. The work environment itself must be considered. JD shared a story of a food processing facility with a large turnover for new employees. As they faced the situation, it was clear that the new employees were not prepared for the environmental conditions. With this in mind, they created a more realistic onboarding situation that reduced turnover by preparing workers for the loud, messy, and fast-paced environment, rather than simply rushing them through online training. It was not just about skills but about understanding and creating awareness for the actual experience.

Building the Frontline Enablement Playbook

JD previewed the upcoming Frontline Enablement Playbook, which he is writing with the input of 50 global contributors. The playbook includes six parts: meeting the frontline worker, architecting an enablement ecosystem, supporting managers, helping workers succeed on every shift, fostering future opportunity, and evolving enablement strategy.

In his session, JD focused on five design principles: define the persona, clarify needs, design for moments, empower managers, and emphasize connection.

• Define the persona. Truly understand the structured, directed, mobile, varied, and limited nature of frontline work.

• Clarify needs. Frontline workers measure a great shift by whether they complete their tasks, help customers, make good money, meet team goals, and have fun. Their hierarchy of needs includes livelihood, stability, community, and culture.

• Design for moments. Go beyond onboarding and compliance to identify moments that matter, such as updates, problem-solving, coaching, reinforcement, and resilience.

• Empower managers. Frontline managers are the most important people in the organization, yet most are accidental leaders with little training or support. To enable them, clarify expectations, make information accessible, foster peer networks, reduce burdens, and provide nudges based on data.

• Emphasize connection. Shift the focus from content to community. People stay in an organization not only because of pay, but also because of trust in their manager and the relationships they have with their team.

Reflections for L&D Leaders

In our rush to meet specific training needs, how often do we underestimate the complexity of frontline enablement? How cognizant am I of the specifics of context, constraints, and culture? The reminder to design for moments resonates deeply with me. It is not about just asking frontline workers to carve out extra time for training but about embedding support in the flow of their work.

JD’s focus on managers is critical. A single manager’s approach can determine whether learning efforts succeed or fail. If managers are overwhelmed, unsupported, untrained, or disconnected from L&D, then even the best-designed programs will struggle. Investing in managers’ enablement is one of the highest-leverage actions we can take.

Finally, JD’s emphasis on connection is a powerful challenge. In a world where technology dominates so much of learning, it is tempting to double down on digital solutions. Yet for the frontline, relationships matter more than platforms. People stay when they feel seen, supported, and part of a community.

Moving Forward

JD closed with a practical example of onboarding that prioritizes people and connection. On day one, employees meet their team and manager before tackling compliance. Training is paced, reinforced on shifts, and supported through coaching. This approach recognizes that onboarding is not just about getting through content but about building confidence and belonging.

A big takeaway from this session is that frontline enablement is not an adaptation of corporate L&D. It is its own discipline. If we want to unlock the potential of most of the global workforce, we must design with a deep understanding of context and align the training with their reality. Additionally, we need to build ecosystems that prioritize managers, moments, and connections with their team and community.

For more insights on frontline workers, check out the ATD Research report: Frontline Employees: Addressing Training Needs for Critical Workers.