Stop Failing Your Frontline Workers

The Differences Between Managing Hourly Employees vs Those on Salary

“So what’s the most stressful part of your job?”

I posed the question to a table full of retail managers attending a conference in Memphis I was about to keynote. It was breakfast, so I thought it’d be a good opportunity to connect with a few audience members and ask about their pain points. They responded in unison, like a Greek chorus: “Employees.”

I’d anticipated this answer because that’s what I always get, but I asked them to expound.

“We just can’t find enough people.”
“They flake on interviews.”
“They’re constantly calling out.”
“They’re so unmotivated.”
“They never last.”
“They’re so thin-skinned.”

I hear these comments from my clients in retail, restaurants, hospitality, franchises, manufacturing, and other sectors that rely on hourly help. In every industry, including ones that invest heavily in corporate culture, when it comes to managing frontline employees, they struggle.

I myself struggled with frontline employees during the first couple of years of running my Edible Arrangements enterprise. I thought my years of being a motivational speaker would enable me to easily inspire and elevate my team. I’d read countless books on leadership and regurgitated their theories on stage. 

The problem was that my employees hadn’t read those books. They didn’t know how they were supposed to respond to my brilliant Jedi-leadership tactics, and motivational clichés didn’t land as I’d expected. There’s no “I” in team? To them, that was just a statement about spelling. I tried to review company values with them. “Are these the rules?” one asked. I explained our opportunity to do something meaningful, to be part of something great. Another hand went up. “Do we have to punch out when we take breaks?” 

My intention to be the kind of boss I wanted when I was an hourly worker didn’t translate to better performance. That not only frustrated me as an employer, but also as someone who makes a living giving presentations about leadership. Was I a hack?

With both my retail organization and my speaking business on the line, I set out to crack the code on managing frontline employees. That meant putting my assumptions and judgements aside and looking at them with more curiosity. It meant asking deeper questions. It was a lot of trial and error. I also identified and studied other organizations that enjoyed higher retention and better performance with hourly teams, looking for common practices. 

Over time, we figured it out. It showed in our retention, employee satisfaction, customer service reviews, and sales. We won awards within our franchise system for both management and service. Profits increased. Most importantly, our stores became more fun, and less stressful. 

The tactics we learned can be applied to any hourly work environment and can quickly change the game for those wanting more from their frontline teams. It starts with understanding what makes them different.

Hourly Workers vs Salary Workers

The differences between these two categories of employees are huge. Understanding the distinction is crucial for better managing your hourly workforce. 

Both groups share universal needs like fair compensation and respect. But salaried employees earn more compensation and more respect. There’s status with not having to punch in. Salaried employees are more likely to work full time, receive benefits, and earn a reliable income, making it easier to plan a life and access credit. They enjoy stability.

Hourly workers are more likely to be juggling multiple jobs. They may be going to school, playing sports, or revolving around other family members’ schedules. During slow times, they may have their hours reduced. But even in times of prosperity, they may still have their hours changed. This uncertainty in both income and schedule necessitates frequent adjustments in their daily lives. 

In most situations hourly workers have fewer opportunities for growth within their companies compared to their higher-skilled, salaried counterparts. They are conscious of the possibility that their employers might not be as invested in them, making their connection to the company seem more transactional than relational. If they feel less loyalty from the organization, they’ll feel less loyal to the organization. This lack of deep connection, coupled with the absence of benefits like healthcare, makes it more feasible for them to transition to new job opportunities.

And that’s all before we get into their demographics, education, and job experience.

With so many differences in their circumstances and experience of work, hourly employees require a bit more understanding and empathy. They can’t be expected to respond to the same tactics organizations rely on to build white collar corporate culture. You need to make adjustments. Here are three proven steps to get started:

Get your values off the poster and onto the floor. Mission and value statements are often way too abstract to be meaningful to hourly workers. Are you sure your frontline employees know what “Integrity” actually means? Do they know what it looks like when demonstrated? I encourage my clients to make their values more tangible for frontline workers. For each value, I  instruct them to come up with a list of behaviors — essentially do’s and don’ts – that reflect that value. For “Integrity” they might say:

• We always tell the truth.
• We follow through on our commitments. 
• We admit our mistakes.
• We treat each other fairly.
• We comply with all laws and company policies.
• We respect confidentiality.  

These specific agreements reflect the value but are easier to understand. It also makes it easier to hold them accountable. Have your managers discuss these behaviors and reward those who consistently demonstrate them. Reprimands should also reference these behaviors as a breaking of the values agreement.

Identify and meet their “soft needs.” Most organizations focus on hard needs – the tangible things people want from a job. Primarily this is money, but it may include other benefits. It’s what employees get in exchange for their work. “Soft needs” refer to their emotional desires. These include things like respect, praise, personal growth, safety (including emotional safety) and a sense of belonging. They’re not making the kind of money their salaried colleagues are. But they can still be given a better work experience. Their soft needs may be different than yours and from each other’s. While one person may appreciate schedule flexibility, another may be desperate for a pat on the back. Some may just want to be someplace less toxic than home. 

The more management can determine what drives individuals, the easier it’ll be for them to motivate their teams and win more loyalty. Money alone (which may be less available for hourly employees anyway) won’t do the trick. Employees should be paid fairly, but those workplaces who also strive to elevate the emotional experience of the workplace (just as you strive to elevate the emotional experience of customers) will become employers of choice. 

Give Employees Measurable Work Objectives. Their work may be more physical or repetitive and less intellectual or creative than those on salary. Keep them motivated by giving them clear performance metrics. There’s intrinsic satisfaction in knowing you’ve met or surpassed a benchmark. Employees like being able to keep score. That could mean units manufactured, processed, or sold. Or maybe it’s earning online reviews or a higher Net Promoter Score. I was always surprised that after a long, stressful Valentines’ Day making fruit baskets, my employees always asked how many they sold or created. They were more invested in their work knowing it could be quantified – and that was before even offering them incentives to hit specific benchmarks. They just wanted the emotional payoff of hitting their numbers. 

Clarify what’s expected and what success looks like. Then appeal to their natural human desire to beat their own score, what I call “self-competition.” The alternative is to just keep them busy. That’s a quick way to lose people who hunger for improvement and intellectual stimulation. Workers, regardless of their pay structure, have an innate desire for growth, challenge, and recognition. Managers need to tap into these desires effectively. Then, continuously coach them to improve.

I know how difficult managing hourly workers can be. Your managers may not believe it’s possible to build a strong, reliable team of frontline employees. I sympathize, but I can’t ignore the results I’ve gotten, or the well-documented results enjoyed by Chick-fil-A, The Ritz-Carlton, In-N-Out Burger, Trader Joe’s, Costco, the Apple Store, and others whose reputations and cultures have been well-documented. And I can’t deny the success of the many diverse employers I’ve personally worked with and interviewed that are also thriving with the help of an outstanding hourly workforce. They’ve proven it’s possible. You can transform your frontline employees from your biggest challenges into your greatest asset. But only if you’re willing to provide them with the greatest management.

Written by Scott Greenberg.

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