--- title: Three effective ways to empower your front line description: There’s no question that highly empowered, motivated and engaged team members have better customer interactions and work more efficiently than disengaged employees. image: https://blog.crewapp.com/hubfs/daniel-norris-319531-unsplash.jpg --- [![Crew Logo](https://blog.crewapp.com/hubfs/Marketing/Logos/logo_crew_red.svg "Crew Logo")](https://www.crewapp.com/) - [Features](https://www.crewapp.com/features) - [Help](https://help.crewapp.com/) - [Signup or Login](https://crewapp.com/app) - [Crew App](https://crewapp.com/app) - [Command Center](https://crewapp.com/enterprise/commandcenter/) [Request Demo](https://squareup.com/us/en/staff/team-communication/contact) ##### [Team Communication](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/team-communication) [Keep employees connected and engaged](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/team-communication) ##### [Labor Optimization](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/labor-optimization) [Give employees instant access to schedules and open shifts](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/labor-optimization) ##### [Culture & Recognition](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/culture-recognition) [Inspire great work by highlighting outstanding performance](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/culture-recognition) ##### [Knowledge Management](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/knowledge-management) [Ensure your team is aligned and informed](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/knowledge-management) ##### [Administration & Analytics](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/command-center) [Manage your workforce and gain immediate insight](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/command-center) ##### [Compliance Suite](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/compliance) [Protect your people and your organization](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/compliance) ##### [Integrations](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/integrations) [Integrate with critical operations and reporting tools](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/integrations) ##### [Employee Management](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/employee-management) [Manage your workforce at scale with an end-to-end employee toolset](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/employee-management) [![logo_crew_red](https://blog.crewapp.com/hubfs/Marketing/Logos/logo_crew_red.svg "logo_crew_red")](https://blog.crewapp.com/) - [Features](https://www.crewapp.com/features) - [Help](https://help.crewapp.com/) - [Signup or Login](https://crewapp.com/app) - [Crew App](https://crewapp.com/app) - [Command Center](https://crewapp.com/enterprise/commandcenter/) ##### [Team Communication](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/team-communication) [Keep employees connected and engaged](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/team-communication) ##### [Labor Optimization](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/labor-optimization) [Give employees instant access to schedules and open shifts](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/labor-optimization) ##### [Culture & Recognition](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/culture-recognition) [Inspire great work by highlighting outstanding performance](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/culture-recognition) ##### [Field Execution](https://www.crewapp.com/features/field-execution) [Guarantee flawless frontline execution](https://www.crewapp.com/features/field-execution) ##### [Knowledge Management](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/knowledge-management) [Ensure your team is aligned and informed](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/knowledge-management) ##### [Administration & Analytics](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/command-center) [Manage your workforce and gain immediate insight](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/command-center) ##### [Compliance Suite](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/compliance) [Protect your people and your organization](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/compliance) ##### [Integrations](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/integrations) [Integrate with critical operations and reporting tools](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/integrations) ##### [Services](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/services) [A team of experts dedicated to your success](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/services) ##### [Employee Management](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/employee-management) [Manage your workforce at scale with an end-to-end employee toolset](https://www.crewapp.com/enterprise/employee-management) Search **Menu** - [Features](https://www.crewapp.com/features) - [Help](https://help.crewapp.com/) - [Signup or Login](https://crewapp.com/app) - [Crew App](https://crewapp.com/app) - [Command Center](https://crewapp.com/enterprise/commandcenter/) [The Crew Blog](https://blog.crewapp.com/) # Three effective ways to empower your front line by [Nicky Budd-Thanos](https://blog.crewapp.com/author/nicky-budd-thanos), on May 14, 2019 Frontline employees act as spokespeople for your company and ambassadors of your brand - they can make or break your customers’ experience. There’s no question that highly empowered, motivated and engaged team members have better customer interactions and work more efficiently than disengaged employees. Gallup found that engaged employees are [17% more productive](https://www.gallup.com/workplace/238085/state-american-workplace-report-2017.aspx), yet 77% of U.S. workers report that they do not feel engaged at their jobs today. As Crew customer, [Primary Aim](https://www.home.crewapp.com/primary-aim-wendys), put it: ![](https://blog.crewapp.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Rich%20Text%20Pasting/unknown-1593455098632.webp?width=600&name=unknown-1593455098632.webp) How can you empower your teams so they stay motivated and engaged? According to findings from the IBM Smarter Workforce Institute, [significantly higher levels of discretionary effort were directly linked to employees reporting a positive employee experience](https://resources.globoforce.com/papers/the-employee-experience-index). At Crew, we get to see the creative approaches that thousands of managers use to connect with their teams. In fact, in a recent customer survey, 73% of respondents said that Crew helps to increase employee motivation. Here are three best practices that actually work to get your team engaged and motivated: **1. Share customer feedback data with your team** Most service businesses are constantly doing customer surveys, tracking reviews and monitoring ‘voice of the customer’ data. Several quick-service restaurants customers of ours use Crew to then send that aggregated survey data to employees. This is as easy as snapping a photo of the data you want to share, [@mentioning](https://blog.crewapp.com/help/index.php/article/all-about-mentions/) any team members who contributed to that customer’s experience and sending it out as a message or announcement to the appropriate group. What’s great about this is that by highlighting positive reviews (and maybe areas for improvement from time-to-time), you’ll motivate your front line to reach - and exceed - their customer service goals. It’s always a good idea to communicate exactly what’s working well so the whole team is encouraged to repeat and replicate that behavior. **2. Reward employees with recognition** A Psychometrics study asked employees what their leaders could do to improve engagement, and [58% of respondents replied “give more recognition"](https://resources.globoforce.com/globoforce-blog/25-great-statistics-on-employee-recognition). We recently talked with a [Domino’s franchise in Texas that’s using Crew to do just that](https://www.home.crewapp.com/austex-dominos). Each time a pizza delivery earns positive customer feedback, the customer care manager awards a [Gold Star](https://crewapp.com/home/crew-tips-how-to-shine-a-light-on-your-top-performers/) to the team member who made the pizza and to the person who delivered it. ![5a14e0_f29b8aead5954661abc8de80d4108f4f_mv2](https://blog.crewapp.com/hs-fs/hubfs/5a14e0_f29b8aead5954661abc8de80d4108f4f_mv2.gif?width=301&name=5a14e0_f29b8aead5954661abc8de80d4108f4f_mv2.gif) Example of how to give out a Gold Star with a description Frontline staff accumulate these tokens of recognition, and at the end of each month, the owners give an Amazon gift card to employees with the most [Gold Stars](https://www.home.crewapp.com/post/crew-tips-how-do-i-use-gold-stars-on-crew).This is an excellent way for any business to recognize outstanding employees who go above and beyond in customer service. By using tangible rewards, you’re showing your team that you not only notice but truly value their contributions, and as a result, they’ll be more likely to go out of their way to solve complicated customer problems and make customers happy. **3. Promote direct and open communication across stores** Once you get going with these first two strategies, you'll notice that what this is really about is fostering a culture of transparent communication across your teams and stores. Simply by seeing the customer service feedback and employee rewards for certain high-performing stores, your other teams will take notice and be motivated to drive similar success. For instance, a Wendy's franchisee HR Director implemented Crew and with the increased communication, [saw a more motivated front line and an 8x increase in attach sales](https://www.home.crewapp.com/primary-aim-wendys). You could also share a video or tips from top stores about how they achieved their results. This both celebrates entire teams for positive improvements, and at the same time empowers other store managers to push for better business outcomes. Mark Sulzle, an [Area Coach with Pizza Hut franchisee Staab Management](https://www.home.crewapp.com/staab-management-pizza-hut), has his team regularly share labor stats to not only keep all locations on the same page, but to also [drive them to perform at and above the goals that are being set](https://www.home.crewapp.com/post/pizza-hut-shares-5-ways-to-build-and-cultivate-a-goals-oriented-team). ![](https://blog.crewapp.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Rich%20Text%20Pasting/unknown-1593454538028.webp?width=426&name=unknown-1593454538028.webp) When a team or an individual employee knows they are valued, they’re more likely to deliver increased value for your business in return. What’s most important is to make sure you notice when employees are going the extra mile and [empower all of your frontline staff](https://crewapp.com/c/resources/8-ways-empower-frontline-staff-improve-customer-satisfaction/) to do the same. As a result, you’ll increase employee productivity and customer satisfaction will soar. What are your best tips for empowering your team? Let us know on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/crew_app)! Photo by [Daniel Norris](https://unsplash.com/photos/cNSoS3nvcnU?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/search/photos/baristas?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) Topics:[Best Practices](https://blog.crewapp.com/topic/best-practices)[Employee Recognition](https://blog.crewapp.com/topic/employee-recognition)[Employee Engagement](https://blog.crewapp.com/topic/employee-engagement) ## Comments ### The Crew Blog Best practices and guidance to help you build happier, more productive, and better informed frontline teams. - [Recent](https://blog.crewapp.com/three-ways-empower-front-line#recent) - [Topics](https://blog.crewapp.com/three-ways-empower-front-line#topics) - [Archive](https://blog.crewapp.com/three-ways-empower-front-line#archive) - [Best Practices (33)](https://blog.crewapp.com/tag/best-practices) - [COVID-19 (20)](https://blog.crewapp.com/tag/covid-19) - [Crew Stories (4)](https://blog.crewapp.com/tag/crew-stories) - [Crew Tips (31)](https://blog.crewapp.com/tag/crew-tips) - [CrewU (2)](https://blog.crewapp.com/tag/crewu) - [Crisis Comms (7)](https://blog.crewapp.com/tag/crisis-comms) - [Employee Engagement (61)](https://blog.crewapp.com/tag/employee-engagement) - [Employee Recognition (13)](https://blog.crewapp.com/tag/employee-recognition) - [Internal Communications (57)](https://blog.crewapp.com/tag/internal-communications) - [Mastering Crew Enterprise (2)](https://blog.crewapp.com/tag/mastering-crew-enterprise) - [Product Update (11)](https://blog.crewapp.com/tag/product-update) - [Scheduling (15)](https://blog.crewapp.com/tag/scheduling) More... - [April 2019 (11)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2019/04) - [May 2019 (9)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2019/05) - [June 2019 (9)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2019/06) - [June 2020 (9)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2020/06) - [October 2019 (8)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2019/10) - [July 2019 (7)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2019/07) - [March 2020 (7)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2020/03) - [May 2020 (7)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2020/05) - [July 2020 (7)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2020/07) - [April 2020 (5)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2020/04) - [January 2019 (4)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2019/01) - [August 2019 (4)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2019/08) - [February 2020 (4)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2020/02) - [May 2018 (3)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2018/05) - [June 2018 (3)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2018/06) - [December 2018 (3)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2018/12) - [September 2019 (3)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2019/09) - [November 2019 (3)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2019/11) - [January 2020 (3)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2020/01) - [July 2018 (2)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2018/07) - [November 2018 (2)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2018/11) - [February 2019 (2)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2019/02) - [August 2020 (2)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2020/08) - [May 2017 (1)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2017/05) - [September 2018 (1)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2018/09) - [October 2018 (1)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2018/10) - [March 2019 (1)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2019/03) - [December 2019 (1)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2019/12) - [July 2021 (1)](https://blog.crewapp.com/archive/2021/07) More... ### Subscribe to Updates ## More stories from Crew Customers ![client-footer-TacoBell-450x600-2](https://blog.crewapp.com/hubfs/client-footer-TacoBell-450x600-2.jpg) ##### Taco Bell keeps 140,000+ frontline employees connected ###### [READ MORE](https://www.crewapp.com/customers/taco-bell) ![client-footer-ALG-450x600-2](https://blog.crewapp.com/hubfs/client-footer-ALG-450x600-2.jpg) ##### 80% lower turnover at Affinity Living Group ###### [READ MORE](https://www.crewapp.com/customers/alg-senior) ![client-footer-Harps-450x600](https://blog.crewapp.com/hubfs/client-footer-Harps-450x600.jpg) ##### Harps Foods deepens engagement with 5,000+ team members ###### [READ MORE](https://www.crewapp.com/customers/harps) [Get started](https://squareup.com/us/en/staff/team-communication/contact) ### Request a Demo ## Get a free, personalized demo No ads. 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