The Training Gap: Why Frontline Workers Are Quitting and How to Fix It 

Thirty percent of your employees may feel disconnected from their organization’s training programs. 

Recently, Wisetail partnered with Talker Research to survey 1,000 workers in the retail, food service, fitness and hospitality industries.  

The poll found that people overwhelmingly want to stay with their company — 70% of workers said they would stay if offered a permanent role.  

However, they need to be given the right training, resources and opportunities to feel competent, and confident, in their role. Three in four workers said they struggle to keep up with job information, and 83% feel overwhelmed by the amount of information provided. 

Three in ten frontline workers are either unsure or positive their company is not able to provide up-to-date, consistent resources for training. This causes work-related stress, and for over half of frontline workers, mistakes on the job are more likely.  

On top of that, three in four struggle to stay updated on what information is needed for their job; and when they can stay up to date, the amount of information provided makes 83% of workers feel overwhelmed. One in five frontline workers have considered quitting their job due to information overload.  

“It’s very easy to get overwhelmed by information, and that can absolutely lead to making mistakes,” said Ali Knapp, President at Wisetail. “As some of these respondents said it, it’s important to not rush into it and to take time to learn about their role and really lean into the resources your company provides.” 

The good news: the majority of workers believe proper information and resources can make all the difference.  

This is where the importance of the human component come in. People connect to people - that's who they turn to with questions or issues.  

About 72% of those surveyed said their coworkers were the most helpful resource they had. It's important to make sure your people have the right information and are competent, and when those who can help are unavailable, employees need to feel confident to find the information themselves. 

Eighty-three percent said it’s easy for them to learn skills for their role thanks to company-provided training – in most formats. In-person training is the most-preferred method at 78%, with online at 62% and 50% for paper resources. 

On average, it took about nine months for frontline workers to onboard and understand the daily expectations of their roles. Five months were spent learning everything about the role, and another four months were spent getting familiar with the ins and outs. That can be a daunting amount of time, but the results show overall happier and more engaged employees. 

When considering the longevity of learned skills, 69% of workers believe their current role has given them skills they can use long-term. Just as many consider their jobs a long-term career, and seventy percent would continue working with their current organization if they were offered a long-term position – showing that training and retention are a match well-made. 

“It’s clear that people care about their jobs and want to keep working with their current companies. Employees can see that, without the strain of information overload, if their companies provide them with the right tools, resources, and learning opportunities, they would be set up for success.” 

Takeaways

1. Employees want to stay: Workers want to be loyal to their companies but need proper training, resources, and opportunities to do so.
2. Information overload is a real issue: Three in four workers struggle to keep up with job information, and 83% feel overwhelmed by the amount of information provided.
3. Hard-to-find resources lead to mistakes: The lack of consistent, up-to-date training leads to job mistakes and increased stress. 
4. Connection & confidence matter: Employees rely on knowledgeable colleagues for support, but when they’re unavailable, workers need the confidence to find information on their own. 
5. Training and retention go hand-in-hand: Proper training and resources result in long-term career satisfaction, with 70% of workers willing to stay if offered a permanent role.