Meta

Design Goals

The design goals were ambitious yet clear: create a framework that could seamlessly span industries, locales, and languages. The designs needed to be lightweight, intuitive, and easy to use, prioritizing speed and simplicity for users across diverse environments. A critical focus was to address the pain points uncovered during research, leveraging Facebook’s unique strengths and capabilities—its “special sauce.” Additionally, the designs had to be adaptable for global audiences, including translations into Portuguese and Japanese, while building on existing Facebook assets and established design patterns.

The work sought to tackle several significant problems identified during research. One key challenge was the use of mobile devices on shop floors, which often created inefficiencies or barriers in workflow management. Another issue was accessing work content outside of regular working hours, which raised concerns about productivity and work-life balance. Furthermore, there were legal challenges associated with exceeding overtime limits, requiring thoughtful design solutions that respected labor laws while ensuring seamless user experiences. By addressing these critical areas, the design framework aimed to deliver a meaningful, user-centric solution tailored to the needs of modern workplaces.

Features

People Management

Effective people management is a critical component of managing frontline workers, as it heavily relies on the scheduling of shifts. Unfortunately, the tools currently used to handle this scheduling are often not fit for purpose, creating inefficiencies and frustrations for managers and workers alike. This inadequacy, coupled with the challenge of motivating a lackluster workforce, puts immense pressure on employees to be even more efficient, exacerbating workplace stress. Moreover, existing people management processes require significant involvement from HR, adding another layer of complexity to an already strained system.

The proposed solution aimed to address these challenges holistically. Key areas of focus included improving scheduling and shift management tools to make them more reliable and user-friendly. Additionally, features like clocking in and out were reimagined to streamline time tracking and reduce administrative overhead. The solution also emphasized enhancing training and onboarding processes, ensuring that new hires could quickly and effectively integrate into their roles, boosting both efficiency and morale across the workforce.

Tasks & Processes

Frontline workers are often expected to manage their daily ad-hoc activities independently, with minimal assistance or oversight. However, routine activities are not consistently posted in a visible or accessible manner, leaving workers to navigate their responsibilities without clear guidance. Tasks that deviate from the norm are typically communicated through informal channels such as messaging apps, team notebooks, or even post-it notes, creating inefficiencies and increasing the likelihood of miscommunication. At the same time, demanding leaders require high-level visibility into the tasks performed by frontline workers, adding further pressure to an already fragmented process.

The solution focused on streamlining and improving task management. A dedicated task creation and tracking tool was proposed to provide clarity and structure, ensuring all tasks—routine or otherwise—are easily accessible to frontline workers. This tool would help standardize processes and minimize reliance on informal communication methods. Additionally, KPI tracking was introduced to give leaders the visibility they need, allowing them to monitor performance metrics and ensure tasks are completed efficiently and effectively. By addressing these pain points, the solution aimed to create a more organized and transparent workflow for both workers and management.

Communication & Messaging

Communication among frontline workers is predominantly informal and face-to-face, taking place during working hours. To coordinate tasks and shifts, groups are often set up in messaging apps, enabling workers to communicate with one another. However, this approach heavily relies on the use of personal mobile phones for work-related communication, blurring the lines between personal and professional boundaries. Consequently, consumer apps are frequently used for both colleague interactions and task management, leading to inefficiencies and potential security risks.

The proposed solution sought to bridge these gaps by connecting the wider business and improving communication channels. One key initiative was reimagining the traditional noticeboard, transforming it into a centralized, digital platform where important updates, schedules, and task information could be easily shared and accessed. This would reduce reliance on personal devices and consumer apps, fostering a more professional and streamlined communication system. By addressing these challenges, the solution aimed to create a cohesive, secure, and efficient communication framework for frontline workers.

Knowledge Sharing & Learning

There is currently no formalized method for knowledge sharing among frontline colleagues, leaving new starters at a disadvantage. Training approaches vary widely depending on the industry, and evidence suggests that these methods are often flawed or inconsistent. As a result, frontline workers are left to seek support on their own, finding help wherever and whenever they can. Knowledge sharing, which could be a valuable resource for these workers, remains ad hoc and fragmented, taking forms such as informal discussions about processes, initiatives, or peer-to-peer support.

The proposed solution focused on creating structured and efficient systems for managing and sharing knowledge. One aspect involved streamlining ways to manage product and stock information, ensuring that critical resources were easily accessible and up-to-date. Additionally, a diverse search function was introduced to allow workers to quickly find the information and support they need, whether it pertains to processes, stock management, or peer insights. By formalizing knowledge-sharing methods, the solution aimed to empower frontline workers with the tools and resources necessary for success.