Employees of Color Have the Worst Experience in Frontline Jobs

Many people join the workforce through frontline jobs. According to StatistaOpens a new window , there were 31.67 million frontline workers in the U.S. in 2020. Many times, however, the frontline becomes the beginning and the end for many workers. According to McKinsey’s research, this is particularly true for people of color, who experience several challenges in moving up the corporate ladder.

McKinsey recently conducted a study to learn about the experiences frontline employees of color have, the pathways they have, and the skills they require to progress in their careers. The study also offers steps organizations can take to enhance job quality and support these workers to advance in their careers.

The following are a few insights from the study.

See more: 3 Levers to Focus On To Build a DEI Program That Actually Works

Frontline Workers of Color Have the Worst Experience

According to the study, frontline workers earning an average of $33,000 per annum face the greatest hardships when there are economic disruptions. Further, people of color, who make up most of the frontline workers, feel these difficulties more than their White counterparts. More employees of color are also in roles that have poor job quality (no healthcare benefits, for example).

The study found that frontline workers have the worst experience. Hourly workers are almost 20% less likely than regular workers to believe diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies are effective. Moreover, 45% of hourly workers did not believe their organizations encouraged taking benefit of the available work-life policies without impacting their career progression or employment. These factors significantly affected their job experiences and views about their organizations.

Frontline Employees of Color Don’t Feel Included

The study found that hourly workers of color had the lowest feelings of inclusion in an office environment among all the workers. Further, the differences in inclusion emerged as they went up the career ladder. While most groups felt connected at higher levels, Black employees experienced lower inclusion at most levels. This creates a no-win situation for these employees as they climb up the ladder.

U.S. employee inclusion by race and role

Source: McKinsey Inclusion Assessment SurveyOpens a new window

Frontline Hourly Employees Perceive Lack of Fairness Regarding Promotions

The study found that frontline hourly workers were more likely than salaried employees to feel their companies were inconsistent regarding promoting employees based on performance and merit. Just 39% of hourly workers believed their organization took an objective and empirical view of performance and promotion. The study also found that frontline workers of color desire to grow professionally but cannot access opportunities as much as their White colleagues.

Employees of Color Remain Stagnant Due To Lower Levels of Sponsorship

The study found that many frontline employees of color have at least one mentor. While this is in line with White workers, the relationships are not translating into sponsorships. Latino and Black employees reported the lowest levels of sponsorship.Â

Mentorship and sponsorship of frontline employees by race

Source: McKinsey Inclusion Assessment SurveyOpens a new window

This seems to impact their career advancement directly. The study found that workers were 5x likelier to get promoted if they had at least four sponsors.Â

The State of Different Workers of Color â€” A Deeper View

The study further found that Black workers have the highest enterprise trust deficit of all employees, affecting almost every facet of their frontline experience. The trust deficit also manifests itself in several ways. For example, these employees are less likely to feel encouraged, supported, and treated equally by their colleagues. Many of these employees also don’t have valuable direction or support on development opportunities and career paths.

When it comes to workers of Asian origin, they are more poised for career progression due to higher levels of education, according to McKinsey. They also reported higher inclusion levels than other workers of color. Despite such advantages, they face similar issues as other employees of color. For example, they earn lesser than their White colleagues and lack a sponsor. They also feel very high levels of burnout. Moreover, they experienced a decline in representation by career level. Organizations planning to create effective programs should go beneath the top-line classifications and understand the problems of different groups and subgroups of Asians.

Latino workers, too, face several challenges. They have the second lowest pay, they are the largest migrant workers in the U.S., and they have the lowest educational levels compared to other frontline workers of color. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they neither felt included nor supported at work. They also reported not having support for well-being and the second-lowest sponsorship level. Despite these issues, they also seemed to achieve more promotions than other employees of color. They also reported more inclusiveness at par with their White peers as they got promoted.

Creating Pathways for Career Advancement

The study determined that organizations can move frontline employees to roles having stable incomes and enhanced career opportunities. McKinsey conducted another studyOpens a new window last year. It grouped the career journey into five job categories: Origin occupations, Mid-wage Origin roles, Roles in Historical Adjacencies, Gateway occupations, and Target occupations. Further, 77 gateway occupations would be effective at unlocking career progressions into target occupations. These roles could help employees develop new skills or enhance existing skills acquired through work experience.

From the Origin roles, it can be seen that unequal access to jobs that provide a path to better-paying jobs exists. Origin roles where employees of color are overrepresented have different pathways for better-paying roles, but employees of color are not promoted to these jobs. The existence of different pathways should create optimism. But employees of color also face biases that limit their growth opportunities.

See more: Driving Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Through Data

Creating a Roadmap for Change

Frontline employees want to advance in their careers and find fulfilling roles. Businesses have the potential to develop their frontline, which can benefit both workers and the organization. That said, organizations should provide better support to their frontline employees to advance in their careers. This will require reassessing their traditional approach to these employees and addressing a few myths:

Myth 1: Frontline workers can easily climb up the corporate ladder

Reality: Over 70% of frontline employees want to get promoted, but only 4% make it to corporate. And this is not due to a lack of interest. Companies must focus on increasing the percentage. In this wake, they can formalize career advancement paths, overhaul the talent management system w.r.t the frontline, and establish a talent market program.

Myth 2: Frontline employees do not qualify for corporate roles

Reality: 70% of job progressions to Gateways depend on transferable skills, which can be learned through experience. Hence, companies can emphasize experience and create transparency around the required skills and opportunities. They can define the skills needed for career advancement, focus on experience than credentials, identify Gateway jobs, and remove barriers to career progression.

Myth 3: High turnover rates are the norm in the frontline

Reality: People want to stay with companies that care for them. Organizations can improve the work environment to make the employee experience positive.

Conclusion

For the millions of employees of color, frontline jobs can be much more than just a livelihood. Organizations that invest in these people can make these roles a starting point for a fruitful career with exciting opportunities across industries. But much work remains to be done in this regard, and it is high time companies provide better opportunities and support for the frontline workers of color that have been traditionally overlooked.

What steps have you taken to support the career progression of employees of color in frontline jobs? Let us know on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window .