The smartest move you can make? Give your frontline real access

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• The Frontline Access Gap
• Why Access Matters Now
• The Cost of Getting It Wrong
• What Real Frontline Access Looks Like
• How Diggspace Delivers Frontline Access
• Getting Started with Your Frontline Access Strategy
• Success Stories and Use Cases
• Conclusion

Introduction

Think about your frontline teams for a second. These are the people who greet customers, walk the floors, drive the vans, fix the equipment, and handle the work that keeps everything running. They’re your business in motion.

Now ask: do they have real access to the information, tools, and connections they need — right when they need them?

If your answer is “sometimes” or “not really,” you’ve just found one of your biggest hidden productivity gaps. Because when frontline workers don’t have access that works, the entire operation slows down. Frustration builds, and results suffer.

Giving your frontline real access isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s one of the smartest moves you can make. When you unlock access at that level, you unlock agility, engagement, better decisions — and stronger business performance.

The Frontline Access Gap

When people talk about “access” for frontline workers, they usually mean giving them an app or a login. But “real access” is much more than that:

• Access to the right information, not an overload of irrelevant data.
• Access at the right time, in the moment of need.
• Access through the right channel, whether that’s mobile, kiosk, or shared device.
• Access that’s personalised, adapting to role, location, and context.
• Access that’s frictionless, cutting out the noise and complexity.

The problem is most systems were built around desk-based roles. They assume a steady connection, long sessions, and plenty of time to navigate. Frontline work doesn’t work like that. It’s fast, physical, often mobile, and rarely predictable.

That’s where the gap forms — between how tools are designed and how work actually happens. And that gap is where productivity disappears. Workers start creating workarounds: WhatsApp groups, post-it notes, calls to supervisors. That’s the sign of an access model that’s failing.

Why Access Matters Now

Several trends have made this challenge urgent.

Hybrid and Mobile Work

Even jobs that once seemed entirely site-based now involve remote, mobile, or mixed-location work. The old “intranet” approach doesn’t fit. People need to stay connected wherever they are, whether on the factory floor or visiting clients.

Speed and Agility

Markets move faster than ever. If your frontline can’t respond quickly — because they’re waiting for approval, missing context, or can’t log in — your business loses time and opportunity.

Engagement and Retention

Frontline employees are often the least connected to corporate systems, which can make them feel the least valued. Modern, easy-to-use access sends a clear signal: *you matter, and you’re part of this organisation*.

Digital Workplace Expectations

Everyone knows what a good digital experience feels like. If your frontline tools feel like they’re stuck in 2008, adoption will fail. People expect the same smooth experience they get on their personal apps — and they should.

The takeaway: frontline access isn’t about technology. It’s about equity, performance, and connection.

The Cost of Getting It Wrong

When access fails, the costs pile up quietly but relentlessly.

🔹Lost productivity: Workers spend precious minutes searching for files, logging into multiple systems, or waiting on responses. Multiply that by hundreds of people, and you’re looking at hours of lost time every day.

🔹Errors and rework: Without real-time access to correct data, mistakes happen. In sectors like manufacturing, logistics, or healthcare, those mistakes can have serious consequences.

🔹Disengagement and turnover: People who feel left out of the company’s digital world are more likely to leave. Every replacement costs time and money.

🔹Siloed data and decisions: When systems don’t talk to each other, information gets trapped. Management loses visibility into what’s actually happening on the ground.

🔹Customer impact: The frontline is the brand. If those employees can’t act quickly or confidently, customer experience takes the hit..

What Real Frontline Access Looks Like

So what does “real access” actually mean in practice? Here’s a simple checklist.

• Mobile-first and field-ready: designed for small screens, quick interactions, and sometimes no Wi-Fi.
• Role-aware: the platform adapts to what each worker needs — not a one-size-fits-all dump of information.
• Integrated systems: access to everything from HR forms to service data in one place.
• Empowerment built-in: not just consuming information, but acting on it — submitting requests, sharing feedback, creating posts.
• Governance by design: secure, permission-based, compliant. Access without chaos.
• Measurable improvement: analytics that show what’s working, where friction remains, and how adoption grows.

This combination is what transforms an intranet into a true digital workplace.

How Diggspace Delivers Frontline Access

Diggspace was built around this exact challenge — giving every employee, especially the frontline, a unified, easy, and governed experience.

Unified Digital Workplace

Diggspace brings communication, collaboration, and processes together. News, documents, feedback, workflows — all accessible from one platform.

Mobile-First Experience

The interface is built for mobility. Whether on a phone, tablet, or shared device, workers can read updates, complete tasks, and communicate without friction.

Deep Microsoft 365 Integration

For organisations already using Microsoft 365, Diggspace fits naturally into the ecosystem. It integrates with Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive, giving employees a familiar environment with far fewer clicks.

Targeted Communication and Content

Frontline teams only see what’s relevant. Information can be filtered by role, department, or location, keeping focus where it matters.

Governance and Compliance

Diggspace gives administrators strong control — permissions, versioning, audit trails — while keeping the experience light for users.

Analytics and Insights

You can see engagement levels, content performance, and adoption metrics — a feedback loop for constant improvement.

Diggspace doesn’t just connect systems. It connects people to what they need, when they need it.

Getting Started with Your Frontline Access Strategy

Here’s a practical roadmap for improving frontline access:

1. Map your personas - understand your frontline’s reality: their devices, workflows, and barriers.
2. Define success metrics - what outcomes are you chasing: time saved, engagement, or fewer errors?
3. Audit your current tools - identify overlaps, outdated systems, and missing integrations.
4. Choose the right platform - look for mobile-first design, easy governance, and ecosystem compatibility.
5. Pilot before you scale - test with one team, gather feedback, iterate fast.
6. Roll out in waves - train champions, celebrate wins, measure impact.
7. Keep improving -  use analytics to evolve your access strategy over time.

Success Stories & Use Cases

Frontline access isn’t theory. It’s something organisations are already doing — and seeing real results from. Two examples from Diggspace’s customers show how transforming access can reshape day-to-day operations and culture.

ULS Coimbra: Frontline Access at Scale

ULS Coimbra — a major Portuguese healthcare network with 8 hospitals and 26 local health centres — employs more than 10,000 professionals, from administrative staff to nurses and technicians. Before Diggspace, their digital workspace was fragmented and difficult to manage. Frontline professionals couldn’t easily find information, share updates, or access training materials when they needed them.

With Diggspace, ULS Coimbra rebuilt its digital workplace around accessibility and context. The new platform introduced:

• Personalised dashboards per role and department.
• A notification centre to simplify communication.
• A learning and ideation hub that encouraged participation and improvement.
• Integrated search and analytics, making content easy to find.

The impact: more than 7,000 documents, 2,000 articles, 270 communication channels, and 50 apps unified in one place. Over 4,700 active users generate around 150,000 monthly page views.

For a healthcare organisation of this size, those numbers mean more than engagement — they represent empowerment. When access works, professionals focus less on systems and more on patients. That’s frontline access done right.

View the full case-study>

VICTORIA Seguros: Access for a Distributed Workforce

VICTORIA Seguros, a leading insurance company, faced a different challenge. With employees spread across locations, its legacy intranet limited communication and slowed collaboration.

Through Diggspace, the company launched a new Employee Portal with:

• Personalised homepages and departmental channels.
• Integrated email news for consistent communication.
• Smart search and content aggregation.
• E-learning and social features like tagging and commenting.
• Microsoft Teams integration, connecting daily workflows.

The outcome was clear: 100% employee access, faster communication, stronger engagement, and a more connected company culture.

Even in a non-industrial setting, the lesson stands: when everyone gets the same level of access, you level the playing field and multiply efficiency.

View the full case-study>

What These Stories Have in Common

Both organisations proved that access isn’t about technology alone — it’s about people. Diggspace provided access that was contextual, governed, and genuinely user-friendly.

Whether your teams work in hospitals, offices, or factories, the rule holds: give people clear, direct, and reliable access to what they need, and they’ll spend more time creating value — not chasing it.

Conclusion

Let’s circle back to the question in the title: The smartest move you can make? Give your frontline real access.

When you deliver access that actually works — mobile-first, integrated, contextual, and empowering — you remove the everyday friction that quietly drains performance.

It’s not about installing another tool. It’s about giving every worker, everywhere, the same chance to succeed.

So if you’re ready to make that move, start mapping your frontline reality. Define your goals, pick the right platform, and build access that lasts. Diggspace is ready to help you get there — inside your Microsoft 365 ecosystem and beyond.

When your frontline has real access, your whole organisation moves faster. And that’s not just smart — it’s transformational.