35th Annual Conference
March 27-29, 2023
Day 2
Session Code: TT-6
When: March 28, 2023
Level: Introductory
Track: Critical Employment Practices
Presenter: Sara Wasserteil, Cara Collective
For many frontline workers, the idea of upward mobility is a pipedream. Consider how common it is to hear the term “dead-end job” or stories of people being excluded from advancement opportunities because they are “not the right fit.” When companies do not invest in their frontline workers — or fail to communicate advancement opportunities effectively — employees and their families are left out of economic stability and mobility.
This issue disproportionally impacts people of color and negatively impacts employers who cannot tap into their immense talent and potential.
This summer, McKinsey, Walmart, and workforce agency Cara Collective launched a first-of-its-kind national study to understand frontline workers’ perspectives on opportunities, enablers, and impediments to upward mobility. This talk will reveal the results of this study and provide tactical recommendations on how companies can shift how they create access to economic mobility from the lens of frontline workers themselves.
Learning Outcomes:
• Examine how frontline workers define upward mobility and their needs • Understand how companies today provide pathways to upward mobility for their frontline workers, based on frontline worker insights
• Develop more effective ways to support the advancement of frontline workers at your company
