Zipline, the all-in-one store operations platform for retail brands, today announced its inclusion as a sample vendor in both the Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for Frontline Worker Technologies, 2022 and the Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for Digital Workplace Applications, 2022.

Gartner's Hype Cycles are a graphical depiction of a common pattern that arises with each new technology or other innovation. Each year, Gartner creates more than 90 Hype Cycles in various domains as a way for clients to track technology maturity and future potential.

According to Gartner, “frontline workers make up the biggest portion of the workforce, estimated at 2.8 billion workers on a global basis…Employee communications applications (ECAs) enable organizations to manage the planning, creation, audience personalization, delivery, and analysis of internal communications. These technologies also encourage feedback via polls, surveys, chat and comments. ECA solutions are part of an overall strategy to improve employee experience and workforce engagement, especially for frontline workers.”*

Zipline enables an entire fleet of locations, leaders, and teams to move as quickly and consistently as possible. As a result, customers such as Sephora, Rite Aid, and Allbirds, consistently outperform their peers with store execution rates greater than 90%.

Frontline Worker Hype Cycle Key Takeaways:
Given a transformational benefit rating by Gartner analysts, the reports state, “internal communications is a strategic way for organizations to affect employee experience and workforce engagement. ECA interest surged during the COVID-19 pandemic to assure frontline workers of their value and to keep remote staff informed… ECA tools provide communicators (those in formal roles and responsible for certain types of messaging) the means to plan, manage and analyze communication efforts.” Gartner estimates that there is only 5% - 20% market penetration for this type of solution today.

Digital Workplace Hype Cycle Key Takeaways:
The research report notes, ”because the digital workplace is responsible for most employee-facing technology (apps and devices) and services, it is in a prime position to improve organizational alignment, as well as personal and team dynamics… As in past Hype Cycles, tools and services for creating a culture of workforce digital dexterity pervade the Hype Cycle. Promoting workforce digital dexterity remains core to the digital workplace mission. This goal creates opportunities for partnerships with HR, learning and development, communications and operations to promote skills development.”

Drivers for both cycles include:

• ECA tools are deployed by organizations in response to employee experience and workforce engagement needs. They are part of a broader collection of employee-facing solutions (such as intranets and new work hubs) that help build connectedness and a sense of community.
  
• Over the last 12 months, many leadership teams have recognized the value of more effective technology and information sharing with frontline workers who have historically been technologically disadvantaged, thus pushing this innovation further toward the peak.
  
• While ECA tools are often used across the workforce, they can be implemented to focus on certain workforce segments. Objectives include better organizational alignment, life, role, or career stage information as well as ways to improve operational effectiveness — all of which align with digital workplace initiatives.
  
• Dissatisfaction with email and legacy intranets is encouraging the exploration of modern ECA tools designed for multichannel and multidevice experiences (including digital signage).
  
• Campaign-style features enable sequences of messages to be coordinated and delivered to employees. Campaigns create “communication journeys” to build employee understanding of what's being asked of them and why. Journeys factor in behavior change and employee sentiment related to organizational alignment goals.
  
• ECA solutions are primarily used for organizational communications. However, their use is slowly shifting to include operational communications with more emphasis on collaboration, tasks, and work management.
  
• ECA analytics creates workforce insights that appeal to secondary stakeholders, such as those involved in talent, voice of the employee, or operational improvements.
  

“We've witnessed firsthand the way rapid changes and shifting dynamics of the workforce are affecting industry verticals,” said Zipline CEO and Co-Founder Melissa Wong. “With effective internal communications, solutions like Zipline are there to serve a vital role as an engaging channel to streamline and simplify frontline working.”

These recognitions come on the heels of Zipline's recognition in the 2021 Gartner Market Guide for Employee Communications Applications.

*Gartner, Hype Cycle for Frontline Worker Technologies, June 2022
Gartner, Hype Cycle for Digital Workplace Applications, August 2022
Gartner, Market Guide for Employee Communications Applications, December 2021

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About Zipline
Zipline is a mobile-first communications and task management solution that helps organizations improve employee engagement and operational alignment, resulting in better store execution and profitability. Zipline provides a laser focus on employee engagement at all levels of your business, helping brands dramatically outperform their peers resulting in store execution rates greater than 90%. Zipline is Great Place to Work-certified for its employee diversity, culture, and healthy work-life balance, and was named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies. Hundreds of thousands of users from the best brands in the world like Rite Aid, Sephora, Gap Inc., and AEO Inc. depend on Zipline to align and empower their frontline teams worldwide. For additional information, visit: https://getzipline.com/ or follow us on LinkedIn.

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