On this World Mental Health Day, I wanted to talk about frontline teams.

Frontline teams are tasked with delivering first impressions to customers, and they’re often customers’ only point of contact when interacting with companies. They are, for all intents and purposes, the face of your company.

In many cases, frontline workers live and breathe the products and services of a company even more so than the CEO. However, frontline teams earn between 12 to over 14,000 times less than CEOs.

Frontline workers are often undervalued, not only from a compensation standpoint. They are regarded as unskilled, as doing an “entry-level” job than anyone can do. However, this view massively downplays the skills, both “soft” and hard, that are necessary to do a great job as a frontline worker.

Frontline teams need to wear many hats: they need to be mediators, master negotiators, know how to deescalate situations, think outside the box, be ambassadors of your products and services even when they let customers down. And they take a lot of heat from customers.

Frontline work is not for everyone. I have worked with extremely smart and resourceful frontline workers. However, it is a hard job that takes a toll on anyone who doesn’t get the right support – I know it all too well, I’ve been there.

Frontline work often leads to burnout: 74% of contact centre workers are at risk of burnout. Burnout and mental health issues account for 50% of absenteeism in the workplace. This, in turn, causes a ripple effect, creating emotional strain and stress for those workers who need to take on additional responsibilities.

Your frontline employees are not just numbers, they are human beings with a life outside work. Poor work conditions will lead to poor quality of life and will have an impact on their personal lives.

Give them the right support before work gets overwhelming. Pay them well. Give them flexibility. Allow them to take a breather, allow them to take mental health days. Set clear expectations to customers and defend your frontline workers when they encounter unreasonable customers.

When your frontline employees feel empowered and supported, they will create excellent experiences for your customers, who will then recommend your brand to their friends, family members and colleagues.

Great Customer Experience starts with great Employee Experience. It’s not rocket science.