Overcoming Frontline Information Gaps for Enhanced Productivity, ETHRWorldEMEA
Image credits: iStockGovernments across the Gulf are placing artificial intelligence at the centre of economic diversification, but a critical challenge lies beyond the technology itself: ensuring that employees on the frontline can access the information they need to use it effectively.
From airport operations and hotel floors to warehouses, hospitals and retail outlets, workers often need immediate access to updated procedures, safety instructions and operational decisions. When information is scattered across multiple systems or fails to reach employees in time, the consequences can extend beyond inconvenience to productivity losses, operational errors and delayed decisions.
A new study commissioned by employee experience software company Staffbase and conducted by Forrester Consulting highlights the scale of this challenge. Among 189 frontline workers and managers surveyed at US enterprises, 48% said information gaps reduced productivity or operational efficiency, while 44% said they increased the risk of errors or missed deadlines. Another 43% reported that information gaps slowed decision-making, and just 23% felt fully supported by the information and tools available to perform their jobs.
Although the findings are based on US respondents rather than Gulf employees, they raise questions for employers across the Middle East as they expand their use of AI and digital workplace technologies.
AI adoption is accelerating, but access remains a critical consideration
The challenge is particularly relevant in the Gulf, where governments are pursuing technology-led transformation across sectors that rely heavily on distributed workforces.
The UAE’s National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 identifies logistics and transport, tourism and hospitality, healthcare, and resources and energy among the priority sectors for AI deployment. These industries depend on employees working across locations, shifts and operational environments, many of whom do not spend their working day at a desk. The UAE’s AI strategy also identifies talent development, training and governance as important elements of its ambitions.
Saudi Arabia’s expanding tourism industry illustrates the scale of the workforce challenge. According to the Ministry of Tourism’s 2025 annual statistical report, the Kingdom recorded approximately 123 million domestic and international tourists during the year, while employment in tourism industries reached nearly 1.03 million jobs. As the sector expands, hotels, transport operators, restaurants and visitor attractions must coordinate increasingly complex operations across large workforces.
In such environments, the value of digital transformation depends partly on whether employees can access the systems and information needed to carry out their responsibilities. A new AI tool may improve planning or automate administrative tasks, for instance, but its operational value can be constrained if the employee responsible for implementing a decision cannot retrieve the latest procedure or understand a change in instructions.
Regional research suggests that AI use itself is not necessarily the primary obstacle. Boston Consulting Group’s 2025 AI at Work survey, which included more than 1,000 participants across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, found that 87% of respondents used AI tools at work at least several times a week, compared with a global average of 72%. The findings placed the GCC second globally for workplace AI adoption.
The contrast between high reported AI use and the information gaps identified in Staffbase’s US research points to a broader question for employers: how effectively are new technologies being integrated into everyday work, rather than simply made available to employees?
Fragmented information can undermine operational performance
Staffbase’s study found that more than half of respondents received critical company information through six or more channels. Meanwhile, 35% encountered conflicting, outdated or unclear information a few times a week or more, and 42% said they turned to colleagues or managers when information was missing or ambiguous.
These findings suggest that the challenge is not always a lack of technology. It can also stem from a fragmented digital workplace in which employees must navigate several systems, reconcile conflicting instructions or rely on informal networks to find answers.
For frontline teams, the implications can be immediate. A revised safety procedure, a change to a delivery schedule or an updated customer policy is useful only if the people responsible for acting on it receive the correct information in time. In sectors such as aviation, healthcare and hospitality, delays or misunderstandings can also affect service quality and compliance.
The problem can be compounded in organisations with employees spread across multiple sites and shifts. Information distributed through email or office-based collaboration platforms may not be equally accessible to workers who have limited computer access during their shifts. Language requirements can add another layer of complexity in multinational workforces.
Staffbase’s study found that 83% of respondents believed a single application bringing together work activities and information would have a high or very high impact on their ability to perform their jobs. Nearly half, or 47%, identified AI-powered answers and guidance among their top three desired capabilities, while 46% prioritised a central place to view tasks and next steps.
The results reflect respondents’ stated preferences rather than evidence that a single application would, by itself, resolve information gaps. Nevertheless, they highlight the importance of making workplace technology accessible and useful in the context in which employees actually work.
AI assistants will depend on the quality of workplace information
The growing use of AI introduces another dimension to the problem. Generative AI assistants can help employees locate procedures, interpret policies and retrieve answers without searching through multiple documents. But these capabilities depend on the quality, currency and accessibility of the information underpinning the system.
An AI assistant drawing on outdated guidance or contradictory internal documents could reproduce those inconsistencies at greater speed. In operational settings, that creates risks around incorrect instructions, inconsistent decisions and the handling of sensitive information.
Staffbase’s research also points to the use of AI across separate tools, raising concerns about shadow AI — the use of applications that have not been formally approved or governed by an organisation. When employees turn to unauthorised tools to find answers or complete tasks, employers may have less visibility into how company information is being accessed and processed.
For organisations, the challenge is therefore twofold: ensuring employees can use AI effectively and establishing controls over the information the technology retrieves and the answers it provides.
That requires more than deploying an AI assistant. Employers need clear ownership of internal knowledge, processes for updating and validating content, appropriate access controls and safeguards for sensitive information. They also need to help employees understand when AI-generated guidance can be relied on and when a decision requires human judgement or escalation.
Frontline access must become part of transformation planning
For Gulf businesses, the implications extend to how digital transformation programmes are designed and measured. Technology investments are often assessed through indicators such as adoption rates, automation, speed and cost savings. Yet these measures may not fully capture whether employees can translate new capabilities into better operational outcomes.
Staffbase’s regional leader for the Middle East, Conor Duffy, said the return on transformation investments depended on whether employees could find accurate information when they needed it. He argued that launching a platform at headquarters was different from ensuring a cabin crew member or store manager could retrieve reliable guidance immediately before or during a shift.
The company cites an international airline in the Gulf that uses its platform to reach more than 25,000 employees, most of whom work in aircraft cabins or at airport gates rather than at desks. It also cites DHL Group’s use of its platform to reach 600,000 employees, including 300,000 who previously lacked intranet access. These are company-reported examples and do not, on their own, establish the productivity impact of the technology.
For employers, the broader lesson is that access, communication and adoption need to be built into transformation programmes from the outset. That may involve connecting existing workplace systems, making essential information available on mobile devices, providing guidance in employees’ working languages and offering practical training tailored to specific roles.
It also means measuring whether employees can complete tasks, find accurate answers and act on updated instructions — rather than relying solely on whether they have logged into a platform or used an AI tool.
As Gulf economies expand their AI ambitions, frontline workers will remain central to turning technological investment into operational results. The next phase of transformation may depend as much on the quality of the information employees receive, and their ability to act on it, as on the sophistication of the tools organisations deploy.
- Published On Oct 30, 2026 at 09:00 AM IST
