The American Alliance of Museums offers the following information as guidance. Thank you to Dorothy Svgdik and Samantha Doolin for their review and critique of the content. The information shared here is based on the best available information as of publication.

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Frontline, or front-of-house, staff play a critical role in museums, beyond ensuring guests/visitors have a positive and memorable experience. They are often the first, and sometimes the only, staff a visitor will encounter during their visit. Frontline museum staff face many challenges, including low pay, underappreciation, lack of opportunity, burnout, and stress. Supporting them is essential to ensuring they can successfully perform their duties and represent the museum in a welcoming way.

This tipsheet provides topline guidance on how to best support and train frontline staff.

Providing Ongoing Support:

Developing an engaged frontline staff begins with understanding their individual needs and motivations. Why work in a museum? What areas do they want to grow into? Leaders need to listen, learn, analyze, and implement tools and resources this cadre of staff can use to better serve the visitor.

Provide personalized and ongoing support to frontline staff to help improve their performance and address any challenges or concerns they may have.

For example:

• Treat them as experts in their field. Frontline staff often have useful skills such as verbal and nonverbal communication, problem-solving, technical knowledge, and emotional intelligence. Include them in planning for new exhibitions and events to help prepare for instances with visitors that frontline staff deal with every day.
• If possible, offer flexible scheduling to meet them where they are.
• Offer coverage during a shift so that they can take breaks as needed.
• Have ongoing health and wellness programs available, including mental health support, fitness programs, or access to counseling services, and always maintain open lines of communication.

Recognition and Appreciation:

Implement a formal recognition program to acknowledge outstanding performance. Recognize frontline staff for the work they do to ensure visitors feel welcome and appreciate them for their dedication to their roles in the museum.

For example:

• Introduce an employee of the month award program.
• Ensure public recognition during staff meetings.
• Host an annual appreciation lunch or dinner scheduled during a time when all frontline staff can attend.

Resources and Tools:

• Keep frontline staff up-to-date and in communication with other departments so they can answer visitor questions on upcoming exhibitions, permanent collections, and other museum policies so they aren’t caught off-guard.
• Guarantee that they have access to all of the equipment and technology they need to perform their tasks, such as handheld devices for ticketing or communication tools for emergencies (for example, two-way radios).

Team Building and Collaboration:

Model open communication by being transparent and approachable and foster a culture where employees feel safe to express their ideas and concerns without fear of retribution. This can be achieved through regular team meetings and by scheduling regular one-on-one and team check-ins to discuss progress, challenges, and ideas.

• Foster a sense of teamwork and collaboration by organizing and including frontline staff in team-building activities, group outings, or staff appreciation events.
• Encourage open communication and collaboration among staff members to ease problem-solving and information sharing.

Providing Feedback Mechanisms:

Create feedback mechanisms to let frontline staff give input and suggestions for improving training programs, policies, and procedures.

You can inspire staff to share their ideas:

• During staff meetings
• Through regular anonymous surveys
• Utilizing physical suggestion boxes
• Conduct regular check-ins and performance reviews to discuss their progress, provide constructive feedback, and find areas for improvement.

Developing a Comprehensive Training Program:

Offering hands-on training opportunities covering all areas of the frontline staff’s duties helps them become familiar with their responsibilities and gain practical experience. Keep an updated written handbook with instructions and expectations for reference in their workspaces, if possible. Make sure that frontline staff get the opportunity to visit all the museum’s exhibits and attractions so that they are better able to advise and encourage visitors.

Some areas to cover include:

• Customer service
• Safety procedures
• Other museum policies around diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion
• And other relevant information about the museum

Customer Service Skills:

Train staff on handling and anticipating visitor needs including knowing the location of the restrooms, café, shop, seating, or other areas to rest and reflect. To this end, printed maps and handouts with relevant materials could be a helpful reference for staff to use when explaining or to give to visitors.

Other customer service skills include:

• Effective communication
• Problem-solving
• Being welcoming and inclusive to all
• Conflict resolution, including de-escalation techniques

Safety and Emergency Procedures:

Create safety protocols, including if they must conduct bag checks at entrances to prevent prohibited items from entering the museum.

• Develop evacuation plans, first aid response, and managing emergency situations such as fires or medical emergencies.
• Schedule regular drills and training sessions to reinforce safety procedures and ensure staff are prepared to respond effectively in case of an emergency.

Cultural Competency and Inclusivity:

Provide training on cultural competency and inclusivity to help frontline staff interact respectfully and sensitively with visitors from diverse backgrounds. This includes awareness of cultural differences and the skills needed to interact effectively with diverse groups of people.

• Train staff to recognize and address unconscious biases
• Create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all visitors. There are any number of in-person workshops, online training, and blended learning programs that can serve to teach cultural competency skills.

Dealing with hostility:

Being welcoming does not mean letting others take advantage of your hospitality. To address the issue of some visitors who may not have the same sensibilities or inclusive leanings, leadership needs to be proactive about giving frontline staff the training, support, and resources needed to handle situations where individuals are resistant to what the museum is sharing, and their values are not confirmed by staff.

For example:

• The customer is not always right, but frontline staff need to deal with the situation firmly and confidently without fear of reprisal from leadership.

Continuous Professional Development:

Offer opportunities for workshops, seminars, or online courses, to help frontline staff enhance their skills and stay updated on industry trends and best practices. Make sure they have coverage to take advantage of professional development resources.

• Encourage staff to pursue certifications or other training programs related to their roles in the museum and offer compensation (increased pay, covering costs of certifications) if possible.
• Ask for their help with special projects, from making membership renewal phone calls to redesigning museum wayfinding signage, etc. They can be a real asset due to their knowledge of the visitor experience.

By using these strategies, museums can support their frontline staff in getting the training and support they need. This support can have many outcomes that are beneficial to the employee, the museum, and the visitor, such as increased knowledge, motivation, and employee retention. This way, they are ready to offer top-notch customer service and ensure visitors have a wonderful experience.

Resources

• At the Barnes Foundation, Internal Internships Support Frontline Staff
• Front Line Staff Take Center Stage in Career Advancement
• On the Ground: How Visitor Experience Teams Are Teaching Front-Line Staff to Be DEAI Advocates
• Sharing Human Centered Workplace Practices