The changing role of frontline employment advisors

This chapter addresses the frontline delivery of activation policies. From a street-level bureaucracy theory perspective, frontline policy delivery is not merely policy implementation but also policymaking. In addition, understanding frontline delivery asks for an approach that recognizes the complex context in which frontline workers make decisions and provide services to their clients. The chapter provides a brief characterization of the growing body of academic literature on the frontline delivery of activation policies, followed by a discussion of some of the challenges researchers encounter when analyzing the roles and tasks of frontline workers. Three core issues in activation research are elaborated in more detail: the diversity of clients of frontline workers; the role of employers in frontline activation delivery; and the professionalization of frontline work in activation. The chapter concludes with some suggestions for future research.