There are many platforms for managing employees, but the overwhelming majority are suitable for those who sit in front of a computer (Photo: Pexels)
By Yuval Magid, COO at Connecteam
The construction professions, restaurants, hospitality services and other industries rely to a large extent on the strength of the workers in the field. Although these businesses depend on the ability to drive the business away from the offices, in many cases human resource management does not fit the needs of these types of teams.
The vast majority of management solutions – such as Asana, Slack and Outlook – were created for office (and home) workers, and they offer tools that allow teams to collaborate, manage tasks and communicate. Although people who do not work in front of a computer make up 80% of the global workforce, most of the popular enterprise software programs are not designed for them at all and do not offer suitable solutions.
Generation Z doesn’t feel cared for
An even bigger problem is the turnover rate among this workforce. In a survey conducted by the consulting company BCG, and including more than 7,000 employees in the field, 37% of respondents reported that they are considering leaving their workplace during the next six months. The situation is worse among the younger workers, most of whom belong to generation Z: among the respondents in this age group, 47% reported that they were considering leaving.
Another survey, conducted by the American analytics and consulting company Gallup, reinforces the findings and reveals that the percentage of employees who feel disconnected from their workplace is 18%. According to the findings, the ratio between connected and disconnected workers is 1.8 to 1 – the lowest in almost a decade.
The same survey revealed that since the outbreak of the Corona virus, Millennials and members of Generation Z – many of whom naturally hold two-hour positions without a computer station – feel that they care less about the organization and believe that it does not offer them many opportunities to develop professional skills. The percentage of young workers who feel that they have opportunities to learn and grow, and that someone cares about them and encourages their development, has decreased by 10% since 2019.
Obviously, like everyone who works in offices, the workers in the field also strive for a positive and satisfying work experience. Analysts from the global consulting corporation McKinsey determined that there is a fundamental mismatch between the demand for workers in the field and the number of workers interested in this type of work. “The corona epidemic has led more and more people to reevaluate what they want from work – and from life – which has created a large pool of workers who choose a different direction from the traditional path,” the company’s report states.
And here’s another point to think about: hiring a new employee may cost up to twice the monthly salary of an employee who left, so organizations should consider the high turnover rates among hourly employees. Moreover, young workers, unlike previous generations, tend to leave their jobs if they do not receive support. However, this situation is also beginning to change, and a BCG survey among hourly workers revealed that more than a third of Generation X workers and almost a quarter of Baby Boomers are considering leaving their jobs for similar reasons.
If there is no computer they will use a mobile phone
The management software market is currently estimated at approximately 7.5 billion dollars, and it is expected to reach 12.5 billion dollars by 2030. As mentioned, this is a wide variety of solutions, but most of them are adapted for office workers. And the truth is that there is no good reason for this: digital employee management platforms may significantly improve the degree of employee engagement and the degree of success of the organization in retaining them. This is a desirable solution, especially in light of the fact that it is difficult to find employees who do not walk around with a smartphone – and certainly the younger ones, who expect this type of solutions and adapt to them quickly.
There are several things to consider when choosing an employee management platform:
1. Map out your unique needs. When choosing an application of this type, you should pay attention to the fact that it is functional and suitable for the specific needs of your organization – in terms of operations, communication channels, human resource requirements and company training. For example – managing shifts from the mobile, a variety of group and team communication channels, the possibility of distributing surveys and conducting video trainings – all on the mobile.
2. Consider the target audience. For organizations that employ workers in the field – on the factory floor or at a construction site for example, it is worthwhile to examine applications that are convenient to use, easy to implement, intuitive and that do not require training. In this way, the duration of adaptation of the employees to the new application may be very fast. The adoption of technology will be rewarding and will strengthen the sense of organizational connectedness among the employees.
3. Adapt the solution to the need. Customization is an important factor in choosing an employee management platform. Those in the field need a variety of tools to perform their work, and these vary from place to place. For example, construction workers need technology that can quickly alert them to a potential hazard on the job site; Retail managers need tools that allow them to easily and quickly find a solution to an unexpectedly unstaffed shift; Nursing workers stationed in homes for the elderly must receive updates, sometimes daily, regarding the patients’ medical treatment plan. This is the unique needs of the organization and the remote workers, and carefully check the features offered by the various applications.
Many workplaces are experiencing firsthand the fact that organizational connectivity is at a decade low. Different branches share the need for a management solution that will connect the facts and workers in the field to the organization and its goals, and increase their productivity and satisfaction at work. The technological infrastructure exists in the pocket of each and every one of them and the solution is within reach – and from this point of view, it is likely that a decade from now their work experience will not be different from that of the office workers.