How To Transform The Work Experience For The Deskless Workforce

Covid-19 has completely upended the way we work, especially for the deskless workforce. In many instances, deskless workers in service sectors were still required to report to work despite shutdowns caused by the pandemic.

According to a recent Prosper Insights & Analytics survey, 40% of adults said that in a non-Covid-19 environment their role at work would typically require them to regularly interact with people outside of their home, either in an office setting, hospital/doctors’ office, warehouse, restaurant, or store location. It is highly likely that a majority of this group still found themselves working in person, even with the current situation at hand.

To better understand the impact Covid-19 has had on the deskless workforce, and ways companies can enhance their work experiences, I recently connected with Mike Morini, CEO of WorkForce Software. WorkForce Software is the leading global provider of cloud-based workforce management solutions.

During our discussion, Mike shared insights into how companies can support and cater these workers’ unique needs and the impact technology has in creating better employee experiences for them.

Gary Drenik: What is the deskless workforce for those who don’t know?

Mike Morini: The deskless workforce is the group of employees who typically don't sit behind a desk to perform their jobs. In today’s global workforce, 80% of the global workers and nearly 100% of shift workers are deskless, mostly working in industries such as healthcare, retail, construction, agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation.

Drenik: Obviously the Covid-19 pandemic upended the way we work, but how was their experience different from other employees?

Morini: In the past, entrepreneurs in technology primarily focused on building tools for desked workers. In fact, less than 1% of all enterprise software spending is allocated to this group, leaving deskless workers with inefficient technology solutions, if any at all, or even manual, paper-based processes, to get their daily tasks done. Almost 60% of companies have little to no flexible technology solutions in place for their deskless workers. Overall, the lack of HR technology for deskless workers left a major gap and a missed opportunity for businesses, creating challenges for employers when communicating with, planning for, and managing this large percentage of their workforce. Not providing these workers with proper tools and technologies has put a burden on them during the pandemic— especially when coupled with greater exposure to other workers and the public, their lack of flexible work schedules, childcare challenges, and adequate time off to mitigate burnout. 

The reasons for these differences in experiences is largely due to the imbalance of power between employers and employees. Where employers once held more power in the relationship — providing the bare minimum for jobs they believed people needed — the talent shortage, reduced friction for job change, sharp wage increases to compete for open roles, and increased desire for flexibility have dramatically tipped that power to employees. Today, companies must consider how they can create workplaces where people want to be in order to meet the company’s need for an engaged and productive workforce.

Another possible contributor is the lack of awareness and knowledge that companies and developers have about the needs of the deskless workforce. Imagining tools that make productivity soar is easier when you personally understand the barriers. Most software developers are desked workers themselves.

Drenik: How can companies cater to different subsets of employees effectively?

Morini: The nature of the work being performed causes an unavoidable disparity between what desked and deskless workers can expect or be offered. However, the need to recognize the differences and to create appropriate adaptations is essential to attracting new employees and to increasing employee retention. A significant risk leaders’ face now is not rapidly addressing the challenges exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic in material ways quickly enough to prevent unwanted attrition. Employees have voiced their discontent with the state of their experience despite the millions of dollars of corporate investment in programs intended to improve culture, experience, and professional development but whose implementation often failed to adequately address how deskless workers could be included. To minimize this and create an attractive value proposition for new employees in this highly competitive job market, companies must invest in both office and deskless workers and include them in the design and implementation of corporate programs.

The ability to do so also requires more equitable investments in the technologies provided to those in the deskless workforce who currently receive less than 1% of the enterprise software spend. Effectively using technology to improve employee experiences and provide productivity tools and access to information with consumer-grade ease-of-use are the places to start to create less friction and greater inclusion for deskless workers. Defining programs collaboratively and monitoring their use and employee sentiment must be an ongoing initiative to avoid the risk of falling behind in the war for talent. 

Drenik: Are businesses at a risk if they don’t make a change in their work strategy? What steps could employers be taking?

Morini: Looking back on this past year and a half and how the workforce is constantly changing, there is huge risk for companies that don’t reinvent or change their work strategies. There has been a lot of discussion about the return to work and how employees will navigate hybrid work schedules, but a recent Prosper Insights & Analytics survey found that 69% of adults, who use to work away from home but now work from home, would prefer to continue working from home after the pandemic is over. Many companies are taking this into consideration and implementing ways for all employees’ needs to be accommodated, but this largely ignores the deskless workers who never had, and will not, have the freedom to leave their physical workplaces.

Looking ahead, what leaders must do is make sure that white collar workers don’t remain the primary focus. Plans must be put into place that address the distinct needs of each group and include fair and inclusive programs for all employees. If this isn’t done, companies may see higher turnover, as well as loss of productivity and morale for the workers who are left behind - ultimately leading to an effect on the bottom line and barriers to growth.

The first step employers should be taking is to measure where you are starting your journey. Involve employees - not through a once-a- year-survey - but through an ongoing feedback loop to measure sentiment. Continuously monitoring and measuring the effectiveness of programs must occur to ensure investments are having the intended outcomes.

Finally, it is critical to make appropriate investments in technology that leverage data to detect when there is a potential problem, capture employee feedback frequently, and enable managers when they need to take action. Failing to act on feedback can have a negative impact on employees - more so than if no one had ever asked for their opinions.

According to the WorkForce Software workplace employee experience gap report, there is a significant difference in employer and employee preferences for the same programs. Only 50% of employees indicate they had access to modern systems to track time and attendance and 56% of employees report severely dated methods for time tracking, including mounted wall clocks, paper forms, and punch cards. There is a long way to go to improve experiences for these underserved workers. The most important thing to do is get started.

Drenik: Overall, what is the big takeaway here?

Morini: 2020 and the start of 2021 put a spotlight on deskless workers and highlighted the importance of the work they perform as well as the flexibility necessary to acknowledge and deliver on their unique needs. Companies must listen and adapt to the feedback they receive in much more frequent intervals to have a significant impact on employee perceptions. The rewards are significant for companies who can deliver exceptional experiences and making an impact must become a priority for companies now.

Drenik: Thank you, Mike, for sharing your knowledge on this group of workers. Your insights and tips will certainly help other leaders implement impactful strategies for their deskless workforces and creative positive employee experiences during this pivotal moment and in the future.