Deskless workers make up about 80% of the global working population. That’s 3 billion international employees powering industries ranging from construction, healthcare, retail, hospitality, and dozens of others.
But is this workforce getting the help it deserves? While industries worldwide have quickly adopted tech to improve processes, deskless organizations haven’t entered the race. Deskless workers don’t have access to the same tech tools that other workers enjoy.
Do you need the tech when you’re not working at a desk?
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Button TextIt turns out you do. The lack of automation in deskless organizations leads to employee burnout and disengagement. It’s also adding to high employee turnovers, a KPI that deskless organizations find hard to control. The restaurant industry alone has a whopping employee turnover rate of 75%.
Think this just impacts frontline workers? Think again. This lack of work engagement results in lost productivity and significant business losses. Gallup showed that disengaged employees cost their businesses 34% of their annual salaries.
Studies are showing that deskless workers want more technology to execute their tasks. So, what’s the solution? Here are six stats that prove the future of tech is digital.
6 Stats To Showcase The Digitization of Deskless Workers In Near Future
- In a 2020 survey, 70% of deskless workers reported they want more tech to do their jobs. (Source: Emcap)
- 83% of the same respondents said that they are provided with desktop PCs and laptops even though their job requires them to be away from the desk. (Source: Emcap)
- 59% of workers feel that the communications they receive are inadequate (Source: Nudge)
- One of four deskless workers states that a lack of purpose-built tech is hampering their everyday work. (Source: Skedulo)
- 83% of deskless workers still rely on paper files for some or all of their processes. (Source: Skedulo)
- Adequate tech is making deskless workers 2X satisfied with their jobs. (Source: Skedulo)
1. Deskless Workers Want Increased Automation
Emcap’s survey of 1,532 respondents aimed to understand the plight of the biggest global workforce. 70% of the workers stated that technology is helping them execute work more efficiently.
Respondents also feel that more tech could benefit company communications, operations, onboarding, and training. Many tasks are still manual, including data entry and equipment logging. These must be digitized and automated to help save time and maintain data integrity.
What’s also interesting to note is that four out of five frontline workers don’t have access to a corporate email account. This makes it hard to give them access to the company’s tech stack and data warehouse.
2. Are Deskless Worker (s) Getting The Right Tech?
83% of deskless workers get desktop PCs, laptops, or speakers. While these are important for most deskbound workers, they don’t provide much value to employees on the move throughout the day. What’s worse? It seems that companies still haven’t been able to pay attention to the basic needs of the deskless workforce.
So, what kind of tech do deskless workers need? Over 6 billion people own and use smartphones. These devices stay on the owner as they travel and work. Similarly, frontline workers take their phones with them to their work sites. This creates a lot of opportunities for companies to aid company communications.
The same survey also showed that 60% of workers had been provided a smartphone or tablet by their employer. What’s even better? It’s time to put them to good use.
Mobile-friendly operations management tools such as Xenia enable businesses to manage their projects, maintenance, and employees. Collaboration tools such as Slack, Skype, and Zoom are all mobile-friendly. Businesses world over use these to bring their teams together and stay connected.
Some industries, such as construction and manufacturing, also experimented with hands-free gadgets such as smartphones and drones to aid their workers.
3. Deskless Communication Needs To Pull Up Its Socks
Remote workers often complain about feeling disconnected from their work and their teams. 59% of the workforce feels that their instructions and communications are inadequate.
Why might this be? For starters, many employees feel isolated at work. Not working in a traditional office setting makes it hard to connect with your colleagues. Everyone’s distributed at various sites, and there aren’t many channels to build relationships remotely. This also contributes to high employee turnover, as employees can’t associate a sense of belonging with their coworkers.
38% of workers believe that a strong community at work helps them feel engaged. So, how do you improve deskless communication? Here’s our take:
- Set up regular team syncs and 1:1s with all your team members. This keeps everyone updated and removes roadblocks as they pop up.
- Encourage team projects and collaborations. This helps colleagues learn how to work together and communicate effectively.
- Take employee feedback and keep it anonymous. Ask how your team feels about work, how engaged they are, what problems they face, and how the company can serve them better.
- Use apps that combine instant messaging and project management, such as Xenia. This helps employees track their tasks and discuss them in one place. It also fosters a spirit of collaboration at work.
4. The Need For Purpose-built Software Tools
Skedulo surveyed 1000 employees, where 500 were deskless, and the other half were deskbound. They stated that 25% of all workers feel that the tech they’re offered isn’t tailored to their needs and roles.
With IT buyers increasing their software spending, things have changed, but there aren’t many apps helping them solve everyday deskless problems. This isn’t surprising. Before the pandemic, only 1% of software funding went towards developing tools for the deskless workforce.
But this creates a significant opportunity for entrepreneurs as well. With 80% of the global workforce just receiving 1% of software funding, innovative tech for deskless workers could disrupt the landscape.
5. Paper Files Are Still In Use Today
The Skedulo report also showed that 83% of organizations still rely on paper files to get work done. On the other hand, 17% stated that their companies have entirely ditched manual processes and used software to track all projects and maintain data.
Digital data storage is secure and easy to access. Digital equipment logs and operations management tools have made it easy to remove the hassle of maintaining paper logs. Workers no longer have to spend hours chasing paper tails and reading illegible scripts.
Need a checklist? Explore Xenia’s checklist library.
6. Get The Right Tools To Make Satisfied Deskless Staff
Businesses providing enough tech automation are setting the benchmark for employee satisfaction. The Skedulo report indicated that digital apps and processes lead to satisfied employees. This is helping lower employee turnover rates, with tech-empowered employees being 50% more likely to stay with their companies in the long run.
Putting It All Together
The tech boom has penetrated several industries worldwide, but deskless organizations have been left behind. However, workers in these niches feel more tech will empower them at work. Companies must provide the right gadgets to their workforce and deploy the right collaborative tools to create better teams.
It’s time that leadership takes note and pays attention to the needs of those that enable their success.
