What do a healthcare professional, a barista, a field sales representative, and a truck driver have in common? They are all deskless workers! Not to be confused with remote workers, who perform typical desk work from other locations, deskless workers are employees who do not perform typical desk work or who do not use a classic computer setup. More than 2.7 billion worldwide workers are deskless, and they are often found in roles that require long hours on the move or on their feet, performing jobs that cannot be done from an office.
With a churn rate as high as 500% across sectors, it is more important than ever for firms to face the fact that they are in danger of losing deskless employees. This level of churn is largely attributable to two main causes: relentless competition for deskless talent and companies not meeting the needs of their deskless workforce. Employees with a high proportion of deskless workers must consider the unique needs of this group and proactively design their employee experience to retain talent and stabilize their bottom line.
While there are more than 2.7 billion deskless workers worldwide, deskless workers often fall to the wayside when companies set their priorities. Deskless workers are often overlooked due to their lack of presence in their respective offices. Unfortunately for deskless workers, “out of sight, out of mind” means that they experience many pain points that their in-office and remote counterparts do not experience.
While these pain points vary across industries and roles, many deskless workers report having obsolete tools that are not fit for purpose, feeling disconnected from their organizations, and burnout due to avoidable inefficiencies, encouraging them to consider other opportunities when approached by competing employers. Companies are putting themselves at a risk for higher turnover by not recognizing the needs of their deskless employees.
To address the churn issue, companies need to get to the root of the problem: deskless workers need to feel supported by and united with the greater organization. Luckily, there is a clear answer to this problem: cease the segregation of the deskless workers from the rest of the organization by considering the needs of the deskless workers with the same priority as typical in-office, at-desk workers.
Considering that deskless workers spend the majority of their time on the move, companies need to consider the way that their tools, tech stacks, and resources are optimized for working in the field. This should include considerations of mobile accessibility, ease of access and use, offline capabilities, and AI compatibility and capabilities.
When considering technology investments, companies should keep an open minded approach to their digital solutions. There are a number of technologies on the market intended to connect employees across the organization with just-in-time notifications, survey capabilities, communications channels, and other methods of engagement. These tools are often industry-specific and are designed to meet the unique challenges of that particular workforce. While these existing technical solutions are great options in the short-term, companies should be considering the future of technology as well—specifically: artificial intelligence (AI). From education to Point of Sale (POS) technology, and every industry in between, AI is making an impact in the ways that companies are doing business and is clearly here to stay. Some of the existing employee engagement technologies are already starting to leverage AI to automate workflows, draft work schedules, and remind deskless workers of training requirements or virtual company events. Utilizing the capabilities of AI to improve the way that deskless workers perform their roles is a great way to stay ahead of the curve – and the competition – to support and retain your best deskless employees.
Investing in technology is a great way to avoid burnout as well. By using tools that are fit for purpose and technology that makes their jobs easier, deskless workers will feel more supported and more satisfied in performing their roles. While this technology investment is crucial, technology is only one piece to this puzzle. Companies also have to address the emotional needs of deskless employees to feel connected to the greater organization. Just as much as – or perhaps more than – typical, at-desk employees, deskless workers need to feel supported emotionally (team lunches, milestone celebrations, team building activities, etc.) and in their growth (technical trainings, lunch and learns, networking opportunities, etc.).
While many organizations provide these offerings, they are often exclusive to in-office, at-desk workers which can lower team morale and can create a rift between deskless workers and the greater organization. In our experience, many of the factors contributing to turnover are emotional. If your organization is not currently designed to offer emotionally supportive programming for employees in addition to fit for purpose technological support, and growth opportunities, you are inadvertently encouraging them to search for an organization that is.
Organizations should consider the ways they are set up to support all of their employees, but particularly their deskless workers. Whether it is through surveys, data collection, feedback forms, or team troubleshooting days, directly asking employees what challenges they are facing and what solutions could improve their experience is a great way to collect employee sentiment data and feedback. Companies should utilize the information collected from these activities to determine if they are set up to engender engaged, successful employees. Companies with highly engaged workforces are as much as 23% more profitable – so this conversation is worth it!
Investments in technology and emotional support are key facets of the overall employee experience, not only for deskless workers but also for traditional in-office employees. Research confirms that happy employees make companies better: happy employees lead to higher ROI via higher productivity, faster onboarding, higher employee engagement, and lower churn rates.
Firms should regard the deskless worker employee experience as a multidimensional challenge that can be addressed by balancing the needs of all aspects of an employee’s role. Employers should consider the possibilities for enhancing the capabilities of the individual and improving the company’s resources, as well as making sure employees feel heard and then taking action on the areas that employees feel strongly about. This could mean opening themselves up to tools such as AI, incorporating initiatives to promote sustainability, or integrating growth opportunities into the day to day of all employees, to name a few. The needs of your deskless workers will be specific to your company and your industry, but these focus areas are a good place to start.
Is your organization ready to tackle the unique challenges faced by your deskless workers? Our expert consultants are ready to help you bridge the gap between your deskless employees and corporate goals.
Get in touch to find out how we can help integrate cutting-edge technology and foster a supportive environment that boosts engagement and reduces turnover.