Deskless Workers Should Not be Voiceless

Deskless workers make up a majority (80%) of workers in the world, yet many express how frustrating communication can be between themselves, their teams, and upper management. Deskless workers have historically felt underappreciated and ignored. However, the COVID-19 crisis is causing these engagement numbers to change. 

We rely on deskless workers in so many ways, and they have an untapped source of insight and knowledge for the businesses that they work for. Deskless workers are typically found at the forefront of your business. They work on shop floors, factories, in the field, the air, and on the road. Their experience gives them unique insight not gained from sitting behind a desk. This knowledge is untapped largely because of the lack of communication. Even before the pandemic, deskless workers have struggled with communicating in a modern workplace. 

In fact, 74% of deskless workers believe that there are barriers to communication at work. There is a huge disconnect between employees at corporate headquarters and those working on the frontline. This prevents valuable ideas and innovations from getting through and can lead to key talent being unrecognized which can lead to disengagement. Many frontline employees do not feel valued or listened to, which increases the chances of turnover. 

25% of deskless workers surveyed say that they do not even feel connected to their other team members on the ground. This negatively impacts their productivity and effectiveness at work. Therefore, organizations need to create more effective ways of communicating with their deskless workers so that they can engage them. 

A majority of leaders (74%) say that they stay connected with frontline workers through informal conversations and unplanned meetings. However, informal methods of communication are not completely beneficial, and can only happen as availability comes up. Both groups are mainly swamped with their day-to-day responsibilities, so they will need to come up with a solution that helps them communicate with each other easily. 

Organizations everywhere are losing valuable insights and ideas because of this lack of communication. It is also damaging workplace culture. Only 62% of managers have visited their workers on the frontline within the last year. And 14% don’t see the value in doing this. This leads to a lot of disengagement among frontline workers. About 34% of deskless workers say that they do not feel confident to share their ideas, thus creating a huge disconnect in the workplace. 

The Benefits of Giving Deskless Workers a Voice

Having a lack of communication can threaten any organization. With only 14% of deskless workers feeling connected to their leaders, these statistics speak for themselves. Using the right collaboration tools helps to facilitate communication and empowers people to connect with each other and share ideas.

When employees feel connected to their work and given a voice, they become empowered. This doesn’t just change the way that they work, you change the way that they feel towards their work. Connected companies are also more open and transparent. Their workplace culture is stronger, more efficient and it thrives on company-wide conversations. Not just one-way announcements. 

Putting focus and effort into your deskless workers is a great first step. By enabling them with the right tools, you can help them feel more connected to their work and to your organization. You will allow them to have better, more meaningful conversations with leaders. Just because deskless workers don’t have a desk, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have a voice.

At 1Huddle, we offer cloud-based employee gamification software, this gamification recruitment platform can easily adapt to any employee training or gamification strategy you want to implement at your workplace. You can customize your content for a seamless experience and all of your employees will be able to access their training anywhere, anytime, and at the push of a button. You can use our gamification platform to measure their performance and make key decisions on where you should take your gamification strategy next. 

Do you want to learn more about how 1Huddle can help you level up your own workforce? Request a demo today.