Investing in Automation for Your Deskless Workforce

Technology continues to revolutionize the way organizations work, and it is now one of the biggest deciding factors when it comes to giving you a competitive edge in today’s market. Except only 20 percent of the workforce is utilizing technology. This is because almost 80 percent of the global workforce is made up of deskless workers, who don’t get to enjoy adequate technology use in their day-to-day working lives. Here is why you should invest in automation technology for your deskless workforce. 

Reduce Operating Costs

Frontline workers are responsible for dealing with many different paper documents and checklists, such as PTO requests, safety checklists, and others, on a daily basis. Filling forms takes up a lot of time, as well as eats away at an employer’s budget. In fact, 3% of a company’s revenue is spent on paper, printing, filing and costs to store and maintain these files. 

However, imagine if you could replace these paper forms with digital ones. Each year, bad data costs companies about $15 million. Automating and digitizing your paper forms and checklists can help you save on costs associated with paper, as well as greatly improve the accuracy of any data collected. Plus, you can save a lot of time for your frontline employees. 

Increase Employee Productivity

Besides paperwork, frontline workers often spend a lot of time on other routine tasks each day. This leaves little time left for more important parts of their work that require their total focus. This impact is so big, that almost 90% of frontline workers are requesting automations that help them improve their productivity. 

Being able to automate routine tasks like inventory audits, purchase orders, incident reporting, etc. will allow frontline workers more time to take care of their more important tasks and can help improve their productivity greatly. Using task management applications can help them do all of this. 

By using task management apps, it will be easier for frontline workers to assign and schedule their tasks automatically. The apps will give workers more clarity in terms of the processes they will need to follow, their priorities for the day and their deadlines. Supervisors will also be able to follow up easily and effectively and be able to stay on top of work assigned at a glance. This helps reduce the possibilities of manual slip-ups and the need to do things over, thus wasting more time. 

Improve Safety in the Workplace

One great benefit that comes with automation and workflows is that companies will be better equipped to handle safety compliance at the workplace easier. It’s estimated that employers in the United States paid more than $1 Billion per week for direct workers’ compensation for disabling or non-fatal workplace injuries. 

Meanwhile, the costs associated with ensuring safety compliance at work is nowhere near that figure. Automating safety processes will help frontline workers stay alert and will help them comply with safety protocols at all times. Safety incidents can also be a huge disruption for workplace productivity, so systems that allow compliance to be tracked and implemented will go a long way in ensuring a streamlined functioning of the company.

Greater Employee Experience

One common issue in the frontline industry is that the turnover rates are very high. Companies often struggle to replace employees, and the entire process is time-consuming and expensive. Recent studies have shown that the cost to replace a trained frontline worker can be double that of their annual salary. The solution to this problem lies in utilizing the right technology. 

About 80% of deskless employees say that technology is an important factor they consider when choosing their next job. Helping deskless workers do their jobs better using the right technology will result in a higher retention rate, and will even help you attract more talent. Although automation for frontline workers has not been researched as much, it is worth the investment to retain 80% of your workforce. 

Enhance Data Security

Not only will investing in technology for the frontline workforce benefit them, but it can also greatly benefit employers as well. Besides the points mentioned above, data security is a huge concern that companies with a nondesk workforce face.

One study revealed that 56% of deskless employees use their own technology since their employer has not provided them with the adequate tools that they need. They use their own personal mobile devices and tablets in order to store and communicate corporate information. 

This trend is now shifting, with companies giving employees their own official devices. Data security apps can help organizations automatically revoke access to data, or have the ability to completely wipe data whenever there is a threat. This can help employees, as well as companies, work together better and in a more secure environment. 

With the pandemic irrevocably changing the way that we work, now is as good a time as ever to invest in technology for your deskless workforce. There are many new options of tech now available for your employees and the advantages are clear. 

Level Up Your Team With 1Huddle

1Huddle can help you and your team stay ahead of the learning curve. We offer cloud-based employee gamification software. 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 game 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? Talk to us today.