There it goes again; the ‘ping’ of a notification. Slack, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Gmail, your favourite niche app - the list goes on. On one hand, it’s easier to communicate than ever before. On the other, there’s so much clamour for attention it’s so easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of messages coming our way.
In fact, the average US smartphone users will get 46 notifications every day. It’s a lot to take in. And it means communication in the workplace has to be effective to cut through the amount of noise your employees will be dealing with on a day to day basis.
Research we carried out last year found 84% of Millennials believe an open communication policy is more important than perks in choosing a job, but only 15% of employees believing their employer is good at communicating. Let’s be honest with ourselves here, there’s definitely room for improvement.
And it’s not only for the sake of employee happiness. With the rise of flexible working, the gig economy, part-time workers, seasonal staff and full-time employees, any forward thinking business who relies on a deskless workforce needs to have a simple, effective and robust way of communicating with employees.
An increasing number of businesses are realizing the potential of the deskless workforce using their personal mobile phones for work. This is something we welcome with open arms but we think it’s infinitely more effective when an employee can control their work life from one app rather than having to learn how to use a number of different ones.
It’s here a good workforce management (WFM) system comes into its own. By delivering an outstanding mobile experience from a dedicated app, everything the employee needs can happen in one place.
Here’s how a WFM system can revolutionize communication in the workplace:
1. Shift simplicity
Traditionally, switching shifts, finding cover when an employee phones in sick or when you need it at the last minute, or even filling overtime can be time consuming for both employees and managers. With a good WFM system it can be done simply and quickly through an app, significantly reducing the time managers in particular spend on admin - time which they can then spend working with customers and making the business successful.
2. Messaging in one place
A good WFM system will have an integrated messaging system within, like Qmail in Quinyx for example. With everything in one place it means your employees don’t have to worry about where to find important information or figure out how they are going to receive work-based communication. It’s another timesaver, it’s intuitive for the end users (your employees) and it’s an incredibly useful tool to have. London City Airport used the mail function integrated with their workforce management system to send out their end of year employee survey and doubled their response rate.
3. Improved understanding
If you can see, in an instant, how your workforce are feeling, what their opinions are, what they want, and what they need - then your employee engagement doesn’t just have lift off, it’s soaring into the stratosphere. This is part of the reason we developed the Quinyx Engagement module. With it, you have the ability to send Pulse surveys to your employees. This allows you to get live feedback from your workforce and helps drive engagement across your organization.
Research shows measuring satisfaction, understanding key improvement areas and acting upon them has a positive effect on the level of employee engagement. This leads to higher productivity, reduced employee turnover, increased customer satisfaction and loyalty increased profitability.
4. Integrated task management
Having task management integrated with your WFM suite is another time saver. Rather than having to switch apps or find to-do lists, your employees can see what their key tasks are for that day before they leave for work - and it’s all in the same place as everything else they use to manage their work life. From a management perspective, you can easily plan recurring tasks for your whole organization, improve efficiency by creating workflows for your employees, and enable your managers to track these to ensure important daily tasks are being completed.
5. Better recognition
On the same note, great communication is a prerequisite to better recognition. The startling statistic that employees are only recognised once every three months for their work has to change. It’s another thing we’ve addressed with our engagement module. Quinyx Recognition is fun feature that gives your employees the ability to recognize and reward their peers with virtual badges including Super Colleague, Problem Solver and Always on Time. It’s the tip of the iceberg but it’s a big step forward to improving recognition - and therefore engagement - in the workplace.
Better communication at work improves happiness at work. Happy employees are more productive, take less sick days, provide better customer service and are more engaged.
Download the Ultimate Guide to Attracting, Retaining & Engaging Employees to discover more about the commercial advantages of a happy workforce and the role workforce management software plays in helping you achieve it.
