The Soho Hotel in the heart of London played host to the UK’s second ever Workforce Management Day on Wednesday, April 18.
Bringing together workforce management experts, inspiring speakers and a selection of our amazing customers, the day presented us with an opportunity to celebrate, learn and be inspired.
With a keynote from Ana Julia Ghirello, part of the founding team of the Brazilian version of Gumtree, success stories from our customers and a look into the future of workforce management from our Founder and CEO, Erik Fjellborg, the day offered an unprecedented insight into workforce management and how to enjoy work.
Here’s our top takeaways from the event:
1. Have purpose
This formed the cornerstone of Ana Julia Ghirello’s keynote. It doesn’t matter what business or industry you work in, every company should have a purpose. And, by practicing ‘radical transparency’ and giving this purpose context, you can empower your teams to fuel the fire behind the growth and success of your business. But it all starts with purpose. So ask yourself this: “What is your purpose?” Once you can answer it in a clearly defined way, then you can give it context. It’s from this position that your teams will be able to thrive.
2. People are everything
A common thread running through the day was the importance of people. This doesn’t just mean your customers, it means everyone in an organisation, from senior managers through to part time employees. It’s here where SaaS applications like Quinyx really come into their own. The best software and tech is built for people. It can empower people, make their lives easier and solve problems they didn’t know they had. The impact of this isn’t just the bottom-line results a business will see, it’s the impact it has on the lives of their employees; the end users. And, throughout WFM Day London 2018, we heard stories about the intrinsic power of software to change people’s lives for the better.
3. Collaboration lights the future
Increasingly in a B2B setting businesses aren’t simply looking for a supplier; they’re looking for a partner. We heard from both London City Airport and Swarovski (two businesses who use Quinyx as they’re workforce management solution), how during their procurement process they were looking for someone to partner and collaborate with, in order to see the best results and the biggest impact. By finding an organisation with shared values and a shared purpose in the desire to create a smiling workforce, they’ve been able to not just successfully implement a new software solution throughout their business, but see exceptional results from doing so.
4. It doesn’t have to be difficult
There can be a tendency with software to over complicate how things should work. Whereas sometimes the simple solutions can be the most effective. Take Swarovski again as an example, within the first week of using Quinyx, 90% of their employees downloaded the mobile app. The employees reported the communication around schedules and worked hours was immediately much better with the app. Simple solutions can create profound results.
5. Workforce experiences drive performance
When we say: “Our mission is to create a smiling workforce” we don’t just say it to create a happy glow in people. We say it because the better an employee’s experience at work, the stronger their performance will be. We heard from Sarah Andresen, Head of People Science at Sage People (one of the day's sponsors), how great experiences lead to increased engagement and drive performance. And, as a result of this, companies who invest in their employees see four times greater the amount of profit than those who don’t. What’s more, it also significantly reduces employee turnover. This is why the employee experience is absolutely critical.
Ana Julia Ghirello ended her talk with this quote from Rudolf Steiner: “Our highest endeavour must be to develop free human beings who are able, of themselves, to impart purpose and direction to their lives.”
It’s this thought we’ll leave you with and we’d encourage you to think how you give your employees the power to do this.
If you’d like to find out more about the benefits of workforce management software you can download our free guide below.
