Pause for a second and cast your mind back to January. It was the dawn of a new decade and our thoughts were on the evolution of workforce management, the accelerated growth of the industry, and the power workforce management has to transform businesses.
This all still rings true but January feels like a lifetime ago. In a matter of months, the world has changed. A global pandemic will have that effect. It’s also brought into stark contrast the businesses who have embraced digitalization and new technologies - and those who haven’t.
Right now, the buzzwords across industries are speed, innovation, and being agile and dynamic enough to make change happen. Businesses are being forced to change and adapt in order to survive. And for many, the pandemic has heightened the need for digital transformation.
It’s why the need for a mobile-first workforce management solution has never been greater.
Social distancing is, for the foreseeable future, likely to be the new normal and businesses are having to react to this. From communication and engagement through to onboarding and forecasting, a data-driven and mobile-first WFM solution is essential for forward thinking businesses who rely on the deskless workforce.
Here’s why your WFM solution needs to be mobile-first:
1. It's immediate
The first half of 2020 has highlighted the need for businesses to respond instantly to unfolding situations - in some cases even pivoting and diversifying. Using a mobile-first WFM solution gives you and your business the tools you need to react in an instant. With push notifications, your employees will never miss important information and in terms of scheduling, you can make sure you have the right people in the right place at the right time.
2. It’s what your employees expect
Nearly a quarter of 18-24-year-olds spend more than 7 hours a day on their phones. For Millennials (who will make up 75% of the workforce by 2025) and Gen Z, a mobile phone is an integral and essential part of their lives. And it’s, for this reason, it should be integrated into their work lives.
Employee engagement, efficiency, and productivity will all improve if you take a mobile-first approach to workforce management. If you’re still using a legacy system or have limited mobile functionality within your workforce management solution, you’re making life much more difficult. This is compounded in your employees who will quickly grow frustrated with what they perceive as being outdated processes.
3. It makes flexibility happen
Rarely do shift workers have control of their schedules and, more often than not, they only get, on average, three days' notice of the next week’s schedule. This can have a huge impact on their lives, making It hard for them to plan outside of work.
For part-time workers, the deskless workforce, or people working in the gig economy, this also increases the challenge of working multiple jobs and calculating their income, as their hours can fluctuate wildly.
Flexibility is therefore key and is especially important for younger generations in the workforce. Just view our report - The Future is Flexible - where U.S. workforce Poll Shows Flexibility is Considered a “Right” and Valued Over Health Benefits.
Offering greater flexibility in the workplace works best when it’s completed with a mobile mindset. A WFM app makes it easy and straightforward for managers to open upshifts or approve shift swaps while at the same time empowering employees to take control over their own schedules.
In short, you can empower your employees with a workforce management app by giving them choice and control. The result? They’ll be more engaged, they’ll be happier at work and this, in turn, will make your business more profitable.
Download our free guide to find out more on how you can boost your workforce and business with a WFM app.
