While we are heartened to see the government put workers’ rights at the core of its proposed changes, the proposed legislation on zero-hour contracts ban is misguided. Zero-hour contracts are only an issue if the power lies in the hands of the employer. They work if the relationship is two-way.
For some people, zero hours contracts work because they offer the flexibility that fits with their lives, i.e. having the ability to pick and choose when and where to work around personal commitments. To make this effective, they require the ability to easily manage their shifts, picking up, rejecting and swapping as required with minimal manager intervention, because this is often the bottleneck to efficiency and employee experience.
Fortunately, we now have workforce management technology that can make this easier, enabling employees to record their work availability and preferences and automate the work scheduling process – reducing manager administration and driving greater labour legislation compliance and productivity.
The problems occur when employers exploit employee flexibility. Scheduling employees to work multiple, very short shifts and that vary day to day and week to week is not conducive to employee experience, productivity or customer service quality. Employers need to work with employees to understand their needs, if they’re to build a positive business brand and drive greater retention, recruitment and performance.
To enable greater productivity and improve employee experience three things need to improve. This first is visibility of customer demand, the second is visibility of employee skills and availability, and lastly, 2-way Employee / Employer Communication must be improved. The right people operations technology used ethically and effectively can make all of these things happen.
Workforce management solutions are proven, when implemented with a focus on employees, to have the ability to drive stronger business outcomes, from cost control, revenue improvements to labour compliance, while also improving employee experience, including flexibility, accurate pay, skills development, etc. 80%+ of our workforce are Frontline Workers – people who are delivering face-to-face services to customers. For the UK to drive greater productivity, it’s these people on which we need to focus, understanding how we can make their lives more fulfilling and valuable.
Technology and Legislation are like the ‘carrot’ and ‘stick’. Thoughtfully considered and implemented technology, that aligns with worker and business needs, has the ability to improve the lives of frontline workers and shareholders alike. The government’s focus on delivering flexibility is to be applauded, but it not all about legislation. Businesses need to be more proactive about valuing and considering the needs of their employees. When they focus on their people, revenues will follow.
