Over the past three years, employers have weathered more storms than the past three decades combined. From a global pandemic to employee burnout and mass resignations, through to intense skills shortages and economic decline. It’s little wonder that many have turned inwards to focus on what matters most to their employees, as that’s arguably the one thing they can control independently of those external variables.
A compelling employee experience (EX), which covers every touchpoint employees have with their employer, can act as a powerful talent retention and attraction magnet. In 2023, technology plays a key role in shaping the EX by improving connection and communication, providing access to learning and meaningful benefits, and streamlining time-consuming tasks.
Just as critically, workforce management (WFM) technology can enhance HR service delivery, particularly in shift-based, ‘deskless’ work environments. From onboarding and learning through to all aspects of WFM (rotas, time & attendance, leave management), the right tech tools can automate manual tasks, provide deep workforce insights and forge stronger connections between team members and their organisation.
Just how critical is technology in the overall EX? One 2020 study found that 78% of surveyed deskless workers said technology is an important factor when choosing a job. For that reason alone, it’s important to consider how the expectations of what WFM technology can deliver have changed – not just for employees but HR and executive teams.
New expectations of WFM technology
Keeping in mind that technology is an enabler and not a standalone solution to a better EX, deskless workers want technology that is:
- It should be able to take into account past history and current circumstances (i.e. current role) and potentially make suggestions and recommendations for the future. In the workplace, for example, a learning path should be customisable to the employee’s role. It should also take into account the learner’s past and configure the way forward accordingly, perhaps even making suggested content recommendations that are most relevant to them.
- It needs to be interactive and embedded into the tools workers are already using, so they can interact in real-time and more efficiently access the information required to do their jobs.
- Deskless workers undertake work from multiple locations, at different times. They may not have access to desktop computers or laptops. However, they do invariably have access to a mobile phone. That means they can access what they need from anywhere at any time, including checking work rotas, applying for leave and communicating with their team and manager. Self-service functionality is a must-have, so that employees can easily update and access their own personal profiles and work preferences.
- Employees want single-sign-on access to multiple HR services that may rely on other departments for information, and integrated access to onboarding, payroll, schedules and rosters, benefits, and even learning & development.
- Work tech shouldn’t require a training module or lengthy instruction manual. Intuitive solutions that rely on machine learning to constantly improve based on previous interactions with users is something that all technology providers, including Humanforce, are working on.
From smarter, demand-driven rotas to easier clocking on and off, through to faster onboarding and simplified manager approval processes, the right tools can make a significant difference to employee engagement and productivity, and even their health and wellbeing. A Microsoft study revealed that better tech ranks third on a list of things deskless workers say could reduce stress, as voted by 46% of respondents, sitting behind a pay increase (64%) and paid time off work (50%).
It’s not just about the workers. Expectations have also shifted for HR and executive teams. Digitalisation of people management tasks started with automating administrative tasks and has evolved to focus on gathering, analysing and acting on insights drawn from employee data to help leaders make more informed decisions. Looking ahead technology will focus on delivering a personalised, end-to-end EX.
3 ways tech can optimise the EX and enhance HR service delivery
Below we outline three key ways HR/WFM technology can transform your business.
1. Less admin, more time
Effective people management is critical to business success, but it can be a vortex that sucks in time, resources and money. A lot of that is due to the amount of administration required. Staying on top of compliance regulations, employee records, pay, rostering, scheduling, approving leave, chasing up forms from employees, performance management… the list goes on. If it’s being done manually or through the aid of a spreadsheet, it’s even more time-consuming.
Today, McKinsey research shows that 56% of typical ‘hire-to-retire’ tasks could be automated with technology.
An annual review or audit of internal HR and WFM processes will establish what’s working effectively and where there’s room for improvement. Keep in mind that technology cannot fix a fundamentally flawed process, but at the same time it should not add further complexity to existing processes. The introduction of new tech is nonetheless an ideal to time to undertake such a review, to understand how much time, human resources and money is spent on processes.
The ability to automate repetitive, time-draining HR and WFM tasks bolsters productivity and reduces the risk and costs associated with human error. It’s not just HR who benefits. Automation also benefits employees by empowering them with self-service tools. They can update their personal records, change their work preferences, check rotas and payslips, and use mobile clocking tools.
2. Deeper insights
Numbers and data have always been the language of business, but for too long HR has struggled to collect, analyse and produce meaningful insights from the potential goldmine of data they’ve had access to. Part of that is no doubt due to the disparate systems being used, which produce data silos and make reporting difficult.
Using a centralised ‘single source of truth’ can have an impact on reporting capabilities – enabling managers and leadership teams to spot trends, threats and opportunities – but can ultimately also improve the EX as there’s less time spent inputting and migrating data. Data-entry mistakes decrease and managers have more time to focus on the bigger picture.
The rich data obtained during onboarding is a good example. That intel can be fed through to payroll and operations managers can get people rostered quickly – no more delays waiting for the details of new recruits to be entered before rostering can occur. Onboarding can also capture qualifications and links through to future learning and development if skill gaps are identified.
Technology will increasingly be used to help customise and track in real-time the needs of each individual, wherever they are situated on their employee journey. This data will be used to offer tailored learning opportunities, fine-tune rotas and scheduling, allocate budgets and resources, track engagement, and more.
3. Compliance confidence
Compliance has become the hottest word in workforce management. Yes, you read that right. A combination of factors, including a highly complex industrial landscape, ongoing scrutiny from regulators, and costly cases of employee underpayments have all conspired to bump compliance up the priority list for HR professionals and executive leadership teams. There’s a renewed focus on how well-integrated technology solutions – specifically payroll and time and attendance (T&A) software – can help mitigate the risk of non-compliance.
So, better compliance with the aid of technology certainly benefits employers, but how about the EX? Does it have an impact on that? In short, yes. For one thing, everyone wants to be paid accurately for the hours they work, and compliance obligations mean that pay, as well as countless other aspects of work such as health and safety, are handled correctly.
Of course, some degree of human oversight is always required. Given the sensitive and nuanced nature of WFM and payroll, the end-to-end process cannot be fully automated. Appropriate checks, controls and balances are still needed to ensure accuracy and compliance. As an example, even a minor data entry error can throw payroll out significantly, highlighting the need for a combination of the right people with the right qualifications using the right technology and reports to get the right results.
Further insights and tips
In tough economic times, every business is looking for a more streamlined HR function that focuses less on endless administrative and compliance tasks, and more on longer-term, strategic goals. Implementing new technology is the ideal time to question existing processes and change them for the better. Employees benefit too, as each part of their journey with your organisation can be transformed with digital tools. The end result is more engaged workers and more efficient and less labour-intensive HR processes – the ultimate ‘win-win’ scenario.
For further tips on how technology can address the changing needs of your deskless workforce download
