Taking Care of Your Deskless Workforce: Why You Need to Implement Continuous Employee Feedback

When it comes to employee engagement, corporate culture often comes to mind – the 9-5 grind. However, the truth is that 80% of the global workforce is deskless and mobile. Most employees work on the frontline, directly interacting with customers, products, or infrastructure. As a leader, you might not have regular contact with these mobile workers, but their roles are critical in shaping the customer experience.

Despite the importance of deskless employees, many companies struggle to engage them effectively. A happy employee is more productive and more likely to go the extra mile for their organization. With an estimated 2.4 billion employees worldwide, their engagement is essential. The global pandemic highlighted the importance of frontline workers such as nurses, restaurant employees, grocery store staff, janitors, and manufacturing workers. These roles should be a top priority for organizations.

A study by APPrise Mobile surveyed over 1,000 deskless employees and found that 44% felt disengaged and overlooked by their employers. Furthermore, 84% of these workers believed management did not communicate with them effectively. So why are deskless employees often left out of employee engagement initiatives?

The Importance of Engaging Deskless Workers

Engaged employees are more productive, have better attendance, and yield better results for their organizations. To improve performance, businesses must actively engage their teams. In today's competitive economy, employee engagement is crucial to gaining an edge. The pandemic spotlighted the need for effective engagement strategies for deskless, essential workers. With reduced team sizes across industries, companies must focus on retaining talent and maximizing productivity while maintaining employee satisfaction.

Strategies for Engaging the Deskless Workforce

Research indicates that businesses are not effectively engaging their deskless employees. While technology has long catered to office workers, it has only recently begun to address the needs of the deskless workforce. In 2020, Millennials constituted the majority of the workforce, and their demand for [new workplace technology](https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/employment-and-growth/technology-jobs-and-the-future-of-work has grown. Fortunately, technological advancements now offer tools to enhance employee engagement for deskless workers.

Real-time feedback tools allow organizations to gather feedback from deskless workers. Gathering feedback this way helps with engagement because workers need to feel heard and valued. If no one bothers to ask them how things are going, how can they feel heard? By collecting feedback in a way that meets them where they are, it sends a strong message that the organization cares and is willing to improve the worker experience.

Many organizations have implemented technology-enhanced continuous worker feedback systems to improve engagement for their deskless workforce. This technology goes far beyond sending out an e-mail survey and hoping workers respond. After all, we are not working with employees that are sitting at their computers. They are active, on the floor and on the move, which means the feedback collection mechanism needs to work with them and be convenient for them.

Enhancing Employee Engagement with Innovative Solutions

Press’nXPress is a perfect example of this technology. Using impressive AI technology software, Press’nXPress allows business leaders to set up physical terminals at the workplace to collect daily feedback from workers in a plant or on the frontlines. When the smiley-face technology is installed beside the clock, workers will answer a question and send their feedback when they want to clock in or clock-out. This real-time feedback is essential for many reasons, but the fact it is captured in real-time means the results are more accurate and can effectively depict worker engagement. Innovative solutions like this will help businesses measure and understand their employees and make improvements that matter.

Press’nXPress is an excellent example of technology designed to engage the deskless workforce. Leveraging advanced AI software, Press’nXPress enables business leaders to install physical terminals at workplaces for collecting daily feedback from plant or frontline workers. By placing smiley-face technology next to the clock, employees can quickly answer questions and provide feedback when clocking in or out. Real-time feedback is crucial for several reasons, including greater accuracy and the ability to effectively gauge employee engagement. Innovative solutions like Press’nXPress help businesses better understand their employees and make meaningful improvements.

Deskless employees play a vital role, and it's time to offer valuable tools that enhance their job satisfaction. Frontline workers are often overlooked when it comes to employee engagement initiatives, which can lead to reduced revenue, poor customer experiences, and high turnover rates. Companies that practice continuous employee feedback in the workplace report 14.9% lower turnover. The cost savings in hiring and training alone make investing in feedback technology worthwhile. When employees can conveniently provide continuous feedback, it boosts motivation, productivity, and overall job satisfaction.

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