The Silent Majority: Valuing Deskless Workers in Today's Workforce

In today's work environment, a significant portion of employees feel overlooked and unheard by their organizations. These are the deskless workers, making up 80% of the global workforce, who perform hands-on roles such as warehouse workers, nurses, housekeeping staff, retail associates, and restaurant staff. Unlike their desk-bound counterparts, these frontline employees have limited opportunities to provide feedback and often feel that leadership is disconnected from their daily experiences. Ignoring this vital segment of the workforce can have serious consequences for both employee retention and business success. Therefore, establishing regular feedback channels for deskless employees should be a top priority.

The Problem: Deskless Workers Feel Undervalued

During the pandemic, deskless workers were lauded as essential heroes who kept society functioning despite lockdowns. However, as the focus shifted to remote work and office perks, these workers felt forgotten. Their unique needs have been largely ignored, fostering disillusionment and skepticism, which in turn has led to decreased engagement. A recent Forbes article highlighted that many deskless employees feel expendable and believe that corporate leadership is indifferent to their concerns and challenges.

It's evident that these workers feel sidelined as organizations disproportionately focus on white-collar professionals. With limited flexibility and inability to work from home, deskless employees question their value. Often, attempts to offer perks fall flat; for example, warehouse workers have reported that "pointless pizza parties" felt more disrespectful than appreciative.

This neglect is damaging. According to a Gallup report, only 32% of employees are engaged at work. Such widespread disengagement threatens productivity, service, safety, innovation, and retention. Businesses cannot afford to keep deskless workers marginalized and unhappy.

The Solution: Continuous Anonymous Feedback

To rebuild trust and show commitment to the entire workforce, companies must open more channels for deskless employees to safely share uncensored feedback. Traditional engagement surveys are inadequate—they are sporadic, non-anonymous, and often ask irrelevant questions. Instead, organizations should provide always-available outlets specifically designed for these workers to quickly log concerns.

One effective solution is placing feedback kiosks at sites where deskless employees work or take breaks. These devices allow workers to anonymously answer short, categorical, or smiley-face scale questions daily. Data is collected and synthesized into dashboards that leadership can monitor in real-time. The benefits include:

• Accessibility: Kiosks located in breakrooms, common areas, or next to timeclocks remove barriers to providing quick input. Employees don't need to access computers or corporate intranets.
• Anonymity: Workers can answer honestly without fear of judgement or retaliation, yielding more candid insights.
• Relevance: Questions can be tailored to issues deskless employees face, such as safety, workload, training, or manager relations.
• Immediacy: Data surfaces within minutes or hours rather than months, enabling rapid response. Trends also emerge faster.
• Ease-of-use: Smiley scales and simple multiple-choice questions allow workers of all backgrounds and tech skills to participate.

With kiosks, leaders gain an accurate pulse on previously unknown pain points affecting productivity and retention. Employees feel valued, knowing their voices are heard and actions will follow.

The Results: Happier, More Productive Deskless Employees

Closing feedback gaps for deskless workers yields far-reaching benefits. Companies can expect measurable improvements, including:

• Boosted Engagement: Gallup's report shows highly engaged business units see 21% greater profitability. Engaged deskless workers suffer fewer accidents, are more attentive to quality, and provide better customer service. Anonymous, always-on feedback demonstrates commitment to understanding these employees' experiences, driving engagement up.
• Increased Retention: Turnover is expensive, costing U.S. companies billions annually. Engaged employees are less likely to leave. A retention and engagement study found highly engaged retail employees stayed 44% longer at their jobs. Better feedback channels improve engagement and retention.
• Higher Productivity: Disengaged workers are not focused or motivated. Engaged employees who feel heard work harder—up to 20% more productive, according to research on engagement and productivity. Real-time insight into deskless workers' obstacles allows issues like inadequate training, faulty equipment, or unreasonable targets to be promptly addressed, enabling peak performance.
• Enhanced Service & Quality: Customers notice disengaged frontline staff who seem robotic, unhelpful, and unhappy. Engaged employees provide warm, attentive service that delights customers and keeps them coming back. They also make fewer mistakes that erode quality and waste resources. Anonymous employee feedback helps identify and resolve issues impacting service and quality.
• Improved Safety: Engaged deskless employees not only demonstrate higher job satisfaction but also show fewer accident rates, better quality focus, and exceptional customer service. Feedback kiosk data can identify safety concerns raised by employees, enabling proactive measures to foster a culture of prevention and safety.

Elevating Operational Excellence

Neglecting deskless employees can erode operational excellence and competitiveness. Introducing continuously accessible anonymous feedback kiosks tailored to these employees' needs promotes inclusivity. When leaders consistently monitor feedback data and take proactive measures, they show genuine dedication to their workforce. This fosters a sense of being heard, valued, and engaged among employees, resulting in increased productivity, improved retention rates, enhanced service quality, and a safer work environment. Embracing deskless worker feedback through solutions like feedback kiosks elevates the entire workforce and drives overall business success. Organizations should seize the opportunity to invest in listening to their often-overlooked majority now.

Press'nXPress Deskless Employee Solution helps organizations in increasing retention and boosting morale by allowing deskless workers to be heard in real-time. This allows managers and leaders to know and address problems that may push deskless workers away.

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