ter. When deskless respondents were asked about the areas of their work lives that would benefit from technology, top responses included communications (96 percent), operations/logistics (93 percent), onboard/training (91 percent) and productivity boosts (90 percent). In terms of communications functions specifically, deskless workers face “a dangerous concoction of ad-hoc channels and indirect cascades” said the Deskless study. Information is coming to workers through a range of channels and sources, including peers, direct managers, head offices and automated sources. Often digital information is shared informally from managers to workers, or vice versa, and more often than not it’s through personal channels not sanctioned nor monitored by the company. More than three-quarters of frontline respondents said they check their phone at work, whether or not it’s allowed. The number one way that frontline managers and their deskless workforces receive digital company communications is through “text/calls on personal phone.” That method was second only to “in-person” interactions. Texts and calls on personal phones, along with email, also are top ways that managers and workers provide feedback to business leaders. Overall, information is more likely to be disseminated by physical binders and bulletin boards than by a company-provided communications app. Nearly one in five deskless workers sources their own communications app. Automated communications currently is reaching only about one in five deskless workers. “The reality is that frontline workers are filling the communications gap, at least to the frontline manager, by using their personal devices – because they are lacking a company-sponsored alternative,” warned the report. In other words, the bulk of information that deskless workers receive comes through systems that don’t allow for the standardization, optimization and tracking typically required for large-scale workforces, said Deskless researchers. In turn, managers are left wondering if messages are being received, while corporate leaders are left wondering if what’s bubbling up from managers is an accurate picture of what’s on the ground. “We try to email, but 60 percent of people don’t check it,” said a responding operations and logistics manager of a manufacturing company. “We run 24/7, but we don’t have time built in to do communication meetings. All meetings are voluntary and happen during breaks. To know people read and understand the things we post is very difficult.” Another manager described internal communications with deskless workforces as “sending information into the abyss.” As might be expected, what is being sent out isn’t happening very frequently. The only communications type regularly shared on a daily basis are mission-critical shift and scheduling updates, showed Deskless’ data. All other communications types were more commonly shared once a week or, in the case of recognition and cultural initiatives, once a month or less. There also may be an inordinate amount of faith being put into frontline managers to report back what’s actually happening on the ground. According to the data from Source: Forrester Shifts employeees from routine to more complex tasks O oad detection engineering e orts 24% 21% 30% 19% How has your call center benefitted from conversation intelligence? Source: Obser ve.AI 98.8% strongly agree or agree it has created more transparency in their contact center 97.7% strongly agree or agree it has enabled better agent coaching 92% strongly agree or agree it has helped improve agent performance programs 92.1% strongly agree or agree it has helped improve their ability to engage with customers 95.5% strongly agree or agree it has helped them assign agents to the right tasks 94.3% strongly agree or agree it has helped bring down overall operating costs 93.2% strongly agree or agree it has helped improve their products or services 97.7% strongly agree or agree it has helped them make strategic business decisions Strongly agree Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly Disagree Frequency of communications sent according to frontline workers and managers Source: Deskless; the Starr Conspiracy 13% 9% 11% 13% 12% 10% 12% 11% 21% 14% 12% 13% 17% 20% 21% 21% 21% 20% 20% 25% 19% 18% 12% 17% 14% 17% 4% 13% 13% 18% 22% 25% 22% 23% 22% 41% 19% 20% 21% 14% 20 12% 18% 20% 18% 10% 21% 21% 18% 17% 12% 12% 11% 10% 4% Recognition Cultural initiatives Safety/protocol updates Updates on sales initiatives or other contests HR News Updates on products or services Updates on sales or promotions Company updates Shift and sheduling updates Every day A few times a week About once a week A few times a month Once a month Less than once a month How Frontline Managers & Workers Receive Information In-person 67% Text/calls on personal phone 56% Email 54% Conversations with manager 46% Physical (binders, etc.) 32% Company-provided communications app 28% Company intranet 22% Social media 18% Independently sourced communications app 17% Surveys 16% None of the above 1% Source: Deskless; the Starr Conspiracy 19 REMOTE WORK SOLUTIONS rwsmagazine.com
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