Workers Want Better Technology

An overwhelming majority of employees wish their workplace technology was as easy and powerful as their personal technology, according to a new global survey.

The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated surveyed more than 2,800 employees across a variety of industries in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S. to explore the impact existing and emerging technologies have on the employee experience.

The researchers say the days where most workers experienced more sophisticated technology at work than in their personal lives are long gone. They say the boom in consumer internet-enabled devices, and the rise of on-demand and gig economy apps that now dominate consumer’s everyday lives, should prompt organisations to “walk a mile in their employees’ shoes.”

Kronos Incorporated Chairman, China Gorman, said that employees from all demographics were beginning to expect, and in many cases demand, “workplace technology to be as easy to adopt as their latest consumer applications.”

“Workplace technology needs to be intuitive and easy. No more manuals. No more classes. Adoption as easy as learning the latest online game.”

Key findings:

• Nearly half of employees (48 percent) surveyed worldwide wish their workplace technology performed just like their personal technology.
• More than a third of employees surveyed worldwide (35 percent) feel their job is harder than it should be because of outdated processes and legacy technology.
• For U.S. industries, employees in state and local government (55 percent), public safety (53 percent), and finance (43 percent) feel most strongly that outdated processes and technology makes their job more difficult.
• Younger employees in the U.S. are less tolerant of poor workplace technology than older employees. While just a fifth (20 percent) of Boomers think outdated processes and technology make their job harder than it should be, that figure steadily increases for Gen Xers (34 percent), older Millennials (38 percent), younger Millennials (40 percent), and Gen Z (39 percent).

The Workforce Institute at Kronos (TWIK) executive director, Joyce Maroney, said employers should consider investment into technology as an important differentiator against competitors.

“Those who empower employees with intuitive, responsive solutions that match the ease of use and real-time nature of their favourite apps will gain an important advantage in their efforts to recruit and retain top talent.”

TWIK advisory board member, John Frehse, said that fair or not, employee expectations were set by the likes of Apple and Google.

“Those expectations are applied to all parts of their lives. Workforce management tools must provide the same ease of use, access to information, and level of value employees enjoy on their iPhone or Android device.”