The answer to staff turnover lies in a digital-first worldview
It is no secret that the U.S. is undergoing one of the largest worker resignation rates in at least three decades, and it is not limited to one type of industry, it is affecting everyone.
Recently, I published an article on Forbes, discussing how there are many reasons for this staff turnover rate and how the roles have shifted between employers and employees.
Covid-19 changed the structure of the working environment and with it, employee expectations. Higher wages are an option, but not necessarily the solution. Employees are now looking for other incentives. After restructuring what’s important to them, employees have a firmer stance on establishing a work-life balance, whether they work remotely or in the workplace.
Making a Difference with Digitization
Cloud computing, mobile apps, video conferencing, and other digital tools and technologies have helped soothe and shape new business models by providing continuity in projects with fewer help from workers, while also improving the employee experience. Here are some ways in which technology can help businesses avoid the employee shortage.
Analytics to the rescue. Sometimes, employers miss the warning signs that a worker may be checked-out. Data-driven analytics can help identify workers logging excessive over-time and alert Human Resource about this.
Automate the paperwork. Robotic Process Automation(RPA) uses artificial intelligence to execute the repetitive tedious tasks.
Chatbots can do the talking. Chatbots can be beneficial to the agents working in a call center by removing the tedious and repetitive tasks, such as the common questions asked by customers. They can also operate 24/7, a further advantage point to them.
Machine learning removes doubt from decision-making. Deep learning algorithms can be trained with diverse data to predict future outcomes. Managers can then take specific action in advance or have evidence to explain and support specific decisions.
A Digital-First Mindset helps reduce Labor-Shortage Challenges
Self-service check-out in retail. Self-checkout stations are providing relief to sales staff from payment transactions and allows them to focus on helping customers with their purchasing decisions.
Mobile apps in restaurants. According to an NPR article, rude customers are partly to blame for more than half of hospitality workers quitting. Self-service tablets give customers the opportunity to order their food on their own and pay for that service efficiently, without the need of service staff.
Remote monitoring in healthcare. Telehealth and remote monitoring technologies are reducing nurses’ workload by monitoring the vital signs of patients and allowing nurses to not have to manually visit each patient and perform the physical patient touchpoints. During this critical shortage of nurses, remote monitoring technologies are also using AI to eliminate the chances of manual data entry error that can happen with overworked staff and larger patient workloads.
This staff turnover period will continue to worsen before getting better, but it is becoming increasingly evident that companies that dive into a digital-first worldview and that are using technology for the tedious tasks are finding that employees can become more satisfied with their roles.
Throughout the years, digitization has become essential to business efficiency, reduced costs, and productivity. Now, it is becoming an essential part of employee satisfaction. The end of the great turnover depends on it.
