The Rise Of Mobile Workforce Apps
If there’s one thing we learned in 2020, it’s that the concept of “work” has changed dramatically, and it may have changed forever. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that organizations will have to be more agile regarding their workforce if they want to survive. After all, it simply isn’t feasible for many businesses (both large and small) to use their offices and face-to-face meetings to ensure productivity, given the safety concerns. Of course, technology has proven itself useful in this regard, and there are more apps than ever meant to keep employees connected and engaged.
It should also be noted that remote work was on the rise even before the pandemic. Millennials value flexibility to the point where it’s one of the most important aspects of their job search, and this has also contributed to the rise of mobile workforce apps, as well. Let’s examine how mobile workforce apps will change the way that human beings work in the future.
The Major Players
The pandemic forced some of the most powerful corporations to rethink the way that employees work, and whether they had to go into the office to be productive. Companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook had to come up with ways to make remote work possible. There were already major players in the world of remote working, and Slack is one of them.
For those who are unaware, Slack is a business communication platform that allows individuals to communicate in both private and public channels. In 2015, Slack had 750,000 daily active users. That number has since skyrocketed. In October 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic made international headlines, the platform boasted 12 million daily active users. Slack was valued over $20 billion as of last year.
Slack isn’t the only app that has taken advantage of the rise of remote work. Zoom is a video conferencing tool that has exploded since the pandemic, since it offers the ability for organizations to connect through audio/video. If you are skeptical about how popular Zoom has become, consider that the platform has gone from 10 million daily active users to over 200 million daily active users.
Why Use These Apps?
Organizations might understand that their office can no longer be the headquarters of an organization, and that insisting that employees work from there isn’t feasible. However, some might be skeptical about using these apps, and wonder why they can’t simply use other means of communication to get work done. The truth is that while some small businesses might be able to use email to effectively communicate with their remote team - many remote teams require more communication and collaboration.
There are some tangible benefits from these mobile workforce apps. You might be sending e-mails back and forth constantly, only to realize that an app can help streamline operations, and that projects can get completed more efficiently if your workforce begins to communicate using these apps.
These mobile workforce apps can help with many aspects of your business - including scheduling, payroll, budgeting, and access. Of course, it’s important for organizations to consider whether the app is reliable, and has adequate customer support. Businesses will also have to consider whether the app requires much of a learning curve. One of the reasons that Slack has become so successful is because it is praised for its intuitive design, and it doesn’t take that long to use the tool effectively.
Conclusion
Remote work is already on the rise, and it certainly won’t stop anytime soon. In fact, in 2018, it was reported that over two-thirds of the world work remotely at least once a week. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for remote work dramatically, and it’s clear that the future of work involves technology that allows employees to communicate with individuals in other states and countries. In fact, many remote workers actually feel that they are more productive when working remotely, as well.
If businesses and organizations want to keep up with the times, they should accept the fact that remote work is not only becoming more relevant day by day, but it’s already here. Since this is the case, organizations should seek to find the mobile workforce apps that make the most sense for their needs, preferences, and requirements. It doesn’t matter whether you are focusing on cutting costs or improving productivity, you may want to examine how mobile workforce apps can take your company to the next level.