New research from Humanforce, the workforce management solutions company, shows that 74% of frontline workers in Australia believe technology plays a vital role in customer service.
While technology is recognized as increasingly important to meet customer needs, only 28% of employees believe the technology they use in their workplace is advanced, with 13% saying the technology in their workplace was poor or limited.
Clayton Pyne, CEO of Humanforce, says part-time and temporary workers are on the front lines of customer service in Australia, often being the first point of contact for customer questions and taking the lead in solving problems.
“Importantly, these employees rely on technology to connect with their employers and co-workers, assist with their tasks, and meet customer needs,” he says.
The report found that employees themselves say they need advanced technologies to do their jobs, while only 4% say technology played no role in their ability to serve customers.
The human force says that frontline workers prefer employers who offer workplace technologies that support their work and seek companies that enable employees to manage their services.
The report found that 83% of those surveyed would be more likely to join a company if they used automated technology to manage their work better, including tasks, shift availability, and salary.
Conversely, 23% of frontline workers would consider leaving an employer if they didn’t offer workplace technologies that helped employees plan and manage their work.
The report also found that the most commonly used workplace technologies by frontline workers in Australia were scanners at 36%, point of sale (POS) systems at 23%, and wearable technologies at 11%.
Pyne says a bad experience or interaction with customer service today can cause customers to abandon a purchase and create a negative image of a brand that may never go away.
“To meet the expectations of Australian consumers, companies need to improve their customer service and support employees with the right technologies,” he says.
“Solutions that can speed up purchasing processes instantly uncover a customer’s purchase history or provide background information on a product issue or complaint, and provide frontline workers with invaluable tools and information to better meet customer needs while meeting customer needs. be work.”
The report finds that employees prioritize training to help them adapt to new technologies in the workplace. Hands-on training delivered by a manager or colleague and online training account for 49% of respondents preferred training methodologies.
“In a competitive hiring environment, companies need to focus on the employee experience by providing employees with technologies that support positive customer service outcomes and enable them to manage their jobs better, while businesses can optimize costs, improve productivity and achieve compliance,” says Pyne.
“Workforce management solutions can help simplify work processes and empower employees to manage their working lives by automating shift management, onboarding, training, and more while ensuring business goals are met.”
Humanforce has contracted Zoho Survey to survey 500 Australian frontline workers (part-time and casual workers) in Q4 2021 on technologies being used in their workplaces.
