How to reach and engage your non-desk employees

Many organizations struggle to keep non-desk employees informed and aligned with the business.

Unlike office employees, most non-desk employees don’t have resources like a PC, a laptop, or even a company email address.

They work in the factories, at the stores, on the field, or on the road. Which is why it’s always challenging for employers and managers to disseminate news and information in a timely manner to this employee group.

In fact, according to a research by Ragan, 84% of deskless workers say they don’t get enough direct communication from top management, and only 10% feel strongly connected to their companies.

This means they are missing out not only on information but also on connection with the organization.

So how to reach and engage with your non-desk employees? Here are some ideas to consider.

Mobile intranet app

Almost everyone today has a smartphone and we carry our smartphones with us to work. That’s why using mobile solutions such as a mobile intranet app or employee communication app is a common approach for organizations to keep their non-desk workers informed.

By having the company intranet app installed in their smartphone, your non-desk workers – no matter where they’re working – can receive company news, check for information, search documents and people and connect with managers and colleagues.

Through a mobile intranet app, management can share the company vision, goals and important updates with everyone in the company. Employees will find all this information on their mobile phones the moment it’s been published.

Compared to other tools, a mobile intranet app offers some clear advantages. It offers a wide range of essential features such as push notifications, a personalized newsfeed, a people directory, analytics and more. The mobile intranet app becomes one of the most effective channels to reach and inform deskless employees.

Did you know? The Involv mobile intranet app, can be branded with your company logo and corporate colours.

Digital screens/displays

The advantage of using digital signage for internal communication is that you can place the screens there where they are most relevant to your employees. They are hugely visible. So, it helps to grab everyone’s attention.

There are a lot of use cases for digital signage. In the office, they can for example show news, data dashboards or events. This information may come from your Involv intranet. This communication tool is also often used in hospitals and factories to show videos of specific work procedures.

Messages/chat apps

Chat apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and iMessage have become so popular that they are now used in many organizations for internal communication. They provide a solution to reach the group of deskless employees.

Chat apps are free, convenient, and almost everyone has at least one chat app installed on their smartphones. It’s one of the channels to pass on the information, but from a business perspective it lacks many essential features that help to optimize internal communication and ensure data compliance. Some people will also be reluctant to use these apps for work related conversations.

Traditional communication ways

Beside the above-mentioned tools, many organizations also use traditional channels such as word of mouth, sending mails to disseminate information.

Clearly, compared to other digital tools, these traditional channels have some downsides. Information that is disseminated via word of mouth is unstable, sending mails costs more and takes time, and it’s hard to measure the reach and impact of your communication.

Conclusion:

To ensure that important company news and information reaches the entire workforce, in many organizations, we often see a mix of different channels being used, including both digital and traditional ways.

Certainly, it’s important to decide which channel is to be the ‘single source of truth’. For many, this is a news article on the company intranet which is accessible for both office workers on their PC or laptop and non-desk workers through the mobile intranet app.

Interested to know more about the Involv mobile intranet app? Take a look at our demo video

(Photo: Freepik)