The days of managers dictating where and when employees must show up for work are gone. The problem however, is that most people haven’t seen much of an improvement in how schedules are built and communicated beyond more complex spreadsheets or more cumbersome on premise solutions.
When I came on board as the CEO of MakeShift I was intrigued by the approach to making a more empathetic and intuitive scheduling tool. It was clear that MakeShift technology was based on a model recognizing the need to put people first and that things change quickly. How do we make sure the right people are where they need to be when it makes sense for them?
This clever approach recognizes the incredibly fast pace of business change right now and the change in the way we are all living and interacting. Manual systems are just inefficient and more importantly, don’t adapt to the people who need to feel confident that they are part of the system. Improving employee experience must be at the heart of every system. Making sure employees feel listened to and appreciated – even when the situation is changing rapidly, can be a turning point for an organization. This is especially important to remember during these days of distributed and dispersed workforces and ever-present employee burnout.
What people need from their employer when it comes time to schedule their work is to demonstrate that they count. They matter.
I was impressed by the thought that went into one particular function in MakeShift that alerts a scheduler to a situation where an employee has been working over a certain number of shifts or hours. To me that clearly demonstrates how the human factor is built in – people have to be managed effectively but they are people first.
We also see how the COVID-19 work protocols are negatively impacting women in the workforce. This is an opportunity to show real support in helping women find new ways to show up for work by identifying what types of shifts and workdays can welcome women back to the workplace in a way that allows them to have a say. I was inspired by the support a seamless and well-designed tool can provide when it acknowledges the issues facing people.
Building a truly agile solution to adapt and grow with employee needs and respond to external influences is the ideal scenario for any organization with a workforce that expects more from their employer.
Adam Greenberg is the CEO of MakeShift.
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