Deskless employees are the majority, but most payroll and HR software still marginalises them.
Every morning, Katlego gets up at 4:30 and prepares to travel to her job at a large enterprise in Sandton. She navigates taxis and trains, joining the daily hustle of millions of South Africans. But unlike some of them, she doesn’t arrive at a desk. Instead, Katlego dons her uniform and prepares to straighten the offices that often form the visible face of South African businesses.
Yet, that visible face is the minority. An estimated 70 to 80 percent of South African employees are considered frontline or deskless. They include cleaning staff, security guards, retail cashiers, shop-floor staff, factory and farm workers, drivers, miners, construction workers, and hospitality staff. Frontline workers range from entry level to highly skilled, such as nurses, police officers, technicians, inspectors, and field engineers.
Most software overlook deskless employees
It’s vital to support those workforces as much as the people who sit at desks, but technology often doesn’t take them into consideration, says Sandra Crous, Managing Director of Deel Local Payroll.
“Most business software makes several assumptions, like that people will be at a desk and in front of a computer. The software designers assume that most employees have an email address and can easily communicate with other parts of the company, such as HR or payroll. That mindset makes it harder for a lot of employees to access basic employment services that we take for granted. It’s bad for their dignity and for overall productivity.”
Even though companies provide access to computers for deskless and frontline workers, those are inferior solutions. Consequently, 60% of deskless workers aren’t satisfied with the technology channels their employers provide.
Employees want to check the status of their pay, often a daily activity for shift workers or irregular earners. The effect is cumulative, and notably amplified in large organisations. When there are follow up questions or a need for other tasks, such as leave applications, it requires even more time from both employees and the HR or payroll staff helping them.
Why WhatsApp dominates
These issues strain the well being and focus of deskbound employees. For people working on their feet or away from corporate corridors, the impact is much more pronounced. But human beings are nothing if not adaptable. They will exploit a tool in surprising ways if it smooths their daily activities, which is why WhatsApp is the dominant software in business.
Today, 93% of South African employees rely on WhatsApp for their business interactions, ahead of email (not a surprise since those employees are 20% more likely to have access to a smartphone than a laptop). Among global workers, communicating through WhatsApp is more popular than making phone calls.
Over 200 million businesses use WhatsApp in a professional capacity. While much of that activity focuses on customer communications, many formal and even more informal communications are internal. Companies are combining this trend with self-service tools to address the technology services shortfalls with deskless employees.
Closing deskless gaps with self-service
There’s a growing realisation that WhatsApp in the right environment solves several of these problems, says Crous.
“WhatsApp is already on the employee’s device and they don’t need an email address because they can use their phone number. Connect that to a secure business platform that has automated self-service features and you get the best results. Employees can access important information and administrative staff can focus on other priorities.”
A clear example is Pacey, a WhatsApp feature on the Deel Local Payroll, powered by PaySpace payroll and HR platform that lets employees request payslips, apply for leave, and more. South Africa’s Deel Local Payroll, which owns and runs the PaySpace platform in over 49 countries, recently expanded this with an AI chat agent that answers more specific employee questions related to their individual records.
“We’re seeing this exciting confluence between intelligent chatbots, platform-powered automation, and widespread communication channels.”
The majority of employees don’t have desks or even business email addresses. But they use WhatsApp, which is why the software has become the preferred communication channel among millions of workers. While most research trends focus on WhatsApp as a customer-facing channel, businesses mustn’t underestimate its value to support workforces.
“WhatsApp is the stealth employee super-app,” says Crous. “All our clients who use WhatsApp as an employee self-service feature consider it indispensable.”
