Why Every Senior Care Employee Wants To Be Mobile

It seems that everything under the sun can be handled directly from a mobile device these days.

Need a ride? There’s an app for that. Want to order food? There’s an app for that, too. Have to get in touch with a friend in another time zone or another country? There are several different apps for that.

Mobile devices and their vast capabilities are making life much easier across the board, and the workplace stands to benefit, as well. Between improved communication, enhanced employee engagement and better business performance, mobile-optimized work environments can drive a company forward.

The senior care space is no different. Going mobile is definitely an opportunity, and both current workers and future employees won’t just expect mobile capacities in the workplace—they’ll demand it.

In leveraging mobile in your business, think about why employees want to be mobile, and how these preferences can in turn positively impact your company’s performance.

It’s essential for communication.

Today’s workers are attached to their phones, so it makes sense that they would rather carry out work communication via mobile.

Rather than issue shift-change notices through paper memos or announce policy changes on a bulletin board, senior care providers can ensure their employees get the message in a timely fashion through mobile scheduling. That way, whether employees are taking a break from their shift or are on-the-go outside of work hours, they’ll be able to tune in for schedule updates and the latest company information in real time.

While employees clearly enjoy the benefits of mobile scheduling, your organization will too. With mobile scheduling and communication, messages about open shifts can be targeted to employees who are qualified and available, meaning employees you invite to pick up shifts will not add overtime to your schedule.

Communication can also happen instantly, allowing schedulers to fill call-offs quickly without spending hours on the phone to find a replacement. Finally, messages are sent via employees’ preferred method (mobile app, call, text, or email) making it much more likely they actually get your message.

It’s clear that mobile scheduling has advantages for both employees and providers, due to streamlined communication that is more efficient and effective, leading to fewer scheduling discrepancies and missed messages.

It drives engagement.

Employees want to be connected to their work and the companies they work for—there’s no doubt about it.

Thankfully, there’s a significant link between mobile-oriented work environments and an uptick in employee engagement, according to a study titled “Mobility, Performance and Engagement” conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). In fact, the study showed high-tech companies who have gone big on mobile saw increases in productivity, creativity, satisfaction and loyalty when compared to organizations rated poorly for their mobile implementation.

Of the 1,865 employees around the world surveyed for the study, 60% said mobile technology makes them more productive, and 45% said it prompts more creativity in their roles. These figures alone suggest workers are more content with their roles as a result of their employers’ mobile strategies. 

When it comes to scheduling in senior care, the ability to use mobile technology helps employee engagement because employees have more control over their schedules and are able to more easily balance their work and family obligations.

And from a provider’s perspective—who wouldn’t want a more productive, satisfied, and all around engaged staff? Your business and residents alike will benefit.

It fosters inclusion—for all ages.

The idea that mobile technology is only geared toward and effective with younger generations isn’t necessarily true. Deploying mobile strategies across all age groups in a workplace fosters a sense of inclusion, and that’s the type of senior care provider the majority of employees would prefer.

If a company uses mobile tactics for one subset of its staff and a different method for another, employees are sure to be dissatisfied. And since respondents’ ages weren’t a factor in how mobile technology impacts performance and engagement, according to the EIU study, going mobile clearly has its advantages.

That means it’s even more important to make mobile technology a priority, to both attract and maintain a solid, unified senior care workforce.