A deskless worker can be defined as a person without a fixed operational location in the workplace. This usually means these workers rely on fixed, shared stations or remote, personal devices to complete and record their work. The hospitality industry in particular, utilizes a plurality of deskless workers to keep their organizations running.
Historically, deskless workers have been complex to manage effectively. Supervisors and managers can’t realistically keep up with the multitude of deskless workers, and all the duties and tasks they complete in a day. Additionally, accessibility factors, such as available languages, remote access, and compliance guidelines, further complicate the issue.
But there’s good news!
Modern payroll software for hospitality provides a means to manage deskless workers throughout a hotel or hospitality organization effectively. The right software will provide remote access, multiple, simultaneous sign-ins, task and time trackers, and any tax-relevant functionality that is required.
Challenges to managing HR and payroll for deskless workers
Deskless workers are sometimes different from frontline workers. While frontline workers (staff who interface directly with consumers or the public) can be deskless, not all deskless workers are frontline. For example, maintenance techs and custodians tend to conduct their duties without interacting with guests, unlike a valet, who often speaks to customers before engaging in their duties.
Since many deskless jobs are unskilled labor (though certainly not all are!), the issues with managing those workers are similar across different industries. Hospitality, in particular, employs plenty of unskilled laborers (maids, waiters, food preparation workers, etc.) with special requirements that managers must meet to effectively support and track them, wherever they are in the facility.
Some of the most common pitfalls to deskless worker management in hospitality include language barriers, seasonal contracts, and technology-based obstacles that could come from lousy onboarding, a flawed system, or just plain old tech illiteracy from your workers.
To manage these workers effectively, you need to remember their health and safety, follow wage and overtime rules, and have accessible support for benefits, all for different types of workers who may have different tax treatments and other rules to follow.
Ultimately, this is far too much to be manually tracked and organized, given the scale and pace of modern hospitality facilities.
Managing deskless workers with modern technology and HR software
The good news is that you don’t have to do this manually anymore!
Modern payroll software systems can manage and track all kinds of variables, from tax requirements to overtime payments, all while offering remote access and multiple languages to ensure that any worker can use them.
With the right software, it can be even easier to use all those great features. Recruiting and onboarding are just some features offered by payroll software solutions like Netchex. These features empower users to get the most out of the software.
Single-source system
One of the most valuable features for payroll and HR management software is if it is available as a single-source system, with one login.
A single-source system means that all the relevant information for a user is displayed on a single screen. This has a plethora of advantages, from streamlining the user experience to making it overall simpler for workers who need to be tech-savvy. Many hospitality employees work fast-paced jobs and need more time to scroll and flip through different menus and pages.
A single-source system empowers your workers to get more done in less time, all while they report and record any completed tasks so that you don’t miss any actions.
Focus on employee engagement, recognition, and retention
As hospitality employees face high turnover rates, your payroll and HR management system must address these issues.
The right payroll software will offer ways to improve the employee experience and extend their lifecycle. This can be accomplished by targeting three areas: engagement, recognition, and retention.
The correct payroll and HR system will heighten engagement, as workers will be comfortable using the system for their tasks, and can accurately capture all their hours and actions. A poorly configured system may deter engagement as it can be tricky (or impossible!) to work with, so ensure that your system is set up correctly and that you’ve onboarded users so they know how to make the most of it.
Recognition can be as simple as addressing your employees’ concerns or expressing appreciation for workers who are going above and beyond. With performance tracking metrics and task schedules available to supervisors, they can see which employees are doing an exemplary job and need a congratulations, or who are struggling and may need accommodations or retraining.
One major way to recognize and accommodate employee needs is to offer multiple languages with your software system. Deskless workers statistically have a high percentage of ESL or non-English speaking workers, so naturally it is wise to make the system available to them in their own language.
Retention is simply the extension of worker lifecycles, which should be accomplished as a byproduct of enabling great worker engagement and recognition. A worker with a long lifecycle can become an expert and leader, serving as an example to other workers.
More efficient recruiting and onboarding experience
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so the saying goes. HR software’s recruiting features operate under similar principles. Recruiting software can be used to streamline the application, interview, and candidate scoring, so you can skip the duds and find the best applicants, fast.
Once these star rookies are hired, they need to become familiar with all the processes, technology, and other quirks of the job. Powerful onboarding allows new hires to create profiles from which they can access the system. From there, it’s easy to use the single-source system to quickly train and orient new workers as they join the team. Since the onboarding process is integrated with the HR and payroll system, it teaches them all the tips and tricks they need to succeed.
Payroll and Tax Compliance
Deskless workers are fundamentally more difficult to manage from an HR, compliance, and Tax perspective.
You’ll want to look for payroll software that has the following tax considerations:
- Figuring income tax withholding and other employment taxes
- Depositing all employment taxes according to a set deposit schedule
- Reporting quarterly about their employment taxes covering income tax withholding and FICA
- Reporting annually to employees and the Social Security Administration about employee’s tax payments
- FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax Act)
- Other state-level reporting
24/7 full-experience accessibility
One of the biggest obstacles for deskless workers in the hospitality industry is that they may be in any part of the facility when they need access to the system.
That’s why the best HR and payroll management systems allow for remote access. Mobile apps can log in and then handle any professional duties, such as clocking in or out, filling out a requisition form, or marking off completed tasks.
What to look for when buying payroll and HR software for hospitality
On top of the benefits listed above, there are some must-have functions and features that any self-respecting payroll management solution will offer. These are critical tools for measuring performance, tracking tasks, and managing workers.
Remote Access: As discussed above, remote access and 24/7 functionality are tremendously helpful features in any worker management system, but even more so in a decentralized environment like a hospitality facility. The ability for workers to access the system from anywhere, in the facility, commuting, or even at home, will improve their familiarity with the system, lead to higher engagement, and ensure that every task and employee hour is recorded accurately.
Shared calendars: Providing shared calendars will enable workers to coordinate their schedules better and support one another.
Timeclock: Smart timeclocks are a very useful tool for any worker in a shift-based industry. Customized web-based clock capabilities can keep up with any worker’s schedule and ensure that they are aware and prepared for all of their shifts. Salaried staff can benefit as well with timesheet entry. If security is a concern, the clocks can be configured to require specific credentials to access. Some systems even offer biometric verification!
Overtime calculator: Almost as necessary as the standard time clock, an overtime calculator will help workers schedule and manage their overtime efficiently. It can be easy to lose track when working overtime, so using digital, smart clocks to track and report will guarantee that the appropriate compensation is provided for the work.
Tip calculator: Tip can be a tricky thing, but it’s a baked-in part of the hospitality industry, and it will save your managers a massive deal of grief if workers can access tip calculators to ensure that they are keeping the right amount for themselves, without shorting the back-of-house staff. This can keep things standardized, and prevent resentment between workers over perceived stinginess.
Payroll and Human Resources software for hospitality management
HR and Payroll, Management Solution software, is the best way to manage deskless workers efficiently. Given the many fast-paced challenges and obstacles, manual and legacy systems simply cannot keep up anymore.
The right software to manage payroll and human resources at your hospitality facility will improve worker morale, increase productivity, and streamline management thanks to the remotely accessible, multi-language, easy-to-use, single-source software.
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