MHD speaks to Daniel Wyner, Chief Executive at ReadyTech Workforce Solutions about technology’s role in supporting workforce changes, the importance of robust payroll processes and policies to take care of employees, the ageing transport industry and rise of digital transformations, and nurturing the employer-employee relationship.
It’s no secret that the logistics and supply chain is under a lot of pressure, from supply disruptions to skills shortages, not to mention the impact of COVID-19. The workforce needs to be more resilient than ever. Businesses are experiencing firsthand the importance of their bottom-line workforce. The ‘people first’ approach, ensuring employees are supported and safe, is a fundamental strategy in adapting to the everchanging conditions of the workforce.
ReadyTech is an ASX-listed Australian company providing technology to help businesses put their people first. Its variety of cloud-based workforce management solutions keeps HR and payroll data up-to-date and ensures more than 2400 Australian and New Zealand businesses pay their employees correctly and on time.
Daniel Wyner is the Chief Executive at ReadyTech’s Workforce Solutions, heading one of three ReadyTech customer segments.
“At ReadyTech, we develop people-centric technology focusing on making sure that organisations have the right people in the right job with the right skills, being paid the right amount of money,” Daniel says.
“We’re the gatekeeper of hundreds of thousands of people’s pay on a weekly, fortnightly, and monthly basis,” he adds.
“Recently, there’s been many companies in the news making headlines, with challenges from privacy breaches and underpayments of staff arising from payroll errors. It’s an environment so highly fraught with risk that we make sure organisations are well-supported throughout the entire process.”
Especially in the transport industry, with time sheets, paid additional rates and unique rostering systems, Daniel understands the complexities, working closely with many customers – including a large transport logistics company that handles freight at international airports.
The necessity of total visibility, accuracy and transparency is important when it comes to complications of payroll and employee information.
With fundamental shifts in the workforce, companies need to adapt to the way employees are managed. The age of digital transformation is not slowing down – and here’s why.
THE AGEING WORKFORCE
Daniel refers to Labourforce’s Truck Driver Workforce Shortages report from February 2020, stating the average age of truck drivers is 45-54 years old, and there’s likely to be a shortage of 127,000 workers over the next five years.
“It’s not necessarily an industry that’s attracting a new lifeblood of people into it,” Daniel says.
“The age barrier is something you need to think about with regard to this ever-changing environment. That was the case even before you had massive disruptions like COVID, the increasing prevalence of automation, and the ever-greater complexity of large multinationals.”
Diversity is a challenge and the only way to attract new people and ideas, is to stay updated with not only tools that can help get the job done more efficiently, but also the intricate systems and processes around the employee lifecycle to ensure they are informed, and feel supported and empowered to do their job.
NEED TO AUTOMATE MANUAL PROCESSES
The transport industry has long embraced technology in warehousing – AI and tracking systems – but the same attention is needed for the workforce by streamlining clunky processes and automating manual tasks.
He says Amazon is a notable example of a company that is a strong driver of innovation. Not only disrupting the way warehousing and supply chain logistics are run in Australia, but the development of its distribution centres – including one that has opened at Kemps Creek in West Sydney and Wesfarmers’ Catch. They have changed the industry with massive amount of automation.
Amazon will employ 1500 people over time to support automation, and they will need to have different skillsets and pivot frequently from the usual pick-pack workers.
“It doesn’t mean that there’s going to necessarily be less jobs, there are just going to be different jobs around,” he says. “How are companies going to know they have the right people to schedule for the right shifts for the right routes?”
Daniel says everything outside of the manual labour side of warehousing has changed, prompting individuals and organisations to think about how to move things forward.
KEEPING EMPLOYEES SAFE
“Now more than ever, the health and well-being of our employees is paramount,” Daniel says. He describes the transport logistics sector as being the “backbone” of the Australian economy and so its employees need to be safe and healthy to work.
When the COVID-19 pandemic started two years ago, businesses have tackled the COVID-induced challenges with operational health and safety requirements, and the evolving contact tracing system is helping.
“We’ve got organisations that are now using thermal facial recognition clocks,” Daniel says.
“When you get to the office, or to the warehouse, you have a facial recognition clock, that recognises you and clocks you in, at the same time rating your temperature.”
He says this would never have happened pre-pandemic, and that thermal facial recognition technology is crucial to keep fruit and vegetable packers, as well as food manufacturers, healthy and safe.
The workers’ information is referenced and stored within ReadyTech’s software application. As soon as an employee checks in with an elevated temperature, the relevant teams in the organisation are alerted, and – in some cases – the front door of the facility will not open.
INTEGRATION OF CRITICAL INFORMATION
Daniel says that since COVID-19, the demand for digital disruption and transformation has driven a lot of adoption of ReadyTech platforms. It has forced companies to re-imagine and think quickly about how it should interact and engage with its employees.
Sensitive employee information needs to not only be safe and secure, but easily accessible from one location – for when things change quickly.
The ReadyTech solutions offer organisations a platform to help securely track the unique identifying information such as licences the employees hold or vaccination certificates.
It also gives employers the visibility of their workforce and ability to manage rosters safely. The information is protected and secure on the employee records, integrating with the HR systems and allowing access only for approved personnel.
Employees who test positive to COVID can file a report for contact tracing purposes and anyone else who was working with them on their shift is alerted. ReadyTech’s mobile apps can be used to help workers in different States and Territories of Australia, where COVID-19 rules and regulations differ.
BUILDING A STRONGER WORKFORCE
In addition to looking after employees, it is important to build a solid foundation of the right people for the sustainability of a growing workforce. Daniel says it’s important to look at the full employee lifecycle, and that starts at the beginning of when you are hiring and onboarding them.
ReadyTech integrates with job-boards such as Seek, to consolidate information and streamline the process for companies to interview, recruit and onboard remotely, especially important for fast growing and dispersed industries like transport logistics.
The employer-employee relationship needs to be fostered, and there’s great tools out there that can help.
“From ReadyTech’s perspective, our goal really is to make sure that there is a fulfilling relationship. Empowering our employers to be able to support their employees. It is important moving forward to think about engagement and how technology can aid that.”
“We believe that without being able to have that engine room of the Australian economy, which is ultimately driven by things moving from place to place, and having the support mechanisms around that, we’re really going to have more future impact on supply and demand,” Daniel says.
He describes one of ReadyTech’s purposes as helping transport logistics companies put food on the table and providing the materials to builders to construct houses for Australians.
“We really exist to ensure that communities thrive. Those human-centric values are really driven into everything we do moving forward.”
For more information on ReadyTech, click here.