Coffee Mobile - Shift Swapping App

  Improving the way retail and shift staff communicate. Shift trading, scheduling and messaging app for your store location - try the free app here: goo.gl/isddrw  

[coffeemobileapp-blog]

10 Reasons Why Facebook and WhatsApp Don’t Work for Shift Workers

 Do you work in a retail or shift work environment? It’s likely you have a Facebook or WhatsApp group that you use to message your team. Here is a list of reasons these tools don’t quite work, it’s why we built Coffee Mobile, the app for shift trading and workplace messaging:

1. Sharing Schedules – Image compression from mobile makes it difficult to share and see workplace schedules. Schedules are often handwritten, or created in a spreadsheet with very small font. If you take a photo from your mobile device odds are viewing it in the group will be tougher than it needs to be.

2. Losing Schedules – Images of schedules that beat the resolution test are still treated as basic photos that get sorted and lost just like other photos. Was that this weeks schedule, or last weeks, who knows? How far back did I have to scroll through my gallery or chat thread to find it?

3. Push Notifications – “Jeff posted something in the work group.” What did he post? A photo, a schedule, a shift trade request, product info? Staff who don’t know what content is relevant to them are less inclined to check in the future.

4. Comment Mucking – When shifts are posted in an FB group, users can comment to cover them. Multiple people respond to cover, while users get bombarded with notifications that are not relevant to them. Was that shift even covered though?

5. Message Duplication – When a shift is covered, the employee must then message all other team members who responded saying it’s already been covered. This can increase the amount of messaging going out by 500%, really not necessary.

6.  Tangent Conversations – In WhatsApp chat rooms, private conversations run tangent and mask important content for team members. These conversations need to be side barred into direct message threads, not public group chat.

7. Party Social Media – Keg stands on the weekend can be fun, no doubt. The type of fun employees want to share with their friends, not their manager.  Employees are hesitant to link personal profiles to workplace groups, as they don’t want to filter their personal social media for work.

8. Phone Privacy – Those coveted 10 digits must be protected! Employees don’t feel comfortable giving out their phone numbers via WhatsApp to 50 random employees who may or may not turnover in the next few weeks.

9. Custom Groups - A workplace Facebook group doesn't have organized sub groups for cash, stock, management, etc., it's everyone in one room, and therefore everyone is sent notifications on everything. Subgroups are a better way to post shifts to team members that could actually cover them.

10. Work Life Balance - Work life balance is so important in today's hectic world, mixing social messaging apps with work when you're trying to shut down for the evening can be tough!

There is an app that solves these problems, and it’s called Coffee Mobile! Get it in the app store here:  goo.gl/isddrw

[coffeemobileapp-blog]

Shift Swapping Is *Broken* For Front Line Workers

With 90% of the ‘front line workforce’ across North America up to date with smartphone devices, startups are delivering mobile products that aim to make life easier for shift workers. Mobile applications for the employee who does not operate in front of a computer and are on their feet that provide relevant features for their work needs (ie. shift swapping, scheduling, and workplace messaging) are seeing viral adoption at the front line, and usually without corporate approval. Managers are tired of getting phone calls and emails from their staff looking for shift swap approvals, and employees are struggling to get coverage on shifts that they are unable to work causing problems at both the employee and store level.

There are ways to solve these problems for everyone, but first let's understand some of the types of employees who deal with this on a daily and or weekly basis.

You’ve got the obvious retail workers, quick service restaurant, & full service restaurant industry workers. Then you’ve got public service workers, often working in a 24 hour shift environment, such as nurses, firemen, police and EMT’s. Don’t forget the hospitality, entertainment, logistics, manufacturing, telecommunications, transportation and casino industries, all with daily shift requirements and no effective way of managing their work life on mobile.

A common misconception is that corporate brands provide mobile access to communication tools that solve these problems with web platforms that are accessible on mobile for shift trading, viewing schedules, as well as receiving updates from their teams. This is incorrect. On these platforms such as payroll giant Ceridian’s Dayforce or Kronos, employees must login with employee credentials, don’t receive push notifications, and these web applications aren't optimized for mobile which means there is a subpar user experience. At best, employees can access an HR style mobile app which is geared towards time clocking, attendance and task management, but does not address the real problem, communication. Yes, employees can request shift trades on these platforms with their managers. But herein lies the disconnect. Before an employee can propose a shift trade, they’ve got to source the potential employee who can swap with them on their own accord. Most large brands have policies in place for approving shift swaps, but purposefully try to stay out of the painstaking process of finding coverage for their staff. With the platforms corporate brands provide, there is no direct messaging feature, newsfeed, or group push notification that can be sent to all or grouped store associates seeing who might be able to cover a shift.

So how do they do it then?

Currently, these employees are using a random assortment of different mobile products at the same time to solve this problem for themselves, while finding ways to improve their work experience socially. Most of these products are consumer apps championed by staff members. Examples would be, WhatsApp groups, private Facebook groups, iMessage groups, email, SMS and even direct phone calls to name a few. Look for yourself: Search “Starbucks” on Facebook and target your results to show ‘groups’. You will find 100’s of private facebook groups dedicated to shift swapping all around the world.

Ok, so what's the problem with that then? seems like they've got it covered. (no pun intended)

These consumer apps lack utility specific features for front line workers, they’re made for communication, but not specifically for workplace communication for shift workers. An employee must either provide sensitive contact information to coworkers such as their phone number, or are required to open up their social profile to their entire work team. Photos of the weekly schedule that are shared are compressed and low resolution. When shifts are covered, comment details run a muck with irrelevant notifications. Even just to access work related content, users must dig deep within these mobile apps to find groups, or chat rooms, nothing is in plain sight. The list goes on.

What they need is a specific lightweight communication tool that sits below their enterprise software solution provided by corporate. A communication layer that sits underneath legacy web systems, not replaces them. An app where they can simply access their schedule, find coverage for or pick up shifts, message each other without sharing each other's phone numbers, and have a social style newsfeed where they can engage and share updates. They want something that is fun to use and creates a positive experience when they use it. An app that is built for a mobile millennial employee who's on the go. An employee who speaks Snapchat, not Webportal. #StayJittery

[coffeemobileapp-blog]

Great app for retail and shift workers! Check out our 90 second video! 

retailnews justretailproblems fuckyeahcashiers her-retail-majesty cashiersproblems cashiersupportgroup cashierstruggles retailstories