Here’s how retail associates view workplace technology

A new survey reveals whether the technology retail employees use on the job is meeting their expectations.

Retail workers are struggling to work productively with technolog, according to a global study from Qualtrics XM Institute, which surveyed more than 35,000 full-time workers of companies with 100 or more employees in 25 countries across a range of industries, including retail.

Overall, only 34% of respondents, and fewer than one-quarter (24%) of retail employees, said the technology their workplace provides exceeds their expectations for software and services say their work tech exceeds their expectations. Similarly, 54% of all respondents, but only 49% of retail respondents, said they are rarely disrupted by major system changes.

Larger companies handle tech better

The study also reveals that respondents at companies with 5,000 to 9,999 employees are more likely to say workplace technology exceeds their expectations (42%) than respondents overall (34%).

Meanwhile, respondents at small organizations of fewer than 500 employees and extra-large organizations of more than 50,000 workers both reported similar challenges with their workplace technology. Meanwhile, at both Less than one in four employees say their technology exceeds their expectations, and less than half say their work is rarely disrupted by system-wide changes to their technology. 

IT leaders value flexible response

The study also found that 89% of surveyed IT leaders believe it is extremely or very important for their company to improve its ability to respond to unexpected events, with 51% of them saying it is extremely important. 

“Post pandemic, getting the right technology is one of the biggest challenges facing companies as they try to keep their employees productive and engaged,” said Qualtrics chief workplace psychologist Dr. Benjamin Granger. “It can be tempting to try to solve problems by introducing new technologies, but sometimes consolidating platforms to streamline processes is a better solution. Using tech that doesn't meet their needs or slows their productivity can be frustrating and contribute to employee burnout, so regularly listening to employees who use the tech tools is essential.” 

Amid labor shortage, technologies most desired by retail employees are …

According to new research from Fourth, technologies most desired by retail employees include:

• Access to apps that allow real-time communication with employers (50%);

• Better point of sale automation technology (i.e., self-service check out, mobile POS, etc.) (47%);

• Ability to see paychecks online and in real-time with earned wage access (43%);

• Access to digital scheduling (38%); and

• Warehouse automation and dark retail (33%).