Employees are often a business’s biggest assets – and so are the processes they rely on. Time and again, studies show how employee turnover and lost productivity impact the bottom line. Two of the most important responsibilities of any manager, therefore, are to keep employees productive and to keep them satisfied in their jobs by giving them the tools and resources needed to succeed.
One study on app overload shows a productivity loss of up to 32 work days per year based on time spent switching between work software. Hire a full-time developer to unite those tech tasks and you may regain 32 dead days, but you’d tip the scales in another direction – with the weight of a six-figure salary. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average software developer could cost a company as much as $103,560 per year – and that’s just direct monetary compensation, not the cost of insurance, paid time off, and employer overhead.
The challenge becomes a Sisyphean task: business owners must push a mass of productivity apps uphill only to have them crush the very employees who desperately need them at the bottom. It’s that or a costly developer. Most small companies choose productivity punishment for eternity. But what if there were a solution that bridged the tech and talent gap by not only investing in employees but improving their daily processes and overall efficiency? What if the solution were not just attainable but affordable too? The answer isn’t hypothetical: low-code and no-code platforms are a bang-for-your-buck approach to employee training and skill development. It’s time to put your team to work on the process improvements they’ve been asking for.
5 Ways No-Code Platforms Will Transform Your Talent Pool
Unlike low-code solutions, no-code platforms allow small businesses and enterprises to capitalize on the hidden resources that already exist within their team. No-code “programming” is carried out through services like Quickbase – a solution so simple that a tech-minded employee in nearly any department can use it to power their daily tasks by developing their own apps and workflows.
A study by Pew Research, titled “The State of American Jobs,” shows that many employees understand the technical skills needed for the modern workplace. 85 percent of those surveyed in the study know their success is based on their ability to understand computer technology.
A timely report by Forrester also proves that companies can put those skills to use with a no-code platform like Quickbase. Its profile of the “aspiring developer,” someone who can benefit their company as a no-code programmer, is very much the picture of the modern employee.
Does your staff use Microsoft or Google products with ease? Those prospective techies are your untapped resources. Many of your average employees can empower and improve your company’s processes via the strategic automation and collaboration found in a no-code platform.
Consider the ways you’ll boost the signal of your current team:
1. Strengthening Tech Skills
Work-to-learn opportunities, aka learning on the job or on-the-job training, are an incredible way to improve the value of your organization for employees. We already know that employees appreciate the need for computer tech experience, but it’s important to note that more than 80 percent also want the training that keeps these skills fresh. With a no-code platform, your team can improve your company while learning an application-building platform that’s also a highly sought after business solution.
2. Improving Ease-of-Access and Workflow
It’s one thing to lose time navigating between apps on a computer – it’s a completely different (and greatly stressful) thing to do so on a tiny mobile screen. A study by Gartner shows at least 39 percent of employees use personal smartphones for work. It’s a stat that doesn’t include the countless field workers with company-owned devices who must navigate sales, inventory, and more via a multi-app mobile process. A unified, customized no-code solution will transform your employee’s mobile experience and boost their potential for innovation.
3. Fostering Leadership
The “aspiring developer” has the opportunity to take the driver’s seat, steering their role and their department in a new direction. Identifying business needs and providing solutions are the hallmarks of a valuable leader. No-code platforms like Quickbase ask employees to do just that.
4. Streamlining New-Hire Training
Companies invest thousands of dollars in complicated learning management platforms (apps) that are designed to provide insights into the processes (more apps) they will eventually use. The simpler answer: Businesses should invest in unifying their apps and processes to reduce the time spent on new-hire learning. It’s so much easier to standardize onboarding and learning resources when a job has a clear, streamlined workflow.
5. Reducing Turnover
According to a Gallup poll on “The Dream Job,” employees consider the ability to thrive in their role to be the most important aspect of employment with a prospective company. Interestingly, this feeling was linked specifically with “performance management strategies.” If you aren’t refining your processes, you aren’t managing performance – which means you won’t retain talent.
“No-code “programming” is carried out through services like Quickbase – a solution so simple that a tech-minded employee in nearly any department can use it to power their daily tasks by developing their own apps and workflows.”
How to Implement No-Code Solutions With the “Developers” You Already Have”
It’s time to transform and restructure your company’s processes by tapping your employee talent pool. With the help of a Quickbase consultant, you can identify opportunities for process improvement as well as ways to empower your team throughout your company’s “improvement project.”
Identifying strengths and delegating roles are among the first steps in reformatting processes. Your people are the process experts and their everyday job experiences will shape the way you’ll manage, track, and automate the data that informs each worker’s role. To begin within, pinpoint talent opportunities using this quick-step guide:
1. Identify Employees with Tech Fluency
Start with the roles at your company that utilize the most complex technologies and work your way down. Employees who live and breathe spreadsheets are often good candidates for no-code programming because they understand the logic and rules on which platforms like Quickbase thrive. It’s important to identify underemployed workers as well; these employees are also well-suited for no-code because they’re often highly skilled and looking to take charge of meaningful projects. From a receptionist to business analyst, you likely have many people with diverse tech talents.
2. Implement a Training Program
Leverage your current team with the help of a Quickbase support person. It’s an affordable alternative to in-house IT. Rapid application development requires the wisdom of an implementation specialist. With custom training and support, you can transform your niche workforce into a one-of-a-kind team of citizen developers.
3. Capitalize on Employee UX Knowledge
No one knows the user experience (UX) of an employee better than your employees. As you implement your training program, take the time to understand the pain points of employee processes. Unique business challenges require unique solutions. Leveraging your team’s understanding of everyday tasks is the key to building a better workflow.
At Watkyn LLC, we help businesses develop applications using no-code or low-code platforms like Quickbase. We also provide as-needed support that will help you identify no-code talent within your current team, such as aspiring developers. Your employees are your best asset when it comes to creating and deploying applications across departments. Let us implement and support the training initiatives that will improve processes for the life of your company.
To discuss how rapid application development using a no-code platform like Quickbase might help your business, you can reach Phillip Dennis at (954) 900-6690 or by e-mail at p.dennis@watkyn.com.
