Compensation Strategies for Deskless Employees: A 2025 Guide

28 Jan 2025

Robert Cain

Employee Relations Specialist

Compensation strategies for deskless employees have become a pivotal focus for industries like manufacturing, construction, and healthcare, where these workers form the backbone of operations. With high turnover rates and the challenge of reaching employees who lack regular access to traditional communication channels, employers are seeking comprehensive solutions. Effective compensation strategies must be competitive, clearly communicated, and accessible to ensure that deskless employees are both informed and motivated.

The Unique Needs of Deskless Employees

Hourly employees, who make up an astounding 80% of the global workforce, perform their duties outside traditional office settings. You'll find these essential workers on manufacturing floors, in retail stores, providing patient care in healthcare facilities, and across various other dynamic environments where physical presence is crucial for operations.

Despite their significant presence, hourly employees face unique challenges when it comes to compensation management. Unlike their office-bound counterparts, they often lack regular access to HR resources and digital platforms for managing their pay, making effective communication with hourly employees a significant challenge.

This disconnect can result in:

Delayed Payments: Inconsistent access to payroll systems can lead to delays in receiving wages.
Confusion About Compensation Structures: Lack of clear communication can make understanding pay scales and bonus structures difficult.
Difficulties Addressing Payroll Issues Promptly: Limited access to HR resources hampers the ability to resolve pay discrepancies quickly.

Industry-Specific Compensation Challenges

The compensation landscape becomes even more complex when considering industry-specific needs:

Manufacturing

High Turnover Rates: 77% of manufacturing companies report difficulty attracting and retaining workers.
Shift Differentials: Compensation must account for varying shifts, including night and weekend work.
Physical Demands: Jobs often require significant physical effort, necessitating competitive pay and benefits.

Healthcare

Retention Concerns: 31% reported they were planning to leave their current role in the next two to three years, including 42% of clinicians in the Middle East and Africa.
Competitive Compensation Packages: There is a pressing need for more attractive and accessible compensation to retain skilled professionals.
Specialized Roles: Incentives must reflect the critical nature of patient care and operational efficiency.

Challenges of Variable Hours

Adding to these challenges, many hourly employees work variable hours, leading to inconsistent income streams. According to an Emergence Capital survey:

Limited Technological Solutions: While 99% of the $300B annual investment in enterprise software targets office-based workers, hourly employees are left with limited tools for managing their compensation and benefits.
Inconsistent Income: Variable schedules make it difficult for employees to predict their earnings, impacting financial stability.

Disparity Beyond Basic Pay Structures

The disparity extends beyond basic pay structures:

Comprehensive Benefits:
Less Likelihood of Receiving Benefits: Hourly employees are typically less likely to receive comprehensive benefits compared to their office-based colleagues.
Performance-Based Incentives: Limited access to incentives can affect motivation and performance.
Impact on Morale and Retention:
Lower Employee Morale: The gap in benefits and incentives directly affects employee satisfaction.
Retention Rates: Reduced morale leads to higher turnover rates, increasing recruitment and training costs.
Productivity: Lack of adequate compensation and benefits can result in decreased productivity across industries where physical presence is essential.

Key Components of Effective Compensation Strategies

Creating an effective compensation strategy for deskless workers requires a comprehensive approach that goes beyond basic wages, as 70% of employers plan to enhance benefits and compensation to meet evolving needs (Mercer).

Enhancing communication with non-desk workers is essential to ensure they are aware of and can fully utilize the compensation and benefits offered to them. A critical first step is improving the onboarding experience for non-desk employees to ensure they understand the compensation structures and benefits available to them.

Establish Competitive Base Pay Structures

Your compensation strategy must start with a solid foundation of competitive base pay. When setting base pay levels:

Benchmark against current industry standards for similar roles
Factor in local market cost of living adjustments
Create clear pay bands that allow for progression as workers develop skills
Review and adjust pay scales regularly to maintain market competitiveness

Implement Performance-Based Incentives

Build upon your base pay structure with meaningful performance incentives that motivate and reward achievement. Your incentive program should:

Establish clear, measurable performance metrics aligned with business objectives
Include both individual and team-based rewards
Offer short-term incentives for immediate motivation
Create transparent tracking systems so workers can monitor their progress

Gathering employee feedback through surveys can help identify what incentives are most valued, and utilizing strategies to improve survey participation ensures that all voices are heard.

Provide Flexible Pay Access Options

Modern compensation strategies need to address the unique financial needs of deskless workers. Implement flexible pay access through:

On-demand pay options allowing access to earned wages before scheduled paydays
Multiple payment frequency choices (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly)
Digital payment solutions that ensure secure and immediate access
Platforms that clearly show pay information in real time

Develop an Essential Benefits Package

Complete your compensation strategy with a comprehensive benefits package that addresses both immediate and long-term needs:

Core benefits: health insurance, retirement contributions, paid time off
Industry-specific benefits: shift differentials, overtime opportunities
Practical support: transportation allowances, uniform provisions
Financial wellness tools: retirement planning, financial education resources

When implementing these components, ensure all systems are easily accessible to your workforce and provide clear communication about available benefits. Communicating benefits and open enrollment effectively ensures that deskless employees understand and can utilize the benefits offered to them.

Enhancing communication regarding employee benefits can significantly increase engagement and utilization among deskless workers.

Regular review and adjustment of your compensation strategy ensures it remains competitive and relevant to your workforce's evolving needs. Track usage patterns of various benefits and gather feedback to optimize your offerings continually.

Implementing Flexible and Competitive Pay Structures

Incorporate Performance-Based Incentives

You need clear, achievable metrics to make performance-based incentives work effectively for deskless employees. Incentives should directly tie to measurable outcomes that employees can influence through their daily work.

For example, retail operations can implement sales target bonuses similar to Starbucks’ model, where employees receive additional compensation for exceeding performance goals. In manufacturing settings, you might establish team-based incentives for meeting production quotas or maintaining quality standards.

The key is transparency in how these incentives are calculated and awarded. Your metrics should be:

Easily trackable
Within employee control
Regularly measured and reported
Fairly distributed across teams

Adopt Skill-Based Pay

According to recent research, 58% of companies now compensate for competitive skills, recognizing the value of continuous learning and development. You can implement skill-based pay through several methods:

Adding a premium to base pay (used by 50% of companies)
Setting higher target percentiles (38%)
Offering one-time bonuses for skill attainment (26%)
Moving employees to higher pay grades (23%)
Providing periodic bonuses for in-demand skills (19%)

Such an approach works particularly well in healthcare settings. For instance, you might offer higher pay rates to nursing staff who complete specialized certifications in critical care or trauma response.

Gathering employee feedback through surveys can help identify the skills that are most valuable, and utilizing strategies to improve survey participation ensures that all voices are heard. This strategy incentivizes skill development and ensures you maintain a highly qualified workforce.

Add Shift Differentials

Shift differentials are crucial for deskless workers who operate outside traditional hours. These pay premiums serve multiple purposes:

Compensate for less desirable work hours
Ensure adequate staffing during critical periods
Recognize the additional challenges of night or weekend work

In manufacturing, you might implement a tiered differential system where overnight shifts receive the highest premium, followed by evening shifts. Healthcare organizations often use similar structures to ensure 24/7 coverage while fairly compensating staff who work challenging hours.

When designing shift differentials, consider:

Local market rates for similar roles
The impact on work-life balance
Operational requirements during different shifts
The additional responsibilities of off-hours work

By combining these three pay structure elements, you create a comprehensive system that rewards both performance and commitment while ensuring operational needs are met across all shifts. Regular market benchmarking helps maintain competitiveness, while clear communication about advancement opportunities through skill development keeps employees engaged in their growth path.

Incorporating Non-Monetary Benefits

Non-monetary benefits play a crucial role in creating an engaging work environment for deskless employees by significantly affecting retention and job satisfaction, especially for those who often feel disconnected from traditional office perks. Conducting regular employee engagement surveys can help identify the benefits that matter most to your deskless workforce.

Establish Recognition Programs

You need to feel valued for your contributions, especially when working away from traditional office settings. Effective recognition programs for deskless workers include peer-to-peer platforms where team members can highlight each other’s achievements in real-time.

For instance, companies like Eventbrite have implemented custom emoji recognition systems on Slack, making appreciation more accessible and immediate for deskless workers. Regular acknowledgment of accomplishments, whether through formal awards or digital badges, helps create a culture of appreciation that resonates across all work environments.

Leveraging the effectiveness of employee referrals can further strengthen team cohesion and engagement, as employees feel valued for contributing to company growth.

Offer Career Development Opportunities

Your professional growth shouldn’t be limited by your deskless role. According to Randstad’s Employer Brand Research, many candidates consider career progression opportunities a crucial factor when choosing an employer. Progressive organizations are addressing this by providing tailored development programs, including on-the-job training, apprenticeship programmes, mentorship initiatives, and accessible learning platforms.

Promote Health and Wellness Initiatives

Your physical and mental well-being are paramount in roles that often involve physical activity or high-stress environments. Forward-thinking organizations are implementing comprehensive wellness programs that include:

Mental health resources
Fitness challenges adapted for various work environments
Ergonomic assessments for different work settings
Scheduling approaches that accommodate wellness activities

Following Salesforce’s example of adaptable work arrangements, companies are increasingly allowing deskless workers to prioritize well-being on the job, recognizing that overall wellness directly impacts performance and satisfaction.

By investing in these non-monetary benefits, organizations demonstrate their commitment to their deskless workforce while building a more engaged and sustainable team. These initiatives work together to create a comprehensive support system that addresses the unique needs of deskless workers.

Leveraging Technology to Enhance Compensation Management

Technology plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between hourly employees and their compensation information. With 70-80% of the global workforce being hourly employees, implementing the right technological solutions has become essential for effective compensation management and employee engagement.

Utilizing Mobile Platforms for Real-Time Feedback

Text-based communication solutions have transformed how hourly employees interact with their incentive programs. They enable instant updates between employees and managers, creating continuous feedback loops that keep everyone informed about performance and goals. Leading this transformation, Yourco is an SMS-based platform that provides an intuitive, text-based solution that bridges communication gaps, enhances transparency, and empowers employees with immediate access to critical information.

Yourco offers:

Direct communication with management
On-demand resource access to critical company or employee information
Updates about company policy, incentive program changes and so on.
Feedback integration to facilitate actionable follow-ups.

Path to Deskless Compensation Success With Yourco

Effective compensation strategies can feel daunting to implement, yet they are the cornerstone of keeping your workforce engaged, informed, and productive. Strategies for engaging non-desk workers encompass establishing competitive base wages, creating performance incentives, and meaningful non-monetary benefits to ensure every employee feels valued, no matter where they work. Addressing core pain points—such as inconsistent communication channels and the struggle to stay updated on compensation details—positions you to build a stronger, more resilient operation.

But the journey doesn’t end there. Yourco is here to help transform these compensation strategies into daily reality for your workforce. As the #1 SMS-based employee app—purpose-built for industries that rely on non-desk teams—Yourco streamlines how you share vital compensation updates, wage statements, and reminders about available benefits. Instead of employees needing complex tools, Yourco’s simple, text-based platform cuts through tech barriers so everyone feels directly connected to their pay and incentives. With Yourco, you can instantly communicate shift differentials, highlight performance bonuses, and keep your entire workforce informed in real time.

This SMS-focused approach means all employees—regardless of their role or digital proficiency—stay on the same page about compensation, boosting morale and reducing turnover. By integrating immediate notifications, secure wage details, and direct two-way conversations, Yourco ensures your people have expert-level transparency at their fingertips. When deskless workers feel empowered to understand and trust their compensation structure, they’re more likely to remain loyal and motivated on the job. Let Yourco partner with you to create a future-forward compensation plan—built to engage and retain your essential workforce.

Try Yourco for free today or schedule a demo and see the difference the right workplace communication solution can make in your company.