11 Jan 2022

Industry 4.0 is already here – employee benefits must adapt

Workplaces and employees are changing, while work processes are adapting to what is being hailed as the fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused the use of technology such as smartphone apps to skyrocket, making Industry 4.0 evolve even faster. But how do companies adapt to these rapid changes when it come to HR?

What is industry 4.0?

In 1999, Anthony Giddens, sociologist and former director of the London School of Economics, said technology and low-cost travel meant the world was shrinking.

He wasn’t wrong.

Fast-forwarding to 2016, Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, coined the phrase the fourth industrial revolution.

But what is the fourth industrial revolution?

Industry 4.0, as it is sometimes also referred to, includes emerging technological breakthroughs such as artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, robotics and the Industrial Internet of Things. But in general it refers to billions of people being connected by mobile devices, whether smartphones, tablets, laptops or smart TVs.

How will work benefits adapt to industry 4.0?

Even Klaus Schwab couldn’t have predicted how quickly Industry 4.0 would develop and take off, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Most people all over the world now rely on mobile apps to do even the most mundane tasks from paying for car parking, to grocery shopping and exchanging money. In the third quarter of 2021, app downloads in Europe totalled 6.4 billion, reaching an average spend of $4.5bn.

Industry 4.0 is already here. To make processes more efficient and streamlined, the strain needs to be taken out of HR for companies by showing employees their true value through apps. Read our blog post employee apps: why your company needs one.

Through an app staff can take advantage of wellness contributions, see how their pensions are shaping up and even check how many days holiday they have. Employees can also take advantage of hundreds of discounts on everything from office/home furniture to mobile/streaming plans to booking hotels.

Apps tackle Industry 4.0 with gusto

Industry 4.0 assumes that everyone everywhere is contactable at any time and has access to information whenever and wherever they are. But this isn’t always the case, depending on the industry. For example, employees at Swedish private healthcare company Ambea aren’t always in front of a computer and might not have a landline or email access. Filip Carlsson, project manager at Ambea, said: “With Benify’s communication tool, we can reach our employees on their mobile phones – a platform that they’re already used to using to log in and see their payslips and enrol in benefits.”

Apps are embracing industry 4.0 and not only offer time-saving solutions for HR, but familiar and secure technological applications that are easy to use. Businesses across Europe have started to reap the benefits of using apps and we can see that 74% of all logins to the Benify platform are made through our app. That’s a lot of people.

Some critics of Industry 4.0 say it could “robotise” humanity and rob the human race of its heart and soul. Benify isn’t in the business of turning people into robots. In fact, it’s quite the reverse. As we head into a future where technological advances will keep on coming, Benify will continue to adapt and improve, but with one thing in mind: people. Why? Because people matter.

To find out more about how Ambea’s employees are using our app during the fourth industrial revolution.

This article is provided by Benify.

View the original article: How will work benefits adapt to industry 4.0?