Sona - the employee app for the deskless industries
by Startacus Admin
Sona is a London-based startup that's created a solution to empower frontline workers with the tools they need to make work easier
Not all workers are desk workers, and while those who do work at a desk have a wealth of tools at their fingertips for all sorts of things, from booking time off, to submitting time sheets, to seeing important announcements, not only are they scattered around different platforms, but they are often either not available to frontline workers or just more awkward and frustrating to use.
Many of the day-to-day tasks in some sectors, like healthcare or hospitality, still haven’t been digitised as they have elsewhere. This can be frustrating and can have a negative impact on productivity, as well as placing an unnecessary strain on employees. What is needed is a way to easily digitise these things and streamline processes.
London-based tech startup Sona has built a platform to enable frontline workers to better manage their own day-to-day operations and move away from outdated methods of connecting them with their management, like notice boards and awkward emails.
Workforce management software has been around for a while, but it has been traditionally used only by management, whereas putting it in the hands of the frontline workers as well now makes much more sense. Why go back and forth with management via email to book a week off work when you could simply open an app and select the dates you want off? Why try to coordinate with your management and other staff to get coverage for a shift you can’t work when you could simply open an app and offer that shift with a couple of taps? Why go to the notice board to see if anything new has been pinned up when you could get a push notification?
Sona is beneficial for existing systems as well, allowing quick and easy access for HR, payroll, and scheduling platforms so that even those staff who are desk workers can see improved performance and productivity with an easier interface, and can keep the entire workforce up to date from one place. Not only will frontline staff have an easier, less frustrating time, but management admin time will be drastically reduced. Sona gives an example of one healthcare customer who would spend 3 days a week on rota admin, but with Sona’s platform, this was reduced to 90 minutes.
Sona has a wealth of tools, all in one place, and is designed to be easy and quick to use, so it’s not surprising that they announced in August the closure of a £1.6 million pre-seed round. This was led by Speedinvest and included angels such as Andy Leaver of Notion Capital and Lorenzo Franzi of Flash Ventures. This funding will be used to accelerate development and product adoption.
Work is already a word we can’t say here, so anything to make it less stressful and frustrating will always be a welcome sight.
Innovative solutions for the workplace like this will be high on the agenda of our upcoming hybrid Work: In Progress event. We'd love it if you could join us!
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Published on: 5th October 2021
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