As ‘The Great Resignation’ prevents a once-in-a-generation issue for companies seeking to hire and retain their employees, workforce management software company Humanforce is adding an earned wages option for businesses to offer more payment flexibility for staff.

Earned wages allow employees to take out the money for shifts already worked, in advance of their payday. Generally, this comes at a small fee, either paid for on a per-user, per-month, or per-withdrawal fee, either covered by the company or paid by the employee.

Humanforce has selected third-party company Earnd as the provider for the earned wage module, with Humanforce CEO, Clayton Pyne, telling RetailBiz, “Employee experience comes down to providing the ability to manage your work life, along with availability, when and how you want to work, along with the social side.

“Retail workers have been a little underserved compared to the white-collar world, and we believe technology has a key role to play.”

With retail businesses often needing to cover shifts on short notice, earned wages options like Earnd incentivise employees to take on more work by being able to reap the rewards faster.

Earnd CEO and co-founder, Josh Vernon says, “Through this partnership, we want to make money simple, not stressful for Aussie workers. Whether it’s reducing the need to borrow and pay interest or just providing more clarity about someone’s financial position, our tools are proven to have a positive impact on financial wellbeing.

“Say someone urgently needs their refrigerator repaired. The cost of repairs may be $350, but they only have $250 in their bank account. This worker can now log onto the Humanforce app and pick up a shift to earn extra money.

“At the end of the shift, they can transfer the wages they earned instantly, rather than waiting another two weeks to be paid. This means they can cover the cost of the repair without having to borrow and pay interest, as well as help businesses fill more shifts.”

The two businesses have a preexisting relationship, with Pyne telling RetailBiz, “We’ve known Josh for a long time, and been close to his business through his entrepreneurial journey.”

Pyne says they went with Earnd because of its focus on financial literacy for users, and ability to manage financial obligations in real time.

“We see financial wellbeing as part of the much broader mosaic that business leaders will have to grapple with to win. In today’s environment if you want to grow and be successful, I believe that market leaders in the future are going to be defined by how they treat their people today,” Pyne says.

“We’re in the middle of a big inflection point.”