Amazon uses an app for many internal administrative and HR tasks. I suppose that's not too surprising given the company's love of tech and resources.
Of course we used technology in my previous roles. As a manager, checking work email was my pastime. I could join a Teams or Zoom meeting over my phone, and I regularly took customer calls. Other work duties were regulated to a laptop, and many requests required me to interact with another department/person in one way or another. It may have been enable with tech, but it still involved a human on the other side.
Compared to Amazon, I was practically living in the dark ages. My role as associate doesn't involve meetings or presentations, but I'm nonetheless enmeshed in the online Amazon employee universe. I regularly receive text message and emails with updates that prompt me to check the app. At other companies, our front line employees barely had an online footprint. They may be assigned a work email, but it was access rarely and usually through a dedicated desktop workstation when a mandatory training session was needed. By contrast, Amazon employees are online all of the time. The app shows your work schedule, options to report missed punches, messages from the site leadership and headquarters, options to request time off and much more.
One of my first interactions with the app was ordering site-approved headphones. My fulfillment center allows specific models of OSHA-compliant ear buds to be worn on the floor. My next task was selecting my shifts. As a Flex employee, I have to sign myself up for the shifts I work. Each Friday evening new shifts drop; I'm alerted with a text and email. In the app I can see the days and times and make my selections. Each shift is broken into 5 hours (or a typical half day if you're full time). They can be approved and dropped automatically. For my first week, I noticed the shifts disappeared quickly. My entire onboarding class was Flex associates, and we all competed for the same shift drop. I still managed to snag a couple of early (7am start time) shifts, my preference. For the following weeks, it seems the shifts remain open for much longer. I can only assume many of my classmates have already moved on to greener pastures (or burnout....).
One of the more unique features of the app is the Voice of the Associate, or VOA, board. This function allows all employees to share messages in a public (site-specific) forum for all associates to see. The results are available online and broadcasted on monitors throughout the building.
At previous employers, I would tune into quarterly Town Halls that would end with a Q & A. At times our HR team may hold a meeting to discuss policy and provide answers. In all cases, the questions were either curated ahead of time or implicitly censored to meet business etiquette. By contrast, the VOA board is the Wild West. Aside from some basic rules regarding foul language and taboo topics, everything is posted and available to view. As is human nature, most messages skew toward the negative. Complaints about the temperature, how associates dress, parking and personal accommodations abound. It's a fascinating peek into human psychology; I'm grateful to be a casual observer. Leadership answers every post (albeit with the help of AI). I wonder what led to the decision to make this feature visible to all employees, and not just a communication tool to leadership? My morbid curiosity takes me back day after day, but that's enough scrolling for now.
