Superapps for a Better Employee Experience

Imagine this – you just get hired for a new role and you can’t wait to get started. First things first, you need to get your laptop set up. Security is key, so you’ll want to download an app to take necessary security training. Then, you’ll need to download an app to get your insurance information to enroll in your company’s new benefits. Then, you’ll want to download another app to track your 401k. Now, it’s time to clock in for the day – which, you guessed it, happens via another app! And if you want to chat with coworkers? That’s right – tack on another app to do that.

You’ve been in this new role for all of 20 minutes and somehow already have 5+ new apps on your phone (and don’t worry, there are more apps to be downloaded throughout the onboarding process). This can quickly get overwhelming and cumbersome as you’re forced to toggle between multiple applications, create separate login credentials, and juggle multiple profiles.

Now, imagine you’re starting a new role and you’re asked to download a single app. Within that app, you can access key security training, view and edit all of your benefits, chat with coworkers, track your hours, and more. Best of all, only one login is needed. 

Sound too good to be true? Thanks to superapps, a streamlined workforce experience is within reach.

What is a superapp?

Superapps are applications that provide end users, such as employees, partners, or customers, with access to independently created mini apps from one interface. This means that users don’t need to hop between digital experiences to get things done. The core application contains essential functionality, such as authentication and banking information, while the mini apps can add on additional features as needed.

With unused apps taking up valuable storage space on devices, users are looking to consolidate and streamline digital experiences. Even more frustrating is that many of these apps only perform a single function for the user, forcing them to switch between many apps to accomplish a given task. Gartner expects that by 2027, more than 50% of the global population will be daily active users of multiple superapps.

How superapps create a better employee experience

According to CITE Research, 69% of workers waste up to 60 minutes per day just navigating between apps. That’s up to 32 days per year of lost productivity and time wasted. With poorly integrated experiences costing businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, the need for workplace superapps has never been more apparent.

Workplace superapps replace the neverending internal resource pages, wikis, and web links. Rather than employees having to jump between applications (each time having to log in, authenticate, etc), they’re able to do everything from onboarding paperwork to logging hours to choosing insurance plans all in one place. 

This also benefits employees working in administrative roles, as they’re able to more easily manage payroll, benefits, onboarding, and more from a single place, rather than relying on various vendor-created applications. 

Superapps in action

Major corporations such as Walmart are already creating superapps for their workforce. Rather than forcing employees to use vendor-supplied applications, which are often complex to manage on the employer side as well, Walmart is choosing to create a unified superapp experience for employees and managers alike. 

An Ionic Superapp SDK customer, a health and beauty retailer, is also developing a workplace superapp to streamline the in-store employee experience. The app would allow employees to run an in-store point of sale system, check and update their work schedules, and clock in and out for their shifts all in one place. Rather than requiring in-store employees to use 3+ different applications to achieve the same end, the firm is creating a simplified digital experience that saves employees time and effort each shift. 

We can help you get started

If you’re considering creating a superapp but aren’t sure where to start, we’ve got you covered. We’re so passionate about building superapps using a micro frontend architecture  that we wrote an entire ebook on them! This ebook can help you decide if micro frontend architecture makes sense for your project, team, and company. If it does, the ebook walks through various options and considerations for getting started. 
We also have dedicated specialists who are eager to help you harness the power of superapps – get in touch today!