At Microsoft Experiences 2016, AccorHotels and Microsoft presented Staff Hub, a collaborative app that hotel managers and team members can use to keep track of shift schedules and share information. Team members can use the app to manage their schedules on their smartphones, without needing to sign in to a work email account or to have access to any other device or computer.

According to AccorHotels, the motivation for creating the app was the 240,000 employees working worldwide in its brands, 80 percent of whom don’t have a work email address and aren’t assigned a computer at work. The company wanted to make their jobs easier and help them be more productive, with the ultimate goal of improving guests’ experiences. And since 90 percent of these “deskless employees” have a smartphone, an app could run on the devices they already have and connect them to their teams at work.

AccorHotels developed the app following an initial field study in which employees participated. Sofitel hotels in the United States and Dubai tested the app, as did the Novotel Roissy Charles de Gaulle in France.

Staff Hub offers several useful features. Under “My Shifts,” employees can view the days and times of their shifts for the coming week. They can also see which days are marked as vacation days. At the top of the screen, a message notifies them of how much time remains until their next shift, down to the minute. This allows employees to check their upcoming work schedule at a glance and to see when they need to arrive at work.

Navigating to “Shift Details” displays more detailed information about a shift. There’s a section that can show notes from a supervisor about the day, such as how busy it’s expected to be. Another section displays messages or reminders from a supervisor about the particular shift.

The app’s “Calendar” view displays an entire month, with dots below the dates to indicate shifts. Selecting a date shows the user’s shifts on that date; below the user’s shifts, the app shows other team members’ shifts.

AccorHotels says that initially it will introduce the app in 26 of its hotels. It then plans to bring the app to all its hotels in 2017. The company envisions Staff Hub as one of many apps that employees will obtain from its app store. AccorHotels says it will launch its app store, which will be known as EASY or Employee AppStore for You, in the near future.