In this interview, TechGraph sat down with BettaMint Founder & CEO Kezya De Braganca to understand the company’s approach to providing construction firms with a reliable pool of daily wage workers, and how its platform allows construction firms to effectively track and monitor employee attendance, hours worked, payrolls, and performance.
Read the complete interview:
TechGraph: Can you provide an overview of how Bettamint enables construction firms to streamline the process of hiring, managing, and paying their daily-wage workers? What unique features or services does your platform offer to facilitate this?
Kezya De Braganca: At Bettamint, we’re helping construction firms fast-track construction with an engaged and incentivized workforce. Yes, our platform simplifies hiring, verification, onboarding, time management, payroll processing, and wage distribution for daily-wage workers, reducing administrative loads and inaccuracies But more importantly, our developers want productivity and quality.
Additionally, our contractors need a steady workforce that accelerates billing. Today, the unit level of productivity – “the worker” isn’t incentivized for quality, productivity, or loyalty. Our communication interface, field notes, and productivity tools convert the worker into an active contributor to the project.
For developers and contractors looking to streamline their operations, increase productivity, and worker engagement, and have a real-time view of their progress, billing, and cashflows Bettamint is a game-changer.
TechGraph: How does Bettamint ensure that construction firms have access to a reliable pool of daily-wage workers? Are there any specific measures in place to verify the qualifications, skills, and background of the workers registered on your platform?
Kezya De Braganca: We place a high priority on the authenticity of the workers on our platform through digital verifications for identification and banking. For skill verification, new workers start as ‘unverified’ and earn discoverability post-on-field verification.
By recording their work we maintain a skilled, dependable workforce and assure seamless payment flows. Notably, more than 98% of our new users come from existing enterprise clients’ worksites; implying their identity, qualifications, and skills are vetted.
Our machine learning algorithms enhance discoverability for reliable, punctual, and productive employees. This keeps the platform high quality while also allowing us to remain focused on our core clientele – large enterprise clients. While we serve hundreds of contractors with our attendance and bookkeeping features, premium features like hiring are currently exclusive to our enterprise clients.
TechGraph: Managing daily-wage workers can often be challenging due to the temporary nature of their employment. How does Bettamint help construction firms effectively track and monitor the attendance, hours worked, and performance of these workers? Are there any tools or features available on your platform to assist with this?
Kezya De Braganca: Bettamint is a super simple interface for construction firms to effectively manage their temporary workforces. Companies can easily onboard their current workforce, and track attendance and productivity without complex technology or additional hardware.
The platform is equipped to take care of every stage of a worker’s journey. This includes hiring, identity verification, onboarding, task allocation to communication, recording field notes, enhancing productivity, and managing their pay.
We believe that productivity is key for our clients, and we equip contractors and developers with tools to track and boost efficiency in the field. The system is architected to smoothly handle the transient nature of daily-wage workers, offering seamless operations even as workers rotate, prioritizing performance over presence.
TechGraph: Payment processes can be complex when it comes to daily-wage workers. How does Bettamint simplify the payment process for construction firms? Do you offer any integrated payment solutions or tools that ensure timely and accurate compensation for workers?
Kezya De Braganca: BettaPay, our payment solution simplifies payments and incentives for workers who aren’t on formal payrolls. It harnesses vital data like worker identification, banking information, primary skill, daily wage, and attendance to automate payments. This frees clients up from tedious manual tasks. At the tap of a button, an entire workforce can be paid without the need to collect beneficiary information or make complex payroll calculations.
We also go a step further by introducing performance-based incentives. Tasks requiring immediate completion can be incentivized with bonuses, automatically paid out on timely task completion. This accelerates construction timelines and boosts productivity, engagement, and retention on construction sites. Usually, at such sites, there is also a reduction in the overtime hours billed. A win-win for everyone involved.
TechGraph: Communication between construction firms and daily-wage workers is crucial for smooth operations. How does Bettamint facilitate communication and coordination between these parties? Are there any communication channels or features available on your platform to ensure efficient and transparent collaboration?
Kezya De Braganca: Absolutely, this is especially critical in a continuously changing workforce where communication channels like WhatsApp and sms become inefficient. At Bettamint we open static communication lines with frontline workers, regardless of churn. This means no more time wasted calling for group meetings on minor tasks on a spread-out site. If you identify a problem, smart tag the snag, attach a voice note, message, or marked-up image, and assign it to the right group.
All our reports are auto-generated with no one requiring to spend time at a desk making lengthy snag lists or tedious project reports. All stakeholders, from the CEO to the individual worker, are tapped into the same real-time data, easily grasped by a workforce diverse in language or technology proficiency.
TechGraph: Ensuring the safety and compliance of daily-wage workers is essential in the construction industry. How does Bettamint address safety concerns and compliance requirements? Do you provide any training resources or tools to educate workers on safety protocols?
Kezya De Braganca: At Bettamint we enhance our enterprise clients’ commitment to safety and compliance. The platform provides tools and resources to educate workers on safety protocols, ensuring they are well-informed about industry standards.
Additionally, we equip our enterprise clients with data for easy adherence to local labor regulations, helping them stay on top of their compliances. Today we work closely with our clients to communicate and instill a workplace safety culture. As Bettamint expands, we aim to further reinforce our emphasis on safety, through comprehensive training and education programs. Beyond safety, we strive to cultivate a culture that champions quality, promotes exceptional work ethic, and fosters loyalty.
TechGraph: The construction industry often faces fluctuations in demand, leading to varying workforce requirements. How does Bettamint help construction firms scale their workforce up or down based on project needs? Are there any flexibility features or options available to accommodate these fluctuations?
Kezya De Braganca: Our platform supports diverse skill sets at different stages of the project. This accordion-like flexibility allows for efficient workforce tailoring while minimizing man-hour wastage. Companies can adjust the number of workers required by skillset, perhaps due to site constraints or material availability. A worker freed up from his responsibilities at one site can be quickly diverted to another site near him.
If a worker departs midway through a job, the position is automatically re-opened for hiring, ensuring continuity of operations without human intervention. We also recognize the migratory patterns of certain worker groups. During these periods, employers can offer wage incentives to attract the required talent, so construction timelines remain unchanged.
TechGraph: Looking towards the future, what are Bettamint’s plans for further enhancing its services and addressing any emerging challenges in the construction industry? Are there any new features or developments in the pipeline that would benefit construction firms and daily-wage workers?
Kezya De Braganca: A looming challenge for the construction industry is its diminishing appeal to skilled workers, especially in the face of increased international labor immigration. The industry struggles with numerous complexities including risky working conditions, lack of benefits, payment uncertainties, and often underpaid workers.
Moreover, emerging technologies and gig platforms offer lucrative, less physically demanding jobs with secure payments, while social welfare schemes cover major living costs – further depleting the construction sector’s attraction.
We want to make construction appealing to skilled workers. For this, we are actively collaborating with the foremost builders in the country alongside technology partners. We are enriching our offerings with financial services, healthcare, skill development, and early salaries. This transformation will hinge significantly on the quality of data we collect while also improving our payment and incentive protocols.