Read about some of the most essential features for choosing the right mobile workforce management SaaS software solution that will prepare your business for 2021 and beyond, as the world of work becomes more and more mobile.
With the global mobile workforce set to increase to nearly 2 billion people by 2022, it’s imperative that businesses prepare for this operational shift that’s favored by workers all around the world.
One of the most important aspects of mobile workforce management is preparing your mobile workforce with the tools and technologies they need to stay productive no matter where they are. One way to ensure they’re prepared is by adopting a mobile workforce management software solution that’s built for the modern, mobile workforce.
A capable mobile workforce management SaaS software solution is powerfully engineered with multifaceted tools that help office teams and mobile teams work together to get the job done right.
Mobile workforce solutions are a great tool for last mile delivery teams, field service management teams, and field sales teams, who need dynamic tools and capabilities that replace slow, manual, error-prone tasks, with faster, automated, and accurate tools and functionalities that allow mobile-driven businesses to do more with less while saving time and money.
Furthermore, a capable, modern mobile workforce management solution gives business leaders the confidence to grow their business by making data-driven, evidence-based decisions.
Read this guide to learn about some of the most essential features of a capable mobile workforce management SaaS solution that can help prepare your mobile business for the future of work. But first, let’s learn a little bit about what mobile workforce management is.
What is mobile workforce management?
Mobile workforce management, at its most basic definition, is the systems that come together that enable mobile work.
A lot of systems have to come together to make mobile work possible: technology (computers, smartphones, tablets) software and applications, processes, and services all have to be aligned in order to run a successful mobile workforce.
Mobile work is dynamic by nature (there are a lot of moving parts), and often unpredictable, because of it. It’s best for organizations to adopt mobile workforce management SaaS solutions that help give businesses a more holistic view of — and, therefore, more control over — the systems and processes that lead to a healthy mobile workforce ecosystem.
Read our complete mobile workforce management guide to learn more.
Why mobile workforce management matters
Future projections indicate that mobile work is becoming the modern zeitgeist both in the United States and around the world. In other words, workers are demanding the conditions that allow them to do their best work while balancing their personal lives.
As more and more workers realize that mobile work makes them more productive and happier, organizations must adjust to worker demands.
One study found that 80% of workers faced with similar job offers would turn down an opportunity that didn’t allow for flexible work. That’s serious power in numbers, a fact that modern organizations can’t ignore if they’re to remain competitive in the coming years.
Fully integrated mobile workforce management solutions provide numerous benefits to organizations from the top down: business leaders, managers, administrators, dispatchers, and field reps.
Mobile workforce management solutions:
- Enable organization-wide mobile work functionality
- Give field teams access to essential enterprise business data and tools
- Help teams meet compliance standards and requirements
- Come with built-in technical support when needed
- Provide the the convenience your teams need to stay productive and improve efficiency
- Eliminate the need for time consuming manual tasks and error-prone paper-based documentation, reporting, and analysis
- Offer teams the data and analytics they need to make confident business decisions
Read below to learn more about the essential features a capable mobile workforce management SaaS software solution offers.
Mobile workforce management key features for 2021
Productivity tracking
One of the best assets of a capable mobile workforce management software solution is the ability to gain the insights you need to run your business the right way and focus on growth.
Using accurate data generated from the application, you gain valuable insights into real-time processes:
- View, manage and report on all field assignments in real-time. Drill down to see completed, missed, or pending assignments by individual, time spent at locations, and much more.
- Inspect automated travel/transportation logs to create more efficient transportation logs or reimburse mobile employees who use their own vehicles for work.
- Track work time and leisure time for simple invoicing.
- Create formal checklists and forms for assignment completion, project notes and field data that can be sent to the office automatically for reporting.
- Standardize proof of work requirements via photos, videos, file sharing, barcodes, and signatures.
Use these functionalities to prevent:
- Stated work time versus logged hours
- Inaccurate or non-existent workflow documentation, such as tasks and parts lists
- Incomplete or missed jobs
- Accidental double-bookings or missed bookings
- Large lead times between jobs or locations
- Inefficient routes that turn into expensive fuel costs
Dynamic scheduling
Dynamic scheduling helps the business balance business and labor costs with the ability to better react to increased service demand and lull periods.
Using a mobile workforce management system that includes integrated workflow tracking and scheduling features assures dispatched jobs are fairly managed, ensuring everyone in the company is on board and understands the scheduling process holistically.
With the ability to manage tasks and documents more effectively, both managers and field reps have the necessary tools they need to ensure visibility, transparency, and expediency needed to get the job done right:
- Visibility — All parties have full access to the most up-to-date work schedules, tasks, and field location/site information on their mobile devices.
- Transparency — Field reps can remain on the work site and complete job workflows and managers have full visibility into the work being performed as employees check off tasks.
- Expediency — Create efficiency in the field by setting designated expectations for wrench time, travel time, and breaks to ensure work is done faster, documents are shared with the office sooner so you can focus on building your business while providing incredible customer service.
Automatic alerts
Traditional notification methods relied on phone calls, pages, faxes, or other slow processes that can be asynchronous and easy to miss.
Alerts for field repair updates and/or approvals, order restocking, dispatching workers, home or on-site inspection approval or work order approval, real-time inventory requests, and quick reviews of company parts, stock, and/or usage can be streamlined and done from a smartphone, scheduled or triggered automatically, and sent to the right personnel to uphold compliance and approval standards.
Proof of work
To assure the work was done right and on time by the right person managers can enable a mandatory proof of work feature from a capable mobile workforce management solution.
Receive mandatory proof of work from your field reps via photos, videos, file sharing, barcodes, and signatures before a job is closed.
Real-time communications
Rather than fumbling through disparate apps and services that offer single features and functionalities, a modern mobile workforce management solution offers you the tools and features you need to do your best work under one app.
A capable mobile workforce management SaaS solution must have a real-time communications feature so you can communicate with field reps and customers during working hours.
Keep your teams connected through shared contact lists that enable phone calls, live chats, group channels, voice messages, and file transfer capabilities.
Employees can set customized statuses to let the team know when they’re actively working, out to lunch, or off duty.
Communicate with customers to keep them in the real-time feedback loop. Let them know when a delivery has been made, or when to expect the service they requested to exceed their expectations.
Reporting and analytics
Reporting on and analyzing accurate business data is key to running a healthy organization. With a modern mobile workforce management solution you no longer have to rely on disparate, siloed data systems that have a high probability of being inaccurate.
Analyze data around field rep performance: total number of jobs, jobs completed, appointments missed, driving time, mileage, fuel costs, customer ratings by appointment, and much more.
Compare the data over customized timeframes so you can make evidence-based business decisions or track progress.
