The 7 Ways Software can Improve Employee Satisfaction

2018-06-22

The great thing about technology is how one thing can have so many positive effects:

• The internet and social media provide information but it also helps people feel more connected to each other
• Mobile devices are handy but they also save time since you don’t have to go home to make a call anymore
• Bar code systems make for easy but also time saving processes

And it’s not different when it comes to business software. Perhaps you’re considering field service management software to help your managers cope with the work load. Here’s the very beneficial spill over: Your employees are going to love it too.

Why is Employee Satisfaction Important in Field Service Management?

I believe this should be the biggest motivation behind getting this software. Your field service workers determine your success because they’re your biggest role players in branding, customer satisfaction and word of mouth in your community.
Of course you also want to keep your employee turnover rate low so you don’t waste money on training. And any good manager knows employees’ productivity sky rockets when they actually like working.
Compare how a satisfied group of workers will perform in these situations vs disgruntled employees.
Now imagine how some of the frustrations you’re aware of can be eliminated with some software technology. Here are some ways you perhaps haven’t considered yet.

How the Right Software Helps You Get It Right

No More Salary Disputes
Is money one of your monthly challenges too? Paperwork can often lead to conflict which wastes time and can turn employees against the company:

• You may query some of their work hours
• If a report is submitted late you can’t make payments for them
• Your HR personnel can make errors when capturing data for payroll

Now imagine all of that is eliminated if the process is automated. On a field service management platform you’ll allocate jobs to workers and that data automatically gets sent to payroll. There’s no need for manual reporting or paperwork anymore.
Isn’t that a dream come true?
Increased Interaction Without Visits to the Office
One of the biggest risks of field service work is that your workers will start feeling disconnected from the company. This quickly breeds negativity which is why team building is essential.
You can counter some of this on a software platform because you can all stay connected throughout the day whether it’s asking for advice or giving feedback. Feeling less isolated will do wonders for team morale.

Information is Always Available
What leads to so many field service mistakes? The wrong information.
You can curb these by placing information on the online platform:

• Client information so your team knows exactly where to go next without waiting for a call.
• Clients’ history so workers can make accurate assessments of what’s needed
• All workers’ schedules so you know who is available so work is divided fairly
• Real time feedback so managers can discuss realistic timelines with clients

Without the software your workers will get frustrated with waiting for calls or they can make mistakes due to a lack of information. This may not be their fault but it can cause unnecessary conflict between them and clients. Why not stop that from happening ever again?

Trust Leads to Taking Initiative
You may assume your workers want to do the minimum required of them, but human nature actually craves success and personal development. The reason you don’t see workers taking up initiative could be because they don’t think it will be noticed or affect their work.
Now see the effect when you empower them. Asking them to produce real time feedback instead of you visiting sites to gauge progress communicates to them that you trust and respect them. When they realize their actions matter in the grand scheme of the company it prompts even more positive actions.

Success Leads to Motivation for the Future
Many of the benefits mentioned here lead to one very important thing: Your teams will experience more success on site. That’s magic!
Most people want to experience success. Why would you go to work if you know clients will shout at you all day because you’re unsure of how to perform your job? Or perhaps your teams feel they’re wasting time—and therefore earning less—because they spend most of the day driving to your office to give reports. Who wants that if there’s a better way?
Help your workers feel excited about going to work because they know they’ll experience positive working environments, happy clients and swift functioning. Isn’t that what you want too?

Let Them Feel Proud of Your Business
And who wants to be part of the losing team, right? In your community your competitors are probably implementing tech already. Your workers will hear about it and wonder how it can impact their lives:

• They don’t want to hear from clients how others do the work better
• They want to feel proud when they get into your branded vehicles
• No one wants to be ridiculed for being part of an outdated company

So be the company everyone wants to be like so your workers will stay loyal and excited to be part of it.

Better Work Relationships
Communication is a top priority in any company but it’s quite difficult when your workers are rarely with you. A simple field worker management platform can fix that overnight and actually help build relationships between managers & workers.
Although it’s not supposed to be a ‘chat’ method you can build some rapport in the same way people use social media to connect with each other. Now when you get together for meetings once in a while everyone won’t feel as awkward with each other as usual.

At the moment managing relationships and situations is taking unnecessary time and effort. Here’s my suggestion: List all your current frustrations with your field workers. Then determine which ones can be countered with tech. My bet is you’ll purchase software tomorrow. Enjoy!