How Software Keeps Field Management Workers Happy

2018-03-16

Do you handle your work force as an asset?
For any business using field managers and workers, a happy crew is essential to business success.
Field management workers are sometimes the only contact between a company and its clients. What are the characteristics these employees portray? Do they benefit your brand?
No you can’t leave it up to workers. Employers have a responsibility to keep workers positive. Some responsibility lies with field managers too. Their positive attitudes must filter through to these crews.
This is a challenging task because field workers have unique work environments. You can’t use the same guidelines to keep them happy that you apply for office workers.
What will help you manage this group of employees so they can thrive?

Who are the Role Players?

Field work doesn’t take place in isolation.
Yes field workers handle projects on sites physically removed from clients, offices or other employees. But these role players still impact each other.

Workers
Workers perform the work clients require. Field workers are relevant to a variety of business spheres:

• Service provision such as repairs to home infrastructures
• Installation services
• Construction work
• Health services not stationed at hospitals such as home care nurses

Field Managers
Field managers play a central role in workers’ lives. They basically organize field workers’ days:

• They produce job tickets so workers know what needs to be done
• They must manage resources and supplies so workers are empowered for their tasks
• Routes are planned so workers use the least amount of time and fuel between different sites
• Client and job information—as well as changes—must be supplied for accurate job completion
• Work is checked for quality
• Workers need to be assessed for employment records
• Managers act as middle man between company, clients and the field workers

Workers have knowledge to handle any basic requirements of the job. Expert knowledge is required from field managers for more challenging work. You can see field managers are driving forces behind field workers.
But other superiors also play roles.

Other Superiors and Employees
In any hierarchical order it’s ideal if workers only have one superior to report to. This minimizes confusion.
This setup is difficult to keep to in terms of field workers.

Payroll
Workers’ salaries are handled by payroll officers. Some workers may receive hourly rates and overtime payments.
While timesheets may be signed off by field managers the final payments—and any queries—are still handled by a payroll office.

Business Owners
Some business owners love being involved with all company tasks. They visit work sites to:

• Communicate with clients
• Ensure quality work is delivered
• Boost the company’s branding process
• Interact with employees who are busy in the field

Office Workers
An office may serve as central communication point. When field managers aren’t available office workers deliver messages and work orders to workers.

Clients
Clients log job requests with an office. These clients expect:

• Updates regarding work
• Their requirements must be met to justify payment
• Guarantees on work and equipment

Clients are supposed to communicate with field managers or offices. But it’s inevitable they talk with workers especially if work is done on the clients’ premises.
As you probably know different people usually have unique views of one situation. Each one of these role players may have a different perspective of how one job should be done.
These opposing views mixed with logistical challenges are all you need to create problems for field workers.

What are the Challenges?

Field work is not an easy environment to function in. Even for people who love their jobs there are many aspects that tend to spoil work days.

Is all the Paperwork Really Necessary?
Much of a field management worker’s day can be traced to paperwork:

• Job tickets
• Client information
• Reports

The problem is the amount of time paperwork requires. And it’s not because the paperwork is useless.
Paperwork contains information that’s vital to the outcome of the project. You can’t attempt to repair, install or maintain anything without understanding the context. This is why a job ticket is so valuable.
The necessity of paperwork also relates to:

• Giving progress updates
• Confirming completion
• Requesting payment for work done

Unfortunately paperwork limits the amount of work that can be done each day.

Can Effective Supervision take Place?

When Superiors have Different Opinions
When an owner’s expectations differ from a field manager’s conflict is inevitable:

• An owner may expect workers to work faster
• Owners may want information workers don’t have

Workers can get confused whose advice they’re supposed to follow.

How much Supervision is Necessary?
It’s such a unique balance field managers must maintain:

• No worker wants a supervisor, manager or business owner to manage every small detail. Micro management lets workers feel incompetent and slow down their work speed.
• Workers don’t want to be left to their own devices either. Updates about expectations are essential so workers know they’re making progress.

What if Something Goes Wrong?
Unforeseen circumstances can catch workers off guard. When it relates to managers’ responsibilities workers can’t continue working before a go ahead is given.
Workers on remote sites may find it difficult to reach offices or managers to ask for guidance. This causes:

• Frustration for workers who feel they’re not empowered
• Problems for clients who want to see progression

Problems with Payments
Money is the root of many business problems. When it relates to employees, speedy resolutions are necessary. You don’t want angry employees boycotting the company for:

• Overtime: Overtime payments often lead to disputes with payroll officers regarding errors.
• Salary increases: It’s more difficult to handle field workers’ salary queries than other employees’. Working remotely can result in workers feeling disconnected and unappreciated by superiors. Delayed feedback can cause emotions to escalate.

These situations can cause workers to feel angry towards the business. You don’t want this group of people representing your company in a negative state of mind.
Is it possible to handle these challenges in a way that guarantees more positive outcomes?

This is How Software Solves Problems

You can counter all the challenges listed above.
You live in a technologically developed age. While technology has the tendency to keep us too busy it definitely makes life easier. But only if you apply it correctly.
You must implement software that enables the scenarios listed below. You’ll love the positive outcomes.
Think of software programs and apps as platforms. All role players can draw together on these platforms to reach solutions faster.
Solutions keep workers—and their superiors—happy.

Enjoy Less Paperwork
Field management software is all about keeping things digital. Move away from white boards, spreadsheets and written notes.
Now you—and I mean the entire list of role players—can all:

• Submit client requests on a central platform. Information won’t be lost because it’s captured on a secure system. Anyone can refer to it when needed. This includes client information such as addresses and preferences.
• Generate job tickets for field workers. Field management software can tell workers what to do next. It’s also able to help managers plan better and faster.
• Supply progress updates. When workers can do this the information will always be up to date. No one will be in the dark about workers’ progress anymore. Business owners and managers can ask questions on the platform. A discussion between all parties on the platform will prevent misunderstandings.

Be Empowered
If you want happy workers, help them feel empowered. They’ll know superiors care enough to ensure they can fulfil their duties. You also don’t have unrealistic expectations.
Yes software can even help with this.

Information Empowers
Field management software generates informative job tickets. With advanced technology these tickets can be viewed on Smartphones.
Work allocation can be customized to suit a company’s preferences. Here’s how.
As a rule job tickets were dispersed to workers at the start of a day. This allows workers to plan for their days ahead. But it doesn’t allow managers to make changes to get more work done:

• What if more jobs come in? Workers already near the new location should take care of it to save on travel time.
• What if a certain job takes longer than expected? Now the entire schedule is implicated.

When everything relied on paper these were huge challenges. Now you can apply more practical solutions with modern software:

• Workers don’t have to receive job tickets in paper format at an office. They can travel to their first job location directly. This saves time already.
• Workers are given their first job tickets via digital channels.
• They can also view other possible jobs for the rest of the day.
• When any eventuality causes this schedule to change it’s updated immediately.
• The worker can supply progress reports and notifications about completed tasks. The manager always has updated information to handle problems or plan the most effective work schedules.
• The next job ticket is confirmed when a previous task is completed.

This process empowers both workers and management.

Trust Empowers
Digital systems make workers feel informed. This is an important factor in any job environment.
Workers enjoy the responsibility of giving progress updates. This is better than being micro managed about every detail. Because they feel trusted they tend to be positively inclined towards managements.
As long as workers and managers trust each other, field managers can operate effectively even from a remote office or vehicle.

Enhanced Communication
Here are some real challenges field workers and their managers contend with:

• A worker gets sick or hurt and must be replaced
• Work is delayed or takes longer than planned
• Unforeseen problems arise

What do you prefer to reach solutions? A long conversation with each worker or having everyone together at a meeting?
But calling a meeting robs you of time.
Luckily management software lets you have virtual meetings any time of the day. Any one of these can be reported with modern technology and an alternative solution can be communicated.
That’s how easy software makes it for you.

In Case of Emergencies
It’s all about taking delays out of the equation. When problems are dealt with fast more serious challenges are prevented.
Expert software developers create user friendly and fast methods of dealing with a job’s general tasks as well as problems.
When it comes to field work you’ll love the possibilities.
Software puts team members in contact with each other 24/7. This can be in the form of:

• Communication apps
• Emails

All workers can be kept happy even when things go wrong:

• Managers and owners can be notified of challenges without wasting time with lengthy phone calls.
• Workers can report on developments. Superiors can decide when it’s necessary to assist on site.

Since software can track teams’ vehicles managers can keep an eye on everyone:

• Traffic congestions can play havoc with daily schedules. A manager can use software to suggest alternative routes.
• When vehicles veer off course it can alert field managers. The fleet may have been confiscated by criminals. The authorities can be contacted instantly.

Team members no longer have to deal with the aftermath of a problem because it’s dealt with instantly by other colleagues. This prevents catastrophes, increases worker safety and helps keep the work on track.
Workers also don’t have to feel alone anymore. Software serves as a way of connecting team members 24/7.
This is the power software gives you.

Get More Work Done

What do you think happens when all these factors work together?
Any business’ goal is making more money and increasing profits. When software helps you save time, prevent frustration and solve problems you can handle a bigger workload.
Yes software calls for an initial monetary commitment. But the efficacy your field workers will show—and the healthier work environment they experience—equates to an investment not an expense.