Mobile Workforce Management Software
Mobile workforce management software is the management of mobile devices in relation to support services such as tracking, dispatching and other types of communication. In service companies, especially field services, having mobile access to several devices has become a necessity within the workforce. The flow of information across a myriad of channels is essential to maintaining a company’s workflow. Without a proper system to manage the history and details of customer and client interactions, issue resolution processes are significantly less efficient.
The companies that are in need of these software solutions are typically very customer-centric. They depend largely on human input and communication, often between clients, team members and field workers. In order to have an improved and efficient workforce, support systems for the different cases or workflows of each process need to be implemented. Compared to scheduling or dispatching tools, mobile workforce management software is designed to cater for the people working in the field. It optimizes and simplifies the work and processes carried out by employees.
Mobile workforce management software functions by capsulizing most or all activities involved in the scheduling, monitoring, and tracking of field service teams. Since a number of variables are involved in successful job completions, workforce management software aids in making sure those variables are not unexpectedly detrimental to a job's progress. It does this through an offering of intuitive benefits and capabilities integrated within its software, including scheduling and dispatching, mobile and offline access, social collaboration, inventory management, signature capture, warranty management as well as route optimization and GPS capabilities.
Some workforce management software solutions are integrated with Field Service Management (FSM) software. While the two may seem very similar at a glance, they differ in what they optimize. If you’re looking to optimize the /industry-specific/cmms-software>installation, maintenance and repair of physical products, FSM software often provides an adequate solution. However, if the subject of your optimization involves a customer service, scheduling and dispatching process in the daily routine of your employees, then a workforce management software system would be far more appropriate. It is also the more inclusive solution as FSM mainly just focuses on field service-based businesses.
Skedulo provides an intelligent mobile workforce management solution. It enables users to simplify scheduling, enhance operational efficiency, and facilitate greater communication between office and mobile workers.
Mobile workforce management software is used by enterprises and companies of all sizes to manage their workforce, especially in terms of scheduling, dispatching and assisting mobile workers. Staying connected during work orders helps field and mobile workers be more efficient in completing their jobs on time. Workforce management software is an integrated system that provides several team members access to relevant information wherever they are, whenever they need it. Furthermore, timesheets and part/material consumption are tracked automatically by the application.
Skedulo, a platform for intelligent mobile workforce management, provides companies and enterprises with integrated capabilities and tools designed to capture real-time business insights and allow a real-time connection between the dispatcher and field worker. It has several features tailored to lessen the hassle and complexities that may hinder the operations of these companies. Examples of core mobile workforce management software capabilities include:
This feature is essential in mobile work, especially for workers who are assigned to remote areas or for employees who constantly clock in erroneously. It helps in tracking the hours of employees, easing payroll calculations. Furthermore, GPS is also integrated within the system, which helps locate where the workers are during the day.
Part of this feature is the job order tracking feature, which helps maximize productivity during a given time and keep track of the workers’ movement if they need to travel from site to site. Additionally, all these features are available on mobile devices.
The scheduling feature helps save time for the employees since they no longer have to travel to a specific office or location to check their schedules. It also helps in notifying them regarding any changes within their schedule as this feature also allows for push-notifications. Dispatchers can easily reach their field and mobile workers and keep them informed of customer appointments or any scheduling changes.
It also works both ways, as employees can modify their schedules based on the availability they have. Once a service call has been received by the dispatcher, the entire process of looking for an available team member and dispatching the appropriate team members based on the job description is streamlined considerably. With the scheduling feature, you can clearly see details regarding the time and day your workers are available and send them the notification immediately.
Most companies and enterprises stand to benefit from the implementation of this feature. As stated in its name, it provides a virtual visual for all employees and managers to effectively take control of their own schedules and scheduling preferences. It takes away the workload off the managers’ hands but still allows them to approve and disapprove any changes made by the employees. This serves as an interactive space for the workforce to post shifts they don’t want and volunteer for any extra shifts made available, reducing the extra channel of going through management while still allowing full transparency.
During emergency cases or sudden, unexpected changes within the tight schedules, you or the manager should always be informed. This feature offers an instant automated overtime alert, which allows you to avoid scheduling conflicts that may affect employees. This includes scheduling an employee for too much overtime and helps in spotting missing gaps in the overall schedule. You can also set the thresholds to determine how much overtime warrants for a violation. This helps in avoiding problems for tight budget situations or a sudden increase in work orders.
Not only does mobile workforce management software help employees, but it also serves the managers as well. Managers may be mobile as well, which means they would also need mobile tools to oversee the business and keep an eye on their workforce. As such, these solutions usually support both Android and iOS and allows for seamless communication between managers and employees. Any changes made by the employees will immediately send an alert to the manager. Even if they are not speaking directly to each other and may physically be far away, communication still exists within the virtual workspace.
A mobile workforce management software solution takes into consideration the clutter and disorder of various information routes and aims to ease the processes behind most back-office systems. In an effort to become a more complete service organization, companies need to be better equipped to swiftly handle even the most mundane of tasks. Planning, tracking and managing all transactions carried out by the employees in the field are some of the tasks made easier by mobile workforce management software.
Optimization of your workforce is the key to achieving a more organized workflow within the company. Workforce management software isn’t just about the dispatching and scheduling of field workers to specific locations; it’s about the mobility of the channels involved within each specific process. These said processes include but are not limited to scheduling, dispatching, invoicing and work order management. With less time and stress spent on doing manual tasks involving these back-office systems, the more attention you can give to your business goals. This increases revenue generation, cost savings and customer retention.
Several benefits of mobile workforce management software allow for valuable reductions or cuts to be made across several aspects of the business. This includes operating costs, travel distance, missed appointments and vehicle emissions. At the same time, it also improves response times, job completions and customer satisfaction. This technologically advanced method of accepting calls and dispatching job orders to your workforce has a positive effect on your productivity as you will be able to clearly see the progress of your employees in the virtual swap board.
At the end of the day, mobile workforce management makes it easier to oversee several processes involved in field operations. It delivers high-quality capabilities to allow full rapid mobile development, applying visual tools for efficiency and accuracy and allow customization via code. Total visibility and workforce mobility are what this software solution provides to service companies. When the workforce works efficiently, it provides a boosting effect on the services they offer and improves the overall customer experience.
