For the success of any business, communication amongst employees and between higher authorities and executives is very important. But it is challenging to maintain a healthy amount of communication when one of these parties is working from out of the office. This is where the field force management system comes into play.
Before getting into communication using field force management, let us have an idea about the software and where it is used.
Where is Field Force Management Used
Field force management software is best suited for businesses that have employees who have to complete tasks outside of the office. This includes door-to-door sales work, home service and so on. This software serves the purpose of not just tracking employees, but also optimising the entire optimisation of businesses.
For example, if you have your employees set up camps in vlone different parts of the city to promote your business, then you have no way of knowing if they are actually at these locations or not. But time theft is very easy in these cases. There will be no way for managers to know the actual locations of these executives without personally visiting them. But this wastes both time and resources of the business.
With field force management software, such cases do not arise at all. Managers are aware of their employee’s activities through the GPS tracking system. This system also makes it easier for executives to keep their managers updated about tasks. Thus, communication becomes efficient.
Features of Field Force Management Helpful For Communication
The field force management system has a lot of features created to aid businesses to stay connected with their executives. Some of these features include:
Office Chats
The system provides users with in-built chat boxes that they can access to communicate with their managers. It also allows inter-communication amongst employees. Employees can use these chat boxes for enhancing the quality of group tasks by staying in contact with their team members as well. These chat boxes can also be used to send managers and employees any form of media like voice notes, pictures and so on.
Task Updating
Managers can upload tasks for their employees on their applications. All tasks assigned to an executive are visible to them on the platform. This eliminates any chance of missed tasks due to lack of communication or visibility. There is a clear set of instructions provided for task completion which reduces any confusion while executing. Employees are not under the pressure of having to update all the people above them in the hierarchy about their status.
Automatic Attendance
Employees of a business do not have to worry about having to contact their managers in order to get marked as present. The app does all the work for them. Through geocoded verification, managers are able to see which executives are on the field. This means that employees are saved from the hassle of having to find ways of contacting their managers for attendance.
This solution is also a way for managers to ensure that they can track their employee’s leaves. In case they take leaves beyond their limit, managers can communicate about it.
Field and Forms
Many door-to-door services provided by businesses require communication with customers. This can be for feedback or suggestions and many others. For employees, this can be both time-consuming and prone to error. They could either miss out on important questions or can miscommunicate the message with their managers because of human error.
With custom forms, it becomes easier to be the point of communication between clients and managers. Businesses do not have to stick to the fixed fields set by the system and they can customise everything according to their clients.
Benefits of Enhanced Communication with Field Force Management Software
Field force management software comes with several benefits. While it is hard to encapsulate all of them in a single article, some of them include:
Better team building
With enhanced communication between team members, it becomes easier to coordinate tasks. There is a reduced chance of team members making errors while completing tasks with advanced means of communication. Stronger team bonds also translate to lower employee turnover, thus saving businesses the hassle of recruiting more employees.
Higher employee turnover is also the reason for businesses losing clients. Some customers form good bonds with regular employees and might stop seeking a field force business’s help once their trusted employee leaves.
Improved trust
A well-maintained workforce means better task execution. This helps build business-client trust and ensures a far-reached clientele. Not just amongst clients, but improvement in trust can also be witnessed amongst managers and employees. Managers know they can entrust their tasks to capable employees without having to worry about communication.
When employees feel like their work is being acknowledged for their hard work, they will put in even more effort. With better communication, owners can also establish an incentive system. This will encourage executives to stay loyal to their company and do tasks nicely.
Easier operations
One of the main reasons for businesses to automate their functioning is to reduce efforts previously required in the manual management of the workforce. Solutions offered by the field force management system save a lot of time for employees that were previously wasted on travelling for attendance marking.
They just have to report for their tasks and attendance is automatically marked. For communication amongst clients, they do not have to look for any third-party means either, allowed to contact each other directly through the application.
Higher productivity
Time efficiency is one of the greatest advantages of workforce automation. Employees save time that was traditionally wasted on trying to communicate with fellow employees. They were also burdened by having to update each and every concerned person about their tasks. But this time is now saved and can be invested into completing other tasks. Higher task completion thus improves the overall productivity of businesses.
Monetary Gains
It is very simple, with higher productivity comes greater profits. As we observed earlier, the field force management system helps businesses achieve a vast clientele. This means the business is in charge of more tasks than before. Even managers are able to boost their efficiency. For employees that get paid for every task they complete, this is a huge opportunity for improving their salaries as well.
Knowledgeable Decisions
The field force management system produces reports for the managers to study. These reports always keep managers updated about the work and state of their workforce. This is why it is very important for them to properly study their labour force and then compare them to the latest industry trends. In case the workforce is lacking in any aspect, managers can communicate with their team and change their operations.
In the End
It is very important to understand just how important is the role of communication in any workforce. But it becomes even more essential when talking about a deskless labour force. Managers of these field forces need to pay extra care to the process of optimisation. This is why businesses need to invest in a field force management system.
With this system, it becomes very easy for managers to keep in contact with each employee. It also automates the operation of the workforce to a large extent. Thus, eliminating the majority of the situations that require manager-employee communication.
