Does your organisation have a field-based team who provide valuable services to your customers? Without an effective field service management platform to provide valuable time and cost savings, their working day is not being used to its full potential.
But we understand, it isn’t easy to find the right solution for your needs – every organisation is unique and has individual needs, so finding what works can be tricky. We’ve compiled this 5 Step Guide to quickly get you on the path to digital transformation, we’ve also included lots of additional resources that you can use to help you choose the best solution.
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Define Your Objectives
This first step is essential, without setting out clear objectives on what you want to get from a mobile workforce management platform the results won’t be as beneficial. What are the major pain points for staff? What business goals are you facing? More jobs completed per day, or maybe you need to reduce paperwork?
The right field workforce management solution will transform staff devices into a hub of essential information that will transform their day right before their eyes. Instead of panicking about carrying around lots of information and following strict compliance protocols, they can concentrate on doing their job to best of their ability. Don’t worry, nothing is missed out, instead, everything is actually on the device: notes, reports, compliance forms, specific tasks. You name it, it’s there and backed up.
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Staff Are The Key
Your staff hold the key to the successful implementation of any new technology. If they don’t feel capable of using it or feel supported enough, user adoption will slump. Divert disaster by focusing on their needs and what their daily jobs look like. By fully understanding which tools they need and what difficulties they face, you’re able to deduce what key features your field service management solutions will need to help them.
By placing your staff at the centre of your mobile solution, they get the perk of a better work-life balance and less travel and paperwork. For the business, you get greater capacity to take on more work or the benefit of being able to provide a higher quality of service, depending on your objectives. Plus, you get to be their hero.
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Future-proof Your Solution
There is no point implementing a field service management solution without considering the potential innovations in the future. It’s great implementing a dramatic new way of working but if in a few years’ time it can no longer be supported or a new technology simply can’t be integrated, then you’re looking at a seriously frustrating piece of kit and a hefty bill.
Instead, research solutions that are already talking about and integrating new technologies. It’s important to wrap your head around concepts like IoT and AI, as these can and are transforming every industry, whether public or private sector. By implementing a future-proofed mobile working solution you can save the future heartache and instead enjoy a solution that meets and supports your needs.
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Don’t DIY
We’ve talked about building your mobile solution around your staff and their needs, but we do not recommend building a solution yourself. Yes, it’s easy to think that you know your business inside out and you have the capabilities within your IT department. But instead what you will end up with is a clunky, problematic solution that your staff find difficult to use and is difficult to support or integrate with.
Working with a professional solution provider (like Totalmobile) will provide you with the support and guidance you need to take a step back. Sometimes everything isn’t possible and to make that decision you need a helping hand to remember what’s important. Ultimately you will end up with a solution that fits your needs and doesn’t cause stress.
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Be Prepared for Change
This is the big step. Be prepared to change. Beginning your journey to mobile workforce enablement isn’t a walk in the park. You’ll have difficulty with user adoption, integration hiccups and a lot of pressure to make it work…stat. But with the right frame of mind and support from a software partner who understands your business, you’ll be alright. More importantly, your business and mobile workforce will thank you for it.
So, there you have it, our 5 steps to help you get underway on your mobile workforce enablement journey, starting with field service management. If you want to read a more in-depth guide you can read our eBook on “10 Practical Steps to Mobile Workforce Management.” You can also learn more about our platform and the capabilities we have, like field service management.
