The Mobile Workforce Drives Business Mobility
Business today is fast paced, with market opportunities transcending across time zones and locations. In order to support partners, suppliers and customers dispersed across the globe, the workforce has become more mobile, and work happens wherever business takes place.
For any business to compete in the global economy, it is imperative that it relies on a mobile workforce to ensure product innovation and customer satisfaction. It is also critical for such a business to provide its workforce with easy and secure access to the right data, tools and applications that will equip them to do their jobs successfully — at any time and from anywhere.
Different Needs for Different Workforce Types
As the workforce becomes more mobile, it is important to understand that its needs vary based on job functions and work locations. For example, the business needs of field technicians, who spend their days fixing customer equipment, will be very much different from those of sales executives within the same company. Therefore, a one-solution-fits-all approach is only a recipe for failure.
The first step toward empowering the mobile workforce is to build workforce profiles specific to each job function which, in turn, can help identify relevant solutions for each unique need of every mobile workforce type.
The identified solutions are then to be defined as part of an overall mobility strategy that the business will embrace for long-term viability and success. In this manner, a business can empower unique workforces and turn them into a strategic and competitive advantage.
Mobile Workforce Management Apps
Mobile workforce apps, when installed in workers’ devices can become a great asset to both the user and the management.
Acting as a real-time link between the management, field workers and customers, these apps can be used for job notifications, to track locations and to connect with necessary supplies. They can also be enabled to manage payments, generate quotes, create plans and diagnoses and for rota management. The apps can also be enabled to provide data process guidance to mobile/field workers, customised to their specific job functions, whether that of an engineer, sales representative, cleaner or service technician.
Mobile workforce apps also facilitate on-site collation and updation of key information with forms that can be customised to be as simple or as complex as the need may be. These forms, being dynamic in nature, can be configured to evolve into requirement changes and avoid additional IT costs or delays.
Data can also be captured in a number of other ways including images, voice recordings, location information and so on. The same data can also be simultaneously analysed from another office location, in real time! This, in turn, contributes to the continuous enhancement of operations, aimed at optimising customer experience.
Mobile workforce apps are also useful for financial services field employees, providing job details, route optimisations and data collection options. Additionally, with integrated voice recording and speech analytics, these apps ensure a complete audit trail of all appointments. Through mobile workforce apps, companies can also easily manage contract and subcontract workers with additional skills during seasonal peaks.
These extremely versatile apps come with a wide array of customisation possibilities, and are compatible with all leading smartphone and tablet platforms such as iOS, Android and Windows.
Key Benefits of Mobile Workforce Apps
- The productivity of the field workforce, whether direct employees or contractors, is enhanced considerably
- Consistent customer relationships are maintained through direct connection between the sales desks and customers
- Field workers are equipped with all the sales, marketing and parts management tools they require
- In-field data is collated and utilised for analysis and performance improvement
- Apps can be operated without network coverage in offline mode by utilising local database
- Apps can be used to manage customer satisfaction through signatures and surveys
The Synel Experience
Here are some companies who use Synel’s SYQR application to manage their mobile workforce:
- Cater Cunningham – SYQR for Drivers & Fitters
Cater Cunningham is a company that creates cutting edge designs and displays for homes and offices. The company employs a number of drivers and fitters to transport and install their products. The Synel SYQR designed for the company, therefore, does not come with a fixed geolocation. Instead, it is used to track the movements of drivers and fitters throughout the day, and also to enable them to clock in/out and request holidays.
- Blaze Signs – SYQR for Site Supervisors
Blaze Signs is a signage solutions company that is enabling their production team leaders and supervisors mark their attendance at their own desk using a generated SYQR code posted at their desks. The app, in this case, has been customised with a set geolocation to make sure that employees are clocking in/out from their desks and not from anywhere else.
Through Synel’s Mobile Workforce Apps, you can maximise productivity, optimise operations and transform customer experience.
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