Introduction
One of the challenges most companies are facing is managing fieldwork and workforce efficiently. And companies are making every effort to stop affecting their business progress by running behind the schedule, communication issues, incomplete work in the field, etc. In the past, all work was done manually which resulted in time consumption & human errors, but in the modern world, companies are adopting to Field Service Management solutions to efficiently handle their workforce to excel in the field services they are providing.
So let’s understand what is Field service & field workforce management, why it is essential, what are its advantages, how FSM Application helps, and whether there is any effective software for Field Service Management.
Field Workforce and Field Service Management
There are many businesses where the employee must go out of the office and work “out in the field”. On the other hand, they also need to update the job done in the office and follow the project timelines. Common examples of field services are field construction, pipelines, repairs, maintenance, regular look-over, etc. Managing all these crucial activities is termed Field Service Management. In short Field Service Management involves
- Scheduling service orders
- Dispatching agents
- Keeping on job status
- Location tracking
- Work tracking
- Time tracking
Although field service management is prevalent in many different industries particularly oil and natural gas, constructions, contractors, telecommunications, public sectors, waste management, utilities, etc.
Likewise in workforce management, the company plans and allocate resources or people, track attendance, and accordingly change the workplace, laws, and regulation which ultimately reflects high productivity and efficiency and moreover reduces the risk. Further to add, workforce management cut costs and improves productivity resulting in building a sustainable business. Workforce management is important because it ensures that employees are aligned with your business goals. Effective workforce management reduces costs, improves productivity, and helps build a sustainable and scalable business.
Why is Field Service Management Important?
Coordination is the key, certainly, Field Service Management is important for the coordination of field operations by any means. The main importance of Field Service Management is that it should not ruin customer satisfaction, field service efficiency, and employee productivity. There are so many labor-intensive companies that offer a variety of field services. This can be explained with an example below.
A field service manager for a company that provides services to Oil & Gas industry may be responsible for the following:
- Work Planning
- Project costing
- Managing a technical team for installation and inspection
- Keeping track of employee and work progress on the site
- Work order management
- Inventory management
Effective Ways to Manage Field Service Work & Workforce Efficiently
There are many ways for effective management of field service work and workforce, important ways are listed below
Understanding the Team Requirements
To properly manage your workforce, you must first understand your team’s requirements. Understanding the team’s needs and helping them equip with the right training, tools, and logistics. Understand work scope, talk to the team and equip them with the right set of tools and training. Once the needs are met and the right tools are provided, greater efficiency will ensue.
Clear Communication is Must
Communication is key when leading a team. Effective and transparent communication ensures clarity of the tasks and objectives expected of everyone involved. Better communication allows field teams to focus on productivity and collaboration and spend less time figuring out who needs to do what. Conversely, poor communication creates confusion, reduces productivity, and hurts employee morale. The quality of your communication can have a real impact on customer satisfaction and trust. Workforce management software can help managers and their teams improve communications. For example, managers can post assessments, feedback, activities, plans, and other notes in the system to avoid confusion or ambiguity about critical items.
Track and Review Performance
It is important to carefully examine the performance of different teams as a company. When the process is automated, you can map the performance of each member of the field team and identify who is performing well and who is performing poorly. This allows you to reward top performers and motivate and guide others to reach their potential. Whenever you get the data to work with, you can make decisions and improve the performance of your team. Software built to manage a workforce also known as a Field Service Management system lets you make data-driven decisions.
Make Daily Activities Clear
Determining the tasks of the team is crucial. Managers must determine which tasks should be performed by whom and when to effectively delegate. Also, managers need to prioritize tasks before assigning them. Being transparent in the management of activities keeps the team in the field aligned with company objectives and accountable for their activities. Doing this manually can be alarming. A workforce management solution allows you to automate this responsibility and improve the efficiency of your employees. It lets you track your team’s progress, use templates for recurring tasks, and manage task-related checklists on the go. The use of Field Service Management Software will help your business to support the daily work of your team.
Manage the Scheduling of Field Personnel
The traditional approach to planning a field staff can be time-consuming and cumbersome. Imagine spending days and weeks manually creating and managing schedules. While it was annoying in the past, workforce management systems have changed it. You can manage your planning system and manage your personnel in the field flexibly and transparently. Planning for field workers requires a dynamic, real-time approach where workers are aware of their current and upcoming schedules. Nowadays you can simplify workforce planning with readily available Field Work Management software or can build your own as per your need.
Manage the Squad
Managing the field team list usually consists of making a list of field personnel and gathering the necessary information about them. This information can include the location of each team member in the field, responsibilities, and the time of scheduled activities. Managing a team roster is essential. It ensures that each shift has the right number of employees to complete the open positions. Additionally, the ideal list design will identify problems such as staff shortages before they arise.
Improve Performance – Best Use of GPS
GPS tracking helps improve team productivity in the field. Real-time, real-time location tracking allows your shipping team to efficiently allocate tasks. Managers can track each employee, see how long it took to complete a task, and reassign them to the field.
Hire to Bridge the Skill Gap
Total Workforce Management not only lets you assess and manage field service teams but can also help them identify gaps that need to be filled. The sooner you can identify what is missing or what your field workers might need, the better. They are ready to plan ahead and solve any issues that might otherwise spiral out of control.
Use the Right & the Best Field Service Management Software
Labor Intensive companies should ensure the use of the right technology and the best software to optimize the field workforce. As you can see, strong field service management is essential for effective onsite performance. With the many activities, responsibilities, people, and forms of data handled by service companies in the field.
Field Service Management Software provides a single solution with a wide range of functions and capabilities. Field Service Management Software is developed in line with the development of mobile technology. This software is a technology solution designed to help field service managers take control of all the moving parts by automating certain tasks while providing remote access, real-time updates, and information on customers, among many other tools.
Conclusion
To sum up, Field Service Management is a way of managing work that takes place outside the office of a company. FSM applications refer to a strategy or technology, but the goal is the same to optimize remote operations. Field Service Management is important to oil & gas facilities, utilities, construction companies, and more. FSM Application helps manage multiple actions and individuals at the same time. It is practical for any industry where workers work in the field.
