Why is tracking and monitoring employees on the field necessary?
The problem of time theft is a real and grave concern for most businesses – despite their size or industry. If you are managing field service management workers, you must already know how challenging it is to keep track of technicians and decide who to send to which job.
Earlier, field managers used to check in with each technician regularly, but the same has its downsides. Along with the time-consuming aspect, the traditional method compromises the safety of workers as they have to answer calls while driving. Additionally, managers sometimes misheard the location, making a technician travel all across the town to perform a task.
The downside of this method demanded the implementation of a field service management software or field service suite that can make tracking easy.
That’s when the concept of GPS tracking came to light.
How does it help?
GPS tracking allows the field manager to track the location of all technicians on a single screen in real-time. These systems actually track the vehicle and sometimes might also track the technicians’ phones. This allows field managers to:
- Allot the closest available technician to a field task, enhancing response times. (Closest here can mean both time and distance).
- Monitor the routes a technician takes to reach the client location. This also helps them find the fastest route to the location, saving time and other resources. Although there may be a good reason why they are avoiding a particular junction as they used to follow a certain path. With this feature, field managers can work with technicians to reduce travel times.
- The system provides a more accurate ETA to customers based on the real-time location of the technicians. This improves on-time performance, and in case a technician is running late, you can easily inform the customers to deliver them a better experience.
- It helps to ensure that the right technician is sent to the job. Plus, it also makes sure the technician has the necessary equipment and assets to perform the task right.
- Ensure that workers are on the job at the right time and unnecessary breaks are avoided.
A field service management cloud software or GPS tracking can help you track and monitor employees working in the field. Here are some benefits of using one:
Confirms Job Site Attendance
The software can help you verify job site attendance by empowering you to ensure that the technicians are on the site when they say they are. For an extra layer of confirmation, a field manager can add a webcam or smartphone verification to the time tracking system to check where the technicians are at any given time.
Fewer chances of errors
With a time tracking system, a field manager can sync billing and payroll processing software, resulting in reduced cost errors on both paychecks, invoices. The software will track job-specific tasks more precisely, assuring accuracy with invoices and future assessments as well.
Boost productivity
Many companies in the field service management industry are facing the issue of lost productivity with technicians. But a GPS-integrated system can help them out. The system will track the technicians’ location and how much time they spend on a particular location. This will motivate them to work during the hours. The time tracking system will create a sense of urgency, help them streamline their daily tasks, and result in increased productivity.
Saves time
A field service management software simplifies the streamlining of time-sensitive tasks and thereby reduces processing costs to a great extent. By choosing the right software that perfectly syncs with the payroll system, a field service management company no longer has to enter data manually. This will help them save that otherwise spent on long calculations. The time can then be utilized on more important tasks to enhance business growth.
Pinpoint the staff
The field management suite will have a time-tracking feature that provides a clear picture of every technician, no matter where they are located. With this information in hand, a field manager can improve customer response time and cater to more jobs in a month.
The efficiency to streamline operations can help reduce cost, boost productivity, Additionally, it will foster better communication between the company and the clients, resulting in long-term and healthy relations with them, necessary for success in the long run.
Parting thoughts
The right software will help field managers to track and monitor the employees on the field. They can know how each technician is using their time daily. This helps them improve productivity, reduce customer complaints, and all the other benefits mentioned above.
We hope that the article helped you find a way to track technicians, no matter what industry you are working in. In case of queries or questions, please let us know in the comments.
