5 Best Techniques to Manage Mobile Employees

Who are Mobile Employees

Mobile employees or mobile workforce is a phrase used to refer to the people within an organization who are not static but rather scattered over several locations and connected through modern communication devices like smartphones, tablets and computers.

Source: SHRM

The above research lay bare some very important facts regarding mobile employees in the United States:

• By 2020, around three-quarters of employees within the U.S. will be mobile
• More than 60% of Millennials prefer to work remotely to the full extent that their organizations allow.
• Around one-fifth of Millennials work from cafes and coffee shops.
• More than 80% of employees take advantage of remotely working every day.

Mobile Employees – Challenges

You can imagine the difficulty faced by an employee who is breaking sweat in the field but is unable to get the job done because his Internet is not working properly. He is unable to communicate with the head office. On top of that, he is also required to carry notes to his work site every day because the compliance function at the Head Office requires a lot of paper work – relevant forms and authorized signatures. Since the start of the day, the mobile employee is unable to communicate with his supervisor at the Head Office in order to take instructions. He is confused, lost, and very angry

On the other hand, the staff at the Head Office is unable to track him due to the same lack of communication. They are unable to communicate job priorities to the field man. If there has been a change in the work schedule, it cannot be communicated to the employee either. Work is being delayed. Customers are suffering, and there is nobody who can be held responsible for the mishap.

The mobile employee faces another potent risk. Since he is carrying paper work with him to the site, there is a chance that some of it might be lost or compromised. It could have sensitive customer information. This could culminate in a security situation.

If the employee loses a form or a requisition, it may also trigger a security alarm. The employee at the point of services is required to fill up lengthy forms and obtain signatures on them. This is a kind of work duplication since the staff at back office does the same at the end of the day while entering data into the system.

Managing Mobile Employees

Mobile employees deliver much-needed services to the organization while working in the field. However, managing this workforce poses a challenge to the organization. The most important aspect of mobile employee management is the determination of standard delivered by these employees, and gauging the level of services offered by them while not being present within the office premises. Moreover, if these employees are not equipped with the best technology, their productivity will be impaired. These employees face the additional task of satisfying paper-based compliance requirements while not being present in the office.

5 best techniques to manage mobile employees

In this article, only a few challenges faced by mobile employees and their peers at the Head Office have been discussed. This does not mean that they are faced with only these problems. There are many others which are being faced, and resolved on a daily basis.

There are 5 techniques that maybe used in order to better manage mobile employees and make lives easier for everyone.

1. Effective and Timely Tracking

The first and foremost requirement of any organization with a large mobile workforce, is to track all of them. The staff at the Head Office must know where each of the field employee is, and what the current status of his job is. This is imperative for the purpose of making sure that the customers are fully satisfied with the company. On the other hand, the field employee will also be content with the increased visibility. He would know that the guys at the Head Office know where he is and what he is doing at the moment. If he is facing any problems, they will be immediately reported to the HO. With heightened visibility and smooth two-way communication between the HO and the mobile employee, any emergency changes in the schedules can be communicated to the worker. For example, if the HO decides to prioritize a job due to the latest instructions by the client, it can be communicated to the field worker so that the top priority task is completed at the soonest.

In such a scenario, the YouTube outro template can do wonders for the company as it allows the decision makers to impact instructions to the employees instantly.

2. Process Restructuring and Streamlining

The most important thing is to analyze the present procedures that are prevailing within your company vis-à-vis the mobile employees. Obviously, the entire phenomenon of mobile employees and filed work depends on the availability of latest up-to-date technology in the absence of which the entire idea will collapse.

The procedure should also try to minimize the paperwork as much as possible so that the employee does not need to carry loads of paper whenever he / she is on the website. A mobile solution could be implemented allowing the staff at the HO to update schedules and information, and simultaneously allowing the field staff to view them in real time.

3. Comprehensive Communication

Communication is the key to successful manger-staff relationship within any organization. Managers who are working with mobile employees must communicate with them on a regular basis. This will allow them to understand the problem faced by the field force, gauge their performances and devise policies in light to of this information

Regular and comprehensive communication allows supervisors and managers to dissipate company policies, motivate field force, and –to an extent – control their output. Communication is a two-way process. While it is advantageous for managers, it is also beneficial for the mobile employees at the same time.

4. Keeping Track of Compliance

Compliance is one of the most important aspects of any business, and when you are working with a sizeable mobile field force, the temptation to simply ignore compliance is rather strong. Compliance can be made efficient through syncing with systems in the Head Office. This will allow the mobile staff to make notes on their devices. It will save time too. There are auto-filled forms that can be used for this purpose. These forms can be filled over mobile devices. As soon as the field staff fills these forms and saves them, the same are updated in the Head Office.

The idea is to endure compliance without compromising performance, and also putting less paper work burden on the field force. This procedure will also allow these employees to go home directly after they have finished their work rather than returning to the office every day in order to complete their paperwork.

5. Integration and Assimilation with Mobile Solutions

It is imperative to have a proper mobile working solution which is not able to integrate with the existing company software, but also able to adapt with the merging needs of the mobile working environment.

Using such a solution will offer an opportunity to mobile employees to enhance their performance by having being synced with the Head office at all times. Efficiency will increase, and so will customer satisfaction.

When you are working with a mobile workforce, you must allow some level of relaxation in the dress code, break times, and daily routine schedules that are followed at the Head Office. It must be understood that the kind of administrative control which is prevalent at a physical office, cannot be exercised over mobile employees. Rather than micro-managing every aspect of the mobile workforce, the managers at the organization should try and facilitate them so that they can provide the best services.

The Wrap-up

Business has become globalized. It is not what it used to be a few years ago. With the advancement on technology, businesses have come up with novel ideas or providing better goods and services to their clients and customers.

The culture of remote employees is expanding in the corporate culture. These employees can remain in touch with the organization through the internet and e-mails. Content management systems and innovative tools are rendering mobile working very effective.

In the coming days, the phenomenon will expand further. It is better for companies to devise and implement processes and procedures that will allow them to manage mobile employees now as well as in the future.