A company’s employees are valuable assets. But some employees work deskless and on their vehicles going door to door for sales. Therefore, sound field force management software is a must to handle them effectively.
They might face some challenges while working, and since they are not in the office, it becomes equally challenging for the managers to help them.
But with the help of TrackoField, these challenges can be solved.
Who are Deskless Employees?
Deskless Employees or field executives are company employees who are given weekly or monthly sales targets they must achieve.
Deskless employees now make up 80% of the global workforce. That is almost 2.7 billion people working outside the traditional working establishments.
Field executives are more than essential to keep the company and economy running.
They are often the face of the company as they deal with and service customers and clients.
Deskless employees exist in many industries, such as:
- Construction
- Retail
- Logistics
- Medical Representatives
- Hospitality
- Manufacturing
- Security Agency
- Real Estates
What Are The Challenges They Might Face While Working?
Since the field executives have to work remotely daily, it becomes challenging to do many other administrative tasks. Also, they don’t have anyone around to help them with difficulty completing tasks. All this negatively affects their productivity and time efficiency.
Deskless employees’ positions, responsibilities, and needs change daily, and it can become challenging to manage them without proper field force management software in place.
Scheduling
Many industries have deskless employees working on a shift schedule. For example, some companies and factories run 24 hours daily, and employees work day, night, and overnight shifts.
These shifts are expected to change weekly depending on workers’ availability and demand in the market.
As one can imagine, this has made it hard for deskless employees to plan personal time as their work schedule is unpredictable.
Communication
Communication is extremely important between managers and field employees. But since the executives are mainly on the road, a communication gap between the two emerges. This gap can give rise to miscommunication which can be poisonous for the manager and employee relationship.
The only way to communicate is through 3rd part app, where sharing essential documents and information can be risky. In addition, it is cumbersome for field executives to speak about their daily tasks or troubleshoot remotely with management.
Task Management
Employees find it challenging to travel to the office daily to know their day’s job. Many field executives stress that they might be assigned a task out of their skill set. This can lower productivity and increase the time taken to complete the job.
In addition, chances of error increase when field executives have to memorize their tasks for the day or rely on papers that are liable to be lost.
Lack Of Technology Expertise
Many managers overlook the proper technical knowledge and equipment field executives need. Even though we live in a digital age, there still exists a class and generation who are not proficient with technology. Operating multiple apps and platforms can prove to be challenging for them.
Deskless employees are not provided with an official company ID, laptops, phones, or power banks. And since most of the work requires them to use phones, they are bound to run out of battery. This further cause hindrance in task completion.
The managers, if not the electronics, should provide the employees with proper training to use technology to make their job easier.
Attendance Management
Some companies still follow the traditional method of attendance: the punch card method. It might work for office employees but not for field employees. Traveling to the office to mark their attendance is highly time consuming. If an executive forgets, it can cost him a day’s income.
Expense Management
Deskless employees’ main job description involves going door to door for services. To do so, he will require to travel by public or private transportation. This is going to cost him either ticket or fuel money. And for reimbursement, it becomes challenging to keep track of his day’s spending and bills to submit in the office at the end of the day.
That is not the end of their challenge. After submitting their bills, they have to wait for a long time for clearance. In the case of construction workers, they are often expected to buy equipment from their own pockets just because the company has not yet cleared their previous invoices. This creates a sense of frustration and dissatisfaction among the field employees.
How can TrackoField Help Solve These Problems?
Many of these challenges arise due to the lack of a proper field force management system. Therefore, investing in a sound field force management system is necessary, which can automate business operations and help employees perform their tasks better.
TrackoField is one of the leading field force management software in the market. It has features that are both manager and employee friendly. In addition, it can help the company adopt cost-effective, time-efficient methods and maximize employees’ productivity.
Smart Task Assigning
Task delegation is a tough job for managers. However, with the feature of bulk task upload through the admin app, managers can upload tasks of each employee months ahead. This eliminates the need for contacting the manager or traveling to the office daily to know the day’s job. This feature is a boon for the employee and the manager both.
And since the employees know their tasks and schedules for the month, they can easily carve out time for their personal life.
The time saved can be utilized in completing the tasks. And if there are any changes in the tasks, they can only be communicated through the app. Deskless employees no longer have to memorize their tasks as they will be visible on the mobile screen.
Built-in Chatbox
The built-in chatbox in the field force management software is a medium for managers and field executives to communicate seamlessly. Likewise, the employees can smoothly communicate any problem or query they might have regarding the tasks.
The chatbox has the option to share media. For example, the employees can share photos of documents with the managers without the risk of being compromised. Voice notes can also be sent if the message is not clear.
Remote Attendance
TrackoField offers employees the feature of marking their attendance remotely. This eliminates the stress and time consumed in traveling to the office. Employees can do it through the application. The attendance is geocoded, removing the chances of it being faulty.
Instant Leave Apply
The employees can instantly apply for leaves through the TrackoField app. In an emergency, it is not feasible for employees to travel to the office and personally meet the managers. It even has the option to choose between full or half days of leave.
The application shows the number of leaves the field executive has left. This allows the employee to plan his day off accordingly. He will be notified when the manager approves his leave.
Digital Documentation
Deskless employees have difficulty traveling around with paperwork as they must go to multiple places. Besides, these documents can be stolen or ruined due to rain. This can cause the company to lose valuable data like customer reviews and contracts.
To solve this problem, TrackoField offers its users’ cloud storage where they can upload necessary documents. Another cool feature is custom forms. Through this feature, the employees can get the clients and customers to fill out forms digitally.
Another perk of this is that employees don’t have to travel back to the office at the end of the day to deposit the paperwork.
Quick Reimbursement
A happy and satisfied field force is the key to more productivity. And this can be achieved with the help of a quick and easy reimbursement process. The field force management software allows the field executive to upload a picture of their bills easily and will be notified when it’s cleared.
Employee Dedicated App
TrackoField has a dual application facility, meaning there are separate apps for managers and employees. And since the application has a user-friendly UI, it makes navigating the platform easy and hassle-free for the employees. As a result, even employees who are not so expert with technology, with little guidance, can comfortably operate the platform.
By being self-sufficient, TrackoField removes reliance on multiple third-party apps.
TrackoField Is The Perfect Choice
Overlooking the needs and the challenges faced by the deskless employees of the organization can cost it heavily. However, since it’s the field employees representing your company to the clients, it becomes crucial for them to function neatly and efficiently. Therefore employing field force management software can help solve their challenges and problems.
TrackoField can help field force work to their full potential with the help of its state-of-the-art features and tools. Alongside work, the employees can even carve out time for their personal life as the software can decide their schedule months ahead.
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