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Over the years, technology has changed the way workers across industries work. It  streamlined processes and improved working conditions. The field service management industry is no exception, as the pandemic pushed field service organizations to quickly adapt to digital transformation.

According to the Salesforce State of Service report, 77% of field service professionals claim that the pandemic has changed their technology needs from virtual options to automated dispatching and real-time scheduling. Let’s take a look at how field service management investments and technologies help in boosting the productivity of field workers.

Technology’s Impact on FSM

Speed and Efficiency

The impact of technology on fieldwork has exponentially increased the rate of speed at which business occurs. Tasks that used to take hours now can take minutes because field workers are informed ahead of time of their schedule and designated areas. 

For instance, with the help of a field service management software, routes can be optimized using maps.This is helpful for accidents or time-sensitive orders. 

Planado is one example of a field service technology that provides convenience as workers may be assigned jobs depending on their areas directly from the map. Using Planado, you can find the worker who is currently close enough to the place. This saves the time of the field workers and the company. 

Communication between the fieldworker and the admin staff is hassle-free since the location of the field workers may also be tracked real-time. Planado field service management platform allows real-time employee and schedule management so that the manager in the office can reroute employees and rebuild their work schedule without having to set in-person meetings.

Increased Accountability

Field workers are paid to deliver prompt results. Therefore, ensuring that there are accurate records and reports is essential. Compiling records and reports can be a daunting task especially if you have a big organization. Hence, various field service management apps and software offer different features to resolve this.

Based on the 2020 report of Verizon Connect, 61% of fleet managers think that the most important feature of field service management software is its ability to automatically update records. With field workers being always under pressure to meet tight deadlines, accurate paperwork is a commonplace casualty. This is why the impact of technology is heavily felt in this area since forms, worksheets, and schedules are no longer manually transferred across a field service operation.

Using Planado’s app, field workers may efficiently track their movement at the tip of their fingertips. As you head to the premises of the client, you just have to click the En route button and a text message will be sent to the client that you are on the way. It allows workers and admin staff to share data with one another instantaneously and in real-time from the office or on the move.

Better Control

Different field management apps and software offer solutions that help field workers to do their tasks smoothly. One best example of this is centralized scheduling. There are technologies that allow input of client data, their contact details, shift timings, and even provide space for field workers to list down their individual tasks to keep track of their own progress and productivity for the day.

Planado app is a testament to how an app can help in tasks that require high mobility with its checklists feature which prompts an employee to follow the step-by-step guide and mark the completion of every step in the app. Doing this will allow you to appropriately allocate the available time for each project and you won’t miss out on any tasks. 

Certain field service management apps like Planado are accessible on Android and iPhone which is a revolution also for field service management since you do not have to purchase any specialized device to utilize only for field management. 

Implementing your choice of tech

Before choosing a software for small business or large organization, consider the following factors:

1. The metrics of your company: Identify the specific key performance indicators (KPIs) that are valuable to you and your team. This will help in determining what specific features to find for the tech you will implement. 
2. The skills of your field workers: Conduct a survey to the level of understanding of your team on the potential technology to implement to see if it will be a good fit especially since they will be using it on a daily basis.
3. The terms of the technology: Try finding a field service management application or software that has customer support or allow trial runs to avoid investing at a lost cause.

Planado is one field service management application available in the market which offers a free trial and full access to all its features for 14 days. You don’t have to use your credit card to have access to this and you may test it out yourself by signing up here.