How to manage a field team using real-time data

Running a field operation is the daily task of keeping a group of technicians together, organized and connected as they receive orders and information while the day's schedule shifts or new situations arise that have to be answered ad hoc, changing planned routines or forcing revisions against new priorities. 

Because a field worker's day can take different turns as it unfolds, being able to keep smooth communication between staff and the operations center becomes invaluable. The volume of data grows when that team also has to keep track of inventory, dispatch orders or record information on site, generating an additional flow of data.

Thanks to the digitization and connectivity that underpin geo-management software like GoDoWorks's, supervising and coordinating those staff is more direct and simpler and can be handled by fewer employees, which makes it less costly. Processes previously carried out with non-specialized tools such as spreadsheets or phone calls can today be replaced by the field worker's connected mobile device running software like GDW's.

Administrative work speeds up and decision-making capacity broadens through a clear understanding of what actually happens day to day in the field operation. The software's artificial intelligence also makes it possible to anticipate long-term demand trends, helping prevent the service from being overloaded. On top of that, information is recorded with no administrative or processing duplication, centrally, with a streamlined ability to report data.

The benefit also shows directly in how much easier the technician's job becomes when they have detailed, real-time information about the client, access to databases they can consult, or to the inventory sitting kilometers away at the company's operations center. 

Geo-management software gathers a sometimes overwhelming quantity of information which it processes into consolidated indicators, KPIs or key performance indicators, covering the performance and productivity of our field operation. The team — field staff and the people organizing and managing them alike — perform better and save time by working from this single tool and relying on the clarity and weight of its information. 

What information will geo-management software give us?

From a technician's average visit time to the specific length of each visit, their route, and the times our technicians log in and out of the system; every data point has its place in the tool's exhaustive real-time record and in its periodic reports. 

The expected productivity gain can reach 30% and especially benefits field operations that, by their nature, need to be agile. 

Some of the metrics compiled from that information include time-to-site (how long the technician takes to arrive), the number of jobs per technician per day (deliveries, visits, according to how each task is defined) and first-visit resolution (how effective the technician is on the first visit, whether they fully solve the problem). Real-time data can also let clients follow the status of a job through a website or app, which cuts the volume of phone queries the company has to answer. 

Integrating supervision with real-time data

With that constant flow of data, often including real-time feedback from technicians and clients and continuously taking in new work orders or rescheduling requests, we are not only better equipped to decide but get a more transparent view of what the service actually looks like, and can set better goals.

Supervision can then balance the urgency of the day against long-term objectives, weighing the disruptors in each case; and in both situations — through complete, relevant periodic reports and through real-time data — we are equipped with a clear, informed view of the reality of our field operation.