Managing employees in the field can be a tiring task. Juggling the management and monitoring of an entire team of representatives is enough to wear anyone out.
In many cases, these managers are not alone. Representatives in the field can be easily frustrated and lonely, and without the proper support system they can burn out quickly. Apart from giving employees in the field a partner, there are a number of ways that managers can attempt to alleviate the stress and inconveniences plaguing their field team representatives. Taking a look at the tools each rep is using to perform their duties, and re-evaluating the daily routine of each rep is a great way to build trust and respect among the team. A field team which feels respected and acknowledged is far more likely to be accountable than a team that feels neglected.
Employees understand that they live in an age where paper forms which remain un-customized for each individual client, are incredibly inefficient and wasteful. The conveniences that come along with adoption of digital forms include customizability on the fly, instant delivery to managers and the ability to perform electronic signature capture. A simple change in hardware or software could mean a world of difference to employees in the field who are looking to eliminate some of the menial tasks from their daily routines.
Building off of the prior item, representatives in the field may be easily annoyed by the idea of hand-delivering anything—much less their daily work—every single day. In an age where entire documents can be created, filled out, and emailed on a smartphone or tablet, it doesn’t make much sense to have employees driving to a central location to drop off paperwork. Managers should save themselves from potential future headaches and make the switch to digital platforms as soon as possible.
While routine checking-in is vital to an effective Field Activity Management strategy, doing so the old-fashioned way simply doesn’t cut it with employees anymore. GPS functionality allows employees to check in from nearly anywhere at the push of a button. Field representatives can even geo-tag photos which show exactly where their work was performed, and attach notes to those photos to document them for easy location later on.
Technology is cheaper and more accessible than ever before, and employees recognize this. Managers and business owners who are not leveraging the software and hardware which improves the daily routine of their employees will find their teams becoming restless, and will notice that they are losing a competitive edge. Staying one step ahead of competitors keeps a business running smoothly, and employees happy.
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