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FIELD WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT: ASSISTED, OPTIMISED, OR DYNAMIC SCHEDULING?
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19 May 2022 · James Alex Waldron
19 May 2022 · James Alex Waldron
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ervice-lead companies with field operations face a specific set of workforce management requirements. A common misconception is only reactive/emergency appointments or call-out companies can truly benefit from field force optimisation once the working day has begun. Real-time handling of all appointments (both planned and reactive work orders) gives schedulers a live picture of available resources and associated costs. Intelligent dynamic scheduling calculates and optimises service through parameters to provide unmatched flexibility—always for the best outcome.
The difference across the business is fast, with obvious improvements made to use of fuel and vehicles, field employee productivity and morale, the correct use of skills and spare parts, and adherence to critical SLAs. The choice to move to field workforce management software is an important first step towards improving the culture of a field service business. Therefore, adopting software first means finding the right consultative partner with an appropriate technology offer—an algorithm that flexes to your unique workflows, and easy-to-use tools with the modules to produce results that support all departments.
The difference across the business is fast, with obvious improvements made to use of fuel and vehicles, field employee productivity and morale, the correct use of skills and spare parts, and adherence to critical SLAs. The choice to move to field workforce management software is an important first step towards improving the culture of a field service business. Therefore, adopting software first means finding the right consultative partner with an appropriate technology offer—an algorithm that flexes to your unique workflows, and easy-to-use tools with the modules to produce results that support all departments.
INCREASED EFFICIENCY, PRODUCTIVITY, AND TRANSPARENCY
The need to support ‘all departments’ can appear intimidating, and the market for business software is growing relentlessly. Software solutions and web services map and support business processes.Inform your research with the following guides:
- Cut these 3 costs with Engineer Diary Management software
- How to determine authentic Field Service optimisation
- Why smart Field Service Automation needs smart data
- Professional Route Planning software: Are you ready?
HOW DO I MANAGE A WORKFORCE SCHEDULE?
Dynamic workforce scheduling begins with optimised appointment data. The steps to move operations away from inefficient white space filling can be broadly split into three key types. Each has their own unique approach towards workforce optimisation.ASSISTED
Assisted scheduling solutions offer a balance between the increased efficiency of fully dynamic scheduling and the intuition of an experienced dispatch agent associated with manual workforce scheduling. An organisation must accept the risk of skills and knowledge disappearing if the head office team member leaves their role. This approach to workforce optimisation is generally aimed at smaller organisations who are moving towards a growth phase.
OPTIMISED
Optimised workforce scheduling tends to be necessitated when a field service department needs to automate some of the decision making involved with scheduling. For example, an organisation might wish to keep their call centre for the booking of appointments. This workforce optimisation often involves the use of an algorithm such as PowerOpt, in order to streamline the decision-making process.
DYNAMIC
Dynamic workforce scheduling, or in other words real-time scheduling solutions suit a wide range of medium to large companies. Businesses often realise that their environment is complex and challenging, but become trapped in inefficient custom solutions that may have taken many years to develop. Often, senior level schedulers and dispatchers have grown frustrated with workflows and frequently experience their field business trying to adapt to every small change without any option to review wider consequences.
The system identifies and reoptimises resources to consider the most critical work orders amongst thousands of processes that are both already in progress and planned well in advance. All departments from the field technician through to the customer teams and accounts know that these orders are often missed/impossible to service. It is time to consult a specialist software developer to prevent damaging outcomes to cost and reputation.
For medium to large scale field workforce management, consult the ecosystem of a cost-optimised self-service appointment portal, paired with real-time scheduling, and a paperless experience for field employees via an integrated app.
DIGITAL SCHEDULING TOOLS FOR FIELD FORCE MANAGEMENT
To discuss the features of workforce management software to assist field scheduling and appointments, book a short demo or contact us at info@fastleansmart.com.Read more:
Improve Tenant Satisfaction Measures with Field Workforce Management Software
3 things to know about Geocoding and Mobile Workforce Management
FLS: The ClickSoftware alternative for Field Service Management
Modern Workforce Management Software means resource optimisation