Field operations play a critical role in many businesses like agri-input, BTL marketing and HVAC. Customer visits, sales, product demos are some common field operations. These are carried out by field agents who work remotely.
As a result, accountability and productivity challenges are common in field operations. How do you track where your employees are and what they are doing?
Well, one way is to use an employee GPS tracking software. It allows managers to get real-time information on their field workforce’s activity, tasks, attendance, visits, etc.
Dive in to learn in detail about all the challenge plaguing field operations and how to overcome them using GPS tracking solutions.
5 Common Challenges in Field Operations
Here are the main challenges businesses face while managing field operations.
1. Lack of Visibility
Imagine managing a business and not knowing what your workforce is doing and where it is. Sounds bad, right? Well, most businesses struggle with this issue. Field agents visit remote locations, often without any internet.
This makes it difficult for managers to coordinate with their teams, assist them in real time or assign ad hoc tasks.
2. Poor Task and Order Management
Other major challenge in managing field operations is assigning tasks. Without knowing your employees’ activity status or location, you cannot assign tasks optimally.
Doing so can result in overlaps, repeat allocations or long travel time between consecutive tasks. Similarly, manual paper-based order placement or slow approval by managers can result in delayed order processing, affecting customer service.
3. Inaccurate Time Tracking
Time tracking is important to check your field teams’ performance and create timesheets. But remote employees cannot log time through paper punch cards or send updates on text or WhatsApp.
This can result in inaccuracies, time theft, delayed work and payroll discrepancies.
4. Lack of Data Driven Decision Making
Managers need to create campaigns and strategies. But without numbers and KPIs, it can be hard to do. No productivity metrics, time logs, order totals or top performers info can lead to scattered decision making with no clear objectives.
6 Ways How Employee GPS Tracking Software Streamlines Field Operations
Now that you’re aware of the challenges in field operations, it’s time to learn how to tackle them using the best employee GPS tracking apps. Here are 6 features that can help you.
1. Automating Field Reporting
Employee GPS tracking software streamlines field reporting by automating the collection and submission of data. Field agents can log activities, sales, and customer interactions in real-time, reducing manual paperwork and ensuring timely updates.
2. Simplifying Task Planning
GPS tracking apps offers intuitive task management features, allowing managers to assign tasks individually or in bulk. Real-time tracking of task progress and location verification ensures accountability and efficient workflow management.
3. Convenient Order Management
Employee GPS tracking software facilitates on-the-go order placement, enabling field sales teams to process orders directly from the field. Real-time order tracking and instant updates enhance customer satisfaction and streamline the sales process.
4. Attendance and Leave Tracking
GPS monitoring software provides geo-coded attendance tracking, allowing employees to mark their presence remotely with time and location stamps. Integrated leave management features enable streamlined leave requests and approvals, ensuring accurate attendance records.
5. Accurate Payroll and Expense Reporting
By integrating attendance and expense data, software like TrackoField automates timesheets. That in turn ensures accurate salary calculations and timely payroll disbursal.
The software can also manage field expense claims, allowing for digital submission, easy authentication and quick reimbursements.
6. Data Analysis and Report Generation
Employee GPS tracking software offers comprehensive analytics and reporting tools, providing insights into employee performance, task completion rates, and operational efficiency.
It also offers customizable reports that managers can leverage to make strategic decision and accurately evaluate workforce performance.
Conclusion
Field force management is tough. Field operations pose several challenges to executives and their managers. While the managers struggle with operational visibility and poor productivity, field agents battle missed attendance, long travel routes, missed task visits, etc.
But one tool can solve all field operations challenges. It is employee GPS tracking software. It streamlines field agents’ workflow, makes them more accountable and optimises their tasks, routes, order placement and expense reporting.
As a result, managers can assign tasks without worrying about whether agent will be free to pick it up or not. Managers also get to make data-driven decisions and maintain a productive workforce.