The modern workforce bears little resemblance to that even a decade ago. It is far more mobile, demanding employees to work together globally as offices, factories, and business centers are now scattered across far-off locations and time zones. At the same time, employees are demanding more work-life balance opportunities like flexible hours and the ability to work from home.
Today, technology allows for a more mobile workforce. Thanks to smartphones, laptops, business tablets, and similar mobile devices, many tasks once done at the workplace can be performed out in the field. With increased flexibility, businesses can ensure that the right personnel for their customers can be brought in regardless of time or location.
What is Mobile Workforce Management?
Simply put, mobile workforce management (MWM) uses tools and techniques to support mobile employees, such as field teams, fleets, remote workers, and deskless workers. Examples of such mobile workers include:
- Service technicians, repair personnel, and any employee who performs maintenance, installation, or repair work on-site.
- Construction workers.
- Retail workers who rotate between stores.
- Home healthcare providers and travel nurses.
- Sales personnel, delivery workers, real estate agents, and insurance agents.
MWM is sometimes referenced as field service management (FSM) and managed mobility services (MMS). They are not the same: FSM refers to managing a site's physical assets (e.g., building, rugged mini PCs, etc.), while MMS is the process of connecting out-of-office workers to the company's databases and servers.
Benefits of Mobile Workforce Solutions
Optimizing a workforce through mobile solutions offers many benefits to companies. Notable ones include:
- Streamlining processes, such as dispatch, scheduling, and communication of technicians to be sent to a problem area, which in turn improves efficiency and productivity.
- Enhance communication and collaboration by allowing employees to work together on projects regardless of their physical locations.
- Increase customer service with such options as providing around-the-clock customer service and tech support.
- Increase cost savings and resource optimization with measures like minimizing office space and allowing employees to use their personal devices for work purposes, i.e., Bring Their Own Devices (BYOD).
- Allow data-driven decision-making, thanks to the information provided by the mobile workforce's inputs, which range from sales pitches to time spent resolving off-site issues.
- Offer competitive advantage by the ability to act and react to market conditions regardless of time, location, or both.
- Increased profitability using methods from on-the-spot customer processing to increased employee retention through work-life policies like telecommuting.
- Comprehensive tracking of off-site employees and assets (e.g., vehicles) to ensure tasks are completed promptly and resources are utilized efficiently.
- Remote log-in and access crucial information, documents, and tools to employees in real-time regardless of their location.
Tools and Technology to Maximize Mobile Workforce Management
The tools used by mobile employees tend to be lightweight and portable. This is unsurprising, as they have to support mobile operations and workers outside traditional office spaces. Workers in the field or those often on the move especially need such features.
Yet such devices are also powerful, given their many roles for tracking, monitoring, real-time communication, scheduling, and rerouting. Many have the processing capabilities of enterprise PCs and similar desktop devices.
Companies across various industries looking to optimize their mobile workforce management should also consider features like:
- An IP65 front bezel and a fanless design to prevent liquids and dust from entering the computer and wreaking havoc on the interior components.
- Built rugged using industrial components to withstand shock and vibrations, such as being dropped at a remote site while the company IT department is thousands of miles away.
- Numerous I/O ports to connect more peripheral devices when necessary, as well as legacy ports to access any older devices at a site. Mobile devices for MWM should be purchased from Original Equipment and Design Manufacturers as they provide even greater customization for a mobile workforce.
Power Your Mobile Workforce With Cybernet Computers
Mobile workforce management allows companies to perform their business practices and activities outside the traditional office and work hours. The benefits are enormous, as employees can act—and react—to market conditions in real-time, which leads to better productivity and profitability.
Are you looking for suitable computers for your MWM activities? Contact the team at Cybernet Manufacturing! They'll explain how our tablets, for example, are the right choice for your mobile workforce. Our PCs are built from the ground up for the healthcare, industrial, and enterprise sectors, handling their unique demands that break many consumer brands.
Team members will happily discuss the unique features of our industrial lineup, from the hardened glass screen of the industrial panel PC to the rugged components used in the industrial mini PC.
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