The face of modern small business has changed dramatically over the years. We are living in a modern age where everything seems to be tied to the internet. One major change that has occurred in recent years is a shift to non-traditional workforce management. Nowadays, your staff may not even have to come into the office.
If you have a mobile workforce or do not have a physical location for your business, it can be a challenge to maintain productivity, enforce business policies, and monitor or track the performance of your individual employees.
The following unconventional concepts and ideas will help you manage your mobile workforce.
Cloud-Based CRM and Project Management Software
By using a cloud-based CRM or project management software, you can keep your mobile workforce organized. You can use CRM solutions for allowing your employees to keep track of client contact information. With project management software, you can ensure your employees are staying organized and completed tasks or projects on time. Additionally, you may opt for a dedicated software for mobile field service.
Google Hangouts and other Google Services
Do you need to have a meeting with your mobile team? You can do so from any location with Google Hangouts. Anyone with internet access and a Google account can join a hangout. This is a free solution that can also be used to send texts, make phone calls, and schedule group meetings.
The Hangouts program is also integrated with the rest of the Google services. This means that during these meetings you can share files, links, and images. You can also instantly add tasks to Google Calendar.
Mobile Employee Attendance Solutions
If your employees work outside of the office, how can you keep track of hours worked? By using mobile employee attendance solutions from Advance Systems. Using their laptop, PC, smartphone, or tablet, your employees can clock in or out as if they were at the office. You get to view their hours in real-time and accurately keep track of their hours worked.
Advance Systems also provides a range of workforce management software to meet any of attendance tracking needs, including clocking terminals, rostering software, and human resources management solutions.
Virtual Private Networks
Setting up a VPN is one of the best ways to give your mobile workforce access to secure files and sensitive information. While other cloud file storage solutions can offer the same benefits, a VPN offers more versatility and scalability.
Let All of Your Employees Go
This next idea may seem more unconventional than the other tips, but it can help cut costs. Simply let all of your employees go and make them independent contractors. Obviously, there are some disadvantages to this if you already have a large staff. But, for businesses that are just starting out, this is a great way to find talent without committing to a weekly paycheck.
You hire people as needed. This does not mean that you have to constantly find new employees. You can continue working with the same contractors for an extended period of time. You can even integrate this with some of the other solutions. For example, you could require your contractors to log their time through the mobile workforce software offered by Advance Systems.
Create an Employee Rewards Program
Another suggestion is to create an employee rewards program. This gives your mobile workforce additional motivation to complete projects on time. When you do not regularly talk to your employees in-person, it becomes easier for them to skirt their responsibilities. Use a rewards program to encourage commitment to your business and even help spur some competition among employees.
Schedule Daily Meetings
If you want to make sure that you and your mobile workforce are all on the same page, schedule daily meetings. These meetings do not need to be long. In order to save time, schedule a conference call between you and your entire workforce. Prepare the primary topics that you need to cover and spend fifteen to twenty minutes going over everything.
Create a Business Application
As a final idea, you could outsource the creation of a business application for managing tasks, scheduling meetings, and performing other basic business operations. Every virtual or mobile employee that you hire will be required to use this application for completing projects, checking their schedule, and collaborating with other employees.
Along with these tips, there is one more step that you can take to promote a productive mobile workforce – communicate. Communication is the key to a happy and efficient staff. This is especially true when working with a mobile workforce. Communicate with your employees regularly and take the time to address their concerns or to congratulate them on a job well-done. You also need to clearly communicate what is expected of them. They should not have to question their goals or commitments.
Hopefully, you can use some of these suggestions to manage your mobile workforce. When you are dealing with employees that you do not see in person on a regular basis or that do not need to show up to the office, it is difficult to keep an eye on everything that they do. The solutions mentioned should help simplify the process.