It’s been estimated that over 80% of the global workforce - more than 2.7 billion people - are deskless.

This mobile workforce performs the majority of its functions away from the offices or otherwise “official” locations of their employers. Mobile workers often travel to job sites to complete tasks, rather than customers coming to them at traditional, brick and mortar locations.

As you can probably guess, managing a group of employees who spend the majority of their working hours outside of the office and between job sites is no simple task. This introduces a significant amount of additional variables.

Effective support systems are key to managing a mobile workforce.

These systems aim to improve many of the processes involved in the optimization of a mobile workforce.

Increased effectiveness of a mobile workforce can lower labor costs and increase profit margins.

Mobile workforce management (MWM) refers to the many ways businesses execute their use of labor.

Mobile Workforce Management Solutions

Solutions are methods of solving a problem.

And mobile workforce management solutions are methods of solving problems that arise when managing one or more workers.

There are a few fundamentals of managing a mobile workforce, and each of these areas offers their own unique challenges to management.

Pillars of Labor Management

Hiring & Staffing

The ability to quickly and efficiently onboard employees can make or break a business, particularly one reliant on labor during busy hiring seasons.

Logistics

Figuring out who should be doing what and where. MWM solutions provide optimization of routes between job sites, as well as notifying dispatchers which employee with a particular skill is closest to a site that needs it.

When it comes to creating the perfect schedule considering a multitude of factors too complicated for the average human, MWM solutions are clearly unbeatable.

Timekeeping

Paper timecards and mileage logs have long been the bane of mobile employees. Mobile technology now means that uncertainty is a thing of the past.

Mobile apps now let employees clock in and out with the touch of a button on their phone. Storing a secure and accessible record of an employee’s time that can be used to verify any disputes.

Mobile workforce management software can also allow foreman and managers to simply, reliable, and accurately clock in multiple field workers.

Payroll

The best timekeeping software should be compatible with and easily exportable to popular payroll software like QuickBooks and Excel.

A nearly unlimited ability to customize organization and processing of payroll records offers one of the most effective mobile workforce management tools to streamline often complex and lengthy processes.

Human Resources

Mobile workforce management software even provides opportunity to better manage relationships between employees and employers.

Communication misunderstandings are one of the biggest reasons for HR intervention in a dispute. Many MWM mobile apps offer the ability to directly message or otherwise communicate with mobile workers in the field.

This technology can create and store date and time stamped records of all communications between managers and employees accessible in case of dispute.

Additionally, GPS tracking of mobile devices and time tracking based on atomic clocks means that when an employee is on the clock, their employer can be absolutely sure they’re where they’re supposed to be.

Compliance

When it comes to mobile workforce management, compliance is one of the biggest factors when trying to avoid unnecessary legal fees and fines and maintaining positive balance sheets.

An effective mobile workforce management system can ensure a business stays abreast of current labor and employment laws and regulations, while keeping accurate records of every activity performed by employees.

Mobile Workforce Management Software

Many of the most common mobile workforce solutions are software that has been developed to streamline or otherwise improve a process that was once done manually.

Accessibility and compatibility are two huge factors to consider when considering mobile workforce management software. And with such a diversity of mobile devices in use today, the universality of a software solution has never been more important.

Mobile workers are often a diverse and multilingual group. Software can provide the ability to communicate across language barriers and increase the labor pool.

Workforce management software is often significantly more reliable than traditional paper-based methods, especially around dirty and disorganized job sites and personal vehicles.

Though perhaps not obvious at first, mobile workforce management software can actually empower mobile workers.

Improving timekeeping processes and optimizing routes between job sites can increase productivity. And customer satisfaction can be ensured by easy and multiple paths of communication.

Conclusion

Effective mobile workforce management means utilizing all tools available to optimize the performance of labor.

Luckily, companies like Labor Sync, with years of experience in mobile workforce management, are here to help.

Take advantage of a growing number of deskless workers and the ability to improve employee performance.

Managing a mobile workforce is tough, but there are tools to make it a lot easier.