Is Technology the Key to a Successful Mobile Workforce?

Unlike traditional office workers, deskless workers don’t always have instant access to on-the-job assistance. However, as technology becomes more accessible to mobile workers, it may bridge the gap between the office and the job field. Let’s take a look at two of the most common problems deskless workers face and discover how technology can address them.?

Challenge #1: Limited Communication

Deskless workers like retail employees, utility technicians, and truck drivers spend their days on the job floor or in the field. Often, these deskless workers have to face their jobs alone. A retail worker may be the only person staffing a particular department on any given day. Truck drivers spend days driving solo, and technicians typically answer service calls alone. If something goes wrong, these workers can’t just walk over to a manager or reference a process document on their computer.

Solution: Video Conferencing and Job Aid Technology

In the past, deskless workers had to either find their own solutions or attempt to describe their issue to a coworker over the phone. Now, using cloud-based software accessible via any mobile device, deskless workers facing a hurdle in the job field can access instant resolution.?

With the Vizual Trainer app from FLX Systems, deskless workers can request a video conference with their coworkers, allowing them to demonstrate their issue instead of describing it. Additionally, they can reference training materials or access an extensive knowledge base full of product and equipment information, which allows them to confirm the correct next steps rather than take an educated guess.

Challenge #2: Lack of Flexibility

When office workers need to complete job-related training or fill out an incident report, they don’t have to leave their desks to do so. The most they might have to do is walk to their manager’s office or a conference room within their office. Deskless workers, on the other hand, don’t have that flexibility. A truck driver can’t just leave the road and drive hundreds of miles back to a central office to take a training course. Similarly, a technician whose car breaks down on the way to a service call can’t walk back to the office to grab an incident report form.?

Solution: Tools and Software That Move With the Employee

Deskless workers no longer have to go back to a central office to complete administrative tasks—technology makes training and reporting accessible from any location. Using the Vizual Trainer app, deskless workers can complete video training modules, complete quiz questions, and read educational documents during natural breaks in the day. It doesn’t matter if they’re at a rest stop 500 miles away from their manager; as long as the employee has internet access, they can use any mobile device to complete training.

When an employee needs to conduct an inspection or prepare a report, they can record footage and audio using the Vizual Proof app—no more tedious paper reports or inspection checklists. Once completed, the app automatically sends the footage to a designated manager.?

Give Your Deskless Workers the Key

Technology companies have largely ignored deskless workers in recent history, but it’s time to change that. As younger generations enter the world of deskless work, they expect the same technology that their in-office peers enjoy. Plus, technology offers a remedy for the most significant challenges deskless workers face on the job each day. If you want to empower your deskless workers and enable them to do their jobs more safely, efficiently, and quickly, it’s time to embrace technology as the key to success.

At FLX Systems, we developed our suite of innovative software solutions with deskless workers in mind. Our training and reporting software works on any internet-connected device from any location and keeps your data safe by storing it on a secure virtual server. We give deskless workers the support and solutions they need to address their unique problems.

Get in touch today to schedule a software demo or learn more about our technology.?