11 Features Each Field Employee Management Software Should Have

Gone are the days when field employee management software was something fancy that only specific industries needed. In fact, according to research, between 2021 and 2030, the field services market is bound to increase at a CAGR of 19.7%.

With such rampant growth, it is obvious that the workforce management software market will have a lot of budding competition. So, as a service provider, how do you choose the right software? Well, that’s exactly what we’ll learn in this blog!

Problems You Can Face In Field Employee Management 

field employee management are not restricted to insurance marketing or B2C door-to-door sales anymore. In fact, they have transcended into our routines with services such as at-home personal grooming services and device support. 

With one sector of business being so important, it is necessary to pay some extra attention to its operations. Therefore, let us look into the problems employees might face in the field and employers might face while managing them.

1. Who All Are on Field Today? – Managing Attendance 

If you have a team of over five people, it is next to impossible for managers to remember each executive’s attendance records. Moreover, simple biometric systems risk time wastage but remote attendance logging risks fraudulent entries. Not knowing executives’ attendance status can lead to unclear task management and faulty payrolls.

2. Where Are My Executives? – Managing Time and Location

Knowing where executives are at all working hours is crucial in determining productivity and strategies. However, it is impossible to logically know where executives are with manual management. Managers need to manage executives’ time and locations to be able to know if tasks are assigned and executed properly.

3. Who is Doing What? – Assigning and Tracking Tasks 

Knowing executives’ presence and location is obviously important in determining compatible people with tasks. However, the process can be tedious and confusing without a digital system for both managers and executives to access. Anybody can forget tasks and cause major dents to the organization. Moreover, managers need to maintain timely task completions.

4. I Need All Records – Building and Maintaining Documents 

No organizational function can be complete without proper documentation. However, without a proper system in place, drawing, organizing, storing, and locating these documents will be near impossible. After all, you might need different fields from different clients and all executives collect and carry multiple documents that could be related.

5. Workflow is Becoming Confusing – Multi-Platform Workflow 

Most organizations do not want to invest in one paid service and end up using free services for functions such as payroll management, expense management, attendance management, communication, etc. However, this is a highly problematic thing to do since switching between apps to maintain a smooth operational flow is paradoxical.

6. Which Executives Are the Best? – Managing Productivity 

Managers need to know how each executive is performing, otherwise strategizing and growing will become difficult. No one can objectively track multiple people’s performance without a productivity tracking tool.

7. How Much Are My Executives Spending? – Expense Management 

Ethical companies will not make employees spend from their pockets while they are on duty. Therefore, they could either dispatch allowances or track executives’ verified expenses. Doing the former is subject to approximation and is not ideal for large companies and the latter is subject to neglect or fraud.

Essential Features in Field Force Management Software

Field services are far too important and complex to simply manage through an unrefined software solution. Therefore, you should note the following 11 features that you cannot go without in a field force management software.

1. Real-time Tracking 

Real-time tracking through GPS devices is the best way for managers to be able to keep track of each executive’s location. The best thing about this system is that executives do not need special devices – their smartphones are enough. Real-time tracking helps by:

• Continuously verifying attendance 
• Letting managers know if executives’ locations are ideal to take up some tasks  
• Stating when exactly tasks were started and finished 
• Ensuring employee safety on the field through locational supervision 
• Avoiding time-theft by going off-route between task sites 

2. Battery and Network Status 

There can be instances of executives wanting to hide their location for whatever reasons. For this, they might turn off their devices or deceive managers about their battery and network status. To avoid such issues, the field employee tracking software should track the live battery and network status of executives’ devices. 

3. Task Management 

Through software aid, managers can assign tasks with proper contemplation and planning. Moreover, executives do not have to memorize or note task details by themselves. Instead, they can check whatever they’re supposed to do for a stipulated period within the software. Effective task management allows:

• Tasks to be visible and accessible to both managers and executives 
• Managers to assign tasks according to executives’ availability 
• Assign tasks in bulk to save managers’ time and executives’ energy in planning 
• Managers to check which executive is suitable for what kind of job 

4. Attendance Management 

Good software will help executives mark attendance in the best possible manner to avoid fraudulent activities and keep an honest record. Managers can visit this record at all times to monitor executives’ activities and productivity. The best way to record field executives’ attendance is by:

• Making the logins and logouts remote 
• Making geo-verification of attendance compulsory through geocoded pictures 
• Attendance and tasks being linked so that executives cannot start tasks until they’ve marked attendance 

5. Leave Management 

Just like attendance, managing employees’ leaves can be a big struggle. However, through a leave management system, executives can easily apply for a leave on the software, the manager can respond to it, and both can check the leave status and quota on the same dashboard. Leave management and attendance management should go hand-in-hand in the field force management software.

6. Expense Management 

Through expense management tools, managers can define the upper limit of refundable expenses on the field. Executives can then add on-job expense receipts to get the amount spent added to their salary by default. 

7. Document Management  

Field employee management software makes all documents digital. By doing so, all issues faced on the field by both managers and executives are solved like this:

• Executives can draw documents digitally
• Executives can also define custom fields and forms for different clients and various requirements 
• All documents are automatically saved to the cloud so that intra-organization accessibly is not a problem
• Sensitive documents on the cloud are password-protected. Therefore, only concerned authorities can view and edit the information. 
• Digital documentation makes organization simple as the document services do it automatically. 
• Searching for documents is only a couple of clicks away. 

8. Actionable Reports 

Insightful and actionable reports are the best way for managers to track each executive’s productivity in the field. These reports can centre around anything – tasks by clients, the number of tasks completed by an executive, performance ratings, and executives’ attendance records. These reports help:

• Managers make better incentive decisions 
• Train executives in a more informed manner 
• Build informed business strategies according to current trends in the team 

9. Dual Apps 

To avoid any sort of confusion and clutter, field employee tracking software should be available as a two-face solution. You should get separate portals for executives and managers. This way, everyone can access the information they crucially need to access and not bother with functions and information that doesn’t concern them. 

10. Built-in Chatboxes

With in-built chatboxes, executives can ask and clarify whatever issue or doubt they have regarding a task without having to switch between applications. This is a nifty and accessible function since all operational actions from attendance, task assigning, task execution, and communication are done on a single platform. 

11. API Integration 

API integration is especially important for all operations to be accessible on a single app. The right field force management software will integrate other applications for functions such as payroll management and customer relations management on the same platform. Therefore, your field force management software can have access to all functions in a single location. 

Summing Up 

As a business owner, are you looking for an all-encompassing solution that will help you manage everything related to field employee management operations? Are you tired of trial and error on the field? Well, all your problems can be solved with TrackoField – a nifty field employee tracking software. 

TrackoField is a great way to step into the world of automated field functions and hence, save employees’ time.