Role of Field Employee Tracking Software in Managing OOH Field Teams

Discover how employee tracking helps manage OOH advertising field teams, monitor their activities and provide proof of performance.

Have you ever wondered who puts up all the eye-catching hoardings or posters you often see on government property or commercial vehicles? Well, it’s the job of out-of-home (OOH) advertising agencies. The actual task is carried out by field executives. They scout for suitable locations, perform inspections, visit client sites and install the hoardings.

However, OOH advertising field teams operate remotely. That makes it difficult for managers to maintain a smooth workflow, track productivity and get Proof-of-Performance (POP). But worry not! You can overcome these challenges with field employee tracking software.

What Are the Duties of OOH Advertising Field Executives?

Out-of-home advertising isn’t just about drawing posters. It is a meticulous job that requires the services of skilled field executives. These executives perform important tasks like identifying and meeting potential clients to pitch OOH ad spaces.

They also assess the various sites to ensure their suitability for ad campaigns. The final task is to visit the site and put up the hoardings, wall posters or other forms of OOH ads. After-sales tasks like attending to complaints, performing regular quality checks and ensuring compliance with state law are also performed by OOH ad staff.

How Does Field Employee Tracking Help Manage OOH Advertising Field Teams? Top 6 Ways

1. Ensures Live Visibility of Field Ops

One of the biggest concerns of managers is not able to precisely monitor their OOH advertising field teams. These executives work remotely and out of sight of the managers. It can get challenging to know their activity or task status accurately.

Gone are the days of calling and texting to check your employees’ whereabouts and what they’re doing. With GPS tracking enabled field force management software, you can view all your OOH ad executives, their precise location and activity status on a centralised map-based dashboard.

You can even monitor the live location of your executives and check what routes they take to visit task sites. In addition, software like TrackoField also allows managers to track the following data on the dashboard:

• Total field expenses and their sum.

• Total client visits or ad sales closed.

• Battery and network status of OOH ad executives’ devices.

• Task, attendance and activity status.

Field force management software even ensures staff visibility when they are offline. It tracks their activity offline and syncs the data packets once the network is restored.

2. You Get Proof of Performance Reports

Proof-of-Performance (POP) is an important aspect of OOH advertising. POP is just a confirmation that the ad or hoarding was correctly installed at the designated location.

In the case of digital ads, POP is the verification that the ad was rendered as per guidelines and successfully ran on the billboard. But how does GPS tracking software help in generating POP reports?

Well, you can set up a geofence around a task site. Then you can analyse geofence reports to check when the executives reached the task site, how long they stayed there and when they completed the task. Field employees can also provide POP by:

• Taking feedback forms or digital signatures to prove client satisfaction and that the task went smoothly.

• Uploading invoices, receipts or other documents for confirmation of delivered service.

• Clicking pictures of the ads to confirm they were posted as per instructions.

Managers can check timestamps and geotags of OOH Field agents’ logins, their work logs and the media files as well.

3. Efficient Task Management

Out-of-home advertising executives have to travel to various locations, often in remote areas. This process needs to be streamlined so there are no delays in reaching task sites or wastage of employees’ time and company resources.

For instance, if two executives are assigned the same task and that too at a faraway location, one of them will end up wasting his day.

Thus, tasks need to be allocated systematically and monitored in real time. Field service management software like TrackoField can accomplish this easily. It offers a dedicated task management software module that allows managers to:

• Assign tasks to OOH ad agents based on their availability and location.

• Assign ad-hoc tasks to field executives and notify them immediately.

• Write detailed task descriptions.

• Attach voice notes, images or documents for a thorough understanding of employees.

• Upload tasks in bulk and use the calendar scheduling feature to assign tasks in advance.

Field employees can also create, self-allocate or reschedule tasks as per their requirements. Moreover, every update in the task is logged in the software with accurate timestamps and geotags. Managers can fetch task reports to check the exact time and location where employees began a task and completed it.

4. Geo-verified Attendance and Smart Shift Management

Field service management software streamlines the attendance of OOH ad teams using GPS tracking and geofencing. It records the exact time and location when field executives log in and log out. The executives can even upload geotagged and timestamped selfies while logging their attendance.

Thus, you can prevent the misuse of remote attendance marking and eliminate inefficient paper tracking. The software also allows linking attendance and tasks via geofencing. Here’s how it works.

• Managers set up a geofence around the site, usually the site of the first task.

• Employees reach the geofenced location and mark their attendance to unlock the task.

• Employees complete their tasks and move on to the next one.

• Employees are auto-marked out once their shift ends.

In case of any disputes, the managers can check the attendance summary or history and the location coordinates of employees. Managers can also check unscheduled breaks and total halts an employee takes during his work hours.

5. Accurate Field Expense Calculation

OOH Field executives may make payments from their own pocket to buy marketing collaterals, food or fuel. These have to be reimbursed by their employers. But you can’t just pay your executives whatever they demand.

There needs to be a system for checking the authenticity of field expenses. This can be achieved by field employee tracking software like TrackoField.

The software has an embedded route distance calculator which automatically calculates fuel expenses after syncing with the odometer. In addition, managers can check employees’ location history to find the whereabouts of their expenses. Field agents can also upload invoices and images of bills as proof of expense in the executive app they use.

Wrapping Up!

Field employee tracking software can be a game-changer for managing OOH advertising field teams. It can help optimise their tasks, shifts, expenses, attendance, and more. The software also reduces task repetition or overlaps and reduces time-consuming paperwork. As such, managers can save company resources and focus on improving workforce productivity.

An employee tracking solution like TrackoField monitors mobile teams without micromanaging them or invading their privacy. It can even reduce managers’ administrative load, allowing them to make data-driven decisions and grow their OOH ad businesses.

If you’re still on the fence about using field employee tracking software, get TrackoField‘s free trial to resolve your doubts.

FAQs

• How does field employee tracking benefit OOH advertising field teams?

  Field employee tracking allows managers to track their OOH advertising field teams in real time. This allows them to assign tasks based on employees’ availability and proximity to the client site.
  Managers can easily check proof of performance using timestamped and geotagged images. GPS tracking also helps OOH ad teams improve their service by reaching task sites faster, reducing unnecessary paperwork and easily marking attendance.

• What challenges do OOH advertising companies face without employee tracking?

  OOH advertising companies face the following challenges without employee tracking:
  - Scattered field teams and poor coordination.
  - Lack of visibility of OOH ad executives.
  - Delayed client service and missed deadlines.
  - Time theft by remote executives and resource wastage.

• Can field employee tracking improve client satisfaction in OOH advertising?

  Yes, field employee tracking software like TrackoField can improve client satisfaction for OOH advertising field teams. It optimises task allocation which prevents delays in reaching client sites and ensures on-time hoarding installations. Employee tracking also helps to generate Proof-of-Performance (POP) reports.