12 Strategies To Manage Your Field Workers

Statistics indicate that approximately 61% of field employees or ‘deskless’ workers have considered quitting their jobs, dissatisfied with their work conditions. Unfortunately, losing such staff can crumble many companies, as they are at the front end of their operations. Therefore, business owners must ensure their field employees are motivated and happy. And managing them effectively is a crucial way to achieve this. Does your business rely on a field-based team? Do you want to get the best out of them? Here are twelve practical strategies to manage your field employees. 

1. Set off on the right foot

Your work will be much easier if you pick the right employees for the fieldwork. It’s noteworthy that not everyone will fit into a field-based team, as it requires different skills. Your work will be much easier if you pick the right employees for the fieldwork. First, field workers will need less supervision than office workers. They should also meet certain physical fitness requirements, depending on the nature of the work. For instance, the more physically demanding the fieldwork is, the healthier or fitter your ideal worker should be. 

Other attributes to look for include a strong drive to succeed, strong communication skills, a willingness to use new technologies, incredible self-discipline, an excellent work ethic, and good time management. These attributes will ensure that your field-based team can easily adapt to any changes in the field, identify solutions to problems without waiting for superiors, and easily communicate work progress to the office.

2. Specify your goals clearly

Compared to staff in an office, your field employees need more freedom to operate without being left to their own devices. That means finding a healthy balance between supervision and freedom. And one effective way to do this is by specifying your goals as clearly as possible. At the beginning of each work day, they need to know what you expect from them on the field. As long as you can establish their daily targets, you won’t have to worry about your field workers performing below standards. On the other hand, not understanding their tasks can lead to work uncertainty, making it tough for them to accomplish their goals. Of course, you should give your workers enough freedom to work, only stepping in when obvious errors have been committed. 

3. Offer clear and direct feedback

It’s worth noting that your field employees need direct and regular feedback, regardless of how professional they are or how much you trust their work. However, don’t do this too often, especially when there isn’t anything compelling or urgent to discuss. This way, your workers will not feel like they’re being micromanaged. And when giving feedback, be direct and clear as possible. It’s not enough to simply order for changes to be made or pinpoint mistakes; you should also give clear directives on what the workers can do to make things right. And be careful not to give insulting feedback, as that will discourage your workers. Instead, focus on constructive criticism with corrections and clear guidance going forward. And your feedback should be on time, which is why the next point is crucial.

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4. Share information in real-time

Seamless communication is crucial to ensuring a smooth workflow. That’s why sharing important information with your field workers in real-time, between and within departments, is advisable. Your workers should be able to receive updates and work information on time, and the same applies to the managers in the office. The quicker the information flow is, the easier it is to be proactive with decision-making instead of reacting when costly mistakes have already been made. That makes it easier to manage your field workers, preventing the need to rectify mistakes and wasting more work time. 

5. Understand your field employees’ needs

Unlike traditional office workers, your field worker doesn’t sit in front of the computer for hours. Instead, fieldwork dishes out unique challenges, depending on the nature of the work. Unfortunately, in most cases, field workers lack easy access to additional support on the spot, having to improvise with the little resources they may have. And that may lead to a drop in work quality and productivity. Understanding and addressing your workers’ unique needs can improve work productivity, save time on the job, and increase customer satisfaction. Meet with your field teams often to listen to the challenges they face. You can consider one-on-one meetings and interviews or use forms and surveys to get the necessary information. Next, list their expectations, and identify how you can assist them to perform their tasks better. 

6. Invest in continuous learning and development

Investing in continuous learning and development is essential for effectively managing field employees. Start by identifying the specific skills and knowledge areas crucial for their roles. Once done, provide continuous training programs, workshops, and seminars to build their capacity and increase their expertise while keeping them updated on relevant trends and industry best practices. You can also establish mentorship programs where experts can share their insights and guide newer team members. You might also want to pay attention to job rotation or cross-training opportunities, as these can broaden employee skill sets. Regularly assess training needs and provide personalized development plans to address skill gaps. 

7. Delegate fairly and properly

Proper work delegation is important for every field job to run smoothly. You should have trusted eyes and ears on the ground, playing supervisory roles on your behalf and reporting directly to you. However, you should delegate according to worker expertise and capability, ensuring you can trust those you pick. Also, you need to be fair when assigning workload. Delegate appropriate tasks that suit each worker’s skill set to ensure greater productivity. That means you must recognize each individual’s strengths, so keep this in mind. 

8. Ensure your team is always connected

Fieldwork comes with its dynamics when it comes to the day-to-day workflow. Not only is it fast-paced, but it’s also constantly evolving. And it’s easy to feel disconnected from the office or company. Some workers can even feel lonely while on the job, especially when they need to work independently or separately. Always ensure your workers remain connected with the office and other field workers. A few things you can try include setting up regular team meetings before or after each work day and encouraging communication with each other as often as necessary. It would also help if you equipped them with all the tools and tech solutions they need to do their jobs well. And that leads to the next point.  

9. Utilize the right technology

You can leverage technology to streamline operations and enhance communication. Mobile apps, project management tools, and GPS tracking systems are a few examples you can use to provide real-time updates, assign tasks, and monitor field employees’ progress. With mobile apps, for example, your workers can instantly access important information, submit reports, and communicate with the team. Subsequently, project management tools can track projects, allocate resources properly, and ensure the timely completion of tasks. And thanks to GPS tracking systems, you can monitor movements, optimize routes, and make accurate arrival estimates. Additionally, cloud-based platforms facilitate seamless data sharing and collaboration, so keep this in mind. 

10. Manage workforce schedules

Creating a managing field workers’ schedules is crucial if you want to quicken work progress and boost productivity. Unfortunately, the process takes a lot of time and can be tedious when you do it manually. Your best option is to invest in centralized software to give you complete control over staff scheduling. It will also significantly reduce the time needed for this task, so feel free to consider this. Thankfully, there are several options you can try. For example, you can leverage BuildOps for smart scheduling and dispatching of field technicians. 

11. Monitor and measure performance

Don’t forget to implement various strategies to help you monitor and measure the performance of your field-based workers. Start by establishing clear performance metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your company goals. You can include productivity targets, customer satisfaction ratings, and task completion rates in your metrics. Next, track employee performance against your chosen metrics, providing feedback and guidance as necessary. You should use the same metrics to elevate performance. Also, use performance reviews to assess employee strengths, identify areas for improvement, and set future goals. 

12. Be practical

It’s almost impossible to ensure that every field worker is always efficient. So, be practical when setting goals or key objectives for your workers. The key is to set minimum objectives with minimum timelines that your workers can reasonably meet every day, week, or month. Doing this will help you keep them on their toes without micromanaging them every minute. It also reduces pressure while ensuring that set objectives are met on time. It also helps to track these objectives over an extended period, so keep this in mind. This way, you’ll know if you must add more targets during a period or ease the responsibilities. You’ll also be able to identify which workers require the most attention.