Mobile devices in the field

Posted on Wednesday April 25, 2018

Field workers. You see them every day. And you notice that they, too, use mobile devices, as now more than ever do they need to stay connected with their organizations to stay in business. This is where mobile performance management, a critical factor for any field worker to perform and finish tasks on time, comes in. Here's how to ensure connectivity for these workers.

The ability to manage the workforce out in the field requires a modern support infrastructure called mobile performance management. It includes the top five tips to keep field workers connected: optimizing traffic, applying control, measuring performance analytics, simplifying data security, and identifying the root cause of connectivity issues.

Optimize

Although the latest apps on the market can maximize productivity for the mobile workforce, these apps come with a certain risks: stability issues that could lead to the apps crashing while out in the field. If you are your company's IT decision-maker, be cautious of untested apps, and consider blocking heavy bandwidth apps to streamline data flow when signal strength is weak.

Control

Another thing you can do with mobile performance management solutions is blocking personal apps and unsafe WiFi networks. Both of these create serious security risks that could lead to costly data theft or loss.

Analyzing performance

Field workers mostly rely on GPS location data for more efficient scheduling, route-planning, and effective control of fuel consumption. This is possible only if there are reporting tools that confirm that the GPS capability is working. Performance analytics show you what mobile workers are experiencing, gaining access to robust data, network and app usage reports, inventory analysis, coverage maps and device maps as needed.

Simplify security

IT should tightly restrict access without making security complicated for mobile workers. IT administrators need to create a highly flexible and programmable secure mobile strategy. You must be able to restrict which apps can access company data and remotely wipe data from the device if it is lost or stolen.

Identifying the root cause of connection issues

Obviously, field workers are not IT experts, so organizations need to be fully prepared for connectivity issues involving their mobile devices. Organizations of all sizes should be able to afford remote diagnostics to gather complete troubleshooting information to allow IT to identify the root cause of the problem quickly, without relying on workers, who have no idea about how to run tests and answer questions regarding these issues.

For any organization with workers in the field, the ability to implement performance management structures and policies is a must. For other tips on how to keep your employees connected, engaged, and efficient, give us a call and we'll be happy to advise.