Mobile devices have changed many aspects of professional life, particularly for field teams. Whether for salespeople, maintenance technicians, or delivery personnel, smartphones and tablets offer indispensable tools to improve their performance and efficiency, provided they are well-managed.
What benefits do they bring?
For employees
One of the main advantages of mobile devices for field employees is instant access to information. Whether for salespeople on their way to a client meeting or a technician working at a remote site, having all necessary data at their fingertips is crucial. With smartphones and tablets, employees can access information such as customer history, product specifications, or safety guidelines. This enables them to carry out their tasks effectively.
Mobile devices also facilitate communication and collaboration among field team members. With instant messaging and video conferencing applications, employees can stay in constant contact with their colleagues and supervisors. This allows for real-time information sharing and problem resolution, making field employees feel less isolated.
Mobile task management and route planning applications have greatly improved the efficiency of employees in the field. By providing them with tools to organize their working day, these apps enable field teams to optimize their journeys, reduce downtime and therefore increase productivity. For example, a sales rep can use GPS to find the shortest route to his next customer meeting, avoiding traffic jams or tolls.
The ability to collect data directly in the field is another benefit of mobile devices for employees. Whether by taking photos, recording videos, or filling out digital forms, they can gather key information during their various appointments or interventions.
For companies
Mobile devices are not only beneficial for field employees but also for the companies that employ them.
The first important point is the reduction of operational costs. Mobile devices minimize or even eliminate the need for paper documents and cumbersome administrative processes. This translates into savings in terms of time, materials, and resources.
At the same time, as mentioned above, the use of mobile devices leads to increased productivity of field teams. By providing employees with the tools they need to quickly access information, communicate effectively, and optimize their tasks, organizations enable their mobile teams to achieve more in less time. This results in better resource utilization, a greater ability to meet customer demand, and, consequently, increased revenue.
What solutions to manage them?
To maximize the benefits of mobile devices for field teams, it is important to implement solutions for managing them, known as Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions. These solutions allow companies to supervise, secure, and administer the mobile devices used by their employees. Through MDM solutions, administrators can remotely configure smartphones and tablets.
TinyMDM, a French MDM software, allows you to remotely delete data if your devices are lost or stolen, geolocate them, share content and manage applications, for example. Find out more about the different features of this mobile device management solution here.
For employees using their personal devices for professional purposes, which is often the case for salespeople, it is important to separate professional data from personal data. The work profile of the aforementioned solution is the ideal management mode to achieve this. This separation simplifies device management for administrators, who can control applications and sensitive organizational data without interfering with personal use.
To conclude, mobile devices can be a real performance lever for field teams, provided that they are properly managed by a dedicated solution.
5th of May 2024