Trial before you buy, and trial before you commit. Work with a few staff in different roles. Choose people who are enthusiastic about improving productivity — it will be a learning curve, so give them a little free time to experiment. Trial for at least a month so you are more likely to catch unusual issues and requirements.
Ensure all staff understand the positive purpose of the new system. Some mobile workers’ initial instinct may be to fear that you are looking to track, control and snoop on them. Reassure them that the system’s awareness of their work reduces stress by ensuring the information they need is present and accurate, provides proof to settle client disputes, and — with better scheduling — helps them get home on time.
Test the supplier’s ability to customise. Pick one or two elements specific to your business and purchase those customisations. It is worth a small investment at trial time rather than finding out they cannot deliver when you are more heavily invested.
Trial with real-world data in a real-world environment. It is easy to make an incomplete system look good with carefully chosen demo data. The only way to be sure it works for you is to test it with real staff, real schedules and real jobs.
Keep up the conversation. Speak several times a day with your trialling staff and the supplier. Feed back everything, even minor annoyances — often they can be resolved. Be open to suggestions for extra functionality; a sophisticated system can often already provide it.
A successful trial is all about good communication. For that, get in touch with Field Force on 01929 557987.
