Our concept of work has changed a lot due to advances in technology. Office staff are no longer bound to an office building and work can be completed while hiking up a mountain, or sat in your PJs at home.
But for mobile workers, such as tradesmen and women, drivers or contractors, their work has always been separate from the office.
So how has the way we manage our mobile workforce changed over time?
1970s
Let’s flash back to the 70s, a time of flares, funk and the first ‘clocking in’ machines.
These humble beginnings were the roots of mobile workforce management software and allowed employers to start charting, storing and analysing the movements of their workers.
Although these state-of-the-art systems were used primarily for warehouse or office workers, it introduced the idea of using data to influence management decisions.
1990s
The 90s introduced portable technology such as pagers and mobile phones.
It allowed mobile workforce managers access to get in touch with their workforce while they were out of the office, to update them on work or to check their status.
2000s
Increased accessibility to the internet meant an emergence of bespoke systems to manage the mobile workforce.
Typically built on PDAs, the systems would require thousands in up front costs, with months of development time. The investment required meant that these systems weren’t even a consideration for SMEs.
2010s
With the rise in consumer apps and the concept of Software as a Service rather than as a upfront cost, mobile workforce management systems became available to all companies who wanted to manage and monitor their mobile workers in real time.
Paperwork and the reliance of phone calls are no longer a dependency, managers get the information they need quickly, improving stress levels, customer satisfactions and response levels.
The concept of mobile workforce management software has been around since the early 2000s, and has allowed managers everywhere to manage more effectively, making it the future of mobile workforce management.
