How Flexible Workforce Management Software Can Adapt to Meet New Cleaning and Security Needs
COVID-19 has thrown into sharp relief the need for your mobile workforce management software system to be flexible and adaptable.
Recent times have demonstrated, even more than usual, that your cleaning or security business needs a holistic and flexible mobile workforce management software solution as life around us changes. There are now increased demands on your essential distributed workforces to perform duties beyond what was required pre-pandemic in response to recommendations of customers, employees, C-Suite leadership or government entities.
We’ve heard of security customers adding additional shifts to maintain order, meet a higher volume of schedule changes and retain patrols. In the cleaning industry, we know there are evolving standards of work in response to ever changing — and in some cases, hazardous — environments. Your business is responsible for keeping your security guards and cleaners safe and properly equipped with the tools they need while remaining accountable to your customers and contracts.
With no firm answers on what protocols may stay long-term, or what else the future holds for the cleaning and security industries, it’s more important than ever for your mobile workforce management software solution to be flexible and support evolving needs. Here are three ways you can flex your software to respond to the ongoing crisis.
1. Use messaging and forms to ensure employee health and safety.
Mobile workforce management tools and employee self-service tools can be used to communicate with field-based employees, collect information, and in some cases, track the history of responses to health questions. This can help ensure your guards and cleaners are as safe as possible while on the job and minimizes the risk of transmission of illness.
Use updated forms from your mobile workforce management solution to quickly collect information on employee symptoms or simple messaging tools to collect and record a history of responses from an employee, such as whether they have a temperature or other symptoms that day.
2. Complete additional inspections and assessments with reporting tools.
In addition to business-as-usual inspections as part of existing contract obligations, more is being asked of cleaning and security contractors. Customers are asking their security contractors to be their eyes and ears across more functions, including for cleaning/contamination and management of other third-party contractors. Providing these services helps you differentiate your business, build loyalty, and in some cases, expand revenue streams.
Look at your mobile workforce management system’s simple building assessment and inspection tools to help guide security officers through building inspections and provide an instant reporting service to your end-customers.
3. Use location tracking technologies for completion of reopen logs.
For businesses to reopen, some may be required to compile cleaning logs that document the date an area was cleaned, the time of day and the scope of cleaning that took place.
Mobile workforce management system solutions with location-tracking technologies can be used to verify when and with what frequency an area has been serviced. This is handy for particularly high-traffic, frequently used areas, like airport countertops. Your tools should also enable you to verify and assess the quality of service performed. All data from these tools can be reported on and shared with customers.
When times are tough, streamlining and connecting your core mobile business functions is important. And although everything can’t be anticipated or controlled during unstable times, the right industry-specific software solution created specifically for companies in the cleaning or security industry can be used to proactively address and mitigate some of the side effects that come along with them. For additional tips on using your cleaning or security mobile business software to meet new needs, download our quick guide, The Importance of Flexible and Adaptable Software in the Age of a Pandemic.
