Most businesses that operate with both office and field teams work like well-oiled machines. There are numerous carefully coordinated tasks that must be completed every single day, and every member of the team plays an important role in maintaining a businesses' continuity. However, times do arise where a lack of mobile technology and standardized processes make it difficult to create consistency across various teams. A lack of defined processes and workflows is commonly one of the top three challenges faced by remote teams. Cloud-based technology with intelligent automated workflows and task management features can help you create consistency through standardized processes in your business.
A lot of businesses - and mostly their employees - are resistant to this kind of change. When field teams have been using the same processes that seemingly worked for them for years, they don't often have much a desire to try something new. But the workplace is changing, and with technology being as commonly used across industries as it is, remote field workers need to make changes too. Implementing web-based applications into daily business operations has a number of advantages. Through the creation of consistent processes, web-based applications can:
Provide more flexibility: Employees can fill in for one another when needed and even delegate tasks when the need arises. The ability to set and assign tasks from the office and have all the needed information delivered instantly on a mobile digital platform increases both efficiency and agility.
Mitigate risk: Task assignment and delegation paired with a consistent task completion process means that problems can be responded to and solved much faster.
Streamline onboarding: Whether you are onboarding a new employee or a new client, a consistent automated process makes it easier for them to step into the role without learning a complicated system.
Promote collaboration: By seeing tasks and reports laid out visually, your employees will see exactly how they function on the team and the importance of not only their role, but their coworkers as well.
Increase visibility: Giving your teams a birds eye view of the business can help them see it from a new perspective, enabling them to fulfill their primarily role more effectively.
4 Ways to Use Technology to Create Consistent Processes for Your Business
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Leverage Automated Workflows
The best web-based applications use automated workflows to improve efficiency and establish standardized processes for how work happens. A workflow is essentially just a process. An automated workflow is a process that operates independently on its own based on other actions. By leveraging these automated workflows, you can ensure that your overall process from start to finish happens the same way, in the same order, every time - regardless of who is completing the work.
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Utilize Remote Task Management
Sometimes information gets lost in transition. Emails don't always send, files get corrupted, or field employees don't know exactly what needs to be completed for a specific job. Miscommunication happens. Minimize this by using a web-based application that allows you to assign and manage tasks, and make sure every task you assign from the office has all the information your field teams could need. This process makes sure details are never missed and your field teams always know exactly what they need to do.
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Digitize Your Paperwork
Field teams have been using pen and paper to collect data, complete inspections, and fill out checklists for a long time. But, this method often leaves a lot of room for error. Then, there is still the job of organizing all that collected information into a reportable document. Digitize that process with mobile forms that ensure consistency in the data collection process, and then convert into deliverable PDFs that are consistently formatted exactly the way you want - every single time.
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Make Your Data Work For You
You cannot create a consistent and efficient process unless you can see where the discrepancies in your existing processes are. The only way to figure out where your business is falling short and how it needs to improve is by collecting all the data you can and then seeing it laid out in a visual format. You need a web-based tool that can do just that, and ideally one that updates itself automatically in real time with every new data submission. Once you've got your reports, you can see what needs to change in your processes and adjust accordingly.
The Best Web-Based Application for Creating Consistent Processes
Array has everything you need to ensure a consistent process for workflows across your business. It is the ultimate tool for every business operating with teams both in the field and the office. With powerful mobile forms and documents, task management features, intelligent reports, and automated workflows, Array is positioned to give you everything you need to establish consistent processes across every member of your team and every aspect of your business. From small businesses to multinational corporations like Walmart South Africa, Array has a proven track record of creating consistency in numerous industries. Book a demo today to see what Array can do for you.