What Is Utility Mobile Workforce Management Software?

The digital transformation is changing the way utilities do business. Customers pay online, serve themselves through a web portal, and communicate with you through Interactive Voice Response (IVR), email, and even chatbots. With all these new tools, they expect a customer experience that is swift, efficient, and time-saving. So, if you don’t use utility mobile workforce management software, you may be missing an opportunity to provide the best possible experience for your customers.  

What Is Utility Mobile Workforce Management Software?

Utility Mobile Workforce Management (MWM) software is designed to manage utility field service representatives (FSR) and a utility’s service calls. MWM’s functionality includes employee tracking, productivity management, service order logging, FSR dispatch, work order creation in the field and office, and staff communication. MWM is popular with many utilities because it improves customer satisfaction. When a utility uses workforce management software, it takes less time than traditional paper-based workforce management to get the lights on and the water flowing for your customers.  

Benefits of Mobile Workforce Management Software for Utilities

Traditionally, when a customer initiates a service call, a utility staff member laboriously creates a paper service order and dispatches a field service representative. Although a paper-based work order is better than verbal orders simply because a written record exists, they are not as efficient or foolproof as digital work orders. The problems with paper-based work orders are they get lost, they are hard to read, and FSRs have to have them in their hands. If your representative is out in the field and a priority work order comes in, he has two options: go into the office or get the information by phone. When he has questions, he has to call the office to confirm, and if anything is left off the work order or the verbal directions are unclear, then more time is spent for clarification.  

But, with mobile workforce management software, many of these inefficiencies can be eliminated. NorthStar’s mCare mobile workforce management software and CIS software maximize efficiency, streamline operations, and lead to happier customers. When a customer contacts you with an outage, anyone on your team can create the service order, even your field staff. With mCare, the information is entered into the system once, and everyone who needs it has access to the order in real-time. You don’t have to worry about document control because there is only one record that everyone who needs access can access, and permissions can be set to ensure the work order remains secure and complete. FSRs have all the information they need to move from one service call to the next. When utilities use mobile workforce management software, they save time and money by maximizing their resources, automating tasks, and improving communication.  

Essential Features of MWM Software for Utilities

mCare is designed specifically for utilities. Although many mobile workforce management software is on the market, mCare has unique features that every utility needs. When services are interrupted, your customers don’t want to sit in the dark or not have running water. They need their services restored fast. When utilities use mCare MWM, they maximize efficiency, optimizing performance, and customer service.

mCare mobile workforce management software for utilities helps with  

• Forecasting

• Scheduling

• Dispatching

• Optimizing your workforce

Forecasting

Utility service work falls into two categories: planned and unplanned. Routine maintenance and service level agreement service can be planned, but severe weather outages or equipment breakage cannot. When you use digital work orders, you gain a wealth of data that helps you forecast how and where to deploy your resources long and short term. This information moves your team from reactively fixing problems to proactively managing planned outages and remaining agile for any unplanned outages.   

Your collected data also helps you predict how long service calls will take. mCare can log when service orders are started and completed, which is more accurate than self-reporting in a paper-based system. Through analyzing the data, you can estimate how long routine maintenance will take, making resource deployment more effective.  

Scheduling

 When you can forecast your service work, your scheduling naturally improves. Knowing what maintenance is planned helps you allocate your assets and personnel to ensure that everyone is available when needed. Supervisors and dispatchers have the information they need right at their fingertips to ensure the closest FSR moves efficiently from one call to the next.  

It’s no doubt that you need to allocate your resources quickly when an unplanned outage occurs, and paper-based service orders are not that efficient. When you use digital service work orders designed specifically for utilities, your team has access to automated workflows that keep them moving from one step to the next. mCare helps your team communicate in real-time to proactively fix problems, sometimes before customers are aware of them. When you use data from mCare and its automated workflows, you can schedule your personnel where and when you need them the most.

Dispatching 

Allocating your resources for planned and unplanned outages is essential for exceptional customer service. But you need to know precisely where your FSRs are and when they will finish a service call, or you risk having unhappy customers. Mobile workforce management software creates accountability for field service staff. mCare can pinpoint where your team is in real-time so you know who you can move to the next priority call and how fast they will finish the call they are currently working on. MWM measures FSR performance against customer feedback, giving you the information you need about their performance. You can monitor progress to improve scheduling because you know how long a typical service call takes. Because FSRs stay in the field, you can reduce trips back and forth to the office, saving on fleet maintenance. MWM software collects valuable data that assist you in forecasting workloads, improving scheduling, and allocating your resources.

Optimizing Workforce

Because mCare integrates seamlessly with NorthStar CIS, your customer service representatives will have the information they need to advise customers about outages. With real-time updates, your CSRs will know how soon a customer will be served, keeping them informed. As CSRs add service orders, FSRs see them in real-time, which helps determine priority and completion order. With mCare, multiple truck rolls and phone calls to the office are a thing of the past because your office and field staff can communicate in real-time.   

Because information is put in the system once, you eliminate clerical errors and illegible orders. Paper-based work orders often get lost, torn, or crumpled. With mCare, everything is digital and available on any device, so document control is ensured. mCare automates processes so that everyone has the information they need when they need it, maximizing efficiency and streamlining operations. 

And, mCare work orders have details that other work order management software does not have. FSRs can see at a glance if a dog is on the premise or if a key is available. They will also get meter information to know precisely what service they’ll need to perform. Every note and detail collected for a meter stays accessible, so the service history is available to those who need it the most.  

When you use mobile workforce management software,  your team has the information they need to get service orders completed quicker than they could with paper-based orders. Because mCare is designed for utilities to maximize asset allocation, your team will optimize performance and streamline operations, saving your community time and money and keeping your customers satisfied.

Looking to streamline operations and maximize your team’s efficiency? Contact our sales team today to learn how mCare can transform your organization and improve customer experience.