The work carried out by field teams is invaluable to utilities and telecom businesses, but when updates fail to reach the office teams quickly enough, it’s going to hinder their ability to make informed planning decisions.
The data gap between field and office has long been an ongoing challenge for businesses, yet many are still not introducing tools that have been designed to tackle this exact issue.
Even though 82% of utility executives say AI is essential to their strategy, only 20% of them have completed their digital transformation journey. This shows that there is still a high level of reluctance to the change.
The Main Contributors to the Field-to-Office Data Gap
The more separately the field and office teams work, the more challenges it’s going to create every single day.
Many businesses fail to realize what exactly is causing their regular delays, frustrations, and mistakes, but often the answer can be as simple as poor collaboration within the wider team.
Understanding the biggest contributors to a data gap is the first step to overcoming it.
- Lack of real-time data. If the office team does not have recent updates from field workers, and vice versa, it’s going to make it tricky for everyone to get an accurate understanding of where the project is currently at. This can result in poor decisions being made or delays not being known about until it is too late.
- Outdated processes. A lot of utilities and telecom businesses are still relying on the same manual processes that they have been using for years. Having to manage regular admin tasks as well as project duties is a key reason why 42% of telecoms businesses admit they struggle with outdated internal systems.
- No internet connection. For employees out in the public, not having a reliable internet connection means they are often not able to access their mobile tools or contact the office team. This makes it almost impossible to carry out their work to its full potential and can create an even bigger disconnect among teams.
- Resistance to change. Many people are so familiar with working in a certain way that the prospect of introducing new digital tools feels overwhelming. If new processes are put in place to close the data gap, yet employees don’t adapt to them, it’s not going to have the benefits it should.
How Utilities and Telecom Businesses Can Create a Unified Team
To close the field-to-office data gap, businesses need to analyze where the flaws in their daily processes lie and establish how best to overcome them.
Thanks to the rise in digital tools available nowadays, creating a unified team has never been easier, even when employees are spread across various locations.
Pick the right tool for the job
The technology used within a business has a huge impact on the way employees work together on a task. This creates a level of standardization that is hard to replicate if people each work their own way and have to constantly chase up their colleagues for updates.
Let’s take Quickbase as an example. It is a tool specifically designed to link field and office teams by centralizing workflows and keeping key information in one place. Employees working off-site are able to update their mobile app with data, and this provides the office team with the real-time insights they need to have good visibility over the work being done.
One of the key things to look out for when choosing a tool is the offline-first capabilities. Since many workers won’t have a reliable connection to the internet, they should still be able to access the key features they need to go about their duties. As well as this, any information they enter into the system throughout the day should automatically sync up to the centralized system once a connection has been reestablished.
Automate admin duties
If field and office workers are both spending a significant chunk of their days manually entering data into multiple systems, filling out paperwork, or waiting around for updates from employees across the team, it’s going to slow down timelines drastically.
There are many ways that admin duties can be automated, whether that be creating an AI agent or integrating a new digital tool. This can completely transform how an employee’s day looks since they will then have more time to focus on the tasks that require their specialist skills.
Carry out a training session
Even if one of the best tools around has been set up and launched across the business, it will only be effective if employees are actually using it. If people are resistant to change or aren’t confident with the technology, it’s going to make the switchover much more difficult.
Before launching a new tool, all employees across the company should be involved in the process. A training session should be held to tell them what the new tool is for, why it will help them in their everyday work, and how they are expected to use it.
After this, it’s also important to keep an eye on usage and offer additional support to anyone who is struggling to get the hang of the new processes.
Closing the Data Gap Between Field and Office
Strong collaboration between field and office teams is essential in utilities and telecom businesses, yet so many are still finding it an ongoing source of frustration.
Traditional processes are no longer enough in the modern day. In order to keep up with customer demand and stay competitive in the industry, businesses need to be utilizing digital tools and automating their workflows.
These changes not only result in a more efficient day-to-day running of the business, but they are bound to make the working environment much more efficient for employees.