How Should Businesses Choose a Field Force Management Agency?

In a time not too long ago, the retail industry and allied sectors were crippled in their efforts to engage potential customers on the ground due to the socio-economic turmoil precipitated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The field force had to start from scratch—rebuilding communication infrastructures, revamping systems, striving hard to get back on its feet with little support from the authorities. And this has been a tremendous job that some businesses may never recover from. But it hasn’t stopped the field force from redoubling its effort — working harder than ever before and endeavoring to reach out to customers by offering them services that are truly beneficial for them.

The Retail Industry and Allied Sectors are gradually recovering from the socio-economic repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic. The field force has been instrumental in getting businesses back to their feet by providing on-site services. Typically, a field force includes salespersons, delivery personnel, brand reps, and other technicians/service providers. These professionals get deployed for home deliveries, door-to-door sales, after-sales services, CRM, brand-building efforts, feedback, surveys, etc. 

What are the Challenges in Effective Field Force Management?

Coordinating and supervising a vast field force across multiple geographical zones is a humungous task for retail entrepreneurs. Here is a snapshot of the multifarious, inherent challenges of field force management:

• Employee-Centric Challenges: High attrition rates, lack of motivation, insufficient training, and conflicting interests of on-payroll versus contractual field personnel
• Operational Challenges: Remote work allocation, re-allocation, accommodating urgent requirements, last-minute cancellations, and logistical hindrances
• Supervisory/Managerial Challenges: Tracing employee movements and activities, ensuring retail compliance and customer service SOPs, and assessing employee performance
• Assessment Challenges– Evaluating the productivity and ROI of field operations, getting genuine customer feedback, monitoring KPIs, and timely reporting. 

Collaborating with the Right Service Providers for Field Force Management:

Rather than tackling the challenges mentioned above in-house, liaising with a professional field force management agency is cost-effective. For instance, with outsourcing, businesses don’t have to build the managerial resources from scratch, thus saving a lot of time. Finding the right field management expert that understands a business’s needs is crucial. Even if this quest takes time, never rush into the outsourcing process without comprehensive research and scrutiny. 

Here are a few helpful tips to make the right choice:

Understand the Approach to Optimize Field Operations:

When it comes to managing a field force, there can never be a one-size-fits-all approach. Every retail business has its unique requirements and a subjective version of retail compliance. Ask potential field management agencies about their workflow organization and ensure that the service standards are stated in the contract. Also, enquire if the agency is willing to mould its management approach to meet the business requirements. Remember, field force activities are constantly evolving as per the latest market trends and consumer requirements. Therefore, a holistic approach is required to ensure the necessary level of versatility in field management. 

Assess their Technological Expertise, Mobility, and Scalability

Field sales automation has become extremely common. All top-rated field management service providers make use of field management software to coordinate all significant activities. Request for a software demo to understand how it works and how well it can be integrated with the existing retail management system. Furthermore, ask the team how adaptable the software will be when the field operations expand in the foreseeable future. Most importantly, the field force management software must be mobile-friendly for both employee convenience and effective tracking.

Real-Time Metrics, Reporting, and Location Tracking:

As soon as the field employee finishes a job, the professional can update it on the system with all the necessary job details. This includes the time taken, cost incurred, the payment received, customer feedback, etc. Automated sales and performance reports should be generated and shared daily to ensure optimal team performance. Location tracking helps ensure effective task allocation, with field personnel assigned tasks as per their expertise and proximity to the customer.

Ensure Comprehensive Training Modules and Evaluation:

Always try to collaborate with a field management agency that provides suitable training modules for the field force. This includes training on retail compliance, customer service, products knowledge, selling skills, communication skills, etc. Employees should also be familiarized with the field management software and use it for task completion and updating details. 

Conclusion

Field force management is critical for retailers, given its vast, diverse operations and various hindrances. The in-house management of field personnel entails considerable time, workforce, and resources. Hence, most retail businesses outsource these requirements to experienced and competent agencies. Task automation, remote tracking, and streamlined communication are the key highlights of technology to manage field sales and operations. Similarly, employee training, motivation, incentive planning, and implementation are the crucial areas where management expertise takes the forefront. The best choice is a certified field management agency with a tactical combination of AI technology and management skills. The viable collaboration will yield impressive results in customer experience/feedback, sales figures, brand building, and ROI.