Eliminate Service Request Miscommunication with Your IWMS

Have you ever gone to a drive-thru, started to drive away, only to find that they got your order wrong? So, you have to stop, park, go inside, and wait another 10 minutes while they get your order correct. Suddenly your fast food isn’t so fast, and you have a hungry family at home waiting on their lunch.

Now, let’s switch gears and go into the workplace. How often have you had an important email get lost in cyberworld, or received an inaudible voice mail message that you knew had important, time-sensitive information on it? These things happen, but the effects can disrupt your entire day.

For many enterprises, this is commonplace, as they employ antiquated processes for solving complex issues. But, with the advanced technology like IWMS available today, you don’t have to settle for missed messages and a frustrated workforce.

Let’s take a look at how just one workplace management module can enhance your business environment, freeing your employees to shift their time and focus towards more pressing issues.

Facilities Maintenance Module Solves Miscommunication Issues

Depending upon the size of the facility, your organization can have anywhere from tens to hundreds of service requests on any given day. From light bulb changes to the A/C unit, and everything in between, your workforce’s demands must be met to ensure productivity is up and expenses are down. How is your team juggling it all?

Many workplace managers are still addressing service requests via telephone and email. Or, if they have invested in a facility maintenance module, it is outdated and cumbersome.

Not having a robust system, like iOFFICE, to register work requests can easily turn a simple appeal into a disaster. The voice mail you left about the stain on the carpet was muffled and unclear. You think you can understand enough to determine that there is a stain on the wall in the conference room, so you dispatch a crew to come out and paint it before the big board meeting on Thursday. Imagine their surprise when maintenance shows up with paint brush in hand, only to find out the request was for a stain on the carpet! Consider the time and, ultimately, money wasted on such an avoidable error.

Or what about that maintenance software your organization invested in last year? It seemed great in the presentations, but for some reason your work order numbers are down, yet you saw twelve things that need attention as you walked the floor today. Is no one submitting requests for these items? A survey of key employees reveals that the system is confusing and time-consuming. It’s difficult to determine where in the tool you go to place the order and, once you get there, deciphering the terminology behind a simple request forces many employees to simply throw in the towel.

Your workforce needs a tool that is easy to use and intuitive in nature. The request should be in layman’s terms, free of technological terms that only your management team and the technicians can understand. It should be automated to prioritize and assign tasks, with notifications sent to your mobile application and/or email. There should be room for the submitter to leave detailed notes on the subject; even a picture when necessary. Your team, workforce, and technicians will thank you later.

Remember how upset your family was when you returned home late with lunch? Imagine the impact 3,000 complaining employees can have on productivity. Part of your role as the workplace manager is to ensure your workforce has the tools they need to perform to the highest of standards. When your business tools are lacking, it causes dissension from within. The end result is a disengaged workforce and a facility operating below standards. If this sounds all too familiar, it might be time to reexamine organizational processes and invest in a tool that will boost, not hinder your progress. The benefits of an IWMS will far outweigh any costs associated with the investment.