Page 150 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

Autonomy or not Autonomy? that Is the Question � 129

take his paperwork home at night with him. His wife would rewrite it,
and then he would hand it in to the office, because he was embarrassed
about it. We’ve taken that completely away. [Employees] don’t have to do
that. It is simple touch buttons. They are all drop menus. We give them
choices that we require.
What we’ve found now is the drivers don’t need to remember when
they started and stopped. They get in in the morning and log into their
unit. There are no arguments about timecards now, because as soon as
they log into the truck, [they are also logged in on] their timecard. They
have the ability to log off for lunch. They don’t have to remember the
exact time. There is no confrontation. [The system] is transparent.

Rick told us the most unsurprising news: the younger workers
picked up the new system faster than the more experienced, older
hands. Some of his veteran workers don’t even have computers at home
and are afraid of technology. To answer those concerns, Rick made
sure the system was designed to make it easy to use: touch screens;
no need to check spelling; big buttons, so accuracy and spelling aren’t
issues; and four-digit secured personal identification numbers (PINs),
so no one else can take credit for someone else’s work. Now, the sur-
prising news: the older workers are now devoted to the new system.
Rick explains:

These guys, and they are still with me, don’t have computers at home,
and they are very comfortable using the hardware now. It has come to
the point now where if something goes down or something is not work-
ing properly, there is a phone call right away that we need this [mobile
workforce performance management system] up and going. [The work-
ers] don’t just take [time] off the job. We didn’t set it that if we have a
hardware issue that it would disable them [from] doing their job. They
still have the ability to do what their job is. They’ve really fallen in love
with it and embraced it.

Fewer changes in daily assignments make workers feel as if they
have more control over their day. Less hassle with paperwork or trying