What is a Field-Based Employee?

A field employee is someone who works outside a traditional office environment, typically at changing locations for varying periods ranging from days to months. Instead of reporting to the same office daily, they move from one job site to another as the project requires.

Field employees, also called field workers, may often report to a central office or headquarters, but their day-to-day work isn't tied to any one office. Instead, they go wherever their skills are needed.

For example, construction workers are field employees who work on-site at different building projects. In transportation, truck drivers spend most of their time on the road. Other industries with field employees include manufacturing, warehousing, retail, and logistics.

Field workers are flexible, mobile, and work hands-on with tasks that keep businesses running in real time.

What challenges do field-based employees face?

When you work in an office environment, you generally follow a routine: arriving at the office at a certain time, taking a lunch break at a certain time, leaving at a certain time. Other parts of your routine that you may overlook include having a fixed commute and coworkers, something that may not be relatable to field-based employees.

Field-based employees have their own specific set of challenges:

Changing locations

Field-based employees often have to go to different places every day, which could be in remote locations without the same access to computers or internet as office-based workers. Alongside this, field-based employees often need to set up a temporary base of operations at the site where they are working.

Different co-workers

Field-based employees may have to meet and work with a new cohort of people nearly daily, therefore needing to put in more effort into communicating with those people and building rapport. Continuously rotating coworkers can also make figuring out who to report and send updates confusing.

Dynamic schedules

Field-based employees often don't have fixed timings. They may need to start their shifts earlier or stay later than standard business hours. For example, truckers usually drive through the night, and a portion of restaurant or retail workers work past 5pm.

Exposure to the elements

Field-workers face a lot of physical and mental demands; they may have to work outdoors where it might be hot, humid, rainy or cold. They might also be required to travel long distances which can take a toll on them.

Often, field-based employees who are working heavy machinery face several safety risks, including potential life-threatening accidents; this happens in fields like construction, agriculture, manufacturing and transportation.

How do you manage field workers effectively?

Managing field employees comes with its own set of challenges. They’re not in the office every day, and their work environment changes frequently. Keeping them connected, motivated, and productive requires the right approach. Here’s how to do it.

1. Use digital tools to stay organized

The right technology makes a big difference. Scheduling apps, GPS tracking, geofencing employee tracking and mobile-friendly work platforms help managers coordinate shifts, assign tasks, and monitor progress without unnecessary back-and-forth.

2. Prioritize safety and well-being

Field roles often come with physical demands and environmental risks. Providing protective gear, access to health monitoring tools, and regular safety check-ins shows employees that their well-being is a priority; a successful field worker is first of all, a safe field worker. Some companies have introduced wearable devices that track hydration and temperature, helping workers avoid heat exhaustion on job sites. You can also use our Air Quality app to keep an eye on environmental conditions.

3. Invest in ongoing training

Training programs can help field employees stay sharp, especially when their roles involve handling equipment, interacting with customers, or following safety protocols. Many field roles also require specialized training, and this is where your business can leverage digital training platforms. These let your workers access learning materials from anywhere, whether it's a quick refresher or a deep dive into new processes. Short, mobile-friendly courses can fit into their workflow without pulling them away from the job.

4. Recognize and reward their work

Field workers often go unnoticed because they’re not in the office, but their contributions are just as critical. Public recognition, performance-based incentives, and simple shout-outs go a long way in making them feel valued. Even a monthly spotlight featuring top performers can help build morale and improve the team's productivity.

5. Use data to make smarter decisions

Tracking key performance indicators like task completion rates, customer feedback, and safety reports helps managers understand what’s working and what needs improvement. Data-driven insights can highlight training gaps, optimize routes for efficiency, and even predict scheduling needs to prevent burnout.

6. Make communication seamless

Field employees rely on clear and timely communication to stay informed. A mix of real-time messaging, video updates, and easy access to company announcements can help keep them in the loop without overwhelming them with emails. But it's not as easy as sending a few emails as we'll see in the next section.

Improve communication with field-based employees, step by step

We've seen that communication is a huge contributor to field operations success. But, one of the most daunting challenges field-based employees face while on the clock is the lack of communication channels with supervisors or head offices. Given that field-based employees are often out in the field, it's not possible to supervise what they're doing step by step. 

If you run a company which employs many field-based workers, then it's necessary for you to keep in touch with them on a regular basis to check in on their well-being and pass on information that might be useful to them. You'll also need to get updates from them regularly to make sure the project is going as planned. 

Here are some tips for managing frontline worker communications:

1. Daily check-ins: It's a good idea to have check-ins with field-based employees every day, if possible. As with the challenges that comes with being a field-based employee, it’s important for colleagues in traditional office settings to be flexible in the timing and delivery of check-ins.
2. Scheduling/planning: If the field-based employee is working on a long-term project, then it's a good idea to come up with a strategy before the project commences to avoid last-minute changes with a field-based employee’s less flexible schedule.
3. Channels of communication: There are many ways of communicating with field-based employees, such as calling, video-calling, texting and emailing. Our personal favorite, digital signage for manufacturing, will be discussed in detail below.
4. Meetings: Even if the employee works in the field, it is sensible to touch base with them in a more structured meeting on job duties whether in-person, over a phone call or through a video meeting.
5. Site visits: Site visits alleviate some communication burden on field-based employees; a designated employee can come up with an agenda for a site visit and field-based employees can treat the visit as a direct channel to their colleague that does not intrude on their daily schedule.

Learn more about how corporations create better communication systems for hybrid teams.

Communicate with field employees using ScreenCloud

When considering traditional methods of communication, such as email or employee messaging apps, it's important to note that over eight out of ten (83%) deskless employees do not access to a corporate email account and six out of ten (60%) of companies have little to no flexible technology solutions their deskless workers. 

So while these might be highly effective in traditional office settings, your field workforce has a different set of needs. Especially if they are spread across multiple locations from construction projects to delivery routes.

ScreenCloud's digital signage solution is perfect for reaching your field team, wherever they are. You can use your displays to improve various aspects of your

• Safety: You can quickly indicate safety measures and point out hazardous locations.
• Real-time updates: Share simple information like your daily agenda and weather updates with just a few clicks; broadcast your more complex data to track movements towards wider organizational goals.
• Company culture: News, updates and promoting events are all fit for digital signage to strengthen your employees' experience and engagement.
• Recognition: Motivate employees and boost employee morale with positive affirmations. Use digital signage to let employees know when it's time to take a break, go to lunch or go home, and even encourage them to use their employee benefits.

Conclusion

Whether you call them field-based, frontline or deskless, the ever-changing locations and responsibilities of these employees show how difficult it can be within their role.

ScreenCloud's digital signage solution can help your business manage your field workers, whether it's improving communication, sharing critical information, or improving recognition.

See what you can achieve with ScreenCloud, start a free trial today. All you need to do is sign up with your email; no credit card information required. You can also book a demo here.