A majority of global businesses, especially after the dawn of enterprise mobility depend on a field workforce to deliver the expected results. Several industries including logistics and transportation, construction, mining, warehousing, healthcare, retail, etc. have deskless workers that operate from remote on-field locations. Seamless corporate communication is imperative for high operational efficiency, which is why businesses have to ensure that the communication with their frontline employees is always streamlined. Mobile devices have been a part of the corporate world for decades, yet frontline employees face certain barriers to effective communication.
Communication Barriers Faced by Frontline Employees
Frontline teams operate in harsh environments where conditions may not always be optimal. Ranging from hazardous and accident-prone areas to places that receive limited network frequency. Although mobile devices have become a regular part of the corporate world, there are several barriers that stand in the way of smooth communication.
Despite having smartphones, frontline workers are rarely in circumstances to operate with regular modes of communication such as emails, text messages or voice calls. These modes, although very effective in a traditional office environment, are obsolete when it comes to construction workers, shipment drivers or last-mile delivery agents. They seldom have the capacity to read long emails or engage in complex and lengthy dialing procedures. This is where Push-to-Talk devices such as walkie-talkies rescue the day.
Push to Talk: The Past and the Present
The Push to Talk (PTT) technology has helped frontline employees communicate on-site for the past few decades. Walkie-talkies, two-way radios, Land mobile radios (LMRs) are used even today to facilitate on-site and frontline communication. While these PTT devices curb the major challenges in using smartphones and other smart devices and offer instant push-button connectivity to their users, they too have some drawbacks.
The present-day PTT technology has taken the form of apps that not only tackle all the traditional PTT drawbacks but also offer greater collaboration. NuovoTeam is one such Push-to-Talk app that mimics a walkie-talkie device and can be used straight from the user’s smartphone. The emergence of PTT apps is quite recent on the corporate front and propels several advantages for the frontline workforce.
Benefits of Push-to-Talk Apps for Frontline Workforce
Push-to-Talk apps installed on employees’ smartphones are the most convenient and hassle-free alternative to cumbersome and age-old modes of communication. Let’s look at the various benefits PTT apps offer.
Smartphone integration
Smartphones are cumbersome to use on-field. But carrying dedicated PTT devices like walkie-talkies also adds to the inconvenience given that frontline employees have to carry multiple devices on them for varied functions. Push-to-Talk apps, however, can be directly installed into the users’ smartphones via Google PlayStore or the Apple App Store. This way frontline employees need only carry their smartphones and leverage the PTT connectivity whenever they desire.
Hands-free communication
Frontline employees are always engaged in labor-intensive, manual tasks. In such on-field environments, picking calls and holding the phone up to the ear can in itself be distracting and dangerous. With PTT apps, frontline employees can receive barge calls. This functionality makes the communication process hands-free and convenient even if the workers are wearing thick protective gear or are engaged in heavy equipment work.
Anywhere connectivity
Unlike traditional PTT devices like walkie-talkies that were bound to a specific area to deliver proper network connectivity, modern-day PTT apps operate on cellular networks, WiFi or even mobile data to help connect with teams anywhere in the world.
Group communication
On-field employees can leverage instant PTT connectivity not just with one user, but with multiple users to achieve group communication. The latest PTT apps enable employees to create work-specific groups to send or receive instant PTT messages for mass updates. This helps keep the field employees well connected, better engaged and informed regarding the latest company updates.
Crisis management
Whether we consider construction workers handling heavy machinery, or mining workers operating from hazardous sites, first-line workers such as firemen, policemen, security personnel, military agents or healthcare workers who tend to emergency situations, all these workers operate daily from life-threatening environments. Businesses that rely on such a workforce for their operations need to ensure an instant mode of communication that can work efficiently, especially in case of crisis. With the PTT app, employees can relay instant SOS messages and obtain instant emergency help or relay critical information in a time-saving manner.
PTT apps bridge the communication gap between diverse frontline teams and offer instant connectivity. NuovoTeam is a popular PTT app that keeps frontline workers seamlessly connected. It is a walkie-talkie app that offers a simple interface and exceptional features including live voice playback, corporate directory, media sharing, location tracking, VoIP calls, text messaging and much more.
To know more about NuovoTeam, please visit https://nuovoteam.com/
Staff writer
Tagged: Mobile and Telecoms, Top Stories