Field Service Management:

Field service management is one of the most demanding and taxing jobs in the entrepreneurial realm. Not only is it concerned with keeping track of and managing assets, inventories and work orders but also complete it all in a very restricting and compressed schedule.

However this job becomes considerably easier if you invest in good quality digital software that not only cost-effective and maximise productivity but also boost business using calculated data and statistics.

To aid you in choosing the premium software, we have compiled an informative list, take a look!

1) Workever:

This software is one of the top in the game with premium, accessibly features built to increase productivity and business using clever, methodically collected data reports. Using Workever not only can you integrate tools such as SMS texting but also easily sync your contacts, suppliers and contractors.

You can not only send and receive work orders directly to your smart device but also update work progress which is then automatically synced back to alert the office. It supports multiple IOS and Android devices which makes it optimal to be used on tablets as well!

Workever also allows you to save documents such as notes, images, PDFs all in one place and you can reduce and eliminate all paperwork with its field app which allows you to fill in all types of forms in one sitting! Other notable features include:

• Tracking of workers on the field map
• Schedule texts regarding updates to increase customer satisfaction
• Create reminders easily

2) Housecall Pro:

This handy app is designed to specifically cater to the needs of field service managers and strives to fulfil them as well! It offers functions to boost revenue and workflow while being cost effective and extremely easy to use.

Housecall Pro has an integrated system that allows customers to review and leave feedback as well as the choice to book online, request what they desire and even choose the payment method suitable for them! Other premium features include:

• Automatic scheduling and creating invoices.
• Maximise revenue with Sales proposal tools
• Consumer finance tool

3) ServiceFusion:

This is one of the most pocket-friendly yet useful software in the market owing to its top-of-the-game tools and unique features. It helps you balance your work life swiftly without any hiccups!

Using ServiceFusion you can easily convert and digitalize all the records of your customers and save it in one organized system for quick and easy management. You can also reduce wasted time by scheduling, creating invoices and dispatching in no time! You will also have complete access to your dashboard where you can create payments, set reminders and check your records.

Integrated with AI technology, this app also allows you to make quick calls without running bankrupt and also provides accurate statistics to improve business productivity. Notable Features include:

• GPS Team tracking
• Transparent prices and easy payment methods
• Paperwork elimination

4) Jobber:

This award-winning software is the best when it comes to organizing your fleets, assets and manages your records and orders all in one neatly designed software. Not only does it have a client manager to ease your task but also boasts an impressive function of easy online booking.

Jobber prioritizes customer satisfaction which is why they have professional client texting services along with a self-help online system. It also has faster and easier payment processing methods that create ease for customers.

Jobber also provides detailed reports to check your progress and any areas that might need improvement. Some top featured include:

• Postcard Marketing
• Easy quoting
• Client Hub

5) VerizonConnect:

This software is a one-stop solution to all your management problems, it acts like a professional, virtual assistant that eases the load off of your shoulders and keeps business running smoothly!

VerizonConnect offers GPS tracking of your driver along with observing idling and speeding. It has easy dispatching methods and even monitors all your assets. This software also offers excellent communication between office and field staff!

Other notable features include:

• Easy work scheduling
• Drag & drop jobs
• Smart calendar

Conclusion:

Entrepreneurship is one of the most tactical tasks and yet these digital apps have reduced the workload considerably! The innovative tools integrated within these software provide you with new options and features to boost up your performance and increase workflow.

Choose one of these and live the sweet, business life without the chaos and problems it brings! Be smart, choose wisely.

Employee Value Proposition – sometimes shorted to EVP – is basically the value that an employee feels they get from working for a particular company. We’re not talking salary here. Instead, we’re talking job satisfaction.

How an employee feels about the company they work for is important because an unhappy worker is unlikely to hang around for long. If this becomes more than a one-off occurrence, you’ll end up with something of a brain drain, as well as a reputation that will make it hard to recruit those skilled employees you need to see your company grow.

So how do you go about generating a strong employee value proposition? Check out these five key areas:

1. Rewarding employees

Again, we’re not just talking about take home pay here. While a good salary is sure to attract the right sort of people, study after study has shown that employees are willing to consider new jobs with lower salaries, but better rewards. Job seekers are increasing searching out employment that makes them feel like they’ve achieved something beneficial at the end of a working week.

Rewards can be big, and include an extra day’s paid vacation time, but they don’t have to be. In fact, to feel appreciated – a key motivation – smaller but more regular rewards are generally better. This can start by simply saying ‘thank you’ or ‘good job’, before going on to perhaps supplying cakes or other goodies when a team achieves a goal. As well as fostering a sense of belonging within a company, such rewards are also shown to rub off on the front end of your business – clients that are more likely to stick with a company with high EVPs.

2. Engage with your employees

Top-down management is thankfully largely a business model confined to the past. Today, the manager should be part of the team, and is as much a friend as a colleague. This model generates trust within a team, but it also creates an atmosphere of openness, where employees feel that their worries and suggestions will be taken seriously. As it’s your employees who are the ones doing much of the ‘hard labor’, it’s them who are going to spot potential pitfalls first. Never forget that engaged employees are going to be happy employees, and it’s happy employees that drive companies forward.

3. Finding employees the right work

Someone feeling undervalued is sure to result in them having a low employee value proposition. It’s therefore important to ensure that your employees are well-suited to the everyday jobs that are being assigned to them. While everyone has certain aspects of a job they don’t enjoy as much as others, this is different to an employee being badly aligned with work. From a business perspective, it means you’re not going to get the most out of that employee. At the same time, the task in hand isn’t going to be completed as well as it could be.

4. Opportunities for growth

At Jack and Ferdi we think the best way to counter an employee feeling undervalued is through regular career development meetings with managers. If an employee doesn’t believe they have the skills to succeed, why not provide them the means to develop these skills through training courses or other relevant opportunities.

Reversing the negative opinions of an employee could be as easy as suggesting alternative roles within your organization, alternative locations (including home working) or different hours. Perhaps what the employee is really looking for is to reduce their working week to four days so they can pursue other projects one day a week. Giving your employees the opportunities to grow will make them happier, and better motivated, which can only help your bottom line.

5. Organizational Culture

To a large degree an individual’s employee value proposition will be tied with a company’s culture, and therefore it’s external brand. When a company’s culture aligns well with an individual’s personal beliefs, there’s going to be low turnover and high employee value proposition, making it a win-win situation. To achieve this is no easy task, and requires companies to development the right balance between employee independence (and therefore how much you trust them to get on with the job), interdependence with other employees, stability in their role within the company, and flexibility within their role.

As employees become more and more willing to shift between companies, a strong employee value proposition becomes all the more important. Our five rules will help improve your company’s proposition, and therefore retain the right employees.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), also regarded as the furlough scheme, is an arrangement provided by the UK Government to help companies retain staff after the COVID-19 disease outbreak. The policy pays a proportion of the salary of workers (currently 80 percent) who are furloughed by their manager due to the Covid-19 pandemic, intending to prevent the need to make the workers redundant at this point. One of the conditions of the policy is that furloughed workers are not permitted to work with their employers at this time. They will work elsewhere if their contract of employment permits.

The government’s furlough policies for companies and self-employed citizens provided critical assistance during the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown, helping nearly 7.5 million working people. However, the HMRC recently announced that it had received almost 800 complaints of alleged evasion in regards to the two schemes and that it will take steps to ensure enforcement with the applicable laws, regulations, and legislation controlling the United Kingdom’s tax policies.

A company or self-employed individual would be known to have committed a criminal fraud crime if it were discovered that they earned reimbursement through either the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme or the Self-Employment Income support Scheme by making fraudulent statements to the HMRC.

This furlough fraud as it is now called can indicate that the corporation not only has to refund every portion of the funding that it earned, which was not used for the purpose of providing 80 percent of its workers’ monthly salaries but can also be fined and will have to go through a proper furlough investigation.

When the CJRS came into service, many businesses naturally hurried to get any or all of their workers into the system as soon as possible. For certain firms, this may have indicated that there were real errors in the statements. Maybe inaccurate descriptions have been given, or admin mistakes have been made that have not yet been found or corrected. HMRC suggested that companies had 30 days to warn them of any errors of this sort.

The key forms in which a company will commit furlough fraud and will have to go through a furlough investigation include:

• If the organization furloughs employees but requires them to keep working through this time.
• When the organization does not tell the workers that they have been furloughed, the worker can only find out until they collect their pay.
• If the organization demands a grant for workers who do not currently work for them during the time needed.
• If the salary data for workers have been wrongly entered, the corporation says more money than it currently charged for the salaries of the respective team member.

WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES FOR FURLOUGH FRAUD?

If a company or self-employed individual is accused of making a false claim under the Coronavirus Work Retention Scheme or the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, future fines with furlough investigation include:

• A lengthy sentence of prison
• An unlimited penalty Fine
• Suspension of Manager
• The obligation to refund all fees to which the complainant was not qualified for

In particular, the HMRC recently released recommendations for reforms to the Finance Bill 2020 which if approved by Parliament, would grant the ability to keep directors directly accountable for tax charges if they have knowingly broken the rules of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme are going through a furlough investigation.

WHO CAN BE ASKED TO GO THOROUGH A FURLOUGH INVESTIGATION?

Where there is evidence of furlough theft, managers of a corporation, representatives of a partnership, or self-employed individuals may all theoretically be charged and asked to go through a furlough investigation.

However, HMRC has clarified that it can only pursue a furlough investigation for “the most serious situations where the sums are knowingly over-charged with the awareness of the agent and where the business is bankrupt or at serious risk of losing money and there is a considerable likelihood that it will not fulfill the tax obligation.”

In situations where a real error has been made, corporations will be allowed to reimburse the amount falsely claimed.

WHAT WILL OCCUR IF HMRC THINKS AN ORGANIZATION WRONGFULLY CLAIMED MONEY UNDER THE POLICY?

If HMRC suspects that you or your company have received funding that you were not eligible for in any furlough scheme, they are expected to examine if there are reasons for action. There are two forms of furlough investigations that the HMRC can carry out:

• An aspect inquiry – look at a particular portion of the records (in this case, those related to the funding received under the furlough scheme)
• Complete survey and furlough investigation–look through all of the financial reports, including corporate statements and personal bank documents of directors/partners/business members.

If you are convicted of furlough theft, or if HMRC opens an inquiry or furlough investigation into the use of the policy by your company, it could be a very alarming situation to find yourself in. You must obtain professional legal counsel so that the problem can be addressed in the best manner possible for your case.

In the process of the HMRC furlough investigation, you are obliged by law to supply all the details provided by the investigative agents. If you find yourself in this situation, it is reasonable to have the assistance of specialized fraud defense attorneys with expertise in the handling of HMRC furlough investigations. This will simply guarantee that you adhere to your legal responsibilities while defending yourself and your company, as well as minimize the risk of HMRC going to a full furlough investigation.

If you feel that there are no reasons for HMRC to prosecute your company, you can dispute the judgment to investigate if you can prove that the logic underlying HMRC’s decision to prosecute has been mistaken. If you want to go down this path, you would need solid facts to prove your argument, so, again, a specialized defense representative is important.

Any blunders you create at the initial point of the case can be very difficult to learn from so please don’t be afraid in seeking expert counsel if you find yourself undergoing a furlough investigation.

The coronavirus pandemic brought the entire world to a standstill in 2020, forcing huge changes upon the way we live and work. Industries which were previously considered relatively stable, such as hospitality and events, were suddenly no longer able to continue within the so-called “new normal”, and many people were left out of work. This caused many to reassess their careers, as they struggled with watching their industry collapse, or even decided that their job wasn’t what they wanted out of life. Indeed, 70% of workers admitted to considering a change in career, according to a survey by TotalJobs.

But looking for a new job in the midst of a global pandemic is daunting. Searches for “I want a new job” rose by 194%, with “how to move jobs” rising by 138%, so it’s clear that not everyone knows exactly where to begin looking. If you’re one of those people browsing job listings, but aren’t sure where to begin, let us help you.

Find alternative work to keep you busy

If you’ve been left completely out of a job altogether, rather than put on furlough, it’s a good idea to seek alternative work that may not be in your chosen industry to keep you busy, guarantee an income, and even pick up some new skills for your CV template. Many supermarkets are looking to hire extra staff to keep shelves stocked up with essential supplies, especially with the end of year rush. This can help you work on your customer service skills and, if you’ll be behind the till, can give you experience with cash handling. Alternatively, you may look at working in a warehouse or as a courier to help companies deal with the increasing reliance on online sales.

However, if you’re looking for more freedom, why not consider becoming a PCO driver, which covers things like Uber and Bolt. This allows you to set your own hours, making it perfect as a side hustle if you already have a part-time — or even a full-time — job. However, you will have to apply for a PCO license and have access to a car you can use for your trips. If you don’t have your own vehicle, you can hire a PCO-approved car, with prices starting from as low as £150 per week. You just need to organise your hours to be able to afford this while still having time to focus on your career pivot — unless you find driving to be a good fit for you in the long term.

Think about your long-term goals

If you’re unhappy with your current job role or career path, take the time to think about what it is you actually want out of your working life. You may have realised that you’re unhappy with your work-life balance, and looking for a job that offers you more time to yourself rather than stressing about work. However, you also need to take your own lifestyle into account, and how expensive it is, ensuring that whatever job you choose will give you the salary you need to continue living the way you’re used to.

It’s also a good idea to take job stability into consideration. As 2020 has proved, some sectors aren’t as essential or resilient as previously thought, and the last thing you want is to be left without a job due to further industry redundancies as the economy recovers.

Reassess and work on your skillset

Spend some time going over your qualifications, certifications, technical and soft skills, work experience, and career achievements. Maybe you’ve led an industry-specific conference, qualified in a specialist course, or enjoyed regular promotions before the pandemic hit. Ensure that all these skills are clearly outlined in your CV, and on your LinkedIn page, for any recruiters and potential employers to see.

Many people have chosen to work on their skills during the extra downtime provided during lockdown, and searches for ‘online courses’ rose by 192% between February and March 2020 alone. If you haven’t already done so, take a look at how you can work on your own professional development and add to your skillset to make you more desirable to employers. This can be anything from learning to code to learning a new language. In fact, bilingualism may be more beneficial than ever before in a post-Covid world, as remote working can naturally lead to a global workforce. Now that most industries are working virtually, businesses are even less bound by the confines of a local talent pool, so being able to communicate effectively with people around the world can make you incredibly attractive to recruiters.

Remain patient and don’t rush into it

Take your time with applications, ensuring that you’ve filled them all in correctly, and have carefully highlighted your skills and experiences. Have a friend or former colleague check over your CV before you send it out, ensuring that you’ve got everything factually correct, with no spelling errors. It may even be helpful to work with a recruiter, as they’ll have more information about the hiring process, a relationship with a number of potential employers, and may even be able to give you interview tips.

You should also remember that hiring managers and recruiters are also working remotely, and decisions that could have been easily discussed and quickly made during a meeting will likely take much longer during virtual meetings. This makes the overall hiring process much slower, so maybe hold off on sending any emails asking after the status of your application if it’s only been a few days, especially if you’ve already received acknowledgement that your application has been received. In the event that you’re still itching to find out more, use your initiative to gauge when a good time to reach out is. If the company is looking for someone to start in the role immediately, then it may be worth emailing after a week. However, if it’s for a junior level with many applicants, or even a senior role that requires a more thorough interview process, it would be a good idea to give it a little more time before expecting a response.