Connecting teams who each work alone across long distances is a challenge. This often leads to lone workers feeling removed from their colleagues and disengaged from their employer. So, what can organisations do to combat this growing sense of loneliness in lone workers? Is technology the answer?
Using check ins to stay connected and coordinated
Using a system such as Sense, managers can check in regularly with lone workers to ensure their safety and to see that they are doing okay. This can be scheduled for regular intervals, or prompted when no contact has been made for an allotted amount of time.
Looking out for lone workers in this way helps to ease any feelings of isolation, engages them with the team more, and improves safety. And it’s perfect for people who are working busy, hands-on jobs – as a check-in is a simple, fast action; whereas remote workers can’t always send complex messages or make frequent phone calls if they’re elbow-deep in rewiring cables or managing patient visits.
Checking in with lone workers can also help to coordinate your workforce better, as you can get an early heads up on tasks that will take longer than expected or won’t be finished. You can reassign workers to different tasks where needed, and cancel work that is no longer required
Promoting wellbeing
Technology like Sense can remind lone workers to take their breaks as and when required, and make sure they are getting enough time away from their working responsibilities.
Sense can also make sure lone workers get regular opportunities to interact with colleagues. Real time location functionality can alert management when colleagues haven’t crossed paths for a while (either in person or via messages). This enables management to set up a team meeting, or to find a time where colleagues can get together and discuss their work or generally have a chat. This helps with worker wellbeing, giving individuals have a chance to interact with other people, talk about common ground, express concerns, and celebrate successes as well as share tips and tricks that help during the working day.
And with hard-fall and SOS alert functionality built into the Sense system, workers know that somebody has their back – and knows where they are – if things go wrong.
The Sense platform
Sense is a platform that enables lone workers using wearable devices – Sense Badges.
These wearable devices connect and coordinate teams through functionality such as real time location, task management, SOS alerts and two-way messaging. All the data that runs through the Sense system can be analysed and put into reports to demonstrate the impact decisions have on productivity, helping organisations monitor and improve as much as possible.
Built-in fall detection, check-in functionality and SOS alerts can help lone workers stay safe whilst out and about, and keep managers reassured.
If you’re interested in helping your lone workers, get in touch with Sense to book a demo.
