Fieldworker Availability Finder | Intelligent Booking Planner and Smart Scheduler

OctopusPro’s Fieldworker Availability Finder, designed as your dynamic Smart Scheduler and intelligent booking planner, is your go-to tool to manage your appointments effectively. With it, you can smartly allocate resources, plan bookings, and coordinate your fieldwork with ease.

This Efficient Workforce Planner streamlines your workflow, enhancing service delivery and overall productivity. Leveraging the Intelligent Booking Planner feature, it saves you time and resources, optimizing your business operations.

Referred to also as the Schedule Assistant, this tool plays a crucial role in workload distribution among your fieldworkers. It works to reduce customer wait times, increase productivity, and manage tasks such as creating new bookings, handling inquiries, and using quotes.

Fieldworker Availability Finder is your aid in swiftly determining the most suitable fieldworkers for each job. By assessing their skills, location, and availability, it improves job allocation and ensures timely completion. By using this essential tool, you’ll deliver superior service and maximize operational efficiency. Happy scheduling!

Table of Contents:

• Available Fieldworkers Box in Manage/View Page
• Determining Fieldworker Availability: Key Criteria and Functionality
• Viewing Matched Fieldworkers on the Map
• Viewing Matched Fieldworkers in a List
• Utilizing Fieldworker Availability Finder when Creating a New Item 
• Navigating Fieldworker Availability Finder in Booking View
• Modifying Existing Bookings with Fieldworker Availability Finder
• Utilizing the Schedule Assistant for Existing Bookings and Quotes

Available Fieldworkers Box in Manage/View Page

One of the key features of OctopusPro’s Fieldworker Availability Finder is the Available Fieldworkers box found in the manage/view booking/quote/inquiry page. This box offers you a comprehensive, centralized view of all available fieldworkers, and empowers you to take action efficiently.

Features and Buttons

• Nearby Bookings Popup: This feature gives you a quick overview of other bookings in the vicinity of the selected fieldworker.

• Find Availability Popup: This feature provides an easy way to determine the availability of your fieldworkers, making scheduling easier and more effective.

• Send Job Request Button: This button allows you to send a job request to all fieldworkers or selected ones, via either app push notifications or SMS. This allows quick and efficient job allocation.

• Filter Button: A robust filtering system, this feature lets you narrow down the fieldworkers displayed based on various parameters such as keyword, service, service attributes, status, label, radius, and whether to ignore fieldworker radius or check for real-time availability.

Available Fieldworkers Summary

• Fieldworker Name: The display name of the fieldworker.
• Fieldworker Rating: The rating of the fieldworker based on their past performance.
• Distance (KM/MI): The distance of the fieldworker from the job site.
• Cost (Fieldworker Payment): The estimated cost of employing the fieldworker for the job.
• Assign (Action Button): A button to assign the job to the fieldworker.
• Send Request (Action Button): A button to send a job request to the fieldworker.
• Accept/Decline Status: Shows whether the fieldworker has accepted or declined the job request.
• Date Sent: The date the job request was sent.
• Calendar Link: A link to view the fieldworker’s calendar for scheduling purposes.

If you hover over the fieldworker’s name, a popup appears with additional options, such as contacting them, viewing their profile, or taking other actions. These are all linked to the booking form which you contact them for easier reference and linking of conversations to items.

By leveraging these features in the Available Fieldworkers box, you can manage your bookings more effectively, ensuring that each job is assigned to the most suitable fieldworker in a timely and efficient manner. This not only improves the productivity of your workforce, but also enhances the satisfaction of your customers.

Determining Fieldworker Availability: Key Criteria and Functionality

OctopusPro’s Fieldworker Availability Finder operates using specific criteria to display available fieldworkers for your items (inquiries, bookings, or quotes). Whether you’re an admin user managing operations or a customer initiating an inquiry, understanding how these criteria impact fieldworker availability is vital.

Matching Fieldworkers Based on Inquiry Details

• When an inquiry is submitted, the system automatically generates a list of matched fieldworkers on the item’s details page. This matching process considers the services they provide and the fieldworkers’ locations relative to the service area. Given that an inquiry could encompass multiple services or require specific custom fields, these aspects significantly influence the matching process.
• You can access these details by visiting a fieldworker’s profile and clicking on “Job Settings.” Here, you’ll find information that drives the Fieldworker Availability Finder’s matching process.

Utilizing Fieldworker Availability Finder for Scheduling Bookings

• When it comes to scheduling bookings, quotes, or inquiries, the Fieldworker Availability Finder displays a list of all active fieldworkers whose profiles align with the requested services, selected custom fields, and booking locations. Crucially, it also provides the distance between the fieldworker’s home location and the service location, alongside their calendar for the selected date, enabling you to gauge their availability accurately.
• By choosing a date from the top of the popup, you can view matching fieldworkers by day. Moreover, the Fieldworker Availability Finder allows you to send job requests to these matched fieldworkers and assign them directly to the item by clicking the ‘Send Request’ button.

Elevating Efficiency and Customer Experience with Fieldworker Availability Finder

• Fieldworker Availability Finder enhances the scheduling process, catering to individual requirements effectively. It expedites the response time to a booking request, improving the overall customer experience. Also, in situations where you need to find a replacement fieldworker, it enables easy identification of available alternatives.
• Designed to support admin users, the Fieldworker Availability Finder aids in scheduling bookings efficiently, speeding up fieldworker outreach, saving time, and ultimately, improving customer satisfaction. With this tool, you’re well-equipped to navigate the logistics of field service management seamlessly.

Viewing Matched Fieldworkers on the Map

The Fieldworker Availability Finder displays available fieldworkers based on service location, assigned services, and radius. You can view these fieldworkers on a map within the item (booking, quote, or inquiry) details page.

Hover over and click on fieldworker locations to reveal their names and ratings. You’ll also see the distance between them and the service location.

If you wish to tailor which fieldworkers are available for a particular job, you can add services to a fieldworker’s profile or designate specific locations where they’re available.

Viewing Matched Fieldworkers in a List

• Alternatively, you can view matched fieldworkers in a list format on the item details page. As with the map view, this list is curated based on service location, assigned services, and radius.

• Hovering over a fieldworker’s name reveals their profile and contact details, empowering you to swiftly reach out via phone call, email, or SMS. You can also view their distance from the service location and inspect their availability via the linked calendar.

• Remember, you have the flexibility to specify the services a fieldworker can provide and the locations where they’re available, thereby ensuring only the most suitable fieldworkers are presented for each job.
• With OctopusPro’s Fieldworker Availability Finder, creating new items and assigning fieldworkers has never been easier, more efficient, or more precise. Enjoy the convenience of having all the information you need at your fingertips, and make the most of your fieldworkers’ skills and availability.

Utilizing Fieldworker Availability Finder when Creating a New Item

The Fieldworker Availability Finder is an invaluable tool for creating new items (inquiries, bookings, or quotes) in OctopusPro. Here’s how you can leverage it when generating a new booking, quote, or inquiry.

Creating a New Booking, Quote, or Inquiry

1. As an admin user, navigate to the corresponding page by clicking on either Bookings, Quotes, or Inquiries, followed by Create New.

2. You’ll be directed to the “New Item” page, where you’ll input the details of the booking, quote, or inquiry. As you add a service, you’ll need to assign a fieldworker.

3. To view all active fieldworkers who are currently available, click on “Find Availability” on the right side of the page. This will bring up a comprehensive list or map of fieldworkers who can deliver the service you’ve chosen.

By clicking “Find availability”, a popup window will appear including all active fieldworkers who match with this service and this booking location. Fieldworkers who are not assigned to the service or don’t provide this service in this booking location will not appear. If the fieldworker doesn’t have any working hours on that day, “Not available on this day” will appear next to the fieldworker’s name.

The time availability shows the available hours during the day, the key will show when the Fieldworker has jobs booked and when they are available. The three colors above determine the availability of the fieldworker during the day hours. If the hours are colored “red”, it means that the fieldworker is not available at these hours. If the hours are colored “grey”, it means that the fieldworker has a booking scheduled at these hours. If the hours are colored “black”, means that the fieldworker is assigned to this booking at these hours.

You can view the available and matching fieldworkers by day by selecting a date from the date field at the top of the popup. Click on the date to bring up the calendar and select a date, or use the blue arrows to go forward or back a day.

By hovering over the fieldworker’s display name, a popup will appear viewing information about the fieldworker. Click on View profile to view the fieldworker’s full profile and view more details. By clicking on View Calendar, you will be redirected to the main calendar that contains all the scheduled bookings during the current month. 

• You can rearrange the fieldworkers’ list by distance from the closest to the furthest by clicking on “Distance”, which will rearrange the fieldworkers based on how close or far they are to the booking location.
• You can arrange them by price too, from the highest to the lowest or vice versa, by clicking on “Cost”, which will rearrange the fieldworkers based on cost. 
• You can also send requests to matching fieldworkers and assign them to the booking directly by pressing the “Send Request” button, from the “Actions” button.

You can also directly assign available fieldworkers for the service. Select the desired fieldworker that you will assign the job to, then click on the available slots shown on the timeline.

A popup window will appear, enter the start time and end time of the job, then click confirm.

The booking appointment will be scheduled and assigned to the fieldworker only after clicking save booking when you finish creating the new booking.

Navigating Fieldworker Availability Finder in Booking View 

You will be redirected to the booking details page, where you need to scroll down to “Available Fieldworkers”, located on the left side of the page.

Understanding Available Fieldworker’s Information

Under the price information, you’ll find all available fieldworkers listed. The distance provided in km/miles indicates the distance from the fieldworker’s address to the job location.

To delve deeper into a fieldworker’s availability, simply click on the calendar icon next to their name. If you’re interested in viewing the collective availability of all your fieldworkers, click on “Find Availability” at the top of the “Available Fieldworkers” box.

Leveraging the ‘Find Availability’ Feature

When you click “Find Availability”, a popup window appears, displaying all active fieldworkers matching the service and the booking location. The window includes the fieldworker assigned to the service and all pending job requests to other fieldworkers. Fieldworkers who aren’t assigned to the service or don’t provide the service in the booking location won’t appear. If a fieldworker doesn’t have any working hours on the chosen day, “Not available on this day” will be displayed next to their name.

Making Changes: Rescheduling and Reassigning

Beyond offering insights into fieldworker availability, the Fieldworker Availability Finder facilitates efficient modifications to your bookings.

To reschedule the booking time, click on an alternative time slot from the available slots displayed on the timeline. A popup window will appear to confirm the start and end time of the booking. Click “Confirm” to save the changes and reschedule the booking appointment.

In the case of reassigning the booking to a different fieldworker, simply click on the available time slot next to the fieldworker’s name. A similar popup window will appear to confirm the timings. Upon clicking “Confirm”, the changes will be saved, and the booking will be reassigned to the selected fieldworker.

With the Fieldworker Availability Finder at your disposal, managing bookings becomes a more streamlined, efficient process. From accessing fieldworker information to making quick modifications to your bookings, you can enhance your service delivery and improve customer satisfaction.

Modifying Existing Bookings with Fieldworker Availability Finder 

The Fieldworker Availability Finder is not just for creating new bookings—it’s equally efficient when you need to modify existing ones. Here, we’ll guide you through using this feature across all item types—bookings, quotes, and inquiries—when you’re editing an existing booking.

Accessing the Booking Edit View

1. Navigate to “Bookings” on your dashboard.
2. Choose the specific type of booking you wish to view or select “All Bookings”.
3. In the booking overview, click on “Actions” button.
4. Select “Edit booking” to access the booking details.

You will then be redirected to the “Edit Booking” page, where you can modify any of the booking details. Scroll down to “Scheduled Appointments” and click on “Find availability” on the right side of the page.

Understanding ‘Find Availability’ Details

By clicking on “Find availability”, a popup window will present all active fieldworkers that align with this service and booking location. You will see the fieldworker assigned to the service and all pending job requests to other fieldworkers. Note that fieldworkers who aren’t assigned to the service or don’t provide this service in this booking location won’t appear. If a fieldworker doesn’t have any working hours on that day, you’ll see the message, “Not available on this day,” next to their name.

The timeline’s color coding indicates the fieldworker’s availability during the day. “Red” signifies that the fieldworker is unavailable, “grey” indicates that the fieldworker has a booking, and “black” shows that the fieldworker is assigned to this booking.

Making Modifications: Rescheduling and Reassigning

You can view the available and matching fieldworkers for each day by selecting a date from the top of the popup. Use the blue arrows to navigate through the dates or click on the date to open the calendar and select one.

Reorder the fieldworkers’ list based on the distance from the booking location by clicking on “Distance”. You can also arrange them by price—high to low or vice versa—by clicking on “Cost”.

To assign a different fieldworker for the service, simply select the fieldworker you prefer and click on the available slots shown on the timeline.

A popup window will appear to confirm the start and end time of the job. Click “Confirm” to proceed.

The booking appointment will be rescheduled and assigned to the new fieldworker only after clicking “Save changes” at the end of the process. The Fieldworker Availability Finder is here to ensure your booking modifications are as efficient and flexible as possible, enhancing your operational effectiveness and customer satisfaction.

Utilizing the Schedule Assistant for Existing Bookings and Quotes

Whether you’re managing an existing booking or working with quotes that may turn into a booking, the Schedule Assistant serves as a crucial tool in managing fieldworker availability. Here’s how to use it:

1. Navigate to either the “Bookings” or “Quotes” tab, depending on the item type you want to view or edit.

2. Choose the specific booking or quote you want to view, or select “All Bookings”/”All Quotes”.

3. Find the “Actions” button on the item overview and click on it.

4. Select “Edit Booking” or “Edit Quote” to modify the details.

5. You’ll then be directed to the respective edit page. Here, scroll down until you find “Scheduled Appointments”.

6. On the right side of the page, click on “Find Availability”.

By clicking “Find Availability”, a pop-up window will emerge displaying all active fieldworkers who align with the service and location of your booking or quote. Fieldworkers not assigned to the service or who don’t cater to the location won’t appear in this list. If a fieldworker doesn’t have working hours on that day, a ‘Not available on this day’ message will be displayed beside their name.

The Schedule Assistant provides a visual representation of each fieldworker’s availability throughout the day.The color codes indicate whether the fieldworker is available (green), booked for another job (grey), or assigned to this booking or quote (black).

By making full use of the Schedule Assistant, you can better manage and optimize the distribution of tasks amongst your fieldworks for both bookings and quotes. This not only improves operational efficiency but also enhances the overall customer experience.

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