There are many different aspects to consider when implementing an incident reporting system. You have to establish channels for your management team to gather, track, analyse, and resolve reports. On the other hand, you have to make it possible for your employees to submit reports, follow them up, ask questions, and more. This requires a system that is convenient and accessible, easy to use, and supports the reporting process.
Mobile reporting channels offer capabilities that make this possible. They have abundant benefits that can enhance and streamline your incident reporting structures, policies, and procedures. We’ll share some of these benefits below and advise you on essential features to look for when choosing your incident software.
Why Mobile Changes The Incident Management Game
Reporting is a team sport. To get everyone playing and invested in the game, you have to provide the tools to help them participate. Any tool you use then must be accessible, usable, and convenient. Context of use is critical, and sometimes easily overlooked.
Mobile reporting software can potentially be used on many platforms or devices. It can function efficiently on laptops, desktop computers, smartphones, tablets, and more. This differs from software designed for one medium, which may work well on a big screen but might not be very usable on a small touch-screen device.
Mobile reporting takes the reporting process to the scene of action in the field. Your staff can report on their smartphones from anywhere. They can include real-time images and videos of events that take place. They can even ask questions from the field and share their concerns with more immediacy.
The phenomenon can be seen in daily news when people post breaking news on Twitter much faster than traditional news outlets that are even close to the scene of action. So, when reporting on mobile is made easier, you are almost guaranteed to see an increase in the number of incoming observations from the field.
Going mobile with reporting opens up two-way communication. It acts as a central place to document exchanges and makes it easy to share information about new and existing reports.
Features To Look For In A Mobile Reporting Platform
To get the best out of your mobile reporting system, these are some of the features you should look for when choosing one:
- Wi-fi and cellular data functionality
- File attachment capabilities for images, videos, audio, documents, and more
- Mobile permissions that allow your team to see only the elements they need
- Real-time updates and notifications
- Two-way communication
- Analytics and data insights
- Cloud computing or centralised databases
- Functionality on multiple devices (laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc)
- Usable interface and dashboard
Final thoughts
Mobile reporting transforms your reporting processes and makes them available at the tip of your fingers. It eliminates some of the struggles that incident managers face, including delayed reports, gaps in information, communication breakdowns, and more. With it, employees can feel that they have the support they need to file reports and managers can have a tool that makes reporting processes easier to oversee. It’s a win-win for everyone!
If you're looking for a platform to collect more data to monitor your organisation's reporting practices, Falcony | Observe have you covered. Test it out yourself with the 30-day FREE trial:
We are building the world's first operational involvement platform. Our mission is to make the process of finding, sharing, fixing and learning from issues and observations as easy as thinking about them and as rewarding as being remembered for them.
By doing this, we are making work more meaningful for all parties involved.
More information at falcony.io.
