How to be a ‘jack of all trades’

People often talk about those rare individuals who have the capability to effectively turn their hand to almost anything and succeed – to be a ‘jack of all trades’. But can such a multi-skilled person really exist and are such individuals really an asset in a growing business or a liability?

Having been involved in a number of start-ups I have learned myself that while I can be a jack of all trades, literally turning myself to whatever needs to be done, (writing editorial, selling, driving the delivery van – I’ve done it) the business cannot grow all the time it is dependent on a few ‘jack of all trade’ characters. Indeed the inability to of such characters to ‘let go’ of responsibilities and delegate or automate means that the business will always remain small or indeed fail, as the ‘jack of all trades’ runs out of time and being master of none comes to characterise the overall business.

Sometimes I see the limiting over-reliance on ‘jacks of all trades’ holding back companies operating in demanding, ever-changing service environments where customers continually expect instant answers, constant updates, rapid solutions and “miracles” on a daily basis, the ultimate responsibility for such usually seems to rest with the dispatcher.

As the demands on dispatchers can include virtually every possible customer service challenge that modern life can conjure, by necessity, they have to have the knowledge and skills to address virtually any problem – and so be that ‘jack of all trades’.

Dispatchers have to be excellent planners, able to remember routes, jobs and orders when having to make rapid and efficient decisions as to which employee or vehicle to assign. Moreover, they must continually coordinate new job and the order details with assigned workers, advise customers, monitor the schedule and time-windows and send notifications to customers in the event of delay. That means being able to recall information instantly and process even the most complex logistical challenges in minutes in order to re-plan routes and correctly update customers in the event of any disruption. In addition, they should have the emotional intelligence to address and resolve any customer’s problem before it flares out of control.

The reality, however, is that under the constant, overwhelming pressure of all these time-based tasks, no human ‘jack of all trades’ can cope and they ultimately will end up being the master of none.

To avoid such a situation the dispatcher needs help, a solution that can undertake the instant multi-tasking required to maintain full operational visibility and perform the essential instant calculations that a human simply cannot match when under stress.

Maxoptra’s dynamic scheduling and route optimisation software platform is the ideal solution, designed to enable fast and efficient decision-making, in real-time, within ever-changing operational environments to significantly improve the productivity of staff, lower operational costs and make savings by:

• faster reaction to new orders – the system automatically assigns the most appropriate vehicle to each new order coming in during a day;
• managing the work progress on each run – Maxoptra’s mobile app enables employees to update the status of jobs;
• tracking vehicles – Maxoptra is integrated with TomTom Telematics, providing clear visibility of employees locations;
• keeping customers informed – ETA notifications are automatically sent to customers in case of any delay;
• clear communication – detailed information on each order is sent to an employee’s mobile device, so they won’t miss anything;
• full visibility – Maxoptra produces On-Time In-Full reports that help to monitor delivery times and maintain customer satisfaction;
• reporting – Maxoptra business reports give a manager instant visibility of overall operational efficiency and arrival times. Dashboards and KPI reports help to identify top drivers and any possible driving violations.

Perhaps, in today’s ever-demanding world it is still possible for a dispatcher to be a ‘jack of all trades’ – with Maxoptra’s multi-tasking support.

Want to be the ‘jack of all trades’? Contact us and we will show how Maxoptra can help.