You’ve had a go at fieldmargin and you can see its potential to change the way your team works and streamline operations. Now you are working out how best to get everyone on the farm involved…
Before you get too far ahead of yourself, you need to ask one very critical question: “How am I going to get the rest of my farm team onboard?” We have spoken to some farmers who do not enjoy learning new software. We understand that some people choose the career because they do not want to use computers but when they experience how much easier and more flexible fieldmargin is than traditional software they can quickly be swayed.
Here are some tips for introducing your team to fieldmargin app
1. Learn how to use the app yourself first
If you are confident using the basic features of fieldmargin it will be easier to help others. Your team will be more inspired to use the software if the farm has already been set up when they receive the invite. Maybe even with some tasks already there that they can tick off as they do them.
We have step-by-step support material and videos available here. Check out our demo farm here.
2. Decide as a team what you want to get out of the app
Improve task management, collect rain data, locate damaged fences or keep track of weeds? It’s easier to get your team on board using a new tool if they understand how it will help make their lives easier and the farm run more smoothly. Explain why using the app will be useful e.g. viewing maps in the field, automatically being able to update and tick off jobs, sharing locations, and storing messages and photographs safely in one place.
This is also a good opportunity to talk about existing farm processes. Find out from your team what they don’t like or find frustrating so you can work out a better process. For example, with our team they found it annoying that they got calls to check on progress which interrupted them. By having the jobs set upon fieldmargin they can tick them off as they go and don’t get hassled for updates.
3. Make time to learn together
With so much to do on the farm it can be hard to put time aside for training but you will be amazed how much information you can pass on even in a short session. Make sure your team knows where to find our videos and tutorials to help them. If anyone has any questions we are here to help, contact our team at support@fieldmargin.com.
Some simple things you might like to go through with your team mates are:
- Has the camera and locations been set up?
- Would they benefit from an offline mode?
- Remember to show your team how they can filter the activity list to show only notes and tasks that they are tagged in.
4. Use notifications and reminders
Your team will receive notifications when they are tagged in a task, note, comments and for farm chat. They will also be sent a reminder for the task due dates if they are tagged in a task.
You can check that notification settings are turned on using the hamburger menu on the mobile app.
5. Start the conversation
As your team start to add tasks, complete tasks and add comments make sure to reply to your team mates observations. The more interactive you are the more your team will respond. Farm chat is a great place for the team to start the conversation.
Try to reduce (or even stop) using texts and phone calls. This can be a difficult behaviour to change but having all the tasks saved and discussed in a single place really saves time and effort in the long run.
6. Use fieldmargin app as part of your daily or weekly catch up meetings.
fieldmargin app is in no way a replacement for face-face conversation but it is a great tool to help you keep in touch with each other when you are out and about in remote locations. By using the app during team meetings you can view and share locations as you discuss farm issues. You can also set and update tasks together.
Try using the web app on a projection screen for a truly interactive meeting experience.
Let us know what you think about fieldmargin. We love talking to agriculture and software enthusiasts. Send us your feedback or questions by emailing support@fieldmargin.com or by phoning us on +44 203 289 4200.