Using the Sidebar to communicate in Dispatcher Workspace
Dispatchers can use Dispatcher Workspace to quickly and efficiently send messages to Field Service agents through the Microsoft Teams mobile application.
When you send messages to Field Service agents with the Sidebar in Dispatcher Workspace, the agents receive and can reply to the message in the Microsoft Teams application.
Communicating from Dispatcher Workspace is made possible by configuring the Sidebar. For more information, see Configuring communication from Dispatcher Workspace.
You can use the Sidebar to message agents only in the context of a work order task. Every message is added to the work notes in the work order task.
Messaging example
As an example of the effectiveness of messaging from Dispatcher Workspace, say that a dispatcher at a telecommunications provider receives a work order to fix a fiber optic cable that was damaged during construction. After dispatching three agents to fulfill the work order, a notification arrives that the fiber optic cable was damaged in two places. Instead of having to cancel the work order task and reassign it, the dispatcher uses the Sidebar to send a message from Dispatcher Workspace to the agents and updates the work order task with the additional information.
The agents receive the message in the Microsoft Teams application, and respond within minutes that they received the message and will fix the cable in both damaged places.
Messaging the agents from Dispatcher Workspace saved the dispatcher time because opening a separate work order task for the second repair wasn't necessary. It also saved the agents time because they didn’t have to be dispatched again to fix the second damage location. Most importantly, the customer benefited from faster service and the agents having to visit only once thanks to the on-site communication.
Additionally, because all the messages were sent from Dispatcher Workspace, a record in the work notes of the work order task can be referenced later.
If you don’t see the Sidebar in Dispatcher Workspace, contact your administrator.