The work of a transportation dispatcher can be both varied and fast-paced. Solving driver issues and striving for the most efficient transportation arrangement can involve juggling numerous tasks at any one time.
These can include hitting delivery targets, reacting to real-time updates, and providing prompt communications. Here are some ways you can become an effective dispatcher who rapidly multi-tasks their way through any issue.
Get to Know Your Dispatch Software Inside and Out
Modern dispatchers use a range of different software solutions to effectively manage transportation. Fleet management tools have been an industry staple for many years, and provide a range of tools that busy dispatchers can turn to for help when they need a quick resolution to an issue.
Fleet management tools keep key information at your fingertips, including much-needed data on mileage, maintenance, cost-estimate, and sometimes even decision support tools that crunch data rapidly to indicate the optimum dispatch choice.
As a dispatcher, the software at your fingertips is an important tool at your disposal. You will work faster and more efficiently by actively familiarizing yourself with all its capabilities. By getting to know the deeper features and functions of your fleet management software, you will further improve your ability to multitask throughout your career.
Use Your Transport Operations Training to Identify Priorities
Having completed a dispatcher training program, you will soon pick up on the overriding priorities of your role. Certain daily requirements will need to be met, and sudden problems will arise that need to be tackled promptly. As your experience increases, you will be able to better identify a priority issue.
It is the nature of the transportation dispatcher role that problems tend to arise and need to be dealt with rapidly. By quickly identifying these issues, you can ensure your multi-tasking schedule has the most important tasks labelled as such, allowing you to lay out smaller tasks around these more pressing concerns.
Use Downtime Effectively After Your Dispatcher Training Program
As you complete your transportation operations training and begin your career, you’ll soon discover that there is a natural variation in dispatching and that some times of the year are a little quieter than others. In many dispatcher roles, periods of busy management alternate with quieter spans of time. These quieter periods, when they do come around, should be utilized to deal with any tasks that are not priority issues but that still need resolution. These can include less time-sensitive administrative tasks.
It’s the nature of the role that on-duty dispatchers can be called into action at any time, so you’ll want to sort through tasks and know which ones can be interrupted but picked up again at any time. By ensuring that even quieter hours are effectively used, you’ll be able to steadily reduce workload and switch between tasks efficiently, all while remaining engaged and productive.
Are you ready to become a master multitasking dispatcher?
Contact us at the Automotive Training Centre to learn how you can enroll in dispatch school in Cambridge.
