Dispatchers know their success hinges on their relationships with drivers. A great communications platform that enables quick, clear conversation can strengthen these critical relationships.

More than just that, a top notch platform can distribute calls among the dispatch team, and record each call, so no driver ever has to repeat themselves. Plus, it provides real-time location tracking  so dispatchers always know where their drivers are, and can help them quickly redirect around weather and traffic. 

With traditional dispatch systems dispatchers often feel overwhelmed since they can’t quickly respond immediately to every incoming call from a driver, and there’s no way for other less busy dispatchers to jump in and help. Plus, dispatchers often feel defeated when drivers, frustrated by long wait-times as they idle on the side of the road, take it out on dispatch.

5 Features Dispatchers Want from a Communications Platform

Again and again, we heard from dispatchers who experienced high stress because of their inability to quickly answer calls from drivers; dispatchers told us they felt especially helpless when trying to respond to drivers who had run into trouble on the road.

As we developed Zello’s Dispatch Hub, we listened carefully to what dispatchers and their managers wanted from a communications platform and integrated it into our push-to-talk software. 

Here is what we learned:

Dispatchers Want to Distribute the Workload

Dispatchers want to be able to take lunch or use the restroom without worrying that they’re leaving their drivers in the lurch. 

In many companies, each dispatcher manages a team of drivers. Or, every driver has every dispatcher’s number, but they develop favorites and flood them. But this isn’t the most efficient way to assign calls; the queue for any particular dispatcher is more likely to backup, leaving drivers waiting longer than necessary on the side of the road for a response.

However, when dispatchers use a shareable call queue, any dispatcher that’s available can grab any call from the queue—even dispatchers sitting far away in sister branches, who have been notified to be at the ready during a busy time.

By evenly distributing the workload across all dispatchers, any individual dispatcher isn’t tasked with responding to a stressful backlog of calls and drivers get their queries answered much quicker.

Zello’s Dispatch Hub has a shareable call queue that registers every call, so there’s no risk of dropping any. The Dispatch Hub provides full visibility so dispatchers and drivers can see that calls are being answered in the order they are received. 

Dispatchers Want to Keep Drivers Safe

Dispatchers want their drivers to stay safe and to be able to communicate with the push of a button so they keep their focus where it belongs: on the road.

Dispatch systems that rely on cellular phones require drivers to pull over to the side of the road to dial. While those drivers that don’t pull over risk fines, the drivers who do follow the law and stop on the side of the road often grow frustrated waiting for dispatch to take their call, as they know that lost time is lost money—not to mention the additional time losses of navigating to a safe spot to stop.

Zello’s push-to-talk services offers a win-win solution for both dispatchers and drivers. With this technology, drivers can stay on the road while connecting to dispatch. With the push of a button, drivers can simply tap their smart device—whether they’re using push-to-talk for iOS on an iPhone or iPad or push-to-talk on Android phones or tablets—and then wait in the queue as they continue on route. Zello’s ptt app and dispatch communication platform are fully compliant with FMCSA one-touch guidelines.

Also, Zello provides every driver with an emergency alert button. This allows any driver in trouble to tap a dedicated panic button. This turns their phone into a hot mic for ten seconds and instantly transmits their location back to a designated emergency channel, so dispatch can immediately send help. 

Dispatchers Want High-Quality Sound 

Too often when a driver reaches dispatch, a poor connection or the sound of the truck motor interferes with an otherwise simple communication. This is frustrating for both sides.

Dispatchers want high-quality sound without interference. Densely built concrete buildings or other radio signals can interfere with traditional walkie-talkie radio communications. Zello isn’t limited to running on 5G or 4G LTE; it can work on as little as 2G bandwidth, as well as on Wi-Fi. This ensures a reliable connection whether drivers are barreling down remote roads or pulling into a warehouse that navigates around cellular dead spots with Wi-Fi.

Even better, Zello records every call, allowing dispatchers to replay any communication they want to hear again.

Dispatchers Need Multimedia Options Too

Sometimes it’s better for a dispatcher to put something in writing, like a change of address for a delivery, so that the driver can keep it on hand and refer back to it. 

Other times, a picture is worth a thousand words; a dispatcher may want to send the driver a screenshot of the particular gate where a package should be left, rather than attempt to describe it. Or, a driver might want to send a picture of a broken part rather than trying to describe it.

This is why, in addition to offering high quality voice communications, Zello also gives dispatchers and drivers the ability to text or exchange photos.

Dispatchers Want to See Where All Drivers Are

Zello’s Dispatch Hub tracks every driver’s location. When there’s a last-minute pick up or delivery needed, a dispatcher can see at a glance who is closest to the new location. 

Or, if a driver isn’t responding to dispatch, the dispatcher can check the map to see if the driver appears stuck on the road.

Dispatch Hub also provides dispatchers with real-time traffic updates, so that they can re-route drivers in response to roadblocks and make up-to-the-minute tweaks to driving schedules in order to optimize efficiency.

Dispatchers using Zello’s Dispatch Hub end every shift with a daily, timestamped log of everywhere a driver traveled. With this visibility into location history, dispatchers are able to resolve any disputes that might arise with customers or drivers regarding deliveries and pickups. 

Dispatchers Want to Help Their Drivers

With Zello’s Dispatch Hub, dispatchers strengthen their relationships with drivers by eliminating the roadblocks often built into more traditional walkie talkie, carrier PTT, and cell phone communication platforms. 

Zello’s Dispatch Hub allows dispatchers to do their best work, while increasing on-the-job engagement and performance.

Learn more about Zello Dispatch Hub.