Automated SMS Scheduling for Field Staff

What it does

Send personalized schedule links directly to your cleaners' phones via text message. Your field staff can view their assigned tasks and claim available jobs without needing to log into the platform. When urgent openings arise, the system automatically offers jobs to available cleaners in sequence until someone accepts.

Getting started

Enable SMS scheduling

1. Go to Settings → Operations
2. Scroll to the Field Staff Management section
3. Toggle on SMS Scheduling
4. Configure your Offer Cascade settings:
   • Choose Sequential (offers one cleaner at a time) or Broadcast (offers all at once)
   • Set timeout duration (default: 10 minutes per offer)
5. Click Save Settings

Add staff phone numbers

1. Navigate to Team → Field Staff
2. For each cleaner, click Edit Profile
3. Add their mobile phone number in the Contact Information section
4. Select their preferred messaging channel (SMS or WhatsApp)
5. Choose their language preference for messages
6. Click Save

Send schedule links

You can send schedules manually or set up automatic daily delivery:

Manual sending:

1. Go to Operations → Schedule Management
2. Click Send Schedule Links
3. Review the preview showing how many staff will receive messages
4. Click Send Now

Automatic daily delivery:

1. In Settings → Operations, scroll to Daily Schedule Delivery
2. Toggle on Auto-send daily schedules
3. Messages will automatically go out at 7 AM in each cleaner's local timezone

How it works

Daily schedule messages

Each morning, your cleaners receive a personalized text message showing:

• How many tasks they're assigned for the day
• How many jobs are available to claim
• A secure link to view their mobile schedule

The message adapts to their language preference and sounds natural, like it's coming from you directly.

Mobile schedule pages

When cleaners tap the link, they see a mobile-optimized page with:

• My Tasks: Jobs assigned specifically to them with property details, timing, and special instructions
• Available Jobs: Open tasks they can claim with one tap
• Quick Actions: Mark tasks complete, report issues, or request help

No login required—the link contains a secure token that identifies them automatically.

Automatic job offers

When you need to fill a last-minute cancellation or urgent cleaning:

1. Mark a task as Needs Coverage in your task management
2. The system immediately begins offering it to available cleaners
3. In Sequential mode: Offers go to one cleaner at a time based on their skills and location
4. In Broadcast mode: All suitable cleaners receive the offer simultaneously
5. When someone accepts, others are notified the job is filled
6. If no one responds within your timeout period, you're alerted to find manual coverage

Real-time notifications

You'll see instant updates when:

• A cleaner claims an available job
• Someone marks a task as complete
• A job offer times out without acceptance
• A cleaner reports an issue or requests help

Key features

• No app downloads required — Works through standard text messages and web browsers

• Multilingual support — Messages automatically adapt to each cleaner's language preference

• Smart targeting — Job offers only go to cleaners with the right skills and availability

• WhatsApp integration — Send via WhatsApp for international staff or teams that prefer it

• Timezone awareness — Daily schedules arrive at 7 AM local time, regardless of your location

• Secure access — Each link is unique and expires automatically for security

• Two-way communication — Cleaners can report completion, issues, or questions directly from their phone

• Automatic fallbacks — If the smart message generation fails, sends a simple, clear backup message

Tips & best practices

Start with a pilot group — Enable SMS scheduling for 3-5 reliable cleaners first to test the workflow before rolling out company-wide.

Use sequential offers for premium properties — This ensures your most experienced cleaners get first opportunity at high-value jobs.

Set realistic timeouts — 10-15 minutes works well for regular cleanings; reduce to 5 minutes for same-day urgencies.

Keep phone numbers updated — Regularly verify contact information, especially for seasonal staff who may change numbers.

Monitor the activity feed — Check the real-time notifications daily to spot patterns in job acceptance rates and response times.

Combine with existing workflows — SMS scheduling works alongside your current task assignment process—use it to supplement, not replace, direct communication for complex jobs.

Common questions

What if a cleaner doesn't have a smartphone? The schedule links work on any phone with basic web browsing capability. For flip phones or very basic devices, you can still send the links—they'll see a simplified text version of their schedule.

How do I handle cleaners who prefer not to receive text messages? SMS scheduling is optional per staff member. In their profile, simply leave the phone number blank or disable messaging, and they'll continue receiving schedules through your normal channels.

What happens if someone claims a job but doesn't show up? You'll see their acceptance in your activity feed, but if they don't mark the task complete within the expected timeframe, you can re-release the job to trigger new offers to other available cleaners.