As your business grows and evolves, it’s important that your field service business operations do too. For this reason, it’s important to do whatever you can to make life easier for your HVAC dispatcher.
When you keep your favorite HVAC dispatcher happy, you’ll be able to keep them for years to come – without having to worry as much about needing to replace them in the near future.
Plus, by keeping your best HVAC dispatcher on deck, you won’t have to concern yourself with things like:
- Finding another great dispatcher
- Training them on your rules and procedures
- Teaching them how to use your HVAC software
Also, finding a great HVAC dispatcher is like finding a needle in a haystack – it’s not easy. After all, a great dispatcher requires strong skills in a wide variety of areas, such as:
- Communications – for scheduling service calls and managing technician schedules.
- Office management – for various administrative tasks as well as helping the business run smoothly by organizing and keeping track of business records.
- Natural talent – someone who’s comfortable taking on huge responsibilities, a strong communicator, great multi-tasker, and is highly organized (these natural skills are hard to teach!).
In this article, we’ll talk about the best ways you can make your HVAC dispatcher’s life easier so they’ll never want to leave.
1. Put the Proper Procedures in Place
One of the best ways to set expectations is to put the proper procedures in place. This way, from the start, your HVAC dispatcher knows what they need to do, as well as what’s expected of them.
Ensure you have the proper procedures in place for the following operations:
- Routing jobs
- Navigating client issues
- Handling emergency calls
- Grouping technicians together by skill
- Sending help for an impromptu work order
In addition to putting the proper procedures in place, consider shadowing your HVAC dispatcher. By shadowing them, you can verify that they’re following proper procedure protocols as well as knowing how to navigate your HVAC software.
2. Take Advantage of the Best HVAC Software
Once you set proper procedures, you’re ready to take advantage of the best HVAC software to help with daily tasks and get the job done to meet expectations.
When you choose a robust HVAC software, you can use the expansive capabilities to make your HVAC dispatcher’s life easier with:
- Optimized routes and easy dispatching
- Organized customer records in one place
- Managed service agreements, work orders, and service reminders
While some business owners might hesitate to take the leap and invest in HVAC software, it’s a long-term investment as well as a testament to your commitment to your business’ success.
When choosing a dispatching software, make sure you keep an eye out for these specific features that will help make your HVAC dispatcher’s life easier:
- Phone integration – to track calls coming in, even after hours
- Smart dispatching – to know the best technician for the job based on skill set and job location
- Location mapping – to see the location of each tech in real-time, including whether they are traveling, working, late or finished
- Tech management – to group multiple technicians into a crew that will be working on a single work order, or by adding a technician on the go
FieldEdge is one software option that has each of these features and more. Taking these basic capabilities to the next level allows your everyday operations to be smoother for your HVAC dispatcher AND your team. Here are a few ways FieldEdge can make life easier:
- Add a customizable and searchable tag to a work order to keep your office and HVAC technicians on the same page.
- Create different dispatching boards to group HVAC technicians by department or zone, helping keep track of complex projects.
- Select a dispatch priority by flagging a work order’s details, which allowings the office to easily identify which tech’s skillset and schedule are right for the job
Book a demo for FREE of FieldEdge to see how the best HVAC software will make your HVAC dispatcher’s life easier!
3. Complete Daily Check-Ins With Your HVAC Dispatcher
In order to ensure steps one and two are going smoothly, it’s important you complete daily check-ins with your HVAC dispatcher.
Plus, consistent check-ins are a great way to make your HVAC dispatcher’s life easier. This is one of the best ways to keep your HVAC dispatcher happy and make them want to stay with you.
Take a look at some of the best talking points for daily check-ins with your HVAC dispatcher:
- Ask them what they’re doing, planning to do, and find out their struggles.
- Find out if there are any unresolved client issues.
- Ask for technician performance updates (e.g. are they showing up on time?).
- Troubleshoot any software issues (e.g. are they having trouble mastering a certain feature?).
- Find out if there are any major operations updates (e.g. did you lose any big clients or win a big one?).
- Ask if they need any help, or if there’s anything you can do to make their job easier.
- Let them know how they’re doing (e.g. tell them where they can improve, and tell them what they’re doing great).
- Check on their workload and make sure they aren’t overworked. If they are, consider hiring another HVAC dispatcher.
By the way, did you know that you can use FieldEdge to evaluate your HVAC dispatcher and ensure everything is getting assigned properly?
Keep Your Favorite HVAC Dispatcher at Your Business for Years to Come
Now, you know how the best HVAC software can keep your HVAC dispatcher happy, and also help grow your HVAC business.
Plus, when you keep your HVAC dispatcher happy, your everyday operations tend to fall into place:
- Properly route jobs
- Clients are happy with their on-time services
- HVAC technicians have the proper information for the job
At last, you know how to keep your favorite HVAC dispatcher at your business for years to come.
