Trying to improve field service performance – on both an employee and business level – can seem like a massive task. You have to consider employee efficiency, profits and revenue flow, which services you are offering, customer satisfaction… The list goes on!
With so much to juggle, it might sound overwhelming to take actions that will improve your business! However, better field service performance can be achieved by focusing on a few key areas. In this article we’ll cover seven things to consider when improving your business’s performance::
- Concentrate on Consistency
- Improve Communications
- Optimizing Organization
- Focus On Service Agreements
- Quickly Provide Quotes and Invoicing
- Advance Your Accounting
- Set Measurable Goals
Concentrate On Consistency
Consistency is the most important factor to keep in mind for successful field service performance. Customers like knowing what they can expect from businesses. Customers are more likely to spend more of their money with you when you provide consistent and reputable service.
Your field service performance will also improve since an expectation of consistency can also serve as a a guideline for employees to stick to during day-to-day tasks. Provide your technicians with a protocol they should follow during service calls to help them create a reliable experience for your customers.
Office employees can also benefit from following protocols to process customers and payments. Establishing a timeline to follow up with customers before and after a job with instructions on collecting on outstanding invoices will cut down on wasted trips and late payments.
Improve Communications
Keep everyone on the same page by consolidating communications with your employees. You can do this by choosing a designated platform for communication between the office and field.
Make sure all employees can be reached easily and know how to use the communication platform you choose. A field service management tool makes dispatching and tracking jobs easier, so all employees are on the same page.
When choosing a field service management software, consider a solution that includes time tracking features. In-app prompts to update the job status throughout the site visit will help track productivity and cut down on note taking needed from techs.
Customer Communications
You can also improve field service productivity by improving customer communication. How? The more you set expectations with a customer before, during and after a visit, the less phone calls or on-site questions your team will receive.
Create templates for invoices, emails, mail, etc. to save time and maintain your professional image. Also, make sure your branding is consistent across platforms, and that you are communicating with customers before appointments and following up after the job is completed.
Optimize Organization
Cleaning up your physical and digital files can be helpful when it comes to boosting field service performance and efficiency.
Once you figure out an optimal way to store your information, it’s easier to track and reference. Nobody wants to spend hours each week filing documents or trying to track down old customer notes!
Most businesses are using a cloud-based service management software like FieldEdge to safely back up digital data. Then documents, images and notes can be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection. It’s more convenient and efficient for the business and improves customer experience.
Going forward, train your employees to follow designated filing protocol or guidelines. If you use field service software, ask that techs add attachments such as job images and invoices to each job before they leave the site. If there is any loose paperwork, establish a routine that techs or employees share those with office staff by a certain time each week. This will help keep files organized and keep office admin work from stacking up.
Organization can also apply to your physical assets such as your office space, equipment and service vehicles. While it takes some effort to keep things tidy, an organized office or warehouse can help you be more productive and efficient. In fact, a recent study found that employees are 15% more productive in a clean and organized environment!
Focus On Service Agreements
Service agreements are popular in the home services industry because they allow customers to schedule maintenance for the extent of the agreement (typically a year or two). The best part: agreements provide a consistent cash flow for contractors.
It’s easy to renew the contracts with current customers, making your revenue increase as sales efforts decrease. Service agreements also help with field service performance because they help you fill your schedule ahead of time while also providing regular revenue.
Tip: Providing a set of different service agreements, featuring a variety terms for different needs, makes your business attractive to more customers.
Quickly Provide Quotes and Invoicing
Try to provide your customers with quick, on-site quotes and invoicing. This shows customers that you are professional and consistent. Quicker quotes can come from setting up a definite list of prices for the services and products you offer and having it ready for on-site quoting.
Invoicing can be optimized by printing off or emailing your customer their invoice immediately after the service call. Providing different payment and financing options is a great customer service feature that allows you to get paid quickly. The faster you get paid, the more you’ll boost field service performance by quickly recognizing revenue.
Tools like FieldEdge Payments can eliminate the need for invoicing as it is all done for you in an integrated payments solution. With this tool, you can accept payments in the field with a mobile card reader on a phone or tablet.
Another great option is using the FieldEdge customer portal. Watch this short video to learn more about how this tool improves customer experience!
Advance your Accounting
It is important to keep a close eye on your finances and cash flow – this is a key part of your field service performance from a business perspective. When you understand how your business stands financially, you can make better, quicker decisions.
This improves your short-term field service performance by keeping you caught up on your expenses. When you optimize your finances, you see which investments are creating high returns and where your business has room to grow.
It’s helpful if the field service software you use integrates with QuickBooks, since that’s the most popular choice among small businesses.
Pricing your services correctly is also very important. You don’t want to be the highest price in town, or the lowest. Finding that “sweet spot” that pays your business what it’s worth can be tricky.
Try not to complicate your pricing; customers want a clear, easy-to understand price. Be sure to also discuss with a financial advisor before setting or updating your pricing model.
Set Measurable Goals
Set goals to keep business operations on track and grow field service performance. With goals in place, employees can feel a greater sense of achievement and teamwork in their day to day.
When employee performance improves, your business will thrive. Even short-term goals can help your business grow. Setting measurable KPIs (for example, getting a certain number of service calls per week), is a good way to get employees in the right mindset and keep your business on track.
See how FieldEdge can boost your field service performance! Book your FREE personalized demo today!
Optimize Your Field Service Performance to Grow Your Business!
You are now armed with seven factors to optimize your business operations. Continually thinking about and striving for a better field service performance will set up your business for success!
You’re better prepared to improve your field service performance by:
- Concentrating on Consistency
- Improving Communications
- Optimizing Organization
- Focus on Service Agreements
- Quickly Provide Quotes and Invoicing
- Advance Your Accounting
- Set Measurable Goals
