Employee Safety Management Using Field Force Tracker

Posted on March 20, 2016November 23, 2024 by Field Force Tracker

The growth and adaption of mobile technologies has revolutionized everything, and smart businesses are quickly digitizing their services The use of modern tools is going to reflect on services that they provide. This article describes how cloud based Field Service CRM like Field Force Tracker can help you in increasing customer satisfaction, generate new business, improve job satisfaction and at the same time, improve your company’s profitability.

Field service engineers are life blood of your service business. They represent your company to the customers. Would you like them to use modern tools or like them to use antiquated forms? Would you like them to spend their time doing their jobs or would you like them to spend their time filling forms? Employees are expensive. They’re responsible for all sales, installation, maintenance, support, and other tasks that require direct access to the products and services a business provides. Field Engineers have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction and relationships. Now they want to use mobile devices, mobile enabled software and mobile forms based software. Is your company ready to provide all this?

Live GPS Tracking, Time Tracking and Data Keeping

There are many benefits to a field service management system: streamlined dispatch processes, faster billing and invoicing, visibility into job details, etc. Another important benefit that may not automatically come to mind is better time keeping. A good software provides better time keeping and live GPS tracking of employees. A field service management solution can help in improving field workers safety by tracking them in real time. With software it is easy maintain adherence to corporate and government-imposed safety regulations.

Besides doing a live GPS tracking about the location of field employees, Field service software can help organizations monitor and manage compliance with safety policy and procedures. Safety policies rules can be formed by the company or mandated by OSHA and other agencies.

Good software like field force tracker can improve compliance. It maintains many kind reports that can be used for tracking rules compliance. You can attach custom forms, documents and other data in the jobs. There are many such possibilities for a right service company.

An HVAC Technician can upload a time-stamped photo to indicate proper ventilation. An AC installation for an indoor unit at a job site can be shown to the manager. He can even show video of a work area after it has been cleaned. They can prove that debris and equipment was properly removed after a job was completed.

Managers can also create mandatory task list for each job that include safety-related activities. The tasks can be associated with editable PDF forms. These pdf forms must be filled in and signed off by employees. This helps ensure compliance with safety policies and procedures and provides a safety audit.

Why Field Force Tracker

Mobile enabled, cloud-based field service software was designed to provide ease of use with incredible flexibility. Along with the ease – and speed – of our implementation and the ongoing support service that we provide we enable companies to take full advantage of today’s mobile field service.

Field Force Tracker’s power mobile apps for iPhone and Android are available to all new and existing Field Force Tracker customers. They can extend the feature set with the enhanced mobile forms capabilities, and better system integration. Field Force Tracker, a mobile enabled web-based field service management software, streamlines technician scheduling, dispatch, customer management, vendor and employee management, work orders, equipment maintenance, inventory tracking, contracts, estimates, invoices, payments and accounting. It is considered one of the most feature rich software of its kind.

About Field Force Tracker

Force Tracker (https://www.fieldforcetracker.com) is a leading global provider of its award winning mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Its solutions enable businesses of all sizes (from 1 user to 10,000 users) to meet the challenges associated with managing and running complex service operations. It helps in improving the productivity of their mobile workforce.

With Field Force Tracker customers can create service schedule and route quickly, dispatch sooner, collect correct information at once in the field and invoice faster. The field service software makes it easy for users to eliminate waste, get more done in less time and be more profitable.

Field Force Tracker is a wholly owned unit of Rapidsoft Systems Inc. (https://www.rapidsoftsystems.com). Rapidsoft Systems, Inc. has its main office in Princeton, NJ, USA, a US R&D Center in Mercerville NJ, and sales, support and development offices in Palo Alto, CA, USA, Singapore, Dubai (UAE), Bombay, and Noida (India).

Improve Your Field Service with Latest HVAC Service Business

Posted on March 14, 2016July 4, 2024 by Field Force Tracker

HVac companies are trying to move to electronic model of providing services. Paper based operation is too slow to address customer concerns. Field Force Tracker is the most comprehensive software for field service management. It takes care of everything from customer management to the payment collection for a service company. By using this software, our clients can see major improvement in their productivity and the customer satisfaction.

Many HVAC companies we speak to are still relying on paper-based processes to some extent in managing their workflow. This brings additional difficulty to making changes to schedules and allocating work to technicians as those in the office may not be working with all the information they need.

Challenges of HVAC Service Business

HVAC companies often also cover a lot of different areas of work. These are highly complex and require the right skills, parts or tools for the individual tasks. Workflows may have a number of dependencies which need to be stuck to, to complete the job. Many companies cover everything from design to install, renovation and service work, meaning each day is different to the last.

The use of paper-based processes can mean that up to date information is not available until a few days after the work has been completed, so delays occur in checking stock, re-ordering parts and getting out invoices.

HVAC companies face some unique challenges in field service. For many, some or all of their work can be emergency calls which come in that day. These then need to be prioritized and worked into the day’s schedule as soon as possible, but this then means changes to the planned work and it is understandably difficult to make on the spot decisions about what should give.

A further issue that HVAC companies face is how fast the industry is evolving. Equipment is becoming smarter with HVAC units becoming much more complex and more connected and intelligent buildings are growing in their popularity. Customer expectations increase alongside this technological evolution and service delivery must keep pace with these advancements.

Here we look at how some of our Field Force Tracker HVAC customers overcame the issues they faced in their evolving businesses and see the benefits and results they achieved.

Eliminating Paperwork For Better Operation

One of our customers had a paper-based work order system they’d been using for decades that was inefficient and expensive. Technicians had to visit the office every day, so travel costs were high and technicians had less time for jobs. Processing the paperwork meant significant administrative overhead and time as it took 7-10 days to invoice customers from the job completion.

Field Force Tracker solved the paper problem. All work orders are now generated and submitted electronically. As a result, the company:

Significantly reduced the number of office trips by technicians, cutting travel costs and increasing revenue-producing hours.
Eliminated the need for administrative overhead dedicated invoicing.
Decreased the time from service completion to invoice from days to minutes.

More Efficient Service Calls and Improved Cash Flow

Another HVAC company realized that cloud-based technology was the best way to make their business processes more efficient, and maximize profits. They have both residential and commercial customers, so wanted a solution that could handle both. Through using Field Force Tracker they now can connect with a specific technician or multiple technicians to assign jobs or alert them of a new/changed job, which they can see on the mobile app.

The dispatch capabilities provide alerts, location tracking and GPS routing. It also works as a time sheet to ensure that work is being recorded. The price book in the app means that an estimate can be emailed, which the customer can sign off, saving time as well as keeping an accurate account of what has been done.

They estimate saving 40-60 hours a week. “No time is wasted, the technicians get jobs faster, and we can track the job status so they can immediately go to the next job. Jobs are completed more quickly, so we can schedule more jobs per day with the saved time.”

The highest praise comes for the accounting features. “The easy sync with QuickBooks or Sage 50 eliminates double entry of invoices in our accounting system and we can simply e-mail invoices to customers.”

Better Customer Service

One of our HVAC customer was looking for ways to reduce paperwork and increase the profitability of their business as well as deliver even better service to customers. Prior to Field Force Tracker the dispatcher would receive calls and dispatch jobs to the technicians through manual text messages. Technicians would write out paper estimates on site and then return completed work orders to the office at the end of day, causing extra drive time and lag time.

They also use Field Force Tracker reports to predict customer needs. “If I see that 20 of our customers have the same furnace model, it makes sense to start carrying replacement parts for that model.” That means faster service since they no longer have to order parts through their distributor when the need arises. Instead the trucks are fully-stocked with the proper parts.

Now, the dispatcher can quickly review each technician’s status using the scheduler and assign new jobs to the next available technician. On site, technicians can collect more information with the mobile app. For instance, the tech can record the model and serial number of each piece of equipment. “With this type of information stored in the customer’s record, we can easily determine what parts are needed to complete the job.”

Field Force Tracker leads the way in simplifying field service for HVAC companies. Our solutions let you automate your field work – from dispatching work to updating job info on site and instantly sending electronic invoices – all from our easy to use mobile app.

About Field Force Tracker

Force Tracker (https://www.fieldforcetracker.com/) is a leading global provider of its award winning mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Its solutions enable businesses of all sizes (from 1 user to 10,000 users) to meet the challenges associated with managing and running complex service operations. It helps in improving the productivity of their mobile workforce.

Field Force Tracker is a wholly owned unit of Rapidsoft Systems Inc. (https://www.rapidsoftsystems.com/). Rapidsoft Systems, Inc. has its main office in Princeton, NJ, USA, a US R&D Center in Mercerville NJ, and sales, support and development offices in Palo Alto, CA, USA, Singapore, Dubai (UAE), Bombay, and Noida (India).

Better Customer Management With Field Service Dispatch Software

Posted on March 12, 2016July 4, 2024 by Field Force Tracker

Customer acquisition is the most important part of any business. The sole reason a business exists is to serve customers and in the process generate revenue. Deploying a good cloud based field service CRM software can improve your ability to provide better management of your service resources. This article describes how cloud based Field Service CRM like Field Force Tracker can help you deliver betters services and improve your productivity. A good service software can help everyone in the company to better manage the effectiveness of your service delivery. Using extensive capabilities of Field Force Tracker’s software, you can improve the effectiveness for field services in your organization.

Service companies are trying to move to electronic model of providing services. Paper based operation is too slow to address customer concerns and cannot provide suitable data analysis. Field Force Tracker is the most comprehensive software for field service management. It takes care of everything from customer management to the payment collection for a service company. By using this software, our clients can see major improvement in their productivity and the customer satisfaction. Service managers are constantly working to improve the quality and effectiveness of their service delivery with Field Force Tracker.

Using Service Software to Manage Customers Better

New management gurus put forward a new way of thinking about markets and actors. According to this theory, for a millennia, sellers controlled the product and product information and customers made decisions based on what sellers shared with them. For hundreds of years—until about 1993—we lived in “The Age of the Seller.” But micro-computers ushered in a role reversal that has given rise to The Age of the Customer. Every new digital leap over the past 20 years has served to strengthen the balance of power in favor of customers. According to theory, customers expect “visionary” sellers who are not only competitive, but increasingly relevant.

The company says that fixing customer pain points will not necessarily close the sale [or maintain the relationship] because often customers have developed work arounds for what ails them. Sellers and even business partners have to provide solutions to underappreciated or unconsidered issues. These include new business challenges, additional obligations due to changes in the organization, and pressures from regulatory requirements in order to seal the deal.

The right field service management software to increase customer Satisfaction

The right field service management (FSM) software can have dramatic positive effects on operating efficiencies and, thus, is a prime way to affect the customer lifetime value equation. Best-in-class FSM software relieves the field engineer of administrative tasks and provides valuable job and customer history on a mobile device, such as a smart phone or tablet. The information on demand is a surefire way to wow customers, foster loyalty, and turn them into evangelists.

Reductions in administrative and operational efficiencies across the board all go straight to the bottom line in the customer management. The dashboard in mobile field service software can also give engineers insights into a customer’s business so they can better function as trusted team members and advisors. From new customer perspective, this means that FSM software, also known as dispatch software, could help the engineer to be visionary and more relevant.

Empowered engineers have additional avenues for rapport building and extending the life of profitable customer relationships. From recommendations for equipment management and preventive maintenance for more uptime to cross selling and upselling, the field engineer is transformed into a problem solver and salesperson extraordinaire… a sage bringing knowledge of new threats and new opportunities in this Age of the Customer.

FSM software means better business

The degree of increases in productivity and, thus, customer lifetime value, is related to employee adoption rates and usage patterns. Field Force Tracker’s easy-to-adopt, easy-to-use interface is native to the mobile tool being used. This plays a big part in the ability for engineers across generations to learn the application in a little as a day of training. This minimizes the disruption of operations, while expediting the availability of customer information to engineers in the field. In The Age of the Customer, this is a useful asset for customer lifetime value and to address needs for them and the business have yet to be realized.

Why Field Force Tracker

About Field Force Tracker

Cloud Based Field Service Software Means Lower Cost

Posted on March 12, 2016November 23, 2024 by Field Force Tracker

Deploying a good cloud based field service CRM software can improve your ability to provide better management of your service resources. This article describes how cloud based Field Service CRM like Field Force Tracker can help you deliver betters services and improve your productivity. A good service software can help everyone in the company to better manage the effectiveness of your service delivery. Using extensive capabilities of Field Force Tracker’s software, you can improve the effectiveness for field services in your organization.

Impact of Cloud software on Field Service

Cloud technology is revolutionizing the way that IT manages employees, data and customers. Through the adoption of cloud-centric operations, companies are realizing unprecedented flexibility by becoming unchained from the limitations of in-house data storage systems. The significant reduction in maintenance of these systems has facilitated new possibilities and opportunities to offset, or even eliminate, expenses related to data storage, access to that data throughout the company and customer account management. Cloud technology, combined with mobility, has liberated companies to get more return out of the investment into their business.

Mobile Devices Work Nice With Cloud Software

In the past, companies often had to issue mobile phones to their employees if they intended them to be used for work, or at the very least, many would provide an allowance for mobile charges. Today, however, almost everyone has a personal smart device and many have unlimited calling and data plans on their phones. This is especially a benefit for companies with field service workers that would like to update their field service management operations from manual processes to automation of their service business.

As a cost savings measure, companies are now leveraging the Bring-Your-Own Device (BYOD) concept to reduce overhead. This has become so pervasive that it’s increasingly being established as a standard of practice for employees to use their personal mobile devices for work without further compensation. The exception may be in the use of tablets as they are still considered more of a luxury item compared to the smart phone. Nevertheless, BYOD is saving companies thousands of dollars per year. This is due in part to the marriage between cloud technology and mobility.

No Servers or Data Centers Needed

Some may say that cloud computing shifts investments from asset-based capital expenses (CapEx) to operational expenses (OpEx). This is not an accurate statement. While it is true that the initial investment for on-premise data storage may be made as an up-front expenditure, so can an investment in the cloud. Likewise, both can have investments paid over time.

One of the greatest benefits to investing in cloud technology is the reduction of additional expenses. On-premise data centers require maintenance; human capital hours to maintain the services, parts and accessories needed for upkeep and service, significant investment into software and application upgrades, and the ability to cover the costs for scaling the storage as usage and memory demands increase.

Cloud technology, on the other hand, does not require these additional expenses. When a company’s data is hosted through a hosting service or a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) vendor such as Field Force Tracker, these expenses are absorbed through subscription fees. This reduces the need for greater working capital, enabling the investment of funds into other areas of the business.

In field service-related businesses, this could mean more funds are available to better compete in the marketplace. For example, a company may choose to invest in improving their website making it easier for a visitor to find information that will convert them to a viable lead. Or, in the case of a medical equipment manufacturer with service teams, an investment may be made into better diagnostic equipment. A heavy equipment dealer may reallocate funds to purchase a greater inventory of parts to ensure field engineers can make repairs to reduce downtime in one call or complete an upsell while on site. All of these help companies position themselves against their competition.

Better Service and Savings for Customers

Today’s savvy customer knows that they have the advantage in the market. If they decide that a business is not meeting their needs, they can easily shop to find an alternative to their current provider. What’s posted in association forums, LinkedIn groups and other digital feedback resources can help a business to retain or gain customers.

The flexibility and long-term cost savings provided through cloud technology can be a key component in competing for customers. The impact on cash flow and working capital can also provide a business the option to pass savings on to their customers. This can be realized in a few ways, such as through:

Direct reduction in the costs of goods and services to customers.
Investment into the development and improvement of existing products and services.
Training customer-facing field service engineers – they make a direct impact on the quality of the customer experience.

Each of these can provide a competitive advantage and encourage more opportunities for customers to share positive feedback in both digital forums and when referring potential new business.

A field service company that takes advantage of the cloud not only realizes cost savings, but it creates opportunities to improve their business. This freedom results in better positioning in the marketplace to win and retain customers that will not only appreciate your brand, but also evangelize your business to their peers.

Why Field Force Tracker

About Field Force Tracker

Six Ways To Streamline Your Field Service

Posted on March 12, 2016November 23, 2024 by Field Force Tracker

Service managers are working to improve the quality and effectiveness of their service delivery. However, using improper field service software can hinder their ability to provide better management of their resources. This article describes the techniques to streamline your field service software which can help everyone in the company to better manage the effectiveness of your service delivery. Using extensive capabilities of Field Force Tracker’s software, you can improve the effectiveness for field services in your organization.

Field service management solutions essentially offer a better, more effective way to manage your field teams by having better visibility in to what they are doing and ensure that the right work is being done by the right person at the right time.

But with so many elements to manage and an ever-expanding number of available solutions, it can be difficult to know what will work for your company and therefore make an informed choice. We want to try and help you simplify field service and focus on what can bring the best benefit with the least complexity.

Automating field service is undoubtedly beneficial with companies that already use solutions seeing benefits such as 27% increased business productivity, 17% increase in revenue and a 19% improvement in customer satisfaction.

So how should you get started?

Here are six ways to streamline your field service management solution needs, so that you can choose one that benefits your organization best.

Deploy Mobile Field Service Application

Smartphones and tablets are everywhere and owned by nearly everyone so it’s a tool you should take advantage of. Made-for-mobile field service apps can be downloaded, used by everyone instantly and don’t require new hardware – just download and go. Look for a field service solution that is designed for the mobile environment specifically and has the ability for mobile workers to use the app offline (when a network signal is not available) so there is no loss of data while they are out in the field. Another benefit is the reduction in paperwork – no more filling in forms day after day and no more having to re-key it in.

Cloud Based Field Service Software

Cloud-based solutions provide a number of cost benefits and they can be implemented quickly and easily. The main benefits are that the cost is predictable, there is reduced capital spending (on technology hardware) and the associated maintenance costs. Importantly data is automatically backed up by the service provider so you don’t have to worry about storage and pushing data into the cloud makes it easier to share.

Customization of Features

A good software is able to meet the needs of its customers. Every service organization needs some customization. A good software like Field Force Tracker is very customizable. Choose solutions that offer one-click information capture, are built to be used in the field and give the field teams a simple way to collect, share and view everything they need to get the job done right, first time.

Integrated Software With Invoicing and Quotes

Ease of integration is a key part of any solution as there is no need to upgrade the entire end-to-end solution. If you have invested in existing systems, starting from scratch is not an option. Extending the life of these systems is important, so a field service solution which is compatible and integrates easily with any of the other systems the business has, will help to extend their use and make for an easier implementation. From accounting to CRMs, sharing data across an organization means instant, accurate information everywhere you need it just at the touch of a button.

Ensure Ease of Use in Field Service Software

Deploy Flexible Software

Because field service is ever-changing and evolving, it’s important that the field service solution has flexibility to meet the demands of a business now – and in the future. We recommend that the system you choose should include the ability to be used in a variety of ways or within a number of processes. For example, to have the ability to assign work orders not just from the scheduler or dispatcher, but also from the work order itself or the job board. You also want to know that you solution is built on a flexible platform so new features and customization can be added with the minimum of fuss and cost.

Choosing the right field service management solution does not need to be confusing, but is an important step in increasing the productivity of your staff, growing revenues, improving customer satisfaction and retaining skilled employees.

Why Field Force Tracker

About Field Force Tracker

Cloud Technologies Change Field Service Software

Posted on March 12, 2016November 23, 2024 by Field Force Tracker

Cloud software is the in thing. Deploying a good cloud based field service CRM software can improve your ability to manage your business. This facilitates service managers to better management of your service resources in the most cost effective way. This article describes how cloud based Field Service CRM like Field Force Tracker can help you in running your service business and improve your company’s profitability. A good service software can help everyone in the company to better manage the effectiveness of your service delivery. Using extensive capabilities of Field Force Tracker’s software, you can improve the effectiveness for field services in your organization.

Cloud Computing is Everywhere

New technology continues to create opportunities for how data is managed. The cloud, fueled by the ever-expanding landscape of mobile technology, is moving IT from a standard of on-site data centers. As a result, the world of IT is changing and companies are being pushed into a new era where IT is being redefined around the cloud.

Cloud computing is making it more cost effective to securely disseminate information throughout a software ecosystem. Companies with a dispersed workforce, including those with service workers in the field, can now move beyond email and paper-based systems to provide these workers with valuable customer data in real time, delivered through their smart phones and tablets.

As companies realize that competitors are becoming more agile in how they manage operations, organizations are being forced to evaluate their existing IT strategies and look for more efficient and cost-effective methods to keep pace with their competitors, their customer needs and market demands. As a result, the required skills and service experience needed for IT-related roles are changing to include an understanding of the cloud and how to best leverage its benefits for the company.

No Need to Set Up Your Own Data Center

Migration from local hard drives to on-premise storage to hybrid storage and now to cloud computing is happening right now. Processing power and data storage has evolved dramatically over the past two decades in keeping step with this evolution. Programs require more memory and more speed to operate, putting pressure on the computing industry to keep pace. Demand is steadily increasing and more companies are hungering for increased capacity to operate their systems. With this, they also require more space to store company and customer data, and the flexibility to scale with growth. As a result, the cost of memory, storage and hosting has dropped dramatically..

When computing power was reliant upon the local hard drive, memory and storage were very expensive. The moving parts of the drive could fail costing the loss of valuable data. Now, cloud computing has resolved many of the vulnerabilities of hard drives and improved the technology exponentially, resulting in faster more affordable computing with power that could hardly be imagined in the past.

Rather than concern for the failure of a single drive, redundancy has created layers upon layers of integrity, often through a network of multiple, dispersed locations. The result is computing power that’s incredibly efficient and infinitely more powerful and more secure than previous options. Valuable customer data is secure and because of the connectivity provided through the Internet, the cloud helps to make accessing that data through secure applications easier for field service teams than ever before.

Ability to Provide Software Updates without Disruption of Operations

It’s imperative that companies with field operations make it possible for their field workers to access the information about a job or a customer at all times. Interruptions can delay the completion of work, which has a domino effect on all other jobs scheduled for the day. This is not only costly from a revenue perspective, but it can also cost valuable customer satisfaction and impact the reputation of a business.

In the old world, IT was responsible for taking systems offline so that applications could be updated. If there was an issue during the workday, this downtime could impact operations and the ability to service customers. Today’s cloud technology has made it possible for backend system changes to occur without disrupting the business. Updates and bug fixes either run in the background or happen overnight when customers are not affected. This is very important so that business operations, particularly those in the field, are not disrupted.

Digital Certificate Based Security

The in-house data center or warehouse used to be the most important component of the technology framework because it served as the central hub through which information was collected, shared and stored. Companies that are used to this type of system often struggle to adopt the idea of a cloud-based technology. They find more comfort in what they see and hold within their facility as opposed to what they cannot see that may be managed by an external service.

Cloud computing companies, however, are now at the forefront of data warehousing and application hosting. Amazon Web Services (AWS), for example – the hosting company for Field Force Tracker’s data, is one of the leading cloud computing and storage vendors. Their clients range from small businesses through enterprise organizations and government organizations. These organizations understand that hosting companies like AWS are held to the highest of standards for data security.

Better Data Storage and Management

Also, note that hosting companies like AWS do not own the data that they manage and store on their servers. While some software companies retain ownership of that data, Field Force Tracker holds no customer’s data hostage. Anything data through our application belongs to our customers.

Cloud computing has created new possibilities for data storage and hosting. Now companies have access to a network that provides more capacity and is more secure than what they’ve experienced with on-premise solutions of the past.

Companies like Field Force Tracker that provide field service management applications that operate through the cloud combine its benefits with the flexibility of mobile technology extending office operations into the field. This delivers valuable customer data to the fingertips of service workers through a smart phone or tablet, helping their customers to remain competitive, agile and deliver a higher level of service.

Why Field Force Tracker

About Field Force Tracker

Ease of Use Is Key For Deploying Field Service Software Successfully

Posted on March 9, 2016July 4, 2024 by Field Force Tracker

Service managers are working to improve the quality and effectiveness of their service delivery. Deploying a good field service software can improve their ability to provide better management of their resources. This article explains that ease of use the most important feature for the success of any software deployment. A good software can help everyone in the company to better manage the effectiveness of your service delivery. Using extensive capabilities of Field Force Tracker’s software, you can improve the effectiveness for field services in your organization.

Importance of ease of Use

Both managers and technicians report that the key to any technology implementation is ease of use. If the software is not usable, then what is the point of deploying it? The technicians need to love the software.

To reach their full potential, field service solutions need to be easy to use to make doing jobs easier, faster and better. When that solution is easy to use, adoption is quicker and in many cases, can be used as a job benefit that helps staff satisfaction. However, overly complex solutions can make the adoption process long and expensive, which defeats the objective of using it – if it gets used at all. Choose solutions that offer one-click information capture, are built to be used in the field and give the field teams a simple way to collect, share and view everything they need to get the job done right, first time.

Taking time to learn new, complicated ways of working can mean resistance. Workers may well look to go back to the way things used to be done or patch together their own, individual ways of using the solution.

But with a solution that is easy to use the implementation is easier and a quicker adoption means a better ROI.

For a field worker using the right mobile solution means they are able to do their job in the best possible way, and this enables better decision-making and improved resolution.

While improved customer satisfaction may be a key objective for any service organization, the right mobile solution also means worker satisfaction. Technicians report that the right mobility solution brings great advantages. The workflow becomes easier so job completion rates improve and all the benefits that this brings to the field technicians, customers and the service organization.

More technicians are happy to use their own devices – bring your own device (BYOD) – in their work and this often plays a part in the success of new mobility solutions. Reports show that there is generally quicker user adoption with BYOD, greater employee satisfaction and lower costs for the organization.

Both managers and technicians report that the key to any technology implementation is ease of use.

But with a solution that is easy to use the implementation is easier and a quicker adoption means a better ROI.

For a field worker using the right mobile solution means they are able to do their job in the best possible way, and this enables better decision-making and improved resolution.

Why Field Force Tracker

About Field Force Tracker

Keeping Field Service Employees Happy In a Service Organization

Posted on February 19, 2016November 23, 2024 by Field Force Tracker

Field Employees are the most important assets of any service company as they are the contact points for the customers. Good technicians are hard to find and keeping them happy on the job is going to reflect on services that they will provide. This article describes how cloud based Field Service CRM like Field Force Tracker can help you in increasing job satisfaction and at the same time, improve your company’s profitability.

Field service engineers have more face-to-face contact with customers than any other part of a business. They’re responsible for sales, installation, maintenance, support, and other tasks that require direct access to the products and services a business provides. They also have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction. As a result, they are the most valuable members of a service chain. Empowering them with the right training, the right information and the right technology enables them to help build the reputation of the business, and also makes them a key to company growth and increasing business revenue.

Value of Field Engineers to The Service Business

To provide field engineers with the tools they need, companies must supply vehicles, maintenance and support for those vehicles, tools, technology and parts to support their day-to-day activities. In addition, continuing education is needed to keep up with the changes in the equipment they service. To perform their duties and deliver a quality experience to the customer, field engineers need to have easy access to account history as well.

While many of these tools are standard – the vehicles, their maintenance, fuel and so on, one of the tools often missing in the field is information. Compared to the technology that’s available today, many field engineers are saddled with a disparate paper-based process. They’re forced to rely on the limited knowledge provided by dispatchers, which may also be incomplete. Rather than having access to the full equipment and relationship history for the customer, they do the best they can with the information they have on hand, which can cause the appearance of being ill prepared, hampering customer confidence. Introducing mobile technology into field operations is the remedy to this problem.

Enhancing Value Using Field Force Tracker

A good service software can help everyone in the company to better manage the effectiveness of your service delivery. Using extensive capabilities of Field Force Tracker’s software, you can improve the effectiveness for field services in your organization. Deploying a good cloud based field service CRM software with mobile apps can improve your ability to manage your business. This facilitates service managers to better management of your service resources in the most cost effective way.

Managing Customer Interactions

A good field engineer knows how to interact with customers. When hiring, it’s beneficial to seek candidates who have quality people skills. Listening, patience, the ability to communicate at the customer’s level of understanding and conflict resolution are all essential skills to providing a quality customer experience. To resolve this, companies that provide workshops to develop these skills can see an improvement in field performance. Review of field metrics revenue by employee and job estimated time versus actual job time to determine which employees are putting their skills to use.

Knowledge Distribution to Field Engineers

A field engineer who is empowered with the right information on site has the ability to make an incredible impression with the customer. Understanding the customer’s challenges and how the products or services are a solution for these challenges is vital to sales. Post sales, having access to customer and product history enables them to appear confident and knowledgeable, which in turn helps the customer feel confident about the business. For most companies, this information isn’t available. Their engineers must rely on pre-route check-ins and time-consuming calls to dispatch to gain the information they need.

Mobile technology is the solution. Field Force Tracker’s field service management solution maintains customer and asset history in one place. When the field engineer pulls up the customer’s account, they’re able to access the pertinent information needed to ensure they are servicing the right equipment in the correct location, and verify any work that has been performed. Other corresponding documents can be stored on their mobile devices to ensure that the field engineers are providing the best service, and can also provide accurate information to customers.

Revenue Contribution By Proper Software Tools

The business has field engineers with people skills and they have the right information for the customer in their hands – now they can help to drive new revenue. One of the keys to making this a realization is to help with the identification of sales opportunities. In the case of an industry such as industrial equipment manufacturing, a field engineer can review the equipment history to determine when it may be time for the customer to upgrade or purchase new equipment. In addition, they can identify which other products or services may be of interest as well. The use of mobile technology in the field makes this possible.

Empower field engineers with the technology and tools needed to perform at their best. As the face of a business, they are the most valuable asset to a company, helping to drive the business through quality relationships and improved sales.

Why Field Force Tracker

About Field Force Tracker

Improving Employee Job Satisfaction with Field Service Software

Posted on February 19, 2016November 23, 2024 by Field Force Tracker

Field Employees are the most important assets of any service company. Good technicians are hard to find and keeping them happy on the job is the responsibility of the management. This article describes how cloud based Field Service CRM like Field Force Tracker can help you in increasing job satisfaction and at the same time, improve your company’s profitability. A good service software can help everyone in the company to better manage the effectiveness of your service delivery. Using extensive capabilities of Field Force Tracker’s software, you can improve the effectiveness for field services in your organization. Deploying a good cloud based field service CRM software with mobile apps can improve your ability to manage your business. This facilitates service managers to better management of your service resources in the most cost effective way.

Field Employees are the Most Important Assets

Many good employers understand that a company’s most important customers are its employees. As much as a business has an obligation to provide goods and services to clients, it should be committed first to fulfilling promises to its staff. This is even more critical for those with a field service workforce that relies on skilled labor. While customers are the lifeline for any business, a stable, dependable team is especially important to meet customer expectations throughout the service chain.

The conviction of treating employees better than customers is more imperative today than ever before. The Digital Revolution is upon us. Its scale, scope and complexity are expected to be unlike anything humankind has previously experienced. In the near future we’ll see mobile devices with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity and access to knowledge. We’ll witness major advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, 3D printing, nanotechnology, quantum computing and other emerging technologies.

It’s all very impressive and exciting. It’s also very scary for those who see the exponential pace it is evolving. The disruptive technology of this revolution is already impacting systems and processes in every industry. However, its greatest impact may well be on the labor force.

Preparing the Labor Force for the Digital Age

There are ways to prepare your field service workforce for the oncoming revolution. Two ways an employer can help ensure the stability and at the same time show employees they are of value to the company include providing education and ensuring core protections.

Education and Job Training. Because technology is moving far beyond the ability to keep up with the basic education employees have, workers should be retooled and retrained for their jobs annually. This is of particular importance in fields like IT, advanced manufacturing, healthcare and energy, where some of the emerging technologies are making the biggest impacts. Providing affordable education and training is not only the obligation of governments, but also the responsibility of employers. Business leaders can invest in their workers by making upskilling part of their business models.

Basic Protection for Workers. Companies have an obligation to strengthen core protections—wages, payment of overtime and child care—by investing in their people. Over the last few decades, changes in corporate culture has led to 91 percent of profits going to the owners and shareholders, leaving only 9 percent for research, development, cash reserves, raises and employee training. This has added to the problem of stagnant wages and reduced productivity. Shifting more of those profits to employees will benefit all in the end by helping to improve employee confidence in their employers and reduce employee churn.

Treating Employees Well

Of course, while employers must rethink their business models in light of the changes to come, continuing to show employees that they are valued now will help ease any fears they may have about what is to come next. It is the no-cost, simple actions that can make a difference in your relationship with employees.

Be real and transparent. Keep your employees in the loop as to any upcoming changes or challenges facing your organization. Allow them to contribute ideas and be a part of any solution. Employee morale reaches its lowest point when secrecy and distrust reign.

Offer encouragement. The most cost-effective way to inspire loyalty and increase productivity is to acknowledge performances and offer encouragement. Employees are human, not machines. A kind word here and there can mean more than you know.

Make time for employees. Be sure to make time for your employees, whether it involves a work-related or personal issue. By taking an interest in their personal lives and showing you care, you help to create a trusted environment that will enable to feel they are a valued in the company.

Refocusing on Corporate Culture

Change has always brought with it new both challenges and perils, and the Digital Revolution is certainly bringing with it changes that will impact everyone. In previous eras of technological change, past generations have been able to bend the shifts brought on by new technology to the benefit of all of society. That might be more difficult with this revolution due to the speed of its growth. Refocusing on corporate culture and core obligations now will show your workers you value them and are committed to them.

Why Field Force Tracker

About Field Force Tracker

Field Service Mobile Apps Improve Technicians’ Life

Posted on February 19, 2016July 4, 2024 by Field Force Tracker

Mobile apps are changing the life of field technicians. Deploying a good cloud based field service CRM software with mobile apps can improve your ability to manage your business. This facilitates service managers to better management of your service resources in the most cost effective way. This article describes how cloud based Field Service CRM like Field Force Tracker can help you in running your service business and improve your company’s profitability. A good service software can help everyone in the company to better manage the effectiveness of your service delivery. Using extensive capabilities of Field Force Tracker’s software, you can improve the effectiveness for field services in your organization.

Mobile Applications – Must Have For Your Technicians

As many as 25% of American customers cancel services due to a frustrating experience. The best way for your field teams to avoid that churn is to resolve problems in as few visits as possible. Giving them the data and tools they need to tackle almost any task equips them to be successful in delivering quality, knowledgeable service to your customers.

Thankfully, there’s a way to provide all of that team support without requiring boxes of manuals, reams of paperwork or calls back to your office where customers feel like they’re on hold in person. As an alternative, having the flexibility of bi-directional connectivity through mobility to communicate job-related data helps companies to turn each job into an opportunity for a stellar customer experience.

Five ways that the flexibility of mobility helps field service companies to deliver excellent customer service are:

1. Access to Job Data Anytime, Anywhere

Nearly every time you or I call our Internet service provider about a problem, we’re told to reset the router manually. If the call is interrupted or the error happens again, we’re again told to reset the router. Customers who endure this type of experience in their personal lives expect much better in the B2B space. Not only is their financial investment more, but a failure to meet their needs could cost them their jobs and their livelihood. Smart, in-field mobility helps to resolve this challenge by enabling your engineers to prevent making your business known for having a “reset the router” reputation in your industry.

Mobility, and particularly when used with field service-based businesses, equips engineers to arrive at a customer’s site with access to work orders, customer history, and any other pertinent information needed to try to remedy a service call on the first visit. The flexibility that Field Force Tracker provides extends this ability to locations that are even off-the-grid for a mobile connection, ensuring that engineers have the information needed to complete jobs as ordered. Once they are within range again, data can be synced up with the back office.

2. Real-Time Troubleshooting Through Better On-Site Materials

Sometimes clients misdiagnose a problem or don’t fully grasp its depth. This means a field engineer arrives and faces a very different issue. Mobility through field service management facilitates access to product manuals, repair guidance and more, so the engineer can make the best use of their expertise with on-site educational tools related to the equipment they’re servicing.

Equipping engineers with the information needed to provide a higher level of service goes a long way to protect customer relationships with your business. Field engineers are able to appear competent, knowledgeable and can therefore, position themselves as an extension of the business they are there to serve.

3. Capture Accurate Customer Job Details

The drive after visiting a customer location gives your field engineers plenty of time to forget key service details that may be helpful in assessing the customer value, identifying upsell opportunities, evaluating the equipment being serviced and preparing the next engineer who must visit the site. And, companies that are reliant upon a paper- or email-based process suffer by wasting valuable opportunities to better communicate needed information.

Field service management through mobile devices, however, allows for the immediate input of job details, including capturing photos and videos for more accurate documentation, as well as alerting future personnel of potential safety concerns of a job site before they leave the customer’s location.

Mobile field service solutions take data capture one step further – customers can sign off on work orders when a service engineer finishes the job. This delivers another layer of communication and verification that protects both the customer’s interest and your business reputation.

4. Streamlined Services Through Integration

Mobility makes it possible to connect valuable customer data directly into other critical systems that help you to run your business. Through integration, this information can be fed directly into your CRM, ERP, accounting system or other application to keep the field and the back office in sync at all times.

Such a level of data integrity positions your company to operate more efficiently and realize benefits such as shorter invoicing times resulting in lower days of sales outstanding, thereby reducing the need for greater working capital. This sets the stage for increased profitability through the streamlined flow of data from the field through mobile devices directly to the integrated systems.

5. Improved Visibility for Management

Customer service is about more than just the person in the field. Every step in the service chain, from the initial call to the final customer invoice, plays a role into how your customer perceives your business. You’ve seen how mobility can better track service your team provides in the field, but it can also improve your ability to manage and deliver future service.

Field service management through mobile devices facilitates an improved ability to determine key operational information such as the average time it takes for engineers complete each type of call. In addition, it delivers insight to identify opportunities to optimize scheduling, and ensure customers are being invoiced when jobs are complete.

Every organization that provides service in the field – regardless of industry, customer base or team size – can see benefits and improvements by adopting field service automation though mobility. It provides the flexibility field engineers need to properly service customers, putting job-related data right in their hands. In addition, the real-time visibility into field operations enables business leaders to better plan day-to-day operations. These help to create a system that is more responsive to customer needs and therefore, provide a higher level of customer service.