For organizations wanting to improve the efficiency of their field service operations, investment in technology plays a big part in achieving this. For many companies, choosing and implementing a solution can become complex and potential efficiency gains are being missed, meaning organizations are not seeing the full return from their investment.
Field Force Tracker leads the way in simplifying field service and have compiled the following tips to help you get the best results from your investment.
- Want to go paperless?
Most field service companies now use some form of technology, but there are a lot still operating with paper-based systems for all or part of what they do. Those that still work on paper report that they understand this is a disadvantage and affects their ability to be competitive. With an automated workflow, a service call comes in, it’s captured electronically, dispatched to a field technician’s smartphone, and then available for invoicing upon completion – all within one system. The core workflow is processed instantly without the unnecessary bottlenecks of a paper work order.
- Need to accelerate your payment cycle?
It goes without saying that the longer it takes to get payment for your work, the more it impacts your business. As a result, you should do everything possible to reduce the time it takes to get an invoice for completed work to your customer. That requires the information for the invoice to be in electronic form so that it can flow directly from the work order without any additional data entry. A work order, for example, can be issued, then on job completion the customer can be invoiced immediately, achieving a quicker payment cycle through this order to cash automation.
- Want to simplify scheduling?
Improving your ability to handle service requests efficiently has a direct impact on your business, but the day changes as emergency jobs come in, jobs may take longer than planned and traffic delays affect the original schedule. To improve efficiency, service companies use scheduling tools to streamline the process of capturing and dispatching service requests, saving as much as 80% over the effort of a paper-based process. Electronic scheduling also provides visibility for real-time monitoring of assigned jobs and field staff availability. Additionally, centralizing the scheduling data allows all required staff to view it as needed, reducing the number of status requests your dispatcher has to fulfil.
- Confused by mobility?
Today’s mobile technology gives businesses an opportunity to communicate with their mobile workforce more efficiently than ever. If you are not leveraging the everyday technology of smartphones, for example, you’re missing a golden opportunity to increase your overall efficiency through improved communication.
By using technology you may already have (or your technician may be happy to use their own) means you can make use of field service software without the need to buy servers, hardware or other expensive wireless equipment for field staff.
- Looking to improve customer satisfaction?
Customer satisfaction is critical to a successful field service business. An automated field service solution can make sure you seamlessly deliver the level of service your customers are looking for. Your solution should be centralized so that all of your staff have access to the same customer information. It should be available 24/7 from anywhere you might be when you need it. It should include service history so that you and your field technicians know the full story.
- Need to understand your business better?
In order to really understand your business, you need to be able to measure the performance metrics that are important to you. Analytical reports that can illustrate any aspect of your operational workflow means you get real-time business metrics at a glance, while also having access to ad hoc reports that can answer any anomalies that occur. While it’s good to know that your field techs are completing 30% more jobs than they did last month, it’s even better to know why so you can capitalize on it.
For the best results, you need a solution that meets your business needs. Field Force Tracker helps field service companies simplify this decision-making and is provided via technology you already have: smartphones and the internet.
To find out more on how Field Force Tracker is simplifying field service with innovative field service solutions, send an email to support@fieldforcetracker.com
