• A workforce’s mobility is one of the most important factors in FSM. That’s why most FSM systems have extensive mobile features for scheduling, job management, and route planning.
• Predictive analytics will illustrate when parts need to be ordered and when they need to be postponed, allowing field service managers to more accurately distribute budgets.

Field service companies generate massive amounts of data from technicians, assets, equipment, customers, and logistics. If that data is not used to improve a business’s workflow, then it has been effectively wasted.

Using pen-and-paper methods to gather, organize, and deploy field service technicians, it may serve a fledgling business just fine in the short run. Just don’t expect it to last long. A successful small business will quickly outgrow analog data solutions. Investing in field service management software gives teams access to analytical reporting tools and work orders that both centralize and automatically interpret data on behalf of field service managers.

We’ve outlined three major ways to use the data field service operations are already generating to make insight-driven decisions and improve your field service outcomes. If your business is looking for FSM solutions to house and serve this data, we have outlined a few of the best Field Service Management tools on the market today.

1. Schedule Dynamically

First-come, first-serve is an extremely inefficient method for field service scheduling. Both customers and employees will feel the consequences of it. Distance, routing, and prioritization must all play a part in the process of efficiently scheduling field service appointments. A business scheduling multiple appointments at a time will quickly find itself wasting time and money with first-come, first-serve scheduling.

Route planning

Use the data provided by your FSM software, such as IndusTrack, to identify the best course of action for scheduling. This data takes into account:

• The technician best-suited for the job, considering factors such as work skills, work areas, SLAs, and inventory
• The optimal route for your field resources
• What parts are available and when they can arrive
• How the status of work in real-time will be communicated to the customer (estimated time of arrival, delays, updates, etc.)
• Using this data will ensure that the right field resource will be assigned to the right job at the right time with the right equipment. To make the most of dynamic scheduling, intelligently plan your routes, share the data with your team, and make the most of mobile data.

A workforce’s mobility is one of the most important factors in FSM. That’s why most FSM systems have extensive mobile features for scheduling, job management, and route planning.

The data a business currently has can be used to plan intelligent routes. Route planning uses algorithms that consider the distance of the technician, accessibility, and geolocation data. It creates work rules based on the scheduling priorities outlined and interacts with real-time traffic services to suggest the best route. Route planning minimizes the time technicians spend on the road, decreases delays, and improves overall efficiency.

Share the data

Big data is not just for top-level leaders within the FSM industry; every level of a business can use the insights your analytic reporting tool provides. RazorSync is an application that helps field service managers and their teams by opening the lines of communication while technicians are out in the field gathering crucial, real-time data. A company’s most valuable data is sourced directly from your technicians on the front lines.

For example, dispatchers benefit from being able to see technician response and travel times. RazorSync uses this information to share GPS-tracked location data and customized routing.

Use mobile application data

Using an FSM system that operates a mobile app, such as IFS, allows mobile workforces to log all work order, scheduling, work estimate, checklist, and troubleshooting data they might encounter on the field. This allows technicians to fire off reports in real-time without interrupting from their tightly-scheduled calendars. This remotely collected data can then be used by dispatchers and other field service managers to make informed decisions about where a field service technician can most efficiently be sent to next.

2. Be Proactive About Arising Problems

By using predictive analytics technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, statistical models based on historical data can be defined. Combine this with the use of the internet of things (IoT) where connected devices sense each other, and suddenly the ability to predict and prevent problems before they emerge becomes a huge asset.

Predictive analytics will illustrate when parts need to be ordered and when they need to be postponed, allowing field service managers to more accurately distribute budgets. This eliminates the need to compensate for knowledge gaps by overstocking for the entirety of the year.

Find inefficiencies

Oracle Field Service Cloud provides early warning notifications and diagnosis of equipment issues days, weeks, or maybe months before failure. Monitoring your equipment can save loads of time and money on the front end.

In addition to preventing potential problems, the technology built into field service management software can identify recurring problems or service bottlenecks, and subsequently isolate any possible causes. If dispatchers find that their technicians are consistently double-booked or a particular part of a work order has not been completed correctly, an FSM like Oracle can alert them to these issues, empowering them to make actionable decisions.

Using data to solve these problems eliminates subjectivity, reduces downtime, and saves time by spotting the exact pain point instead of manually sifting through what-ifs.

3. Create A Better Customer Experience 

Customer satisfaction is critical to FSM success. A bad customer experience can lead to a bad online review, leading to a potential dip in new or returning customers. Using data can create new dimensions for customer satisfaction.

Make use of the predictive analytics we mentioned earlier to understand the needs of a customer base. It can access data including a client’s service history, equipment monitoring records, or other relevant issues and deliver the data to the appropriate person.

With this data, a technician can arrive at a job site with a good idea of what the problem is, how to resolve it, and what parts are needed. This leads to less time spent on solving the problem, and an overall better customer experience than if the field resource went in with limited knowledge.

Share information with customers

Vague windows of service and lack of communication will frustrate customers. Vcita’s focus on event scheduling allows dispatchers, field workers, and technicians a simple view of calendar events. This scheduling can be easily shared with customers awaiting service, giving them peace of mind and the ability to communicate last-minute changes with relatively little disruption.

Find the FSM Tool to Make the Best Use of Your Data

A business that is not making effective use of its data in an appropriate field service tool is wasting time and money. Finding valuable field service insights can be as simple as looking through our list of the best field service management tools of the year.

Trending FSM Software

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While each field service business is unique, FSM software can address many common challenges like efficient scheduling and dispatching, first-time fix rate (FTFR), safety and liability, customer communication, and performance management. These elements are all key to operating an efficient service business and increasing both customer and employee satisfaction ratings.

ALSO READ: What Customers Want From Field Service Companies

Challenge No. 1: Scheduling

Accurate scheduling won’t just ensure your field operations run efficiently, it will also result in higher customer satisfaction ratings due to techs showing up on time and keeping visits brief. But when it comes to the field service industry, there are many smaller challenges presented by scheduling alone. You need to predict call time length, account for transit time, prevent double booking, make sure the assigned tech has the necessary expertise, and much more.

Unfortunately, field management scheduling is easier said than done, which is why many field management offices use FSM software to automate certain aspects of scheduling and help field workers coordinate with the back office. You can see your workers’ locations, schedule and dispatch work orders, track hours and job progress, and monitor incoming service requests with ease. Tracking your workforce while they are in the field also means you can allocate work orders faster and manage task distribution on a daily basis.

Each field service management solution offers its own unique set of features to assist with scheduling techs. For instance, the FSM software Jobber features a flexible and fast job scheduling interface, a drag-and-drop calendar that is easy to navigate, and the ability to compare tech schedules directly, so you don’t accidentally overschedule someone.

Challenge No. 2: First-Time Fix Rate

First-time fix rate refers to the percentage of issues that are resolved on the first technician visit. FTFR is an important metric because repeat visits eat into profits, exhaust field service technicians, and frustrate customers who just want their service to work properly.

This has cascading effects on the entire organization as well as the entire customer base. Every time a tech has to return to attempt to fix a recurring problem, that means that they aren’t able to visit a new customer, creating a backlog of work orders.

If your organization has been losing time and money on repeat visits, field service management software might be able to help. Not only does this software allow you to keep an eye on your FTFR and other performance metrics, it also offers features that help to increase your FTFR and improve your overall workforce management, such as automatically providing a complete log of service details to the tech before they arrive.

For an example, check out the FSM software Synchroteam, which offers the ability to filter by skills, so you can assign technicians with the necessary expertise to specific jobs. This will prevent you from having to schedule a second service call simply because the first tech didn’t have the necessary skills or equipment.

Challenge No. 3: Safety and Liability

Providing customers with quality service, bolstering the company’s reputation, and leveraging resources efficiently aren’t the only issues that field service organizations are facing. Depending on the type of call, worker safety and liability can be a serious concern, especially if technicians are visiting hazardous locations such as the top of a radio tower. The central office or dispatch needs to stay in constant contact with their field workers and have a process in place for handling emergencies.

If employees feel like their safety is not being properly protected, they may eventually leave their jobs. And if enough people quit, that will have a huge impact on your service organization. A backlog of work orders will pile up, frustrating customers and burning out the remaining techs. You will also have to spend additional funds to hire and train new service technicians, further impacting your bottom line.

One solution is to use a field service operations tool that provides a “check-in” feature for field workers. Basically, the field team uses this function to notify dispatch of their arrival, and if anything happens, dispatch can quickly see where the employee is or where they last worked. Some FSM software such as Service Fusion even provide automatic GPS fleet tracking, so businesses know where their techs are at all times.

Challenge No. 4: Communication with Customers

Customer relationship management practices adopted by any organization have a huge impact on the success of the business, and field service is no exception. Retaining customers and gaining new ones requires clear communication, which is why keeping customers in the loop about their service calls will have a positive impact on your customer experience ratings. If your truck is running late, if you have to cancel, or if you have to order a part and come back on a different day, it helps to have a mechanism in place, so the service provider can communicate that to the customer.

However, communication with customers can also present privacy concerns. Ideally, customers’ private contact information should be shielded from field staff, and vice versa, for the safety of both parties. This can be hard to achieve without the help of a dedicated field service management platform that is specifically designed with this concern in mind.

The solution, in this case, is to choose a software platform that integrates customer relationship management with field service operations. If you want to go the extra mile, a branded customer-facing app with a self-service portal can reduce the number of calls and increase customer satisfaction. For instance, the field service management software Workiz offers seamless online booking in addition to a streamlined communication portal and call masking to protect the identity of both customers and techs.

Challenge No. 5: Performance Management

Every company needs precise and clear data to compare their performance against goals and make decisions that move the business forward, and this is especially true for field management organizations. While manual methods, like spreadsheets, paper documents, and calculators, can provide accurate analytics, they require a mountain of manual data entry and research and are prone to human error.

Switching to the automated dashboard and reporting modules that are offered by many field service apps can help decision-makers monitor trends and performance without adding hours of labor to their already full schedule. Plug-and-play reports are also a great way to analyze product demand and monitor the growth of your customer base with minimal effort. For instance, Skedulo offers a dedicated workforce analytics function to increase efficiency and support evidence-based decisions.

When they face challenges, many field organizations focus on increasing their workforce, opening additional contact centers, attracting new customers through multiple marketing channels, and other solutions. But, there’s no point in gaining more customers if you’re only going to lose them after the first (or second, or third) service call.

The Right FSM Software Can Help

Whether you are a local small business or a huge enterprise company, field service management is a complex industry that involves multiple levels of coordination. Implementing the right FSM software can help address many of the common challenges facing field service organizations, as well as challenges that are unique to your business.

Whether you need an enterprise-level solution like SAP field service management or automated features like those offered by WorkWave service management, there is an FSM solution out there for you. Our Field Service Management Product Selection Tool can help you narrow down the list of software that meets your needs.

The post 5 Common Challenges of Field Service Management appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

If you’re short on time or don’t know where to start, use our FSM Software Product Selection Tool to get a free, personalized shortlist of the best FSM software for you. We’ll ask you a few basic questions to get an idea of what you’re looking for and then match you with five solutions we think you’ll love. Click the banner below to get started.

Table of contents

1. Comparison table
2. Compare Jobber vs. Housecall Pro by features
3. By industry
4. Deployment options
5. Budget considerations
6. How to get software recommendations from TechnologyAdvice

Comparison table

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	Jobber	Housecall Pro
TechnologyAdvice rating	4.5/5 stars	4.5/5 stars
Works best for	Any sized business	Any sized business
FSM features
CRM	Yes	Yes
Cloud-based	Yes	Yes
Scheduling and dispatching	Yes	Yes
Invoicing	Yes	Yes
Follow up marketing	Yes	Yes
Mobile app	Yes	Yes
Website booking	Yes	Yes
Facebook booking	Yes	No
Website builder	No	Yes
Client notifications	Yes	Yes
Quotes	Yes	Yes
Online payment	Yes	Yes
Reporting	Yes	Yes
Recurring service agreements	No	Yes
Industry specializations
Appliance repair	Yes	No
HVAC	Yes	Yes
Plumbing	Yes	Yes
Painting	Yes	No
Roofing	Yes	No
Pest control	Yes	Yes
Home cleaning	Yes	Yes
Garage door	No	Yes
Electrical	Yes	Yes
Pricing
Three priced tiers	Yes	Yes
Free trial	Yes	Yes

Compare Jobber vs. Housecall Pro by features

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As far as the basics go, Jobber and Housecall Pro both offer features like scheduling and dispatching, invoicing, online booking, retention marketing, mobile payments, and reporting. But there are a couple standout features and slight variations on standard features that makes comparing them worthwhile.

First things first, if you don’t have a website, Housecall Pro might be the more attractive option. While Jobber lets clients book services through your existing website and Facebook page, Housecall Pro offers a website builder. This is a powerful feature that lets you choose your own domain (and take it with you if you leave!), build a custom site, and setup online booking. Plus, Housecall Pro sites are built with good SEO practices, so you don’t have to worry about design and site architecture docking you points in Google’s search algorithm.

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While Jobber doesn’t give you the tools to build your own website, it does offer an online booking feature for your Facebook business page. After a client submits a service request through Facebook, you can either convert it to a quote or a job. From there, you can schedule a service appointment, and your client will get a reminder text leading up to the appointment. Jobber also lets you create and run ads on Facebook and Instagram without leaving the platform.

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By industry

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Before deciding on Jobber or Housecall Pro, you’ll also want to take your industry into consideration. While you could probably use either solution no matter what industry you work in, Jobber and Housecall Pro do offer specializations for a number of different industries. Going with the solution that offers a specialization for your industry will at least make your life a little easier and could save you time and money in the long run.

Also read: Jobber Alternatives: 5 Of The Best Solutions For SMBs

Jobber offers specializations for 20 different industries, though the system’s features can work for most field service companies. Industry specializations include:

• Appliance repair
• HVAC
• Plumbing
• Painting
• Roofing
• Pest control

Housecall Pro currently offers nine industry specializations for its platform. Just like Jobber, you’ll still get good use from Housecall Pro if you’re in the home service or field service business. Specializations offer additional features to meet the unique needs of certain industries, including:

• HVAC
• Plumbing
• Window cleaning
• Home cleaning
• Pest control
• Electrical
• Garage door

It’s important to note that there is a significant amount of industry overlap between Jobber and Housecall Pro, but Jobber offers more specializations at the time of publishing. For a full list of industry specializations, view our comparison table of these two vendors.

Deployment options

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Say goodbye to your old on-premise solution — Jobber and Housecall Pro are both cloud-based solutions that run in your web browser. This model offers several advantages.

1. No need to download large applications that hog processing power
2. No more installing software updates
3. Better security and reliability from cloud computing

Since they’re cloud-based, Jobber and Housecall Pro also work great for mobile. Both systems offer mobile apps for iOS and Android, so your technicians can get dispatch updates, accept signatures, and take payment, all from their smartphone or tablet. If you use QuickBooks for bookkeeping, Jobber and Housecall Pro offer a QuickBooks integration.

Budget considerations

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Jobber and Housecall Pro offer three different pricing tiers, though Housecall Pro offers a fourth tier for enterprise sized businesses. This plan is by custom quote only. Every tier for both vendors can be billed annually or monthly, and each plan comes with a limited number of users. Housecall Pro lets you add additional users at a per-user-per-month rate. Jobber does not.

Also read: The 7 Best Housecall Pro Alternatives for Field Service Companies Looking to Upgrade Their Software

Jobber is slightly less expensive than Housecall Pro for the first three tiers. At first glance, the third pricing plan for both vendors appears to be identical, but Jobber offers more for your money. Housecall Pro’s third tier lets you add up to 10 users while Jobber’s equivalent tier lets you add up to 30 users. Jobber offers upgrades for additional users at a custom price.

How to get software recommendations from TechnologyAdvice

If you’re still undecided on which FSM to go with, we can help. Use our Field Service Management Product Selection Tool to receive a free, personalized shortlist of the best field service management software for you. We’ll get to know your needs and match you with five vendors we think you’ll love. Getting started is easy and takes less than five minutes.

The post Jobber vs. Housecall Pro: A Comparison Of Top-Rated FSM Systems appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

According to Microsoft’s 2017 State of Global Customer Service Report, 72 percent of respondents expect agents to already know who they are, what they’ve purchased, and have insight into their previous engagements. The challenges customers place on operations and service businesses will continue to grow (such as new shopping habits, required service levels, and delivery requests) and technology plays an important role in a company’s logistical success.

Elevated Expectations

The online shopping experience has completely transformed expectations for consumers and dramatically shifted buying behavior. Users weigh their options more often: two-thirds of consumers said the number of companies or brands they consider for purchase has increased significantly compared with 10 years ago. This shift puts increased pressure on logistics and service providers, as customers are willing to defect after just one unsatisfactory experience. The stakes have never been higher, so it’s key to examine just what customers look for in their service experience.

In order to keep costs low while meeting and exceeding the demands of your customers, you must integrate technology to manage crews, fleets, and overall business operations and ensure companies can save both time and money. Here are some features that are essential to keep up with changing consumer demands:

Route Optimization

The days of manually planning routes are a thing of the past. With the variety of options available to consumers these days, it’s imperative that route plans be efficient and flexible, accounting for last-minute changes while taking into account distance, vehicle availability, and more. With route planning technology, same-day delivery and dispatch changes can immediately be sent to drivers, allowing businesses to accommodate customer requests with ease and provide the visibility customers are looking for. The right software will live by the rules implemented by each business, providing specific time windows that deliver the visibility that customers expect.

Flexible API

With the vast variety of software available to business owners, it’s crucial that a business owner looks for solutions that integrate with one another. A routing software with a flexible API will streamline business operations and help provide a seamless experience without having to import or export routes. API integration with customer relationship management tools (CRMs) unlocks the power of real-time data, and can allow businesses to, for example, keep track of which customers were visited, when a driver checks into an appointment, and when a driver checks out.

GPS tracking

Show customers that their time is valuable by providing full visibility into delivery and arrival times. Vague arrival windows and late deliveries leave customers frustrated and feeling like their time has been wasted. Implementing GPS tracking allows businesses to provide customers with an accurate live ETA on their delivery or service, enabling them to address delays in planned schedules while notifying customers of any changes in real time.

GPS tracking is also a powerful tool for business owners, providing an extra layer of visibility into their workforce. GPS tracking can help showcase driver behaviors, alerting a fleet manager of unsafe behavior. This is not only critical in understanding driver behavior patterns and ensuring that drivers stay on route and on schedule, but it also shows drivers that their company is involved in the day-to-day processes and is using the data it receives to try and help make the workday better and safer for drivers.

Mobile Apps

A mobile solution that combines route planning and GPS tracking helps businesses stay connected to their workforce at all times. This added visibility provides a real-time look at driver progress, planned routes and current exact locations. Making changes to driver schedules can be done in real-time with the aid of a mobile app, as updates can be dispatched directly to the drivers’ phones, eliminating the need for distracting phone calls.

Arming field crews with mobile apps can also enable them to access customer information right on the spot, so they can prepare for appointments ahead of time and also see notes from previous visits that can aid in identifying cross sell and upsell opportunities.

In order to thrive in the online age, operations and service businesses need to reevaluate their business strategies, putting a renewed focus on satisfying their customers’ expectations. Simply put, what was considered satisfactory a decade ago is no longer enough. When equipped with the right tools businesses can conquer customers’ new demands while exceeding expectations.

Kerry McCane is Director of Field Service Product Management for WorkWave. Previously, she was CFO at Clockwork Home Services, LLC, a large, international franchiser of field service brands. Kerry spent eight years consulting for small businesses of all types, helping owners to improve business operations and profitability in preparation for sale. She has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Kansas State University and an MBA in Operations Management and Finance from the University of Missouri.

Top Field Service Management Software Recommendations

The post Field Service Customer Expectations are Changing – Can You Keep Up? appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

Safety doesn’t matter , until it does. You don’t care about safety or appreciate it until something goes wrong. You don’t think about the oxygen masks on the airplane until your flight hits turbulence. You don’t appreciate the airbags and crumple zones in your car until your car gets into a crash.

For as much as we overlook it and take it for granted, safety products and procedures have very real, substantial impacts on our lives and businesses. Airbags reduce passenger fatality in crashes by up to 30%. The lost productivity in the United States due to workplace injuries, often from unsafe practices, costs employers $62 billion per year , more than the GDP of 91 countries.

And that’s just physical safety , what about the safety of your business? We’ve all rolled our eyes at HR-mandated seminars on workplace practices and compliance. But these activities have very real costs as well. The average case of timesheet fraud costs a company over $70,000. When an employee does substandard work for a customer, that can end with your company in court , thousands of dollars in court fees and settlements, not to mention the cost of a damaged reputation. In some cases when substandard work is provided, a contractor or business owner can end up in jail.

These scenarios are enough to keep business owners up at night , but they can be mitigated and risk can be easily managed with the right practices. For contractors and service businesses, field service management software can help to minimize risk to employees, owners, and customers , keeping everyone happy and out of trouble.

Proof of Work and Labor

The core of FSM programs is work order management for both the office and the customer , the office is able to outline what the customer requests are, giving the technician the right information to complete the job. The customer then receives a digital invoice and documents for the work order, showing them the work was completed for their records.

This digital trail is the most basic utility provided by FSM, available in every system from the most basic to enterprise-level deployments, but it’s also one of the most powerful utilities that keeps businesses and their employees safe from legal liability in a number of ways.

• By using a FSM application, technicians can attach photos, videos, inspection forms and more to the work order , visual proof of the work completed.
• Many FSM applications have geo-tracking for mobile devices. This allows system administrators to see where there technicians are throughout the course of the day.
• Some field service applications provide an audit log for work orders and customer records , which allow business owners to see a full history of how a work order has been edited.
• Some field service applications allow for technicians to complete digital forms, such as an inspection report or installation checklist. These steps ensure that procedures and protocol are followed.

These seemingly simple functions within FSM programs provide a ton of protection for companies, employees, and customers , and make it easy to expose parties that aren’t telling the truth.

Let’s look at a real-life scenario where this would play out: Cindy hires Bob’s Builders Corporation to install new kitchen cabinets. Bob sends Tom to go install the cabinets. A week after hiring them, she claims the work was low quality and her cabinets are all messed up. She leaves Bob’s Builders negative reviews, and threatens to take them to court over the cabinets.

Without an FSM program, it becomes the word of the customer against the word of the contractor, leading to a drawn-out battle in court costing both parties significant time and money. It’s an ugly situation for all parties, and it’s unclear who is telling the truth.

With an FSM program, Bob , the head of Bob’s Builders , can consult his field service program and pull up the work order, Cindy’s customer records, and more. From there, one of two results happens:

• Tom completed the work order for Cindy with photos and videos attached, with timestamps, of the cabinets being installed and completed. Tom has completed the installation checklist, and his geo-tracking shows that he was at Cindy’s house at the appropriate date and time. Cindy is clearly making up a story to get free cabinets, and Bob has the proof to take to court so that he can protect his business.
• Tom completed the work order, but did not attach photos or videos with timestamps, or complete an installation checklist. The audit log shows that Tom logged in and changed the work order after the fact. Geo-tracking shows Bob that when Tom was supposed to be at Cindy’s house, he was actually at the baseball stadium. Bob now understands that Cindy has a legitimate complaint, and can work with her to make things right. (Tom is probably also going to get fired).

This level of transparency provided by field service applications protects good customers, good employees, and business owners , allowing owners to minimize their risk and improve their reputation. They can also use their FSM as a tool for selling , showing customers that they will have transparency throughout the process of working on their home.

Preventing Safety Hazards

The world of field service can be fraught with danger at times , climbing ladders, power tools, electrical equipment, and heavy machinery all have the potential to cause injury. Some industries are more dangerous then others , roofing, for example, has the fifth-highest death rate among all construction industries with 30 deaths per 100,000 FTE works. There’s no shortage of injuries in the field service and construction space contributing to that $62 billion in lost productivity per year.

In addition to hazards for workers, there are risks for customers as well. A improperly installed electrical system can cause fire, electrocution, and even death. Collapsing roofs, falling fans, improperly constructed walls , all have the potential to cause serious injury. In some field service industries, the risks can be even bigger, such as the field service companies responsible for medical device repair.

No software is a replacement for proper safety practices , and unfortunately, the manual nature of field service means that accidents and injuries will occasionally happen. But, the right FSM with the right procedures can minimize the risk of harm for contractors and patients.

• Work orders or digital forms with required or sequenced steps ensure that field technicians are following the right safety procedures in the field. For example: they can not move to the next step of the work order without confirming that the main power to the home has been shut down.
• Timesheets and geo-tracking require technicians to log time and travel , ensuring that regulations regarding the amount of time worked are within legal guidelines.
• Attached documents to work orders such as disclaimers can be used to inform customers of potential hazards with new equipment or construction in their home.
• Asset management and recurring schedules allow service teams to create service schedules for equipment such as furnaces and ventilation systems , allowing them to make sure that these items are operating correctly and not causing harm to customers.

The right software alone doesn’t promote safety , it’s the right software with the right procedure and right attitude. All three together can help contractors and service teams cut down on workplace injuries.

Legal Risks and Compliance

The lifecycle of field service management and safety doesn’t end with customers, technicians and business owners. In many industries, regulatory bodies such as the EPA, FDA, and local governing agencies have requirements for work performed in the field. And the risks can be drastically higher. Sure, Cindy the customer from our earlier example can sue you for a few grand and smudge up your reputation , but if you violate the rules set forth by the federal or state government, you could end up with not only a steep fine, but in some cases you can lose your business or even be sentenced to jail time.

Legal compliance generally is only a concern for specialized field service industries , maid services or a garage door repair service don’t have much to worry about. But for the industries that do have a high risk of legal issues, the penalties for non-compliance can be extremely high. Examples of industries where regulatory bodies have substantial influence include the following:

• Commercial Pest Control: Particularly for companies who deal with food processing plants, restaurants, and public buildings; commercial pest control companies need to document their usage of pesticides and chemicals per environmental agency guidelines.
• Exhaust System Cleaning: For companies that clean exhaust systems for restaurants, they need to be able to provide documents of what they did and when for their customers. Restaurants that do not have proof of exhaust cleaning can be closed by the board of health, and put the exhaust system cleaning company on the hook for liability.
• Medical Device Repair: The FDA has strict guidelines for companies that deal with the repair and installation of equipment in hospitals. For companies providing these services and the hospitals with this equipment, they need to have full records of the equipment maintenance history. Per the UDI Compliance mandate, every piece of equipment that touches a patient must have a barcode that identifies it, and every work order must be linked to a serial number.

The medical device repair industry is among the strictest of any industry, with the FDA requiring 65 data points for EVERY device to be electronically submitted to the FDA for review. Technicians who work on these devices must be trained and certified on certain equipment types. The barcode for the medical device must be scanned before the service begins. And all of these data points must be collected on site , they can not be entered after the service.

Even something as simple as the technician writing down the work order information and bringing it back to the office for a different team member to type into the computer violates the terms and conditions set forth by the FDA and could result in fines and jail time.

The high level of documentation provided by FSM applications protects provider and customer alike. If something does go wrong at a food processing plant or restaurant, service providers can easily look to work order records and digital forms to discover what happened at a site on a given day. And the geo-tracking functions of FSM combined with audit logs make it simple to see where a form was created from.

Conclusion

Disputes between contractors and customers cost both parties thousands of hours and millions of dollars each year. Contractors struggle to maintain a good reputation, while customers are afraid of being cheated. Add legal liability and regulatory bodies to the mix, and you end up with a recipe for headaches, distrust, and serious damage.

By providing specific workflows, detailed documentation, and making it simple to share information, field service management relieves some of this pain for businesses and customers alike.

Barry Dyke is the Marketing Specialist for ServiceBridge, a Chicago-based software company offering customized franchise management solutions for service-based companies throughout the United States and the world.

Top Field Service Management Software Recommendations

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The right software can not only bridge that gap, but make communication better than it ever was before. But with so many solutions out there, how do you know what you need? A customer relationship management (CRM) system, could be the answer as it solves for everything from tracking customer information to organizing billing to connecting your team.

You’ve probably heard of CRM software being used for in-office sales teams, and wonder if it’s right for a field service teams. Here are a few reasons why it is.

1. Better customer information means better customer service.

Let’s say you do a job for a client then a year later, they call you back for repeat service. It’s going to be tough to track down all their customer details if you’re just storing information in paper files or, even worse, your head. But with a CRM, all that information is accessible in a click. You’ll be able to pull it up immediately to both better understand what work and resources will be required, and to deliver an improved customer experience by taking note of past successes and failures.

You can’t remember everything about all your clients, but with a CRM, you don’t have to. Whenever a tech has a customer interaction, they record the information in your CRM. You’ll have improved, digitized records and look more organized and professional to your customers.

2. You and your team can access important customer information anywhere.

With cloud software becoming the standard for most CRMs, you and your team can access important client details no matter where you are—making CRM more than ideal for field service. The dispatch team can record a conversation that happened over the phone and the tech can record important notes from the site.

Since a cloud-based CRM works over the internet and doesn’t need special hardware, you can access your important customer information from a computer, tablet, or smartphone. And, as soon as one person at your company adds a note or updates a client record, everyone with the CRM will have access to this important information‚Äîno delays.

This means you and your team will always have the most important information at your fingertips, without adding unnecessary steps to your internal communications processes.

3. A CRM helps you win and keep more business.

One of the most critical components to closing potential new business is follow-up. After a lead gets a quote, you need to check in about questions and to show your readiness to do the job. A CRM makes the process of following up with your leads easier. It will track your leads and automate alerts so you know what quotes you need to follow up on and when.

A CRM will also help you market to your existing customers. With a CRM you can segment your customer list, so you can contact existing customers with targeted offers. Reach out to your seasonal clients with reminders and deals at just the right time, re-engage customers you haven’t heard from in a while with tempting offers, turn one-off jobs into recurring work‚Äîall of this is easier when you are tracking your customer information in a CRM.

So what type of CRM is right for you?

Choosing the right CRM can be a daunting task. There are hundreds of CRMs on the market and each brings a different feature set at a different price point.

A good CRM should be all about the “R” in the acronym‚Äîrelationships. The two most critical players in your business’s relationships are customers and field service techs. Consider, or maybe even survey, the wants and needs of each.

Have you been lacking in timely communication with your customers? Do your techs have too much manual paperwork that slows them down from getting to the next job? Are techs missing relevant details when they arrive on site? Or maybe customers find the billing process confusing?

Make a list of the areas of greatest need. Every CRMs on the market prioritizes different features, so take the time to research and make sure that the CRM you choose helps you meet your customer relationship goals.

To advance this process, it may be useful to narrow down to systems tailored to your industry, such as a field service management system (FSM). At the core of any good FSM system is a CRM designed to specifically connect the many moving parts of a field service company. Good FSM systems build upon the CRM by adding:

• Quotes
• Crew schedules
• Work orders
• Route optimization and GPS tracking
• Invoices and payments

A CRM goes way beyond in-house sales teams and far past closing new leads. It helps manage the relationship on two sides so both your customers and your techs are more satisfied with the work. With the right research, you’ll find the CRM best suited to your industry and business, and it will help you provide better customer service, empower your team, and win more business. Use the CRM Product Selection Tool to get a list of vendors today.

Barret Hall is an experienced digital marketer who’s helped a number of small businesses grow their online presence. He works on the Jobber marketing team and writes about marketing, customer service, and technology at Jobber Academy.

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