6 Ways to Overcome Field Service Management Pain Points

Many points challenge field service management. However, field service management software can eliminate all these pain points.

There are some challenges service technicians and companies suffer from. This becomes double fold while trying to win customer satisfaction and increase profits. For example –

• Poor technician coordination and communication
• Unclear target achievement
• Technicians lack task and location clarity
• Inefficient resource allocation

But worry not! You have field service management software to your rescue. The perfect soothing Balm for all the pain points in service.

Let’s dive in and read all about the pain points businesses are struggling with. And just how the software helps deal with them.

Ouch! That Hurts- Pain Points of Field Service Management

Field service management has challenges, but every problem has a solution!   TrackoField’s powerful field service management software tackles these issues with ease.

1. Scheduling and Dispatching Conflicts

Effective technician dispatch and scheduling are one of the main obstacles. It is tough keeping track of –

• Technicians’ availability,
• Day’s or week’s schedules,
• and current whereabouts.

This may result in inefficiencies and longer response times.

For example – an increase in call requests between technicians and office workers. More time spent driving rather than attending to clients. Lastly, the deployment of technicians who are not qualified for the tasks at hand.

🏆The Solution: Automation-driven field staff management platforms can speed up reaction times. The platform provides real-time information on technicians’ locations and availability. This aids in scheduling and dispatch procedures.

For easy scheduling, service managers can monitor their technicians’ whereabouts in real-time. They can view task timelines and routes taken.

With a flexible work calendar, TrackoField lets you easily plan jobs. You can drag and drop them to reschedule, even at the last minute.

Now you can expect A-grade performance from on-site technicians. They have their schedules in hand and are aware of their responsibilities in advance.

2. Poor First-Time Fix Rate

Businesses in field service management should aim for a high first-time repair rate.

When technicians are forced to depart a job site before the task is completed, the customer may become irate and choose to work with someone else. Clients may begin to believe that your technicians are showing up unprepared, which will only end up costing them more money in labour hours.

In order to be completely prepared when they arrive at the job site, technicians need greater knowledge of the jobs they will perform, as customers are now expecting them to do the job correctly the first time.

🏆The Solution: Before arriving at the job, technicians may now check the equipment’s service history for the customer using TrackoField’s field service software and mobile apps. They have access to previous repair notes to aid with a quicker diagnosis.

The group of tasks feature makes it easier to assign many steps to an employee’s work and to share information with the following employee.

Additionally, before leaving for the job location, they may make sure they have the right parts on hand. As a result, the technician won’t need to leave the location as frequently.

Using selection and search capabilities, dispatchers can also help by scheduling personnel with the appropriate skill level, qualifications, and customer understanding in their initial dispatch.

3. Long ETA Window for Customers

Customers will be dissatisfied when told that the tech. will arrive within 4 hours. Such lengthy ETA windows are not appreciated. What customers want is shorter ETA and precise appointment windows. This not only helps increase CX but also beats the competition. You are sure to get repeat business.

Did You Know? 67% of customers want faster response time.

🏆The Solution:

Using field service scheduling software allows you to reduce the length of ETA. This software facilitates more precise scheduling. Managers can remotely monitor technicians’s appointment status. They can view task status:

• Pending

• In progress

• Completed

• Scheduled for the next day.

On-site staff log updates as they progress. This real time data can be used to communicate accurate ETA with consumers. Communicating dynamic ETA can bring clarity to the operation. Customers aren’t left in the dark and can better use their time that day.

4. Poor Communication with Field Service Technicians

Field service managers usually use texts and phone calls to stay in touch with their field staff. But often the on-site staff is not in network areas. This is a challenge especially when work requires every minute detail. Are you able to relate to these issues in field service management?

Even personal messaging apps fail here as communication is not as accurate as you will need. This will affect tasks and accountability negatively.

It is unreasonable to expect every employee to operate the equipment similarly. Managers may struggle to enforce standards on personal devices as staff may resist.

🏆The Solution

The issue can be resolved if you start using specially created software. These are designed to assist businesses in overcoming such field service management obstacles.

TrackoField has a specially designed executive app for field technicians and office users. This helps establish a solid network of sending and receiving information. It ensures field service employees and office executives can communicate in real-time. All the vital information is already on the cloud and visible on the executive app. This helps mitigate doubts and confusion among the field force.

5. Low Field Service Technician Productivity

Monitoring employee productivity is a typical business challenge for field services. Furthermore, you still need to figure out how to address the problem even if you believe that some employees are less productive than others.

Field service management software can give you comprehensive information on every employee. Such as how each employee uses their work hours, how much each field technician is billing for, and more.

🏆The Solution

When you are more adept at tracking employee productivity, you can find problems limiting it. For example, you may observe that some field technicians aren’t as adept at upselling as others, so giving them further training on your offerings could be beneficial.

Monitoring productivity can help you make more informed decisions about staff training investments. It can also help you uncover other problems, such as poor communication, misinformation, and policies that employees attempt to follow.

Employing software to track and resolve issues with employee productivity has several benefits. Not only may more productive employees increase earnings for your company, but they will also be better equipped to collaborate as a team.

Did You Know? 94% of service professionals in high-performing organizations cite productivity as a major of field service management software. 73% of field technicians say they spend too much of their day-to-day job on paperwork. 70% of field service companies find hiring and retaining technicians difficult.

6. Performance Management

Accurate and transparent data is essential for field management organisations, particularly for comparing performance to targets and making business-advancing decisions. Although manual techniques, such as spreadsheets, paper documents, and calculators, can yield precise analytics, they are prone to human error and demand significant manual data entry and study.

Did You Know! 86% of decision-makers at organizations with field service say it’s critical to scaling their business

🏆The Solution

Switching to TrackoField’s automated dashboard and reporting modules can help decision-makers monitor performance and trends without adding more work hours to an already hectic schedule.

Field Service Management Software – The Ointment You Need

Certain field service management teams find it challenging to address these issues while still trying to give their clients good service. TrackoField’s field service software is the ideal tool for addressing all of these issues and efficiently delivering services.

So, if you, too, want TrackoField to improve your capacity to provide excellent customer care while addressing any pain points hindering your company’s growth, schedule a free demo.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How can businesses ensure first-time fix rates in field service?

  By equipping technicians with the right tools, information, and remote support, businesses can improve first-time fix rates and reduce repeat visits.

• How does automation improve customer experience in field service?

  With automation you can improve customer experience as it offers -
  - Automated scheduling
  - real-time updates,
  - and digital proof of service
  All this ensures faster and more transparent service delivery.