“You’re only as good as the tools you use”
Implementing new technologies like a field service management app is essential for all companies in the industry. Specifically, through the use of mobile, greater communication between dispatchers, service managers, and technicians will be achieved. Although the thought of shifting to mobile technology may be daunting for some, the transition may not be as difficult as expected. To survive in an increasingly competitive environment, businesses must embrace technology sooner rather than later.
This article discusses the importance of apps and how they can be used to improve business operations. As it stands, there are countless apps to choose from, many of which optimize a particular function of your business, including communication dispatching, scheduling, and even billing. Depending on what particular needs your business may have, mobile apps have proven to fulfill a variety of functions.
Below are some of the improvements you may see if mobile apps are properly implemented.
Real Time Data
For service managers, making decisions based on real-time data is far more efficient than making guesses or utilizing month-old information. With field service apps, gain access to data including technician utilization, speed of service, and even the location of technicians through GPS. Making personnel decisions as well as dispatching becomes easier when they are based on real-time data.
On-Demand Customer Information
Rather than searching through filing cabinets and endless paperwork, a wide range of mobile apps can be used for document management and recording customer information. Not only will this create efficiencies for your technicians by accessing data on demand, but you will also have the chance to impress your customers.
The most successful field service companies are ones that are able to secure repeat business, and finding ways to deliver a more efficient service will only add to the credibility of your business. Transferring records from paper to digital may be a tedious task but can provide a long-term solution for the backlog of paperwork so many businesses experience.
Make Payroll More Efficient
Apart from document management, more advanced field service apps allow for payroll integration from your technicians. Hand-written work hour logs, work orders, and equipment utilization need to be delivered to the back office. This often creates a large amount of data entry for administrative staff, which is not only time-consuming but prone to errors.
Think about how much more efficient your business can be if technicians can update everything from work hours, work orders, and equipment utilization directly from the field. Providing service managers with instant access to real-time data speeds up payroll and ensures accuracy as well. An effective mobile app ensures that payroll remains consistent and is processed on time.
Gather Technician Observations and Use it to Improve Business
When technicians service a customer, most of the time, only the bare-bones information gets recorded. By relying on paper, only certain information can be recorded before it is time to go to another service call. If you think about it, technicians are uniquely positioned and are given direct access to your customers.
Use this opportunity to gather as much feedback and information from your customers as possible. Use a mobile app to prepare questions or surveys that your customers can quickly answer or fill out. This information can be synchronized with the back office for managers to analyze. Through a simple app, you will be able to gather pertinent information regarding each technician, the job they did, and more data on a specific customer. A quick survey or a few questions throughout the day turns into business intelligence in the future.
Keep Everyone Connected
Through a field service mobile app, your entire team, from dispatchers, service managers, and technicians remain connected throughout the entire day. Field service apps let you communicate constantly with each other and make any last-minute adjustments instantly.
Direct the best-suited technician to a particular job, and instantly reshuffle your technician’s schedule to serve as many customers as possible. Using a singular mobile app will help streamline communication, and get people in touch much faster. Increasing internal communication will only stand to benefit the entire team, keep technicians more productive and drive revenues up.
"When you hand good people possibility, they do great things."