Field service management is basically customer experience management. Customer experience improves considerably when the processes of dispatching improves. Also, field service companies need to find efficient ways to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Dispatching can play a key role in helping service companies achieve such goals while still providing a great customer experience.
One of the most challenging jobs in field service organizations is that of a field service manager. It is a highly stressful job where the person responsible must manage customers’ needs with constantly changing priorities, emergency situations and parts shortages. Additionally, they have to work with other managers to create the most efficient schedule for hundreds of technicians each working day.
Field service businesses can invest in a field service management software to improve efficiency. This software aids in dispatching and route management, allowing technicians to get the most from their day. Dispatchers can see all routes and schedules in one place so that they can make informed decisions about each work order and appointment.
Let’s examine how you can get more out of dispatch management for faster and more efficient operations.
Use Field Service Management System To Automate Scheduling
Automating improves efficiency and productivity in every domain, and field service management is no different. Automation simplifies decisions which, in turn, has an impact on the customer experience.
If a customer has signed a contract, they will want a technician who has a specific skill set to perform their work. When an appointment is made, automation can instantly schedule the best technician for the job in question. The dispatcher no longer has to search manually for the right technician.
Service calls can be automated with warranty information, which allows for a specific type or technician to perform a particular service. Field management software can also be used to create scheduling policies so technicians don’t have to work overtime or on holidays.
Automating service management takes some of the decision-making out of managers’ hands. This only helps them create better schedules.
Customers can rest easy knowing that the field service management system will automatically assign the right technician to their request. The technicians will have the right parts and the skill set to finish the job. It means that there will be fewer returns, a higher rate of first-time fixes, and overall better customer service.
Daily Optimization Of Technicians’ Routes
Route optimization is another type of automation in field service management. It is crucial to make sure technicians work efficiently each day, in order to reduce idle time and expenses and to increase technician productivity.
An optimized route can save your company thousands of dollars each month on fuel costs and vehicle repairs and help technicians get to their job sites faster. The management must be aware of the route plans of each technician as inefficiencies could quickly arise.
The dispatcher can be more specific with the customer about the time the technician will arrive with an optimized route. Since field service management software is able to optimize routes, the customer can receive a more precise timeline.
Late and emergency calls are necessarily taken into account when optimizing a route. This ensures that each route is optimized in a way to reduce driving time.
A field service app proves immensely helpful in this. With it, managers can adjust routes as necessary throughout the day. The field technicians can use their mobile apps to follow their work orders. This reduces the time it takes to communicate changes to the schedule and route. This prevents technicians from returning to the office for work orders.
There Should Be Flexibility In Field Service Management
It is common for customers to ask for emergency repairs at short notice. It is also natural for your priority customers to expect fast service. This is one the most challenging aspects of service management— to provide customer satisfaction without bias. But then emergency calls can disrupt the flow of work when the day’s schedule is already set and the route optimized.
Service management software is able to help service managers respond immediately to such requests. The dispatchers who do route optimization can see where their technicians go during the day. This is possible because the mobile app keeps them updated in real time.
So, when managers can check the route a technician takes or to see who is present in the area, they can re-route them towards an emergency call. Dispatchers can, in fact, see every technician in the team and quickly reassign work orders, reoptimize the routes and keep service moving despite minor interruptions.
Customers expect this level of on-demand service, and dispatchers can offer it through software solutions.
Field Service Management Is Increasingly Being Dependent On Data Management
Your managers will be able to handle field service operations better with the right data at hand. The more information and data they have, the better the decisions they make. A small business field service management software will allow them to get a better picture of their scheduling.
Remember, more information is better control. The managers will have all the information they require to make the most of their dispatching efforts. This includes real-time GPS tracking, mobile apps connected to field service management software, and AI tools. The result? Aggressive business growth!