October 9, 2020 Matthias Lübko 3 minute read

The importance of using the right Field Service Management tool for the daily tasks of your field service staff

Organization is key, that statement holds true for many tasks, but it may be particularly important when organizing the schedule for your field service teams. Working in an environment that provides service to a customer calls for exceptional tools and skills to succeed and provide great onsite service.

Effective field service teams rely on highly effective field service management tools. The right field service management software has many requirements it must fulfill. Automating and optimizing your ticket reception processes is a crucial part of an efficient workflow. With automation, you’ll spend minimum time dedicated to route planning and engineer dispatching. This will allow you to optimize the day for your field service teams and eliminate unnecessary wasteful process steps. An efficient solution will also include automated processes to support reporting tasks based on your provided timeline and will allow you to analyze and monitor your whole process in real-time.

All these features are essential for every innovative FSM solution. While some providers offer various features that are available on a charge basis, others include all available features on a fixed-price basis. Possible cost for implementation is another important aspect. Many organizations charge an initial fee for implementation or include it in their monthly pricing, while new innovative providers allow you to take charge of the process of implementation yourself, thus leaving room for potentially large savings.


How can the right FSM software support your field service workforce in their day to day tasks?

Working in the field usually means driving a car or truck, or any other form of vehicle, to get to the place of the intervention. It is important to make sure the tools and equipment are working perfectly. A mobile app should therefore always assist in necessary morning/evening routines to verify if the car is in perfect working order. If all tools are available, you’ll be reminded about other check-ups prior to starting/ending a working day. It should also offer health and safety tips in order to be prepared to serve customers during difficult times. This will ensure safety for your staff even when working under special conditions, like a pandemic.

The importance of using the right Field Service Management tool for the daily tasks of your field service staff

The right software will guide your workforce through their interventions and ensure that all process steps are followed. Administrative work will be reduced to a minimum. You can define and update processes that will be rolled out to the field in real-time. All this can be customized based on the service type, device type, or customer, even down to specific serial numbers or other relevant information for the task and the attached service contracts.

Once the intervention is completed and a service report has been submitted, the mobile app functions as a customer satisfaction survey. During the report signature you can ask the customer for an NPS rating about the delivered services. Customer surveys are often submitted after the intervention via email and response rates are usually low – so when done during the visit you will receive much more valuable feedback.

Another important element of field services is to always have available spare parts or other goods which are necessary at hand. Spare parts are usually ordered in advance from the back-office, however it might be necessary during the intervention to order parts for a second visit. This is only one of many additional aspects or tasks to consider during an intervention. The technician needs to know where the part is located or where it must be picked up. Ideally, the software is able to group shipments and reduce the number of pick-up points which the technician needs to visit. In the mobile app, the reception should be tracked and generate an automated alert in case any deviation from the ordered goods is detected.

It’s standard to report the status of the parts during or after the event and to initiate a return process. The mobile app should eliminate as many administrative and manual efforts as possible from your field service staff so they can focus on delivering the best customer experience.

The advantages the right Field Service Management tool offers, makes utilizing and implementing it imperative for a highly effective field service operation. It enables businesses to organize, prepare and guide field service staff through complex daily challenges and multiplies overall efficiency levels.  

 

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