When a company is in the market for Field Service Management solutions, they first need to determine how their company is currently tracking and managing employees in the field. Next, they also need to understand how they want to transform these capabilities.
The company needs a system that is powerful enough to handle current and potential business, yet easy enough for managers and field managers to use on a day-to-day basis.
Here are some of the important things companies should look for when evaluating field service management solutions.
Scheduling and Dispatching
How are field workers scheduled and dispatched? Companies depend on their field service management solutions to manage complex scheduling requirements. The system needs to assign the right technicians to each job based on necessary skills, current location, availability, and customer preferences.
An organization does not want to deal with missed or delayed appointments, poor performances, or dissatisfied customers. (Remember, it takes 12 positive customer experiences to make up for one negative experience.)
In addition, the field service management system should be easy for members of the company’s operations team to use. Companies should look for an intuitive scheduling console that makes it easy to view current and upcoming jobs and their statuses.
Mobile Management
How do field workers manage themselves? The best field service management systems provide field workers with a mobile app that works on any smartphone or tablet. This app should enable employees to access the system anywhere and at any time, via a cellular connection.
Workers should be able to receive automatic updates and notifications in real-time, as well as send their own service updates and other important information back to the office.
Technicians and Field workers should be able to use the app to access technical information and guidance necessary to complete each job. According to Click Software, 52% of field technicians need but don’t have access to service manuals in the field, and 48% need access to a knowledge base – access to a knowledge base and appropriate service manuals for the job are also very important functions required of this mobile app.
The remote app should help the system generate precise arrival estimates for customers and provide field workers with the best route to their next job. The app should also provide information to the main office regarding the status of each job and the location of each technician in real-time.
Parts, Labor and Equipment Management
How are parts and equipment obtained, stored, and allocated to individual jobs? Are the correct parts on the truck for the field worker’s scheduled stops? Is it easy to have labor time for jobs entered and approved?
The service should include easy-to-use processes for purchasing, warehousing, and distributing parts to individual jobs; tracking and approving labor time entries; as well as managing trucks, equipment, and other company assets.
Employee and Contractor Management
How are employees and contractors managed? Most companies use a mix of in-house and contract employees for their fieldwork. The field service management solution needs to manage not only internal workers but contractors working in the company’s direction. That means tracking and managing availability, costs, skills, training, and capabilities for each job.
Back Office Integration
How easily does this service integrate with the company’s existing back-office systems? Organizations should examine not only the initial integration but also how the service meshes with ongoing operations. Companies should also determine who does the integration – the company’s IT staff or the service provider?
Security
How secure is the system? Companies need to ensure that business, customer, and employee data is safe from external attack or internal breach. They should insist on the latest enterprise security methods and technologies, with special attention given to protection from phishing and other social engineering attacks.
Let SPAR Solutions help implement your Field Service Management Solution
Field Service Lightning from Salesforce.com has become the world’s leading platform for organizations looking to transform their Field Service Management capabilities.
SPAR Solutions specializes in helping businesses implement and manage field service management solutions. Our team of certified Field Service Lightning experts have years of experience with the entire Salesforce.com platform, including field support, logistics, inventory management, routing optimization, and more.
We can help your organization move to a state-of-the-art field service solution that will increase your company’s efficiency and meet SLAs while elevating your field workers’ ability to significantly enhance your customer experience.
Contact SPAR Solutions to discuss your field service needs.