In an industry with the word “service” in its description (Field Service), you better believe success is defined by the almighty customer.
With a recent customer satisfaction survey finding a “proven link between customer satisfaction, retention and profitability,” the customer’s experience and perception of service creates the benchmark from which success is ultimately measured.
Solve a customer’s problems the first time without making them wait and you’re a champ, make them hang around for hours or fail to resolve their issue, and you’re a chump.
Time is a customer’s most precious commodity. Leading field service companies figure out how to provide shorter appointment slots for their customers and show up on time. Still, most consumers often experience disappointing results. According to research, 51% are frustrated by a lack of punctuality, and only 28% are experiencing the 1-to-2 hour windows they believe are reasonable.
How can service organizations more effectively value and conserve their customers’ time, as well as their own? Experts concur that intelligent scheduling systems and advanced mobile service management tools—that provide real-time visibility in the field, and manage the entire lifecycle of service work orders—are the answer.
The Aberdeen Group refers to automated service management systems as a “game changer.” Why then do some companies still use Outlook—or other stopgap methods of scheduling and dispatching (i.e. paper, whiteboard)—when they can leverage the power of technology to: satisfy the basic needs of their customers, save themselves time, and make more money?
In an interview with Field Service News, Justin Guinn of Software Advice proposes that the 56% of service companies that aren’t using software designed for field service may be overwhelmed with choices (Capterra’s directory alone lists 408 options). Instead, they just plod along with what they have, being accustomed to the “comfortable disorganization” by which they are operating.
Ray Thomas, VP of sales at MSI Data, echoes Guinn’s sentiments, agreeing that smaller companies in particular—using Outlook, Excel, or other manual methods—are too busy working in the weeds to even recognize that change will help them work smarter, with better results. Thomas explains, “It reminds me of that cartoon where two cavemen are struggling to push a wheelbarrow with square wheels that’s stuck in a rut, but when they are offered round wheels, they say, ‘No thanks! We are too busy.’”
In their efforts to keep plugging away, some companies can make an argument for continuing to schedule and dispatch with Outlook. However, do the pros of scheduling and dispatching with their current flintstonian methods outweigh the cons?
The Devil You Know
As Thomas and Guinn point out, people get used to doing something a certain way and are often hesitant to change, especially if they are getting things done on some level.
This is most likely the case with companies who are already deploying Outlook, or similar email programs, to schedule and dispatch their mobile field force. They may already own Outlook and use it for company email accounts, so extending its functionality by utilizing its calendar and notes seems logical.
It’s also easy to set up, and there are low barriers to entry. Dispatchers in the back office can enter or change items on Outlook, essentially syncing the calendar with technicians in the field through their smartphones. In this sense, Outlook scheduling/dispatching is a step above non-digital methods where techs need to physically check into the office to pick up a paper schedule or check the whiteboard for assignment details. Learn more about field service dispatch software.
Yet, Outlook is not fully connected with all of the enterprise’s operations, offering no integration or automation with other systems and workflow pieces that are part of the entire lifecycle of the service call.
For instance, using Outlook, techs have no automated, fool-proof way of inputting parts used or labor costs. Speaking of parts, managing service through Outlook provides no real-time information on truck stock, which can cause techs to need an additional visit to a customer’s site to fix an issue. With the lack of necessary tools or parts being the leading reason when techs fail to resolve issues on initial visits, this creates a major pain point, as 63% of customers find the inability to fix problems the first time unacceptable (Field Service Index: The key to customer satisfaction.Trimble, 2015).
Field services need to be scheduled and managed within the context of an overall business flow in order to be truly successful. A schedule created on Outlook is siloed—operating in a vacuum with little-to-no capabilities for real-time data exchange.
This is inefficient and exasperating for service reps, as Field Technologies Online reports that 38% are frustrated with field tools that don’t supply all of the information they require to do their jobs properly. This lack of connectivity prevents both the tech and base operations from exchanging and accessing the information they need.
Whereas, field service management solutions provide fluid, real-time connectivity that syncs the field with the office in robust ways. Access to inventory, customer history, contracts, training guides and more allows techs to make decisions based on up-to-the-minute data with increased opportunities to provide proactive service. The back office also has instantaneous accounting and invoicing information and a plethora of advanced scheduling capabilities.
Ease Of Use
Outlook is fairly easy to use, and multiple techs can be managed at once. A dispatcher can open up several calendars on their monitor, viewing them side by side and going back and forth to make entries, edit, etc. This poses a few challenges, however, in both scalability and fallibility.
Managing a handful of techs, operating out of one office may be doable for a dispatcher using Outlook. It quickly becomes unmanageable though when a dozen or more techs are added, or spread out over more than one location.
Outlook offers no auditing or security features either. Appointments can be inadvertently moved, deleted or otherwise compromised either by accident, or—in a worst-case scenario where a tech wants to get out of an appointment—on purpose.
Fully scalable software solutions that grow with an enterprise provide drag-and-drop visual scheduling, GPS-enabled capability to route and track tech location, monitor job status, while offering an entire suite of sophisticated tools making it easy for dispatchers to match the right tech to each task. Dispatchers can even automate scheduling and work order generation for preventive maintenance service contracts.
Affordability
Many companies use Outlook and other manual scheduling processes because it’s affordable. They argue that they can manage their field operations without making a huge capital investment. What they probably don’t realize is that the cost of implementing an automated service management system can be relatively comparable in price to purchasing Outlook.
Additionally, service management systems can essentially pay for themselves and save money!
Adding up all the reductions in time and travel costs, companies can cut costs while opening up many opportunities for increased profitability. A recent report conducted by Software Advice found that an astounding 97% of service providers they surveyed reported an increase in the amount of daily completed work orders. This same study reports reduced fuel costs for 89% of the business owners they surveyed (that procured service management software with GPS capabilities).
It Can Be Scary Outside The Cave
Progress can be a scary thing at times. Like the Neanderthals in that cartoon, people can resign themselves to just keep their heads down and bare-knuckle it to get the job done. They can remain so stuck working in unproductive ways that they can’t see a better way—even when it’s offered to them.
In this survival-of-the-fittest world, evolution is mandatory for success. Those that pick up their heads and trade in square wheels for round ones will reap the rewards of investing in their own businesses and customers.
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