How Technology Can Improve Your Field Service Operation

Running a company that requires field agents can be tough. Some days it may seem impossible to keep everything organized and running smoothly. There are so many factors involved. There are the workers in the field, plus scheduling, plus equipment tracking, plus a response center. Beyond that, you have to focus on customer service and speedy completion times.

It’s challenging work. Thankfully, technology can make your field service operation run a lot smoother.

Technology Streamlines Everything

With so many moving parts, the most important thing to do is streamline everything. You need a hub that manages customers, field technicians, and more. Right now, most field technician-based companies aren’t operating on a central hub.

Instead, they communicate through mobile phones and go about their day based on a schedule created in the morning. But what happens when a customer cancels, and you can’t reach the tech on the phone? Your company loses time and wastes money. Not to mention, you’re left with a frustrated tech.

What happens in case of an emergency? What do your techs do if they can’t get through to the supervisor’s mobile phone? They probably try to manage on their own, which ultimately leads to mistakes. Mistakes are not only costly; they’re dangerous.

When your agents go out and complete work orders, how is that tracked in the company files? Manually at the end of the day? Or is it tracked at all?

What happens when you get a new service request? How do you find the technician that’s closest, capable, and carrying the right equipment? What happens if you have a tech who is out on the job but needs help? How do they know who’s available and able?

All of these questions and operational problems highlight the necessity for streamlining the day-to-day. Field service operations need a central hub, but how do you find the right one?

Finding a Tech Solution for Streamlining the Day-to-Day

There are several project and customer management systems available today. Ultimately, the right choice for you and your company comes down to a few things:

• Budget
• Needs
• Number of Users
• Overall Goals

However, if you’re looking for the most robust streamlining platform out there, look no further than the Salesforce CRM. While you might think Salesforce is only for financial or marketing companies, it’s actually ideal for service industries, too. It’s especially useful for streamlining field technician management, thanks to its field service lightning features.

Salesforce’s FSL, is highly customizable, but it allows you to create a mobile-friendly field service hub right in your own CRM. It’s feature-dense, and not right for everyone, but it goes to show how there are solutions out there that genuinely simplify the inherent struggles of running a field tech service operation.

Utilize Technology When You Can

While upfront costs and learning curves might make technology platforms intimidating, it’s essential to utilize the tools at your disposal. If you run a company or manage field tech agents, you must be able to manage everything from one central location effectively. It’s also crucial that you can easily access your techs throughout the day. Technology allows you to do both.

Remember to consider your unique needs when shopping for software solutions. Don’t let upfront costs keep you from taking advantage of what could be the missing component from your business.