What geo-management does for time and cost in field services

Field service management is crucial to the success of any project, since it is what guarantees the work is completed in line with the client's expectations and stays within budget, deadlines and quality specifications. In other words, good field service management is what determines excellence in the client experience.

For many companies, delivering a high-quality project that is also on time, on budget, profitable and efficient is no simple task.  Especially when you consider that historically these companies ran on staff completing work orders on paper, dispatchers working off spreadsheets, and internal communication built from phone calls, text messages and emails. 

Three real, immediate benefits of adopting geo-management software 

The impact mobile technology has had on companies is undeniable. Particularly in making it easier to adopt software, apps and automation applied to field services.

Processes such as scheduling and planning, sending data, distributing work, collaboration, route optimization and work order management have been able to grow more sophisticated, to the benefit of companies that reached a new, more efficient and profitable way of working. 

The benefits are enormous; here are the three most important:

1- Higher service revenue: a recent field service study by TSIA showed that leaders in the field service sector earn almost twice the service revenue of their peers.

2- Operational efficiency: an Aberdeen study indicates that simply equipping workers with mobile devices results in a 7% rise in productivity.

3- Better metrics: an Alcatel study shows that among best-in-class organizations, field service management together with CRM, knowledge management and similar portals and solutions is fundamental to improving first-time fix rates and client satisfaction.

First steps toward adopting management services and reaching operational excellence 

Streamline and automate core processes. 

The main thing is for managers to improve routing and delivery times by getting visibility into field operations. Automating dispatch and scheduling systems makes it possible to review and compare routes while taking roadworks and peak traffic hours into account. It is also important to link  account review, case management and work order creation, so the process is smooth and less prone to errors and miscommunication.

Training staff is a crucial step

Training staff means giving dispatchers the tools they need to make informed decisions and automate tasks. It is important that the management system provides manual, automated and optimized scheduling and routing options, so schedulers can make the best use of the field technician.

At the same time, we can give field service agents proactive driving directions, guided workflows and checklists, and the ability to take photos and capture a client's signature from their mobile devices. They will also be able to schedule order follow-up directly from a mobile app.

Using and making the most of the data

All the information the management software gathers and unifies — work orders, timestamps, GPS data, client comments, technical skills required, costs and revenue — is a set of enormously valuable insights that sheds light on how effective the service delivered is and how efficient the automation is.

 Taking those insights and analyzing the data to find paths of continuous improvement is one of the main benefits of implementing this kind of field service management system. 

By analyzing that data, managers will be able to extract and detect trends and patterns that translate into substantial improvements in operations, later reflected in the experience and value clients receive. 

It is clear that adopting geo-management software like GoDoWorks for field services is not only affordable and easy to implement but highly profitable, since the benefits are immediate. What matters is always making sure the effort goes into improving and automating workflows, enabling productivity with intuitive solutions, and gathering and using data to ensure the business keeps improving.