I was talking to one of our customers a couple years ago, and he told me one of the main reasons he loved our irrigation software was that it helped him get control of his guys. They were using company time, materials and equipment to service people who weren’t his customers. As soon as he installed HindSite, he was able to see who was wasting company time on non-company work. It was a real eye-opener to him, and saved him a lot of money.
With the financial need of some employees being higher than what you as an irrigation business owner can offer, side jobs are a risk to your business. Your employees may be using company time, materials, and equipment to service their side jobs without you knowing or benefiting from it.
Irrigation business software is a great way to control side jobs by either putting a stop to them or helping you to gain new customers.
Using field service scheduling and routing features provided by irrigation software can help you to track what your employees are doing and where they are doing it. Scheduling can set up the specific times a job should take, allowing you and your guys to know how long they should be spending at each job site. If you start to see their times are off, you can inquire about where and how they are spending their time.
You can also show your guys how long each work order should take, and if they do have extra time on certain days, allow them to go do side jobs. It is not the most ideal practice, but your employees need money and you need employees. Until the economy picks up a bit more and you can afford to pay your guys more, side jobs may be the only option you have.
If you do allow yours guys to do side jobs, ask that they take a device with them and enter in the customer’s data. The customer’s address, phone number, and email address can all be synced back to your office and into your database (with the correct field service software, of course). You should also ask your guys to enter any notes and keep a history of the side jobs they do, so you know what has been done on their property and what your company can offer. This allows you to gain a new prospect and broaden your marketing range during your next marketing campaign.
If you are trying to eliminate side jobs, you can offer a commission for all new customers that they bring in to the company. Irrigation software allows you to track where referrals came from and who deserves the credit for bringing in new customers, ensuring your guys still gain some profit from the side job, and you gain a new customer. A fear a lot of technicians have is that they will give up their side job to your company and not see any of the profit. A field service software program can ensure and reassure that the technicians are given credit where credit is due.
As I stated above, allowing your guys to do side jobs is not an ideal situation. You really want the jobs for your own company and you don’t want your time and materials used on jobs not beneficial to you. This however, cannot always be the case and your best bet is to invest in irrigation software so you have a better handle on the side jobs happening outside of your business.
Want to see other ways to save yourself out in the field? Check out our free eBook, the 33 Stupid Things Contractors Do – And How to Fix Them. You’d be surprised to find out the ways you are wasting money or not being as efficient as you could be and how simple of a fix it can be.