Efficiency is a business owners dream. When I started my irrigation business, it took me years to finally become organized and efficient. I tested out many different processes and systems to determine what my business needed to be effective in its day to day.
You may have to do this with your business as well. It isn't the most fun process, but once you find a way for your business to operate efficiently, you won’t believe what your company can accomplish and eliminate to become as successful as possible.
So what is one process your business can try out? How about work order software? If work order software has never crossed your mind as a way to make your field service business more efficient, it should. Here’s why:
Scheduling and Routing – With work order software, all scheduling and routing can be done electronically. No more filling in an already messy calendar or printing off schedules and routes for the techs to take with them.
With the routing system, your schedulers can also set up efficient routes. This will eliminate wasted time driving back and forth across town or servicing the same area multiple times a week, when instead these jobs should be done on the same day to save gas and time.
Work Order Management – Have you ever calculated how many work orders have been lost, misplaced, illegible, or dirty and a mess? I can bet a lot. When I owned my irrigation business, I had at least one of these a week. The techs handwriting would be terrible, they wouldn’t remember where they put it, or the office staff would have a stack so high, it’d be impossible to find anything in a timely manner.
With work order software, you have instant and automatic work order management. If a tech needed an additional part on site, the work order can reflect that. If a signature was required once the job was complete, the techs can capture that. Since it is all done electronically, your office can receive the work order as soon as the job is completed. This stops the information from slipping through the cracks and allows your company to get invoices out at a much faster rate.
Data Accessible in Field – Think of how many times your techs need to call in to the office to get additional data. Sure these calls may only last 30 seconds, but that can add up in the long run. Most work order software these days has the ability to be accessed in the field.
Usually referred to as mobile field service software, techs can access information from devices such as smartphones and tablets. Everything from their schedules and customer’s phone numbers to contact history and the ability to enter parts used can be done from the field. Time records can also be tracked allowing you as the owner to see who is being efficient on company time, and who may need to be watched a little closer.
An efficient business is a happy business. Living in a chaotic, unorganized world can only lead to problems for your employees and the company’s wellbeing. Invest in work order software and start improving your efficiency as well as company morale today.
Even after you get your work order software program implemented, there are still ways you can always improve your business. Check out the 33 Stupid Things Contractors Do (And How to Fix Them) to see what else you can be doing to make your business a well oiled machine!