Over the last few decades, there has been a tremendous increase in business organizations incorporating technology and automated tools into their operations. As a result, this had brought them unprecedented success such that it has become almost impossible to deny how much improvement technology brings to their work processes.
What're more, companies that take advantage of these tools easily establish a competitive market edge over their counterparts in the same business. One way of doing this is to increase customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores, as service providers with a 90% CSAT score can increase total revenue margins by 30%.
As exciting as it is, what you'll find more interesting is that many HVAC companies have also leveraged these technological tools to efficiently run their companies against its ever-constant field complexities while reducing the cost to the barest minimum.
So as an owner, operations manager, or technician, if you have learned about field service management software and you're wondering what it is and how it'll benefit your company and workers, this is the right place to find out. The following is a rundown of field service management software, how HVAC companies can use it, and its benefits.
What Is Field Service Management Software?
When you have a thriving servicing business with multiple technicians who possess various skill sets and a wide network of loyal customers, your main objective is to maximize those skills while offering the highest standard of services possible. Additionally, you want every customer to consistently receive this standard of service any time they request it, no matter how big or little the project is. A proven way to ensure this while enjoying many other benefits is by using field service management software.
Field service management software is a cutting-edge solution created to simplify operations while improving the quality of services. It's advanced software with features that help managers efficiently handle tasks while giving customers timely responses to their requests. In addition, this software is easy to use on smartphones, laptops, tablets, and desktops and doesn't require extensive technical knowledge. With it, you can:
- Create work orders for a field team
- Schedule tasks for all technicians per customers' request
- Manage your mobile workforce
- Create reports and conduct analysis
- Capture customers' reviews
- Chat with technicians in real-time
- Monitor on-job activities
- Send quotes and invoices
It's the modern-day project management tool for every business with field services. You can create the perfect synergy between office and field processes without a hassle.
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(Courtesy of Ryan Condon)
How HVAC Contractors Can Use Field Service Management Software to Their Advantage
There's no denying the fact that HVAC system operations involve numerous people, from project managers to technicians. So creating a synergy between all these participants while trying to satisfy customers might be daunting. The good news, however, is that many HVAC companies have leveraged the potency of the field service management software. As a result, they've been able to simplify the complexities of their businesses.
The software benefits reach the company and, most importantly, the customer who receives their service. While that's established, how exactly do HVAC companies use field service management software to achieve this end goal?
Once the software is incorporated into an HVAC company, the HR manager first uses it to create an employee database per skill-set. After this, they create an existing customer database per service demands, after which the operations manager uses both databases to smoothly schedule work orders. Here, a field team is created and the work orders are easily distributed per the requirements of the tasks.
This software allows project managers to oversee the human and material resources deployed to every location for specific tasks. It offers project managers an overview of the task involving the start and finish date and other necessary information relating to the project. It also offers an analysis that informs the decision of financial managers and the report of quality assurance officers.
Four Key Benefits of Field Service Management Software for HVAC Operations
The following are some of the benefits HVAC contractors can derive from field service management software:
1. Hassle-free Task Coordination
Field service tools help in scheduling, planning, and overall task execution. In addition, every level of task execution is easily coordinated with speed and accuracy, which positively reflects on the management of project costs. Task coordination is particularly increased with the use of mobile applications. These can be accessed by all stakeholders from managers to technicians.
2. Enhanced Productivity and Increased Profits
The underlying benefit that makes automated software tools useful is the ability to enhance productivity while increasing profits without wasting resources. As a result, more work is done and more income is generated. In 2019, 45% of mobile workers said they wasted significant time due to outdated or inaccurate job information. With a focused toolset, this becomes less of an issue, and productivity is dramatically improved.
3. Improved Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty to Brand
Every customer is satisfied when they don't have to wait too long to have their requests attended to. You can satisfy your customer, get amazing feedback, and further enhance their loyalty to your brand using the software, given its timely intervention in task delegation and execution.
4. Cost Reduction
Because you want to complete more work using the smallest human and material resources possible, the software allows you to avoid oversight risks and complacency that'll aggravate costs. This can be directly linked to an increase in a technician’s first-time fix rate. Top-performing field service providers boast an average FTFR of 88%.
Final Thoughts
Field service management software for HVAC contractors has far-reaching benefits for day-to-day operations that cut across all departments. You can include your operation on the list of growing companies leveraging modernized, automated tools to improve their field service operations.
