FSM Solution for a Cleaning Business: What to Look For
The cleaning service industry is highly competitive, with multiple companies reaching out for potential clients in the same area. To some extent, that’s due to the fact that running a cleaning business is on average less expensive than other types of business. In any case, cleaning providers use every opportunity to stand out, including the implementation of specialized software, such as field service management (FSM) systems.
Choosing the right solution is not easy, though. What should cleaning companies take into account before adopting an FSM tool? Read on to learn what factors are definitely worth considering.
Convenient scheduling and GPS tracking
Like any field service, delivering cleaning services requires speedy and precise scheduling. Dispatchers should be able to distribute jobs among cleaners on-the-go and quickly make changes in case the order was canceled or postponed. Additionally, with GPS tracking, you will be able to monitor the location of your cleaning stuff in real time and assign jobs correspondingly.
FSM software can automatically gather all appointment details, such as time and location, and allows dispatchers to allocate jobs more efficiently. With some solutions, dispatchers can assign new tasks directly from the map and adjust the schedule on the fly, which is rather convenient. Another useful feature is keeping track of workers’ locations so that you can check it later should any issues occur.
Sending notifications
Seamless communication with customers and field workers is indispensable in the cleaning industry. When choosing an FSM system, you want to be sure it can send both notifications to cleaners in the field and reminders to customers about upcoming appointments. It’d also be useful to send follow-ups to clients after cleanings to collect feedback on the level of service.
Therefore, with automated and scheduled messaging, you can keep your customers and employees well-informed about appointments. Besiders, cleaners should be able to easily contact the dispatcher or the customer via the app to get details on the job or report if he or she is coming a bit late, for example. Timely communication can greatly improve both customer and employee experience.
Quality control
Poor quality of cleaning services is one of the main reasons for customer churn. Often, it’s the result of the lacking guidelines and a quality monitoring system. An FSM solution can help implement such a system and provide cleaners with all the guidelines and information they might need.
When choosing an automation tool, make sure it has features to ensure quality monitoring, such as checklists and photo reports. For example, a carpet cleaning company avoided legal claims worth $13,500 thanks to the fact that the cleaner uploaded «before and after» photos in the FSM app, proving that the carpet was already damaged before the cleaning.
Flexible and user-friendly interface
The cleaning industry is known for its high turnover rates that can amount to 200–300% annually. To keep your employees for longer periods, you want to be sure that an FSM app makes their life easier, not harder. Therefore, it should be easy to use and assist them in their work rather than serve solely as a watchdog.
Some solutions allow setting up multiple job templates and checklists for various services, such as general cleaning, sanitation, curtain or furniture cleaning, laundry cleaning, etc. These guidelines will ensure that even a rookie can make their best and won’t miss any steps.
Easy integrations
Last, but not the least, an FSM solution should integrate well with other software you use — for example, a CRM system or an appointment booking system on your website. This provides unprecedented flexibility to manage your business operations since you can bundle your tools into a connected system to enhance overall performance.
A handy solution, for example, is using online integration tools like Zapier that enables integrations with over 3,000 business apps and tools. However, if the specific application you’re using is not featured in Zapier, in most cases, you still can connect it to your tool via API. But it’s definitely worth looking into if you’re planning to connect an FSM app to other software you use.
Final thoughts
If managing your cleaning business has become a mess, especially as you upscale, implementing an FSM solution can greatly increase its transparency, efficiency and improve both customer and employee experience. When all of your field operations can be reached at a glance, the amount of time and effort spent on managing tasks also decreases.
With FSM software you can streamline all your cleaning activities into a single framework, thus raising the quality standards and increasing the number of jobs your cleaners can complete in a day, resulting in higher profits.
