How to Choose a Field Service Automation Tool: Four Practical Tips
Running a field service business is not easy. To stay competitive, a company should offer a high-quality, sustainable, and predictable service while reducing costs and maximizing ROI. But how to manage your customers, field employees, appointments, paperwork and make it efficient?
Thanks to field management software, business owners and managers can now solve these tasks. But there are dozens of apps and tools out there; how to choose the one that’s right for your company? Here are four significant factors to consider.
It should work great on mobile
To make sure your field management software will add value, it should provide an excellent experience for those who will use it, your employees. If the system offers a poor mobile app that works slow or crashes often, or if it is no mobile app and all operations should be performed in the mobile browser, it will be a nightmare for your staff.
The better the UX is, the less friction is associated with the implementation, and the faster you will see the positive results and your metrics growth. So, it is crucial to find field service tools that provide high-quality iOS and Android applications, as this is what your employees are used to in their personal life.
The business tool should be as convenient as an app the person uses to order food or solve other tasks. If the product you are considering does not have mobile applications, this is a big red flag.
Planado provides applications for iOS and Android that are constantly improved in terms both functionality and the user experience.
The tool should improve the quality of service
The software you are about to implement needs to contribute to the quality of field service itself. This means you need to look for apps with features aimed at better performance, higher efficiency, and service sustainability. For example, Planado features checklists that the field employee should use during the assignment completion. It may seem too simple, but such step-by-step checklists allow to significantly improve the service in multiple ways:
- when the checklist is used, there is no way to forget to do something important;
- checklists help new employees to start delivering great results right away;
- when all operations are described in a list, the quality of service is predictable and sustainable.
Also, the field management system should provide rich reporting capabilities. For example, photo reporting in the Planado app allows managers in the office to instantly evaluate the job done and ensure its high quality.
Advanced planning capabilities increase ROI
Another advantage a new field management system should provide is advanced planning, as this is the key to improved effectiveness and increased ROI. For example, suppose you will use a flexible schedule and track your field employees and contractors on the map. In that case, this will unlock an opportunity to move their appointments to build optimal routes to save time, gas and finish more assignments within a day.
Planado field service management platform allows real-time employee and schedule management. The management team in the office is always aware of an employee’s current workload and can alter his schedule on the go.
Integrations with business tools are crucial
There is no silver bullet for reaching maximum business efficiency. It is impossible to elevate the whole business by adding one tool to your toolbox. Synergy is key to success as tools may deliver better results via integrations. Bundling your field service management software with an ERP system will give you a significant boost. So, the more integrations the product provides, the better experience you should build using it, and the better results will be achieved.
This is why we here at Planado are constantly adding new integrations with business tools that allow customers to boost their field service and improve effectiveness. Learn how Planado and a popular CRM integration allowed a John Deere dealer to increase the field service’s ROI and revenues.
