So, how do you show them new field service software will make their job better? Or that by using a mobile field service app they will actually reduce their time on the job site and amount of work they have to complete. It’s an odd thing to try and sell, doing less by doing more. However, that’s exactly what you are doing, as these mobile solutions will reduce their administration. Even if the technician is now doing all the administration work in the field.
Let’s spell out the specific reasons the new field service software must be implemented.
Explain short-term goals of field service software
Don’t get overwhelmed with all the details at once. Start by focusing on one task. Technicians using mobile field service apps don’t need to handle any more paperwork. It can be that simple and that easy to get a technician onboard with a field service software. They don’t have to carry around clipboards and do administrative work in their trucks. Through work orders on their mobile field service app, as well as checklists for compliance reports and recurring preventative maintenance, everything is being done electronically.
And while it may seem like they are doing more administrative work, the reality is, their time is just being better utilized. In the short-term, technicians completing all their administrative work saves the business time. Back office staff won’t have to process work orders and checklists for billing. Automation will take care of turning work orders into invoices. Technicians won’t be responsible for getting paper-work back to the office. They just have it pushed through their mobile device. That keeps them off the road and moving towards the job site, which is where a technician wants to be.
What are short-term goals:
- Remove the manual paper-work technicians need to complete
- Save the business time of technicians completing administrative tasks
- Have work orders and checklists electronic
- Automate work order to invoice process
Explain long-term benefits of mobile field service apps
Let your technicians in on the bigger picture and why you are implementing a field service software. The benefits will not only help the business grow but also continue to help the technicians in the field. By putting all work orders and service history into a field service software, technicians can access that history through their mobile field service app. This gives them greater insight into repair work, helping to find solutions to complex problems.
It’s also a way to streamline how the business functions overall. Scheduling will be easier, routing tools will get technicians to the jobs faster, and mobile apps will get service calls completed quickly. With many field service businesses moving towards field service software, it’s something technicians have to be comfortable with. That’s because, with increased competition, field service businesses need every edge they can get. So, that means going digital, speeding up the slow processes and automating as much of the business as possible.
What are long-term goals:
- Get more service calls scheduled with more technician work time available
- Add scheduling and routing tools to get technicians to the job site faster
- Streamline how work orders go from the office to the field and into invoices
- Have service history at a technician’s fingertips of every customer and every work order
What’s staying the same
Stress what your company does that won’t change – the quality of service. You’re simply implementing new processes so technicians will be better equipped for their tasks.
It’s important to explain to technicians why they are a crucial part of the process. Without them completing work in the field, there is no business to improve. When they are able to note exactly what was done on the work order, it completes the work order and moves it on to the next stage in the payment process. It can also update the inventory management system and show what supplies need to be replenished. And because they are using field service software, much of the process is now being automated. Everyone is connected, inventory is updated with real-time values and the business is saving valuable time on manual processes.
What stays the same, however, is the work the technicians do well. In fact, with mobile field service apps, technicians can do their job better. With more information from service history and inventory, they can deliver a much better customer experience.
Benefits of field service software:
- Technicians still provide the same great service, just with more access to information
- Greater insight into inventory and stock levels
- Assists technicians in their work by providing more training options
How to succeed:
To accomplish this, businesses must make their field service software and mobile field service app well integrated with the rest of the business. That way, be assured technicians and the business will be paid on time. And parts will be available when they need them. As well, it makes it easier to sell to your technicians the benefits of going with field service software.
Change is difficult for many people to accept, and technicians are no different. Young technicians use mobile apps, it could be foreign to your older technicians. Include plenty of training and continue to reinforce the benefits, both short-term and long-term of using a field service software. And continue to stress that the most important part of the job is them and the service they provide. And that adding a mobile field service app is for their benefit, to make their job easier.