Success in the field service industry requires balancing various tasks handled by dispersed teams. Service technicians travel to customers’ homes to complete jobs, and office staff work behind the scenes to provide dispatching, job scheduling, invoicing, and more.
Small businesses, such as residential contractors, may be able to manage manual processes initially, but as they grow, they need a more reliable solution to streamline efforts and deliver a better customer experience. This is possible with field service automation. Keep reading to learn more about field service automation software and its benefits or discover the powerful capabilities behind sera's field service management software in a demo.
Field service automation is a technology that automates day-to-day field service operations. This includes dispatching, scheduling, routing, inventory management, and customer relationship management. The main purpose is to reduce inefficiencies, which boosts the employee experience and customer satisfaction and often helps contractors seize greater profitability. Field service automation can also decrease issues due to human error, help with asset management, and enhance data collection.
Various field service organizations leverage automation systems to streamline business processes. Some field service automation software is designed for residential businesses, while others are intended for commercial contractors. Additionally, some software is best suited for specific field service companies, such as HVAC, plumbing, or electricians. Therefore, you want to research automation solutions thoroughly to choose the best option.
The main benefits of field service automation are saving your business time and money. However, from these advantages come significant implications for the customer and employee experiences, as well as profitability. Consider the following reasons to invest in field service automation:
Field technicians and back-office staff can attest to how time-consuming it is to complete certain service tasks manually. Whether it’s filling in spreadsheets, ledgers, or similar documentation, these tedious duties can impede productivity. Field service automation digitizes files to streamline processes. What’s more, these repetitive tasks are often more subject to error. Automation can ensure more error-free service delivery for greater customer satisfaction.
Field service automation leverages data to help contractors maintain the most productive workflows. For example, the software improves job scheduling and dispatching by considering factors like job priority, the tech’s capability, and available resources to assign techs to service requests. This ensures the right tech makes it to the right job, increasing the likelihood of first-time fix rates.
Some field service automation software also enables better fleet management and route planning. It uses algorithms that consider aspects like appointment time, techs’ location and availability, traffic, and fuel consumption for route optimization.
A common difficulty at field service businesses is maintaining communication between field teams and office staff. As a mobile workforce, field teams need a way to communicate with office staff about potential service delays due to traffic or jobs taking longer than anticipated. Similarly, office teams want to share updates about reassignments to techs in the field.
The best automation software is configured for mobile device use. The mobile app features the same functions as the desktop version and helps keep all teams in more consistent communication. Techs can also access customer information from the app to provide more personalized service.
There are many ways in which field service automation translates into cost savings. Scheduling and dispatching capabilities enhance workforce management, often reducing labor costs. Asset management functions decrease instances of over or understocking equipment and materials. With fewer human errors, businesses spend less money revisiting tasks to correct mistakes.
Overall, the increased efficiency of field service automation contributes to a better customer experience. However, automation helps in specific other ways as well. For example, it boosts communication between service teams and homeowners in case changes affect service delivery. For example, office staff can deliver homeowners real-time notifications with updated estimated arrival times.
Some field service automation software also serves as a customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Customer portals allow customers to review service history and invoices and accept quotes, but they also connect back to the contractor’s end to provide key data for decision-making.
Increasingly, customers demand self-service functions, such as 24/7 appointment booking. Some field service automation tools allow homeowners to schedule appointments from a list of available times without needing to call the office. This feature is not only more convenient for homeowners but also reduces the time customer service teams spend answering phone calls, freeing them up for more productive tasks.
For field service businesses that want more meaningful key performance indicators (KPIs), automation software offers real-time data for more informed decision-making. Dashboards showcase job details and financial information that serve as metrics for analyzing performance. Software equipped with data analytics will even compile data into detailed reports that make it easier to glean insights about KPIs.
Some field service automation software is only designed to streamline one area of the business, while others, like field service management software, are more comprehensive. No matter which you choose, there will likely be other tools to automate tasks, such as CRM platforms or accounting and bookkeeping software.
Field service automation software that integrates with other software is often the better choice because it enhances the capabilities of both tools. Additionally, software integration enables a much easier transition to new systems and reduces downtime.
Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), and predictive analytics — there are many new technologies and innovations affecting business operations across industries. While field service businesses should be aware of various developments, one they don’t want to neglect is field service automation. Investing in solutions like field service management (FSM) software not only has implications for operational efficiency — it can add more money to your bottom line.
At Sera, small and medium-sized residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors find FSM with the features they need. Our software streamlines tasks for office staff on site and techs in the field, delivering a better customer experience in the process.
Contact us today to schedule a 15-minute discovery call and learn more about Sera’s FSM software.