Boost profits with these 3 job tracking tips

Read our blog to see why savvy field service businesses are leveraging automation for profit boosting job management and job tracking.

For many field service businesses, job tracking and job management is a big challenge.

Here’s why:

• Over 50% of business owners say they spend at least two hours a week building team’s schedules
• 52% of field service businesses still use manual methods for job tracking
• Over 50% of technicians waste time on a job due to lack of survey history and manuals

Essentially, heavy reliance on manual methods like spreadsheets, whiteboards, legacy systems and paper-based documents = delays, errors and confusion.

If this is you and you’re seeing appointments fall through the cracks and not delivering speedy or reliable services to your customers, you’ll soon suffer from severe reputational and financial damage.

But enough of the doom and gloom.

The good news is that the world of job management and job tracking software has finally caught up with the digital evolution. Moving towards automated job management, you can actually guarantee that the right technician is in the right place — every time.

Say hello to strategic planning and flexibility to keep your entire team and business running smoothly.

Let’s see how.

WHY LEADING BUSINESSES LEAN ON JOB TRACKING TECH

Less than half (just 48%) of field service management businesses are using project tracking tools.

But those that are have reported substantially growth benefits that far outweigh any minor costs toward implementing the new tech:

• 40% experience growth
• 44% see an improvement in SLA performance
• 42% better customer retention
• 18% better service profits

For businesses looking to differentiate and personalise their services, reduce workforce costs, improve employee productivity and overall operational efficiency, it’s a no brainer. 

Keen to learn more about customer satisfaction? Find out why effective job tracking is key to delighting customers.

HOW EXACTLY DOES JOB TRACKING SOFTWARE SUPPORT GROWTH?

Let’s delve into the top three ways savvy businesses leverage job tracking software to boost growth.

Decrease journey times and fuel costs

With the price of petrol spiking to an eight-year high in the UK, reducing travel times doesn’t just increase the number of jobs you can attend each day, but it also slashes your cost to serve. That said, if you don’t have complete visibility over your workforce, it will be challenging to plan routes without first spending hours figuring it out. 

Cue: job management software.

Good platforms will have a built-in intelligent scheduling assistant, which is a tool that matches technicians with jobs based on location, skill set, vehicle type and traffic information. What this means for you is you can optimise hundreds of jobs at the click of a button, making it simpler than ever to plan efficient routes. 

The end result? Your back-office team can spend less time on creating error-prone manual schedules and, instead, focus on delivering a better service to your customers and helping your business to grow.

AUTOMATICALLY MATCH WORKERS TO JOBS

For your schedule to be as effective as possible, you know you’ve got to keep your first-time fix rate high. But, approximately 15% of issues aren’t resolved during the first appointment because the assigned technicians don’t have the required skills.

Unfortunately, when you have to keep making additional appointments, you cause delays in your schedule and reduce the number of jobs you can attend each month.

But, as we’ve just touched on, job tracking software can match workers to jobs based on several key factors, including qualifications and skill set. By matching the right person to the right project, you can enhance your first-time fix rate.

Better still, the best field technician scheduling software will come with an integrated app that allows your technicians to view everything your back-office team can see via their mobile devices. This means they’ll be alerted to any changes in their schedule in an instant.

The end result? Your team can respond rapidly to urgent requests and re-route the most appropriately skilled workers as and when needed.

ALLOCATE ASSETS DIRECTLY TO EACH INDIVIDUAL JOB

Although it’s paramount to send the right worker to each job, it’s equally as essential to ensure they’re equipped with the right gear. Shockingly, on average, 29% of issues aren’t fixed during the first appointment because the technician has the wrong parts or the correct ones aren’t available.

Luckily, you can avoid problems with stock, tools and equipment altogether when you upgrade to automated job management software.

💡Top tip: Look out for platforms that include an asset management feature that creates accurate records of inventory levels in real-time, so you can see how much stock you have whenever, wherever. And your back-office staff can then assign vehicles, tools and parts directly to each job, ahead of time.

The end result? Not only does this ensure that every technician has the items they need to complete the work on the first appointment, you’ll also appear more professional, your customers will be more satisfied, and you’ll be able to take on additional appointments each month. Win, win.

IMPROVE EFFICIENCY — IN JUST A FEW CLICKS

Recent research found that nearly half (44%) of UK workers believe their company’s office technology is ‘woefully outdated’, causing them to waste an astonishing 26% of each day on pointless administrative tasks.

Inefficient ways of working not only slow down your back-office staff, but they also don’t make the most of your technicians’ time, which will cause you to lose a significant amount of revenue each year. 

It’s no secret that the pandemic has had a devastating effect on many organisations over the last two years, so companies can’t afford to be complacent and rely on ‘traditional’ scheduling methods.

The key takeaway: To bounce back stronger financially and stay ahead of the competition, business leaders must harness the power of job management and job tracking software to maximise their earning potential. 

📕 Ready to find job tracking software? Check out these 5 tips for choosing job management software.

PUT BIGCHANGE TO THE TEST

Easily manage job scheduling and job tracking in one easy-to-use platform with BigChange:

✅ Match workers to jobs based on traffic information, location, vehicle type, skill set and job constraints

✅ Assign tools, stock and other equipment directly to jobs

✅ Communicate with technicians in real-time via the mobile application

✅ Use time tracking to manage your entire team in real-time

✅ Optimise hundreds of routes at once

✅ Prioritise jobs with certain service level agreements

With BigChange’s job management software, you can work around constraints such as time, tools required, and vehicle attributes to complete every promptly and to a high standard.

But don’t take our word for it, take a look at our case studies here.

Or, see for yourself.Book a free demo today. Our team will show you how to win more work, take control of your operations, and deliver the best customer experiences.