When you own a service business, a lot of time and energy is focused on booking, tracking and closing jobs, often using a manual system. While this may be what your team is used to, legacy manual systems leave more room for human error and result in inefficiencies. In this article, we outline how businesses can use technology to transform their service management business.

How do service businesses currently operate?

According to Field Service News, 77 per cent of companies use an on-premise service management system, with just 23 per cent of businesses using cloud-based software. These on-premise systems typically include manual pen and paper-based documents or spreadsheets to manage workflows and records. For many of these businesses (60 per cent) these manual on-premise systems have been in place for three or more years. 

Like other big organisational changes, using technology to transform your service management business can understandably seem like a daunting task. With a strong project management and rollout plan, however, your team will begin realising the benefits of cloud-based service management software in no time. 

The importance of data and information management in a service management system

In a field-based business where technicians visit their customers onsite, a common problem for companies and customers is the need for additional call-outs. For customers, these additional appointments typically cost $200 to $300 and could have been avoided with better sharing of customer information before the first visit. Additional call outs are often needed when all information about a job isn’t captured accurately during the booking process. These problems can result in a customer choosing a competitor next time. This is why it’s critical that field services businesses understand how to make the customer experience as seamless and positive as possible from booking to payment and post-service feedback. 

Beyond the customer experience, a strong service management system should also include all of the other aspects of operations including planning, strategies, policies, objectives, documentation and processes. In manual systems, these aspects become fragmented, which leads to internal inefficiencies and a poor customer experience.

We’ve all been there. You’ve scheduled one of your technicians to visit a customer, and they arrive minutes before the end of the three-hour appointment window without the tools to fix the customer’s problem. Using a cloud-based service management system can resolve these issues and result in a better experience for your customers. 

Cloud-based service management systems connect your team in the office to people out in the field, which improves communication between employees and reduces the risk of the mistakes and problems caused by manual processes. Key features that cloud-based service management systems should provide, include:

• Route optimisation and tracking: Professionals out in the field have access to the fastest route to their next appointment, while the customer knows exactly when to expect the technician to arrive. This feature resolves a common problem field services businesses face — providing an appointment window and failing to arrive on time.
• Digitised forms and paperwork: Eliminate the need for physical paperwork with all of the relevant information stored in a central location. Each person has access to the information they need to make each job a success.
• Financial integrations: Connect your service management system with a payments platform to get paid faster and instantly update your accounts.