Ready to Boost Service Performance in 2015? 14 New Year’s Resolutions for Service Managers

Set your service organization up for success in 2015 with the right New Year’s resolutions to motivate your team and organize chaotic manual processes.

I’ve always loved a fresh start. New Year’s is my favorite holiday because it always begins with a clean slate: new goals and a fresh outlook. Needless to say, I’m a hopeless New Year’s resolution-setter. And that goes for business resolutions too. Creating business goals at the start of the year is an important way to set the tone for the next 12 months. This year, instead of hoping your service department brings in some significant revenue, why don’t you make it happen by setting concrete resolutions for the new year. Here are some service resolutions to get you started. Good luck!

14 Service Management Resolutions to Start 2015 Off Right

1. Get invoices out the door faster: If you equip technicians with mobile software in the field, they can sync work details with the back-office and even collect customer signatures onsite for faster invoicing, which improves cashflow and customer satisfaction (we all know customers don’t like to be invoiced weeks later). 2. Cut down (or eliminate) the use of paper: By automating service processes with an integrated mobile and back office service app, you can save tons of time and resources by cutting or even eliminating paper from the operation. That means no more printing, losing important forms, or reentering data.

3. Automate field inspections: Every service organization deals with the hassle of manual field inspections. This year, make it a priority to automate inspection processes to save your field workforce time and resources so they can tackle more inspections per day or move on to other service labor.

4. Empower technicians: Employee engagement is a hot topic these days, especially in the service industry where there’s a growing demand for skilled workers. Empower your field workforce in 2015 by entrusting them with strong technology tools to experience higher rates of success on the job.

5. Schedule smarter by assigning the right people to the right jobs based on technicians skill set: Scheduling is a big part of getting service right. This year, help your schedulers get the right technicians to the right place with a drag-and-drop visual scheduler with visibility into tech status, location, and skills set.

6. Enable ongoing field sales opportunities: With the right insight and technology, your service department can move beyond basic repairs and site visits. Enable your field workforce to make ongoing sales by locating areas customers could improve with new equipment or schedule additional service opportunities.

>
7. Reduce inventory shrinkage: Make it a resolution to let no part go unbilled this year. Give techs the tools to see what they have in their van and allows them to document parts used or purchased so the bill to the customer automatically reflects the parts update. 8. Reduce return visits: First-time fixes are a top priority for customers, so an important concern for service managers is reducing the number of return visits technicians need to make. With inventory transparency and the ability to view customer and asset history before arriving on the jobsite, techs can cut the number of visits back to the office significantly. 9. Reduce ETA windows: Service organizations can up their customer satisfaction ratings significantly by keeping customers in the loop and reducing ETA windows with automatic alerts and scheduling transparency. If dispatchers know exactly where techs are in relation to customer sites, they can alert customers of ETAs and changes in real time. 10. Increase preventative maintenance: Preventive maintenance contracts remain one of the most lucrative opportunities available to service organizations. Make your business more predictable in 2015 by creating a streamlined strategy to create, schedule, and manage service contracts. 11. Eliminate duplicate data entry: By automating each step in the service process, everyone from technicians to managers only need to document information one time in the service management system to make it instantly available to the right people. 12. Participate in and learn from peer groups: Even the best technicians and service managers still have room to grow. This year, be sure you offer your workforce plenty of opportunities for advanced training, and give yourself permission to participate in peer groups and training programs to further your own skills. 13. Get customers and management the data they need: Everyone knows collecting data and measuring outcomes is important, but getting each stakeholder the information they need in a timely manner can be a challenge. With an all-in-one service management system, you can be sure all the information collected in the field is compiled in one place and viewable through customizable dashboards for various stakeholders. 14. Be more responsive through stronger communication: Sharing information leads to better response times. With tech information from the field instantly accessible to service managers, you can focus on responsive communication through every area of the business, including call to quote to order, order to scheduling assignment, tech to customer.

Happy New Year!

These are some lofty goals, but equipped with the right tools, your service team will be ready to conquer all (aka make 2015 the best year ever). What are you waiting for? Get resolution-setting!

The post Ready to Boost Service Performance in 2015? 14 New Year’s Resolutions for Service Managers appeared first on MSI Data.