W
hat does efficient deployment scheduling for field service involve? What is the current 'state of the art' and what are the performance features of a best-of-breed scheduling system? Here, we break down the most important points for SLA-beating field service deployment planning.
Field service employees are the direct caretakers of your customers and represent your company on the front line. They are service technicians, sales and customer consultants, delivery drivers, surveyors or experts. They are all 'out in the field' and elevate your reputation by impressing your clients with their expertise, technical skills, empathy and on-time, great service.
EFFICIENT FIELD SERVICE DEPLOYMENT FULFILLS MORE THAN YOUR CUSTOMER WISHES
In this respect, scheduling in the field has a direct impact on customer satisfaction. For example, nothing is worse than keeping an important customer waiting. It is therefore critical that field service scheduling is efficient and targeted. Field service has a huge impact on the
customer experience.
However, with efficient field service scheduling, you not only ensure that your customers experience a reliable partner. You also keep an eye on your corporate goals. By optimally utilising the capacity of your employees, you can deal efficiently and fairly with your most important resource, your staff. Trackable goals, such as first-time-fix ensure the profitability of your business.
Read:
The most important KPIs for field forces
What does a good field service deployment plan look like? Below we highlight the performance characteristics of a timely and efficient software solution.
COMBINING INPUTS AND OUTPUTS
One goal of efficient scheduling in the field is to neither significantly under- nor exceed the target time of the employees. In addition to the right workload, the optimisation of driving routes and tours ensures a more efficient use of resources' time.
The better the route planning, the more seamlessly your employees use their time. One goal in the scheduling of field staff, for example, is to combine individual assignments in an efficient way. Modern software systems calculate this automatically.
EFFECTIVE SHIFT PLANNING REDUCES THE DEPLOYMENT EFFORT
How much effort does your deployment planning cause for dispatch or your call centre? The goal should be to keep the administrative effort as low as possible. With the help of software, you can minimise the manual effort of your dispatching. Suitable programmes support dispatchers with semi- or fully-automated scheduling and help to avoid scheduling errors with their built-in checking logics.
Read the case study:
How WOLF Heiztechnik saved 50% time in the deployment process
ALLOWING FLEXIBILITY IN DAILY SCHEDULING (IN-DAY)
Planning ahead for deployment is one thing. The other is to be able to react quickly in urgent cases (reactive SLAs). Planning teams and their tools must be ready to adapt, with no overnight or batch results. Ideally, scheduling is adjusted in real-time as soon as serious changes occur (staff absences, appointment cancellations, emergencies, etc.). Intelligent solutions are not only tools for planning, but also for operational control in the middle of the day.