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FIELD WORKFORCE UTILISATION: HOW TO SOLVE ABSENTEEISM
23. April 2025
James Alex Waldron
F
ield service is a demanding industry. Whether it's repairs operatives handling urgent calls or technicians making cyclical/planned maintenance rounds, the role often requires many hours of travel, unpredictable conditions, and immediate problem solving skills. Absenteeism in the field service sector hits harder than in many others.
For operators, absenteeism isn't simply a human resources issue; it's an operational risk. Missed appointments mean disappointed customers. Covering shifts means increased costs. And when absence becomes a pattern, the ripple effects can derail utilisation, margins, and morale.
What drives field service absenteeism? And what are the solutions that support the growth of utilisation?
THE REALITY OF ABSENTEEISM IN UK FIELD SERVICE
Size or service type presents a different scale of challenge, yet at the same time, FLS research proves field service performance varies greatly within the same subsectors. Two similar companies can face vastly different experiences. In many cases, absenteeism goes hand-in-hand with declining utilisation. When field workforce costs rise faster than revenue, the wage ratio destroys the value of contracts. What's worse: absenteeism often triggers a need for costly recruitment, masking deeper inefficiencies.
In the UK, absenteeism is a growing concern. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the national sickness absence rate rose to 2.6% in 2023—the highest in over a decade. But in physically demanding sectors like field service, that number climbs higher, often reaching between 3% and 8%. These figures might sound modest, but the impact this has on utilisation KPIs continues to harm profitability.
Field service companies face unique challenges. Operatives are mobile, jobs are time-sensitive, and customer satisfaction is impacted through punctuality.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF ABSENTEEISM IN FIELD SERVICE?
- Physical Strain: Long days of lifting, bending, and moving can take a toll, leading to more sick days and injuries.
- Mental Load: Isolation, erratic schedules, and pressure to hit targets often lead to burnout.
- Travel Fatigue: Covering large service areas means more time in traffic and less time to recharge.
- Poor Work-Life Balance: When shifts change at short notice, so does employee retention.
- Lack of Recognition: When people feel undervalued, motivation drops. Absenteeism often follows.
- Unvaried Work: In field service, unvaried work can dull skills, drain morale, and turn expertise into routine.
ABSENTEEISM, UTILISATION KPIS, AND PROFITIABILITY
Absenteeism doesn't just create utilisation headaches and the scheduling pressures that follow. Over time, it affects your entire operation:
- Lost Productivity: Fewer workers mean fewer completed jobs and longer response times.
- Spiralling Costs: Overtime pay, agency/contractor technicians, and rescheduling drains budgets.
- Customer Frustration: Service delays erode trust and loyalty, and hurt brand reputation.
- Morale Meltdown: Overworked teams covering for absent colleagues burn out, and the cycle continues.
The effects are measurable. Operators with above-average absenteeism experience sharp drops across margins and profitability. This highlights that the issue is structural. Absenteeism in field service is not a symptom, it's a signal. One that points to deeper challenges in workforce planning, culture, and operational design.
INTELLIGENT SOLUTIONS TO TACKLE ABSENTEEISM AND RAISE UTILISATION
Improving utilisation requires careful consideration and holistic planning. So what can field service operators do to get ahead? Here are proven tactics:
- Flexible Scheduling: Shift patterns that reflect real-life commitments reduce stress and boost reliability.
- Wellness Programmes: From mental health support to physiotherapy, a healthier team is a more present one.
- Employee Engagement: Recognition, feedback loops, and purpose-driven culture keep people invested.
- Real-Time Workforce Tools: Smart planning platforms help track attendance trends, flag risks, and automate rescheduling.
- Optimised Routing: Intelligent time-of-day travel planning reduces fatigue and wasted hours on the road.
- Performance Incentives: Rewarding consistency and reliability encourages a stronger attendance culture.
FLS VISITOUR unlocks the full potential of service process automation and digitalisation with real-time data and field service control. We recognise that introducing our software and the resulting workflow optimisation is only successful when all involved are brought through the change process. The focus is not only a dynamic software solution: FLS advises decision makers with opportunities to involve all employees in developing new operational models, designing a balance that operatives can get on board with.
- Embrace Intelligent Planning Tools
Traditional scheduling, such as manual planning and public mapping is not appropriate. Even with just 10 tasks across 3 engineers, you're dealing with millions of potential scheduling combinations. PowerOpt, the central algorithm that powers FLS VISITOUR handles this complexity, factoring in availability, skills, travel time, costs, and service windows to deliver optimal schedules. The result? Less chaos, fewer missed shifts, and happier teams with scheduled breaks. - Reassess Central vs Decentralised Scheduling
There's a trend toward decentralised scheduling, but this is not always the answer. Centralised planning creates consistency, simplifies operations, and prevents silos. This also allows ongoing edits to mirror the needs of your field workforce. You have the tools to rebalance workloads and job types to minimise the risk of absenteeism whilst respecting your business model. - Deploy Integrated Field Service Apps
Streamline operations by tracking in-day progress, from sign-in to sign-out and ETAs, giving real-time visibility into every operative's journey. Recognise risks before they grow. - Learn from Field Service Industry Leaders
Technical field services aren't alone in dealing with dynamic, in-day workloads and supporting mobile teams. Sectors like home clinicians, surveyors, and logistics face the same challenges. Smart algorithms, KPI dashboards, and agile planning practices raise utilisation whilst cutting scheduling time, costs, and improving skills retention.
FLS VISITOUR clients don't simply react to missed shifts. They predict, prevent, and plan for them. With the right tools, insights, and strategies, absenteeism can be reduced over time.
As well as tools to assist in calculating human factors, FLS' unique PowerOpt algorithm considers the entire workforce schedule at once, bringing the following tangible service operations benefits:
- 36% average reduction in travel distance and time
- 11% average increase in field service team capacity
- 1.3 average additional appointments per shift
- 99.5% improved SLA adherence
- 20-30% improvement in first-time fix rate
REALISE A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE WITH A UNIQUE FIELD SERVICE SOLUTION
In addition to powering your field operations with the unique PowerOpt algorithm, we can introduce the differences between a systems integration and a designed value chain model. An enhanced user experience, a better control and use of data, and faster decisions benefit operations and growth.We evaluate your field organisation's process efficiency, planning quality, and cost structure. To gain an understanding of tools to optimise the field experience for your workforce and customers book a short discussion or contact us at info@fastleansmart.com.
Read more:
Field force security with Field Service Safety software
Scheduling: Key to a Workforce Management Ecosystem
Stengthen Field Service optimisation with an Ecosystem model
Is your Lone Worker Management missing Safe Parking?
JAMES ALEX WALDRON
UK Marketing Manager
+44 1183 800189
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James Alex Waldron has worked in written communications for over 15 years. Since 2021, he has written for FLS and the Solvares Group on the topics of digital field service transformation and mobile workforce management, and regularly provides insight to the industry press.
