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C ompanies with a satisfied workforce are more successful. Employee satisfaction has a particularly positive effect in the field and in service, where there is direct customer contact. Besides flexible working hours and a training-lead atmosphere, modern and supportive field service software is one of the most important retention factors in everyday work.

Satisfied employees are not only more motivated in their everyday work, they also stay loyal, which reduces the costs for recruiting, training, and ongoing HR management. They are more likely to go the extra mile, which improves your customer experience and grows their loyalty. It is however, not always easy to increase employee satisfaction, especially in a fast-paced and dynamic field service sector.

Read more: 10 Field Service planning myths that cost your business

FACTORS FOR FIELD SERVICE EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION

About three quarters of all employees in the UK are more or less satisfied with their job. However, the ever-increasing shortage of skilled field operatives across the sub-sectors has cemented changing jobs as an attractive option. Salary and balanced working hours are among the most important factors for high employee satisfaction. If other companies offer better conditions (in some cases offering a signing bonus), field service operators can quickly and easily poach skilled workers.

When field operatives are asked about the factors that promote their job satisfaction, they mention the following points:

• Flexible working hours
• Flexible working models such as starting a shift from their home address
• Work-life balance that recognises unplanned absences
  
• Opportunities for further training and certification
  
• Recognition
• Collegial atmosphere
• Varied tasks to further skills
  

Tasks complexity (and linked stress level) also contribute to employee satisfaction. Overwork and underwork have equally negative effects. Besides burnout due to too much responsibility and stress, so-called boreout is also a danger. Where do optimisation tools fit?

CHALLENGES FOR EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION IN FIELD WORK

There are unique challenges for employee satisfaction in the field service. Flexible work locations and working hours are only possible to a limited extent. For example, if remote video assistance has exhausted all options, your service operatives are required at a specific location. There is simply no option to complete the order without attending. Instead of flexitime, employees in this area must be prepared for on-call duties.

The appropriate, dynamic scheduling of field operatives is critical to employee satisfaction. If one employee always gets the easy customers and pleasant routes, while another employee always gets the difficult tours, resentment quickly arises. In addition, poor route and location assignment planning leads to unnecessary overtime.

Accordingly, dynamic planning software that respects planned and reactive tasks helps increase employee satisfaction. Modern tools support you in the fair and balanced allocation of tasks. At the same time, smooth and simple digital workflows help to avoid frustration through transparent decision outcomes.

MODERN SOFTWARE FOR FIELD SERVICE RETENTION

When it comes to employee satisfaction, the 3:1 rule can be applied: Since negative experiences and feelings remain stronger and longer in the memory, positive impressions should predominate for a balanced evaluation. For satisfied operatives, you should ensure that there are about three times as many positive as negative points in their daily work. Could this be the way to ensure that minor inconveniences do not spoil the career outlook of your field staff?

Best-of-breed field appointment and tour planning software is a versatile tool because it designs a large range of positive experiences and supports your operatives in their daily tasks. Modern software increases employee satisfaction in the field and in field results:

Avoiding paperwork and administration: Don't delay your employees with the writing of reports. Transmitting and saving the most important key data, digitally, is both easier and faster.

Automated ticket allocation to your rules: Monotonous work is one of the most common mistakes when it comes to employee satisfaction. Thanks to automation, you can spare your employees the same tasks over and over again and instead offer interesting challenges - skills matched to ensure a first-time fix.

Extending tools to scheduling and dipatch: The times when data is entered manually or transferred/rekeyed between systems are over with an intelligent all-in-one solution. Consistent and transparent processes in field service make life more pleasant for your head-office employees.