What Is Field Service Management & How You Can Improve It

Unless you’re a field service professional, you might not be totally familiar with the industry. Vele Galovski, a field service industry expert, defines field service as “any work conducted at a customer site where your products are installed”. This includes commercial and residential painters, movers, electricians, carpet cleaners and gutter cleaners, among many others. 

Field service workers are in the maintenance or installation industry. Basically, a field service worker is constantly out in the field and not stuck behind a desk and all services that are provided are at the customers location. 

The field service industry is constantly growing. Research and Markets notes that “the Global Field Service Management Market (henceforth referred to as the market studied) was valued at USD 2.85 billion in 2019, and it is expected to reach USD 7.10 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 15.4%, during the period, 2021-2026”. With this constant rate of growth, it’s now a great opportunity for you to get your share of the market!

The field service industry faces its own set of challenges and obstacles. For example, how can business owners properly oversee and manage all employees when they are constantly on the go? Due to the industry’s rapid growth there is now an “increasing demand for time and cost-effective solutions” for managing deskless field service teams! With effective technology and tools, managing and overseeing field service operations has never been easier, but what exactly is field service management?

What Is Field Service Management?

Field service management allows business owners to optimize service, daily operations, communication with all their employees out in the field and so much more. IBM notes that “field service managers keep track of an organization’s field resources and coordinate the work of field service practitioners who deliver skilled, specialized or proprietary services to clients”. 

Field service management helps to ensure that daily business operations are running smoothly and efficiently. 

Field service managers coordinate:

• Scheduling employee shifts
• Dispatching jobs
• Workflows and daily tasks
• Inventory
• Contracts with clients
• All policies and protocols
• Safety training
• Reports 

It’s a lot to handle for a field service manager, and we’ve only just scratched the surface. It’s challenging to manage all of these tasks and responsibilities solo and with just pen and paper. Therefore the implementation of a field service management software will definitely assist in day to day operations. 

A robust field service management software will store and digitize all important information, documentation and daily operations all in one place! You should also invest in a field service management software with a powerful communication tool so that you can easily get in touch with employees out in the field quickly and effectively. 

The infographic below describes the most common field service management problems. In order to avoid these common mistakes, managers and business owners must adapt to new technologies, like field service management software, to ensure that they don’t fall victim to these common problems.

Benefits Of Field Service Management Software

With technology changing the way we do business everyday, it’s time to get out of the stone age and move to a digital field service management software to help you centralize all important information, tasks, documentation, reporting, communication and so much more. 

Some of the benefits and values a top notch field service management software should provide include: 

• Save time and money by digitizing scheduling to dispatch jobs
• Digital time tracking to improve the payroll process and prevent time theft or buddy punching
• Managers gain real-time visibility with exact and accurate timesheets. Connecteam’s QuickBooks Online and Gusto integration also ensures 100% accurate payroll.
• A powerful communication tool to stay in touch with all your employees out in the field all in one place
• Digitize workflows and automate daily tasks so your employees can get rid of pen and paper.
• Automated daily reporting for hazards so you can avoid employee injuries and equipment damage
• Knowledge center for employees to access the employee handbook if needed at any time to ensure your team is up to date and aligned on policies/procedures
• Safety training for employees
• Digital reports and actionable data insights

Whether you’re managing a team of 100 field service employees or 10 it’s important to give them the tools they need to succeed. A Forbes article notes that “modern service software, though, can be just as beneficial for even the smallest operations as it would be for large companies with hundreds of employees”, especially one that is affordable and intuitive to use. 

No matter the size of your business, if you’re still using pen and paper and binders to document and save important information, then you’re putting yourself at a huge disadvantage. Paperwork tends to get lost, writing can be hard to read, and filling out forms manually is a huge waste of time. Using a field service management software will help to streamline and simplify all manual reporting and documentation, helping you save time and money. 

Forbes points out that “the field service business traditionally relies heavily on the paper trail. Fliers and postcards can promote its offerings and promotions, while quotes, invoices, bills, and other printed materials drive the functional side of customer communications”. 

With a mobile field service management software you can organize and save everything all in one place, on one digital platform. This means no more lost paperwork, information falling between the cracks, or lack of proper communication among team members. Which mobile field service management software is the best solution for your business? We answer that question below. 

Connecteam Mobile Field Service Management Software: All-In-One Solution

The Connecteam mobile field service management software will simplify your management and oversight tasks and is one of the top field service management software available on the market. Gone are the days of pen and paper, now all management tasks can be digitally accessed on the mobile app at any time or anywhere. 

With the Connecteam field service management app, business owners and managers will be able to do the following all in one place: 

• Completely customize training and onboarding of new employees. Once the employee has finished their training, you will receive a push notification in real-time.
• A GPS based time tracking feature, including geofence capabilities, so you can make sure your employees clocked in or out in the designated location. Also, Connecteam’s integration with QuickBooks Online and Gusto allows you to export timesheets quickly, ensuring 100% accurate payroll.
• Monitor and track your employees on-the-go with live Breadcrumbs geo-tracking. You can even watch a video animation of the route your employees took throughout the day. Also, it has little effect on your employees’ battery life and data plan!
• Easily schedule employees to specific jobs and allow employees to claim jobs that are up for grabs, based on their qualification.
• Communicate with your whole team at the touch of a button or send one on one messages.
• Create fully customizable workflows and one off task lists to clearly define what needs to be done when your employee arrives at a job.
• Digital forms and checklists with the option to add a read and sign feature at the bottom.
• Receive notifications when an employee has finished a task or completed a daily workflow so you know exactly what has been done and when the employee finished his work.
• Automate digital reporting, fully customized to your preferences to always stay on top of things.
• Easy exportation of timesheets for payroll or invoicing purposes.
• An updates section and a company feed to make sure all employees are on the same page and engaged with their work.
• Create digital surveys or a suggestion box so employees can give management insightful feedback on how to improve.
• Fully customizable safety training to help avoid employee injuries on the job.
• Hazard and equipment damage reports. Hazards tend to become actual incidents, keeping your team safe with real-time hazard reporting helps you avoid repeat incidents. If a piece of equipment becomes damaged, employees can easily report the damage and even include an image. 
• And more! 

Your employees don’t have to carry around heavy binders or lots of paperwork anymore. With a field management service software like Connecteam, managers and business owners no longer have to worry about losing loose paperwork or tasks that fall between the cracks due to lack of effective oversight. In addition, it’s super easy to use and intuitive so even your less tech savvy employees will have no problem embracing this new technology.

Connecteam provides the best field service management software solution for all your management and deskless employee needs. Did we mention it’s also really affordable? At just $29/month for up to 30 users, you can start better managing your team of field service employees. 

Now That You Know About Field Service Management …

With the speedy growth of the field service management industry, it’s necessary for business success that management and business owners use the right tools and technology to streamline their daily operations. It’s difficult to manage employees when working behind a desk, and that is only exaggerated when your employees are deskless and mobile. 

Managing a deskless team who are out in the field can be super challenging at times. It can be difficult for managers to ensure that their entire team is on the same page, which is why it’s important to provide management with an all-in-one mobile field service management software to help ease and simplify their daily tasks. 

Whether you own a painting company, a garage door installation company or a pool cleaning company, it’s crucial that all employees have access to the information they need at any time and in any location to complete their job and provide the best service possible. With Connecteam field management software, you can rest assured that your employees will have everything they need right in the palm of their hand to optimize their daily operations and to do the best job they can!