How Automated Scheduling Helps Field Service Agents

Did you know that over 73% of staff members perform over 50 repetitive tasks  weekly?

If they didn’t have to spend that much time on mundane tasks, they could be channeling their energy into better core business functions like selling and marketing the products or services you have to offer.

While repetitive tasks were a part of the working culture a few years ago, today, you can automate them and add to the productivity of your field service teams. 

So how does field service automation work in the real world? Let’s find out by acknowledging the impact of automation on a business. Field service automation helps a business by:

• Keeping the revenue channels flowing consistently
• Enabling new scale-up opportunities for the company
• Mitigating or eliminating the possibility of human errors
• Allowing you to offer your customers the best deals at competitive prices
• Improving the level of customer service and delivering delightful customer experiences
• Facilitating more collaboration opportunities in the future

What is Field Service Automation?

Field service automation is the process of using technology to improve the efficiency of the field staff. It automates repetitive tasks for field service agents and allows them to focus on their work.

For example, an automated field service management software eliminates manual technician selection for a job assigning the incoming tasks based on technical proficiency and availability of field service staff. 

To reach that level of efficiency manually, humans should be able to do the following tasks in a matter of seconds:

• Carefully analyze job requirements
• Match a technician’s skills with the job by assessing their experience
• Access a field staff member’s schedule and assign jobs based on their availability 
• Immediately communicate with the field staff about an incoming task

In a nutshell, you spend multiple hours straightening things out, whereas automation does everything mentioned above and more almost instantaneously. 

Field service management software allows you to predict maintenance schedules, engage with customers, send timely reminders to customers about due services, track data about your business’ performance, manage payroll and timesheets, and stay on top of license expirations.

Field service automation doesn’t mean installing a robot into your business process. Instead, it is just adding technology that allows your field staff to focus on their job without worrying about mundane tasks.

Helping Field Service Agents With Automatic Scheduling

Here are a few ways by which you can improve the efficiency of your field service staff and exceed customer expectations:

1. Mitigating Delays

Any delays in providing customer services are a bad sign for your business. It not only affects your brand’s reputation negatively, but it also leads to the loss of a customer and revenue in the future. 

Delays are common to have delays due to poor communication with the field staff. A field service automation solution leverages live data and assigns and reschedules tasks with the team while keeping the customers in the loop in case of any potential delays.

Moreover, it uses GPS and digital devices to track the field service agents. You can use this tracking information to provide accurate ETAs to the customers and make proactive interventions in case a member of the field staff is stuck somewhere. 

2. Reduce Waiting Time

Nobody likes to wait, and in the present-day hypercompetitive environment, a long waiting time will probably irk a customer so much that they will not choose your brand again. 

Automated scheduling uses complex algorithms to allocate the jobs optimally and reduce wait times. It automatically assigns jobs to the best field staff available and factors in geofencing and route optimization to reduce the turnaround time for every job. 

Moreover, it harnesses its predictive analytics capabilities to increase the daily job completion rates, thus improving the bottom line immensely. 

3. Increase First-Attempt Fix Rates

Customers are always delighted to have their issues resolved over the first visit. However, it is not only a delightful experience for the customers, but it is also a profitable deal for your business.

A field service management software can help you get more information about a customer’s issue, immediately communicating to the field staff. As a result, they visit the site with the required tools to resolve the issue. 

Some of the most prominent reasons why an issue is not resolved during the first visit include: 

• Lack of skill-set needed to resolve the issue
• Absence of relevant hardware needed to deal with the issue
• Unavailability of the required spare parts 
• No data about a brand’s history with the customer

4. A Flexible Operation

Frequent cancellations are a standard part of field service scheduling. But how you deal with the cancellations has a significant impact on the performance of your field staff. For example, do you communicate the information with them and assign a new task immediately, or do you let them enjoy some free time?

If you are dealing with the cancellations manually, there is a good chance that the field staff is not receiving the communication promptly. As a result, you will lose additional revenue and observe a decline in the efficiency of your field service staff. 

5. Better Access to Data

With field service management software, you can record the details of an incoming job instantly and pass it over to the field staff members. It spares the customers from repeating the details of the same job multiple times and allows the field service agents to get the tools needed before heading to the customer’s location. 

Also, field service management software allows you to share a customer’s service history with the staff to get a clear picture of the job and have an insight into the customer’s preferences.

How does it help? It allows the field staff to personalize the quality of their service without much interaction with a customer and resolve the issue during the first visit itself. 

Final Thoughts

You must incorporate field service management software into your technology stack to outperform your competitors today. 

NetworkON is an AI-powered field service management software with a comprehensive list of features that can transform your business from the get-go. Some of the most notable NetworkON features include:

• AI-powered route optimization and geofencing to assign the job to the best technician available in a specific location 
• Automatic order assignment and agent tracking from a centralized dashboard
• Easy execution of white-glove delivery services
• Electronic proof of delivery to assess a visit with proof of task completion via images and videos
• Instant in-app notifications for the field staff and customers 
• Seamless communication between the stakeholders involved in a job for timely completion

To know more about NetworkON’s features in detail, click here. 

Get NetworkON for your field service business today. For more information, email us at info@networkon.io . You can also learn more about field service management from our blog section. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. What is Field Service Automation, and how does it benefit businesses? 

Field Service Automation involves using technology to automate repetitive tasks for field staff, bringing benefits such as consistent revenue flow, new scale-up opportunities, error mitigation, competitive pricing, improved customer service, and increased collaboration prospects.

Q. How does Automated Scheduling enhance the efficiency of field service staff?

Automated Scheduling optimizes job assignments based on technical proficiency and availability, eliminating manual selection. It uses live data, GPS, and digital tracking to reduce delays and waiting times.

Q. Can automated scheduling help reduce delays in customer service?  

Yes, Automated Scheduling leverages live data and communication tools to assign and reschedule tasks promptly. It utilizes GPS and digital tracking for accurate ETAs, proactively preventing potential delays.

Q. How does Automated Scheduling reduce waiting times for customers?

Automated Scheduling uses complex algorithms for optimal job allocation, considering factors like geofencing and route optimization. This reduces turnaround time, enhancing daily job completion rates and improving the overall customer experience.

Q. Can Automated Scheduling increase first-attempt fix rates for field service agents? 

Yes, Integrated with field service management software, Automated Scheduling improves communication between staff and customers. This ensures field staff arrive with the necessary tools, reducing issues like lack of skill set or unavailable spare parts.

Q. What role does Automated Scheduling play in dealing with frequent cancellations in field service scheduling? 

Automated Scheduling efficiently manages cancellations by promptly communicating information to field staff and assigning new tasks. This minimizes downtime, preventing revenue loss and maintaining scheduling efficiency.