Running a security business can be challenging.
Along with trying to grow your overall business you have a variety of other tasks on your plate. You have to manage marketing, customer service and administrative tasks to ensure your company is running efficiently. There may even be times when business management processes aren’t particularly effective or efficient.
But even small inefficiencies can cause lost revenue.
Consider one core business process: managing and scheduling your field service technicians. Keeping track of their schedules, their locations, and their turnaround times can have a powerful effect on customer service.
But there are technology solutions that provide better, more efficient ways to handle such tasks, allowing for smoother business operations. In this article, we’ll explore ways you can streamline workflows and manage your teams more effectively to improve overall profitability.
Field Management Solutions to Streamline Workflows
Like every other industry, the security industry is evolving in its use of smart technology. In fact, the industry is well-positioned to be at the forefront in its use of emerging technologies, such as AI.
With industry revenue expected to increase, dealers need to adopt technologies—both as part of their product offering and in-house—that offer value to the business and the customer.
Field management professionals are already focused on monitoring their teams’ work and performance. Additionally, they’re also focused on removing barriers that make security work more challenging.
Streamlining the entire process, without losing security functionality, often depends on technology.
In fact, seemingly different key performance indicators and service level agreements can overlap and benefit from implementing technology solutions. The right solution can:
- Reduce overhead costs.
- Provide more accurate time and inventory tracking and management.
- Improve your first-time fix rate.
- Improve the customer experience.
Field management software can streamline processes, ensure compliance, give you a better handle on the business, and improve outcomes.
One example of this is the use of field scheduling software.
Manual Scheduling vs. Automated Scheduling
Security dealer service representatives communicate with field technicians regularly throughout the customer cycle. Services such as installation and problem tickets often include input from customer service reps. In turn, field service technicians deploy to customer sites to address potential issues.
All of this must be handled in a way that promotes efficient logistics. Given that jobs often require multiple points of contact between the two parties, this is particularly true for the security and alarm industries.
For too many security businesses, these are still manual processes that rely on literal pen and paper. This makes it far too each to assign a tech a ticket with incomplete or unclear information.
Nondigital scheduling practices are outdated methods that can easily be replaced with technology. Automated scheduling can improve productivity activities greatly. In contrast, traditional manual systems may miss key information, increasing downtime and human error.
Effective scheduling ensures the right technicians are at the right place at the right time.
The use of automated scheduling can help improve collaboration between departments and communication with customers. With customer data at their fingertips, technicians can quickly transition from job to job. They won’t need to call the office to find missing information or spend an inordinate time on hold while the CSR performs research, inputs data or escalates an issue.
Field managers cringe when what should have been a 45-minute service ends up taking three hours because they had to rely on information not provided accurately or that they had easily accessible.
Scheduling Software Functions
Field managers historically spent a lot of time scheduling field techs across shifts and jobs. The scheduling task is one that’s ripe for digitizing. It eliminates the guesswork and coordination that comes with factoring in numerous variables across time and geographic areas.
Sedona-X Mobile allows you to effectively schedule field techs across a myriad of locations, as well as track and measure their work. It also integrates with other solutions, such as AlarmBiller, to deliver an entire suite of software solutions that improve your security business.
Scheduling software reduces improves efficiency by providing quick, accurate answers to the following questions:
- How much time do my field techs waste in transit between jobs?
- How can you schedule based on the complexity of work and field tech expertise?
- How many unnecessary jobs are scheduled each month?
- How much time is wasted in scheduling gaps per field tech?
Scheduling Software Benefits
Scheduling software provides more benefits beyond digitizing a common task. It also allows you to:
- Send push notifications to field techs instead of having personal contact with them.
- Send real-time notifications.
- Manage large groups of employees across multiple locations.
- Simplify the time management process.
- Increase efficiency and productivity while improving the customer experience.
- Utilize mobile devices, beneficial for those out in the field.
- Limit scheduling time.
- Achieve greater insight.
If you want to compete in the digital age, become an industry leader, and retain happy customers, scheduling software isn’t a luxury. It’s a strategic necessity.
If you’re still employing non-digital methods to schedule your field technicians and perform various other tasks, now is the time to make a change. Set up field service automation that can help shave off valuable time for field service agents.
Bold Group’s business management software can help eliminate scheduling challenges and solve other issues, too.
Discover how Bold Group can help your business.