Top Field Service Metrics and KPIs You Need to Track

Field Service Metrics vs KPIs

First things first—let’s clear up any confusion between metrics and KPIs. These two terms often get thrown around together, but they serve different purposes. Both are crucial to field service management, but they tell you different things about how your team is performing.

• Field service metrics are the raw numbers—the data points that help you measure your operations. These might include things like travel time, job completion rates, and revenue per technician. Metrics give you a clear, measurable look at your operations, so you can track changes over time.
• Field service KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), on the other hand, are more focused. They track how well your team is hitting specific targets. KPIs give you a bigger-picture view of how your business is performing relative to your goals. Think of them as the vital signs of your business, indicating whether you’re on track or need to course-correct.

What Are Field Service Metrics?

Field service metrics are the quantitative measures of your business operations. These numbers give you a close-up look at where your team is spending time, how efficiently they’re working, and how much it’s costing you. The good news? Metrics are easy to track if you’ve got the right systems in place. The bad news? If you’re not tracking them, it’s easy for inefficiencies to creep in unnoticed.

Some key examples of field service management metrics include job completion rates, service call resolution times, and operational costs per job. These metrics tell you where your team excels and where there’s room for improvement.

What Are Field Service KPIs?

Field service KPIs, on the other hand, are the goals you set for your team to reach. They’re strategic, helping you determine whether your business is moving in the right direction. While metrics show you what’s happening on the ground, KPIs tell you whether what’s happening aligns with your business objectives.

KPIs tend to be broader in scope—tracking things like customer satisfaction scores, first-time fix rates, and mean time to repair. They help you understand not just how your team is performing but how that performance impacts the overall success of your business.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Field Services

Keeping your field service team on track is easier when you know several key performance indicators (KPIs) that every field service business should monitor. These KPIs will give you insights into the quality of service your team is providing, how efficient they are, and whether they’re meeting customer expectations.

First-Time Fix Rate (FTFR)

The First-Time Fix Rate measures how often your technicians can resolve a customer issue on the first visit. A higher FTFR means fewer follow-up appointments, lower costs, and happier customers. If your FTFR is low, you’re up! It’s a sign you need to work on training, inventory management, or communication.

Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)

The Mean Time to Repair tracks how long it takes to resolve an issue from the moment the service call is logged to when the problem is fixed. The quicker your team can complete repairs, the better your customer satisfaction will be—and the more jobs you can complete in a day.

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

Your Customer Satisfaction Score measures how happy your clients are with your service. If you collect feedback through surveys, follow-up calls, or direct reviews, tracking CSAT helps you know whether your team is meeting their expectations.

Workforce Utilization Rate

The Workforce Utilization Rate shows how effectively you’re using your technicians' time. It’s a measure of how much time your team spends on billable work versus non-billable tasks like travel or admin. If you can maximize this rate, you can significantly boost your bottom line.

Field Service Metrics You Should Be Tracking

While KPIs give you the big-picture view, field service metrics provide the tiny details needed to optimize every part of your operations. Below are key metrics to track across operational efficiency, financial performance, and customer satisfaction.

Operational Efficiency Metrics

• Job Completion Rate: This metric tells you the percentage of jobs completed successfully within a given time frame. A low rate probably means your team is either overextended, undertrained, or poorly coordinated.
• Travel Time: Tracking how much time your technicians spend traveling between jobs can help you optimize routes and schedules, cutting down on wasted time and improving response times.
• Average Response Time: How quickly can your team get to a job after it’s been scheduled? A faster response time leads to happier customers and more jobs completed.
• Service Call Resolution Time: This metric tracks how long it takes to resolve issues once your team arrives on-site. The quicker, the better—but don’t let that be at the expense of quality.

Financial Performance Metrics

• Cost Per Job: How much are you spending to complete each job? This metric helps you understand whether your pricing is sustainable and where you might be losing money.
• Revenue Per Technician: This is a measure of how much revenue each technician is generating. That’s a big part of the overall profitability of your service team.
• Gross Margin Per Service Call: Your gross margin per call tells you how much profit you’re making on each job, after deducting the direct costs of delivering the service.
• ROI for Service Operations: This is the ultimate measure of whether your service operations are paying off. Are the costs of running your field service team outweighed by the profits? If not, it’s time to re-evaluate.

Customer Satisfaction Metrics

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): NPS is a measure of customer loyalty, asking clients how likely they are to recommend your services to others. A high NPS means satisfied customers who are more likely to return.
• Customer Retention Rate: How many of your clients return for repeat business? A higher retention rate indicates strong service quality and satisfied customers.
• Customer Effort Score (CES): This metric measures how easy it is for customers to get their issues resolved. A lower score is better, meaning your team is making life easier for your clients.

How to Track and Analyze Field Service Metrics with Simpro

Tracking all these metrics and KPIs might sound like a lot of work, but that’s where Simpro comes in. Our field service management software can do the heavy lifting, giving you real-time insights into your team’s performance and helping you spot issues before they snowball.

With Simpro, you can track everything from job completion rates to customer satisfaction scores, all in one place. Our software offers powerful tools for reporting, scheduling, and analyzing your data, helping you stay on top of your field service metrics without the hassle. By using Simpro, you’ll not only streamline your operations, but you’ll also have the tools to improve your field service management best practices and stay ahead of top field service trends.

Leveraging Metrics and KPIs for Field Service Success

At the end of the day, tracking field service metrics and KPIs isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about giving your team the tools to win. Stay on top of these numbers, and you’ll make better calls that keep your customers happy, your crew on point, and your business kicking goals. Ready to dive in? With the right metrics in your kit, you’ll boost performance, up profits, and set yourself up for the long haul. Let Simpro cut the guesswork, so you can focus on what counts—growing your business.