Do you know where your field staff are at any given time during business hours? Do you find yourself engaging in multiple conversations just to find out what work has been completed? How long does it take you to calculate labor hours and process payroll?
For field service businesses, keeping track of field staff time and work can be a major challenge. On another level, empowering field staff to aid in the process of time and activity tracking can be a challenge as well. However, there is a simple solution.
Field service management software like Simpro is an easy way to streamline the way you manage service jobs, projects and maintenance work. Another key benefit is that it can help you manage and track your field staff. Field service businesses use Simpro to work efficiently with their field staff by using cloud-based desktop and mobile features to organize administrative processes and communicate in real time.
Here are six ways you can successfully manage field staff using Simpro:
1. Mobile timesheets
Simpro Mobile has a timesheets feature which makes it easy for field staff to clock on and off from a mobile device or tablet while they are out in the field. Rather than having field staff call in to the office or fill out a paper job card, you can be alerted to their start, pause and end times instantly when they record time through the mobile app. The faster you can organize field staff labor hours, the faster you can process payroll. Plus, you’ll find that payroll is more accurate when you aren’t deciphering handwritten timesheets and manually typing time details into a system.
2. Fleet tracking and geofencing
The GPS fleet tracking add-on from Simpro, Simtrac, provides full visibility of your field staff vans. Rather than guessing who is where, and when, use Simtrac to quickly identify which technicians are using which vehicles and where they have traveled throughout the day. With geofencing features, you can see exactly when a technician leaves a job site and where they went.
3. Mobile job management
Another key feature in the Simpro Mobile app is the service job management feature. Field staff can easily update job notes and attach photos from the job site so you have a clear picture of the work completed, sent straight to your desktop. This helps you cut down on unnecessary calls and time spent manually inputting information from a paper job card. When you make it easy for field staff to provide details about the work they do, you also make your job easier. In addition, you can create a streamlined process for capturing job notes so that you receive the same information from all field staff, every time.
4. Run labor reports
A key part of efficiently managing field staff is assigning the right person to the right job. Simpro can help you determine where each technician’s strengths lie so you can dispatch them accordingly. With labor reports, you can see which field staff are most profitable, how long it takes each technician to complete certain jobs and which ones have the right qualifications for the right jobs.
Jason Wogoman, Simpro customer and president of a successful electrical company, makes this insightful comment about monitoring field staff: “The point of [using personnel reports] isn’t to micromanage, but to see where we’re making money with each employee and where their strengths are. We have to make money to stay in business, so it’s helpful to see where we are efficient and where we aren’t.”
5. Cloud-based inventory tracking
Do you know what your field staff have in their vans? Better yet, do your field staff know what they have in their vans? Without real-time inventory tracking, field staff often find themselves running to the store to buy materials they don’t need. Or in some cases, materials end up sitting on a truck for months without anyone’s awareness. By uploading materials into Simpro and performing inventory counts digitally, you can make sure your field staff always have the materials they need to do a job.
6. Alerts and notifications
Simpro streamlines communication from the office to the field by allowing you to create alerts for certain tasks. Make sure your field staff know exactly what to do and when by providing automated reminders to confirm job details, submit timesheets, follow up with a lead and complete other tasks that are part of their day-to-day work.
Simpro is a great tool to effectively communicate with field staff and also empower field staff to help out with administrative tasks. However, there is so much more you can do with field service management software. Visit the Simpro website to learn more about how cloud-based software can help you successfully run your business.