The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.
Bill Gates
Key performance indicators (KPIs) show what’s working and what’s not. A prime job of field service management software is to ensure a company is nailing its KPIs.
There are some fundamental KPIs a home service professional should track in order to increase efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Why Service Professionals Should Measure Their KPIs?
Key performance indicators (KPIs) measure specific behaviors and outcomes and provide a quantitative assessment of how well a company is performing, tracking real-time performance of various areas of business operations, managers and employees. This focus empowers business owners to review performance and make critical decisions to improve processes, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
What Are the KPIs for Home Service Professionals?
First-time fix rate
The first-time fix rate is the percentage of jobs that are closed on the first visit to the customer’s satisfaction? On average, how many house calls does it take to close one job? Do some jobs have a high or lower first-time close rate, why is that? Can this be fixed?
Would your first-time first-rate sound impressive to potential customers, or make them want to look elsewhere?
MTTR (Meantime to Repair)
Meantime to repair is the average time it takes to complete a job. The MTTR is helpful when predicting job completion times. The MTTR could shed light on factors that impact repair time rates like weather conditions, field technician skill level, home age, or location.
Distribution Quality
Distribution quality is having the right parts in the right place. Waiting for supplies or parts to arrive can ruin the critical path to getting a project done on time. How good is your supply chain at getting the parts when needed, where needed, and in the right amounts?
Customer Satisfaction After Repair
How satisfied are your customers with your service? You may have great Google reviews but what percentage of your business is coming from repeat customers or client referrals? How do you know this? How are you tracking customer satisfaction in-house?
Do you have a system for re-engaging existing customers for maintenance calls or custom-picked items that would serve them well?
Field Engineer Utilization
Field engineer utilization is the amount of time the service person is generating revenue based on 2088 hours/year/person less vacation/training/holidays.
How much revenue does each service worker bring to your business? Are what point do you decide to hire more workers or relieve workers?
Supply Chain Estimate Accuracy
How up-to-date are you on your key suppliers’ delivery timelines? Do you have to reach out to a supplier each time your need to provide a customer an estimate? This is time-consuming.
How Can You Improve Your KPIs?
The first step to improving your KPIs is to track them. Field service management and accounting software are great tools for tracking KPIs.
Another crucial component to improving your KPIs is getting your team members on board. When a worker can answer the question “Why is this KPI important to the company or the customer”, they are more likely to work towards meeting that goal.
Workers do not need to know every single KPI a company has, but workers need to be made aware of the KPIs they are impacting within an organization.
Rewards for workers could be tied to their KPIs which could lead to higher customer satisfaction levels and more accurate job completion estimate times.
Conclusion
The key to running a successful home service business is to deliver exceptional customer service, give your customers consistent service when they need it, and use KPIs to keep tabs on your business.
Data Is Served can help you define, monitor, and improve KPIs in your home service business. Contact us to learn more.
Source:
42 Rules for Superior Field Service: The Keys to Profitable Field Service and Customer Loyalty by Rosemary Coates and Jim Reily, Copyright Rosemary Coates and Jim Reily 2013, Publisher Happy About.