If you have established a “day-starter” routine (Tip #20), then the next best place to look for productivity (and profitability) is the “end-of-day”.
Many of the companies that we work with do a good job of dispatching work orders and getting techs out on the road, but many fail to manage the technicians at the end of the day where a number of things can go wrong:
Technician A is working ahead of schedule and finishes early. She’s happy to go home and finish the day in the garden having completed all of her assigned work.
Technician B is falling behind. They make the call to reschedule a customer until another day to free up time. Unfortunately, the message doesn’t get through to you and the call is missed.
Technician C calls in every morning to talk with the dispatchers or planners about the number of calls that he has and negotiates to remove them. The time spent negotiating would have made up for the extra call.
There are many more scenarios, but you can see where we’re heading here. Into a black hole of lost productivity.
To avoid this, clearly articulate your “end-of-day” routine and include:
1. Intra-day communication.
Using your field service management system or other communication protocols, keep in
touch with technicians so you know how they are progressing.
2. Adjust calls between technicians if needed.
By staying in touch, you will know if you need to take action to balance the schedule.
Doing this early avoids the end of day surprises.
3. Call-in to sign off.
Technicians confirm with their dispatchers that the day is complete and the dispatcher or a supervisor confirms that to be the case. There are lots of ways to keep a technician
busy until the end of their paid shift.
4. Establish a culture of teamwork.
Technicians should understand that they may take on that extra call today, but their
teammate may do the same for them tomorrow. Working together as a team will
balance the workload to improve the customer experience and grow the company.
[NB: If you’re using a drip-feed approach, then there are no ‘extra’ calls. See tip #15]
5. Have a clear overtime policy.
There should be an expectation that the day rarely finishes right on 5pm. Some days
will end a little early and some will end a little late. It all comes out in the wash, and
when it doesn’t, OT will be paid appropriately.
It’s clear that these policies are only a starting point and need to be integrated with your
planning group to continue to improve scheduling and routing to minimize end of day
challenges. Building a strong team that operates with integrity and mutual respect is key.
What ‘end-of-day’ policies do you employ to increase productivity?
Share your experiences online and learn more about field service transformation with Chapman Management Solutions at www.chapmansolutions.ca.
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