Leaders in the field service industry have one thing in common: they consistently track key performance indicators (KPIs) to help drive the strategy behind their business.
KPIs track specific metrics that are predetermined based on the data you want to collect. In field service industries, KPIs are usually used to improve daily workflow and to address specific challenges in field service operations.
Tracking KPIs allows your organization to collect important data and shows you whether or not you are hitting your business goals. Targeting the right KPIs provides you with a roadmap of how to rise above your franchise competitors and steer your company in the right direction.
Universal field service metrics don’t exist. Instead, it’s important that you fully understand the unique needs of your business and the metrics to track based on role-specific responsibilities. From field technicians to dispatchers to your office staff, each role at your company should have specific KPIs to help your business stay on a path toward growth.
Possible Field Service KPI Metrics
There are many types of metrics used in field service management, all of which should be as specific as possible to the needs of your business.
Consider some of the following metrics to track to get started:
- Average response time
- First-time fix rate
- Mean time to service
- Mean time to repair
- Customer retention rate
- Job profitability
- Technician utilization
- SLA or contract compliance
- Customer churn rate
- Revenue or contract leakage
- Cost per call
- Contract attach rate
- Billable or overtime hours
- Reschedule rate
- Employee retention
- Technician productivity
- Growth rate
- Repeat visits
These are only a handful of options for the types of key performance metrics that you can track. Because running a field service operation involves so many complex moving parts, keeping track of metrics can provide insight into areas that need improvement.
How to Choose the Right Field Service Management KPIs
One of the most difficult parts of incorporating KPIs into your business is determining which you should track. There are a few questions to consider to help you determine the best key field service metrics.
1. Do your KPIs align with your business goals?
One of the easiest ways to create effective KPIs is to ensure they directly align with the goals of your business. Choosing goals that you think you should be tracking may be tempting, but the goals need to be as specific to your business as possible to be effective.
Start by evaluating the short-term and long-term business goals you have. Consider moving away from “vanity” metrics that you think you should track. Only focus your energy on metrics that are directly tied to your business.
2. Can you take direct action to achieve them?
In addition to aligning with your business goals, your field service KPIs also need to be actionable. If you begin tracking your KPIs, but you aren’t sure how to take action to improve upon them, you won’t make any lasting or worthwhile improvements to your business.
For example, if the weather directly impacts your business, you may track a KPI such as jobs affected by weather-related delays. However, it seems like a good KPI to track, factors such as the weather are out of your control.
3. Will you have access to the data?
Regardless of the metrics you’re tracking, it’s essential you have access to the related data to keep track of your progress. The data associated with each KPI should be consistent and easy to find.
If you have a KPI in mind, but you aren’t able to quantify it and access the data behind it, consider switching to a different, more measurable KPI instead.
The Most Common FSM Metrics
If you’re unsure about what field service performance metrics are most beneficial to track, we’ve outlined some popular options below.
KPIs for Dispatchers and Schedulers
Dispatchers and schedulers make up a large part of the field services workforce, and they play an integral role in keeping field service companies running smoothly. Some common KPIs to consider tracking include time to schedule, time to first contact, and travel time.
Time to Schedule
Scheduling your next job as quickly as possible is always the end goal. The dispatchers and on-staff schedulers on your team should aim to book the next job as soon as possible to keep the influx of jobs as steady as possible.
A delay in scheduling will lead to lower productivity and longer downtimes. The more jobs a contractor has, the more they are in a routine and will maximize your company’s return on investment. Keep an eye on your average time to schedule to see if this area of your business could be improved.
Time to First Contact
If you have a potential customer interested in using your business’s services, don’t make them wait a second longer than necessary to hear from you. If a customer becomes frustrated and impatient while waiting to hear from you, chances are high that they’ll take their business elsewhere.
Utilize the data that reflects how long it takes to contact your customers and do everything that you can to cut this time town. If you’re able to contact your customers soon after they initially reach out to learn more, you’ll increase your chances of securing another job.
Some ways to improve your time to first contact include integrating a field service software that can assist you with scheduling. You can also improve your CRM platform to cut out unnecessary steps that come with securing another job.
Travel Time
Getting from one job to another can eat up precious moments of your company’s workday. Dispatchers and schedulers are most effective when they can complete multiple jobs in a row, minimizing travel time and maximizing productivity.
In the case that travel time for your field service employees is too high, this could be a sign that your company is booking jobs that are too far away, you need to hire more technicians with specific skill sets, or you are accepting too many last-minute bookings that disrupt the flow for your employees.
Consider investing in more training for your field service employees, using software to guide your workers toward the fastest route, or coming up with a solution to provide last-minute or emergency services.
KPIs for Field Service Managers
In addition to tracking your field service employees, you can track KPIs specific to your field service managers.
Utilization/Wrench Time
This field service performance metric tracks how much time a field worker spends on tasks they’re supposed to be completing and how much time they spend on non-revenue-driving activities such as administrative work or internal meetings.
Keeping track of this KPI sheds light on the overall productivity of your field service workers and shows areas of the business that can be tightened to increase productivity.
Any time-consuming and manual processes should be replaced with automated processes if possible. Time is money, so any areas in which you can cut back on time will benefit your business.
Response Time
Response time is also worth tracking for your field service managers. Consider tracking how long it takes your field service workers to get back to service calls. The faster they can do so, the more productive they will be throughout the day.
If you keep track of how long it takes for your team to respond to calls and resolve the problem at hand, you’ll gain insight into what factors are holding your business up. You can closely examine calls that take a long time to resolve, as doing so will unveil weak spots in your business or help you figure out which workers need a bit of extra training to be proficient on the job.
There are related KPIs that intertwine with response time, such as travel time and utilization. Keep track of patterns and use this data to uncover important insights about your business.
Variance From Standard
After you’ve been in business for a significant amount of time, you’ll have a good understanding of the average time each job takes. Keeping track of any time variances from the standard schedule can provide you with information about operational issues.
If you notice a consistently high variance across the board, you may want to consider adjusting your time duration or consider if certain employees need to receive more hands-on training to be successful.
KPIs for Deskless Workers
Average Miles Traveled Per Technician Per Day
The distance between each field worker’s jobs should be reasonable, as too much traveling time can take away from production. In addition to tracking the distance between each job, you can also keep track of distance traveled per work order. Doing so can help you cut back on unnecessary costs.
Field Visits Per Field Engineer Per Day
Keep track of how many field visits each of your employees is completing, as it will help you identify what workers are the most productive and what employees could benefit from more engagement with their work. Managers can especially benefit from keeping track of this KPI when it comes to promotions, raises, and bonuses.
How to Make Tracking Field Service KPIs Easier
Technology is one of the easiest ways to keep track of so many moving parts of your field service business. A field service management software such as serviceminder.io can directly impact your business in the following ways:
Collect Data
Service management metrics and reporting are difficult to monitor on your own. Our software can help you capture relevant data points to help you keep track of your chosen KPIs. All of these data points are then stored in your business platform.
Report on Metrics
Once you’ve started collecting relevant pieces of data, you’ll want to analyze it regularly to see how your KPIs are changing. Real-time data information makes this easy, timely, and relevant to your current business operations.
Make Changes as Necessary
Knowledge is power, and having the data surrounding your KPIs allows you to implement changes to improve the operations of your business. The more time you spend using your KPIs to make changes, the better off your business will be.
Conclusion
Although it may seem like an overwhelming task to establish KPIs and keep track of data surrounding your business, doing so can have a significant impact on your company for the better.
To assist you in this task, rely on the right software to do the heavy lifting for you. This is exactly what you can expect when you choose serviceminder.io to help your business.
Consider booking a demo with our passionate team to see how our software works to improve your business.