Do you have a firm grip on your field service businesses’ most critical processes? As a field service business owner, it’s crucial to drill into data so you can illuminate what’s working for you and what isn’t. The best way to grow your business is to constantly monitor and revamp important metrics.
Not only is tracking metrics essential, to pounce on opportunities, you need to have a finger on the pulse of your business any time—from anywhere.
Wondering what metrics to hone in on for more revenue? Below are the 10 field service metrics you should be monitoring if you want to catapult growth this year.
1. Average Response Time
To measure average response time, you’ll need to track the time that ticks away between your service call and the moment your technician arrives at your customer’s door. For your total average, add the time from each job and divide by the total number of jobs.
Why it’s important
Your average response time is important because it drastically affects the satisfaction of your customers. Down equipment can disrupt your customers' days or even shut down production. The faster jobs are done, the happier they’ll be. Ultimately, that means more repeat business for your company.
How to improve it
One way to boost your average response time is to use technology that connects your techs with schedulers and dispatchers. For instance, some field management software relays real-time job updates to your internal offices. That way, schedulers see more and can craft more efficient routes for your technicians.
2. Average Time to Repair
To calculate average time to repair, start by adding up the total number of unplanned maintenance hours spent on an asset. Next divide that number by the total number of repairs your employees have completed on that piece of equipment.
Why it’s important
In addition to indicating your techs’ efficiency, this metric can provide a glimpse into customer satisfaction. Chances are, the lower your average time to repair is, the faster customers can get on with their day, and the happier they’ll be.
How to improve it
If you want to cut your average time to repair, make sure you have a strong handle on tech processes and scheduling. One way to increase repair efficiency is to use field service software that allows you to track technicians, match tech skill sets to jobs, and find techs that are close to the service area.
Another way to lower your average time to repair figure is to give technicians the tools to repair equipment efficiently the first time. That includes providing on-the-job manuals and support, as well as a path to ongoing training and certifications.
3. Average Time to Complete
Average time to complete measures the average time it takes your business to complete the entire job cycle from the initial call all the way to billing. When you understand this metric, you will be able to see how efficient your workflow is and if you need to make any adjustments.
Why it’s important
It may be cliché, but in the field service industry, time really is money. The lower your average time to complete is, the more efficient your operation is. That means you can reach more customers and grow the business faster.
How to improve it
If your business isn’t already using all-in-one field management software, this technology can help you measure and adjust average time to complete for higher productivity. In fact, one Davisware customer was able to add 520 hours to field tech annual productivity.
By measuring the whole customer journey—from scheduling and dispatching to job completion and payment—on a single platform, you can see where your processes can be tweaked for higher productivity.
4. First-Time Fix Rate
Being able to complete a job in one visit is great, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Understanding this particular metric may illustrate that your techs are spending too much time at return visits rather than gaining new business. This figure can also reveal holes in productivity. For instance, if you’re not sending the right tech, with the right qualifications, to appropriate jobs, it’s probably dragging down your first-time fix rates.
Why it’s important
First-time fix rates can affect both customer satisfaction and the amount of revenue your business is able to bring in. First, higher first-time fix rates mean you’re delivering service to your customers more effectively. That can lead to more referrals and repeat business. Second, the faster your techs complete jobs, the more customers they can reach in a day. The result is more completed jobs and more profit.
How to improve it
High first-time fix rates are all about getting the right tech to the right job with the right part. In addition to taking advantage of all-in-one software, you can improve first-time fix rates by streamlining parts management. The easier you can order parts and get them in your techs’ hands, the more you’ll be setting jobs up for success.
5. Repeat Visits
Repeat visits measure the number of times a tech returns to one particular job to finalize the service within a set time frame. If there’s a high volume of repeat visits, it might be time for your techs to participate in additional training.
Why it’s important
Repeat visits cut into your business’s revenue and bog down techs. Simply put, excess repeat visits waste time and money.
How to improve it
Advanced training is the key to increasing first-time fix rates and reducing repeat visits. This is where features, such as XOi technology, can drastically help. When it’s paired with field service software, this video technology lets you capture, share, and save on-the-job data. That makes it easy for your best techs to virtually coach new techs through a job in real time.
6. Utilization
Utilization is how many productive hours your techs spend during the workday. Servicing a customer is considered productive while sitting in traffic is not. If you find out that your utilization is low, you may want to look into improving your scheduling, dispatching, or both.
Why it’s important
The more efficient your techs are, the more customers they’ll be able to reach and the more money your business will bring in. If utilization is low, it means you aren’t servicing as many customers as you could be.
How to improve it
Adopting field service management software can quickly lift your utilization rates. In fact, one study found companies that use field service management software reach 33 percent higher workforce utilization than businesses that don’t have software. In one recent case, a Davisware customer even used software to slash manual data entry by 50-75 percent. In addition to freeing up workers, software reveals insights that help business leaders streamline processes for the best results.
7. Contract Uptime
Contract uptime is the percentage of uptime for an installed product covered by a contract. If your company isn’t generating new revenue because you’re sending your techs to jobs covered by a contract, you may want to look into making a few changes in your processes or suppliers.
Why it's important
Contract uptime is important on two fronts. First, it’s important to measure uptime to make sure you’re upholding service agreements. Second, overdelivering on contract uptime can eat into your business’s bottom line. After all, spending too much time on jobs that are under contract could reduce the amount of time your techs are bringing in revenue from new jobs.
How to improve it
One way to improve contract uptime is to keep a close eye on equipment lifecycles. If a brand or type of equipment is breaking down more frequently than you anticipated, it could be forcing your techs to conduct extra maintenance on less profitable jobs. You can also use software to examine which customers already have a service agreement and who is due for service—without wasting time rummaging through paper contracts.
8. Service Contract Attach Rate
To determine your service contract attach rate, first calculate your total number of product sales. Next tally the number of sales that include service contracts. Divide the number of sales that include contracts by the total number of sales. Multiply the result by 100 for a percentage rate.
Why it’s important
Service contracts don’t just increase revenue, they also solidify your relationship with existing clients. By setting contracts, you lay the groundwork for more upsell opportunities, referrals, and repeat business.
How to improve it
Customer service is a must if you want to lift your service contract attach rate. Extra customer service or sales training can boost your service contract attach rate—and your company’s revenue.
9. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is what you spend on marketing to acquire new customers within a specific time period. To get this number, divide the total cost by the number of new customers or jobs you pick up. Your goal is to have the lowest CAC possible, so if it’s looking a little high, you may need to make some adjustments in your campaigns.
Why it’s important
Customer acquisition costs are a great way to measure ROI. By lowering your CAC, you end up with more profit at the end of the day.
How to improve it
Focus your efforts on customers who want your product or service. It may be tempting to cast a wide net, but it’s better to zone in on the customers you know will appreciate your business. Honing in on your ideal customer will help you get more bang for your marketing buck.
10. Organic Growth
Good metrics should result in company growth, and tracking metrics will help you measure your success and determine if any changes need to be made. When measuring organic growth, you want to always be thinking about retention and churn, which will either prove your advertising and various campaigns to be successful or unsuccessful.
Why it’s important
The higher your business’s organic growth is, the more potential customers you’ll be reaching. Organic growth shows how much your business’s efforts are paying off, and it’s a good indication of how much your brand, and company, is growing.
How to improve it
Want to increase your business’s organic growth? Dive into your internal processes, sales, and finances. Track what’s working and what’s holding your business back. From there, you can build out the processes that are turning into more sales and cut processes that are just wasting your employees’ time.
Another way to lift organic growth is to ask customers for feedback after service visits. This will give you first-hand knowledge about what’s working and what needs to improve.
Use Metrics to Grow Your Business
Monitoring the above metrics is key to your company’s success. Understanding these numbers will help you determine which processes and practices are positively impacting your company, and which ones are negatively impacting it.
Now it’s up to you to decide what your business needs to function, how it will function, what improvements your practices and processes need, and what technologies are best for you and your business. If you’re looking for business management software to help streamline, manage, and scale your business, schedule a demo of Davisware software today.
