| As both customer demand and competition increase | | | | monitors the progress of a field service event |
| and become more complex, you must continually strive | | | | throughout the entire critical process. The report may |
| to grow service revenue and profits through innovation | | | | track several checkpoints, but at a minimum should |
| and improved productivity. This involves managing | | | | include the following: |
| various (and sometimes new) service products and | | | | Opened/Not Dispatched - Service request has been |
| service level agreements - often with new and unique | | | | received and entered in to the Service Management |
| characteristics and requirements. | | | | System, but has not been assigned and/or dispatched |
| Managing all of this data requires a comprehensive | | | | to a field technician. |
| reporting strategy that properly identifies and | | | | In many instances, the field technician will not have |
| measures all key metrics. At the same time, you must | | | | visibility to new service events until they are |
| set manageable targets or other comparisons for | | | | dispatched. Timely dispatching is critical to meeting |
| each metric. The most effective method of managing | | | | customer and internal Response and Resolution Time |
| large volumes of data is to use exception reporting to | | | | requirements and to avoiding non-productive time in the |
| identify and track the variances. By quantifying these | | | | field. In addition, accurate forecasting depends on a |
| variances you can prioritize and develop actionable | | | | reasonable estimate of the workload and revenue |
| items to address critical shortfalls. | | | | potential of incoming service requests. Mishandled |
| None of the above is simple or easy to implement. But | | | | service requests (not dispatched or dispatched to the |
| without a planned approached, the reporting will be | | | | wrong service technician/area) can cause momentary |
| disconnected and incomplete. In addition, unless | | | | decreases and increases in call volume distributed to |
| standardized reports are used consistently across | | | | the field. This causes additional stress throughout the |
| your entire field service business, the ability to | | | | system as calls are continually re-prioritized and |
| implement and enforce best-practice procedures will | | | | rescheduled. |
| be greatly compromised. | | | | Dispatched/Not Started - Service requesr has been |
| Addressing the entire breadth of service reporting can | | | | communicated to the field technician, but no technician |
| be daunting. This article discusses one segment of | | | | on-site labor activity has been logged. |
| service operational reporting which is generally focused | | | | Service requests can be lost in the handoff from the |
| on efficiencies and resource management with a | | | | dispatch center to the field or from various handoffs |
| short-term (1-30 day) outlook. Specifically, we will look | | | | within each team. This is the first critical metric |
| at the Standard Service Pipeline Report structure | | | | (Response Time) of many Service Level Agreements |
| which provides a holistic approach to track each | | | | (SLA) and generally has a high correlation with |
| customer request as it flows through your entire | | | | customer satisfaction. In some cases, this may just be |
| service process. | | | | a lack of communication (e.g., the work has been |
| Common Legacy Reporting Problems | | | | started but no information has been forwarded to the |
| Chances are your field service reporting has grown | | | | back office support team). In terms of managing |
| over time with little forethought or strategic planning. | | | | service events, lack of communication has the same |
| Many reports may have originated as ad hoc or | | | | negative impact as not actually arriving on site. |
| special-purpose requests from multiple sources that | | | | Started/Not Completed - Technician has begun at |
| have eventually evolved to a loosely organized set of | | | | least one on-site activity, but service order has not |
| standard reports. This will undoubtedly lead to many | | | | been marked as Complete (in the SMS). |
| shortcomings: | | | | Resolution Time is the next key customer metric and |
| - Blind Spots. Field Service data can be complex and | | | | in many cases the most important. It also marks the |
| difficult to obtain. As a result, there is an | | | | final stage of the field's direct involvement with the |
| understandable tendency to primarily measure data | | | | service event (other than forwarding completed |
| that is easily available, such as the number of incoming | | | | paperwork). Delays in completing and finalizing service |
| calls or the number of invoices generated. This | | | | requests will greatly impact the collection efforts |
| hit-and-miss reporting structure will create blind spots | | | | required. In most cases you have already absorbed |
| that could result in bottlenecks throughout the process. | | | | the costs for these service requests, so all revenue |
| - Inconsistent Data. Many of your existing reports may | | | | leakage has a direct negative impact on bottom line |
| essentially provide the same information, but approach | | | | profits. |
| it from different angles or for different purposes. | | | | Competed/Not Invoiced - All on-site activities have |
| Similar reports will often have conflicting (or at least | | | | been completed, but the customer invoice has not |
| inconsistent) data and be difficult to cross reference. | | | | been generated. |
| - Inconsistent use of Exceptions/Variances. You likely | | | | All of your efforts up to this point have limited meaning |
| do not have enough resources to attack every | | | | until the service request is invoiced. This is in effect the |
| problem or every instance of non-compliance. | | | | final internal scorecard of your performance. Many |
| Therefore, you must focus on the largest exceptions | | | | bottlenecks at this checkpoint are the result of |
| that require immediate attention. Without specific | | | | inefficiencies further up the pipeline - but they are more |
| targets to identify variances, the report reader will only | | | | visible here. Potential leaks can be numerous and |
| be looking at data or, perhaps worse, left to maker | | | | include keying errors, oversights, customer contract |
| their own interpretations of what is important. | | | | setup, pricing policies, etc. |
| - Confusing and Inconsistent terminology. Another result | | | | There are of course multiple interim steps within the |
| of creating reports from multiple sources over an | | | | major categories above, but these provide a |
| extended period of time is the propagation of multiple | | | | reasonable level of granularity for reporting and |
| terms and codes - many of which may be vague or | | | | management purposes without over-burdening |
| otherwise poorly defined. | | | | technicians and support personnel with extraneous |
| - Revenue Centric. In many companies the reporting is | | | | detail. Ideally, you should have back-up detailed reports |
| heavily weighed towards the final stages of the | | | | for each of these four major areas showing the |
| process (completion and invoicing). While important, this | | | | drill-down to service area or individual technician |
| relegates service reporting to merely score-keeping - | | | | The information shown on the Standard Pipeline |
| not as an operation management tool. Revenue is | | | | Report typically includes Counts of Service Requests |
| generally an end-game result. It answers the question | | | | and Average Age (from original opened date/time). It is |
| "What has happened" not "What is happening." | | | | also helpful to included percentages, standard deviation, |
| The Standard Service Pipeline Report Structure | | | | and minimum and maximum values. |
| Every field service event passes through several | | | | All metrics, with reasonable comparisons, must be |
| gates or checkpoints. Not only do these provide | | | | clearly established and consistently measured. These |
| specific points of measurement (providing the | | | | metrics should be routinely reviewed by management |
| opportunity to establish firm targets) but they also | | | | and adjusted as necessary to set higher standards, |
| represent single points of failure or potential | | | | meet new market demands, and support the financial |
| bottlenecks. The goal of this report is aide service | | | | and marketing goals of the company. |
| managers in their efforts to forecast demand and | | | | A properly implemented Standard Pipeline Report will |
| adjust resources, address and remove obstacles | | | | greatly improve visibility to bottlenecks and potential |
| (bottlenecks), and identify and watch for potential leaks | | | | revenue leaks within your field service process and |
| (both revenue and service performance). | | | | indicate where you should focus Lean Six Sigma or |
| The Standard Service Pipeline Report structure | | | | other process improvement activities. |