We all know that as a citizen developer you’re driven to succeed. You’re tasked with keeping a smile on everyone’s face, ensuring budgets remain on track and resources are properly allocated. Whether it’s the Operations Manager or Line of Business Owner, various department heads, the CEO, and everyone in between, your desire to improve processes and solve challenges is worthy of respect.
Field techs’ happiness has an impact
A major group you represent within this chain of stakeholders is field service technicians. These firstline superheroes are out there doing the work, rain or shine, 24/7, seven days a week. During floods, hurricanes, fires. In a pandemic.
So, beyond just being the right thing to do, keeping technicians happy has a monumental impact on your company’s bottom line, reputation, and overall success. Failure to do so is not an option.
So, what do field technicians want?
Glad you asked. The Service Council has been gathering feedback from over 700 field service technicians as part of the 2021 Voice of the Field Service Engineer (VoFSE) Survey. The focus of this research is on technician satisfaction and engagement.
Here’s a snapshot of what field technicians had to say about what they dislike and like about their workdays.
Worst parts of day-to-day work
- 60% dislike paperwork and administrative tasks
- 28% feel pressure to work faster from the customer and management
- 24% hate spending time finding information
Best parts of day-to-day work
- 65% like solving problems
- 38% enjoy fixing and repairing things
- 24% appreciate interacting with customers
Field service workers show a deep preference for being able to focus on performing the work they enjoy doing rather than spending time searching for information, filling out paperwork, or a host of other tasks that take them away from what they feel is most fulfilling in their role.
How do you give service technicians what they need?
Retaining and keeping technicians happy isn’t as complicated as you may think. Like many problems, the best way forward may be to use technology. There are many solutions out there to solve a wide variety of needs. If you are looking to eliminate paperwork and improve your field technician’s experience collecting data and performing service in the field, we’re exactly what you’re looking for.
Let’s break down how ProntoForms’ best-in-field mobile forms app solution helps you empower the field with the right digital tools to meet service technicians’ needs.
We help you eliminate service tech’s paperwork and reduce their administrative tasks.
ProntoForms’ mobile forms enable digital workflows, so techs can say goodbye and good riddance to paperwork. They’re able to capture information—even offline. Complex work is simplified with step-by-step guided forms helping techs reliably complete tasks the first time with greater ease. Repetitive data entry is a thing of the past.
VFC, the nation’s leader in the Facility Protection Industry gained many benefits from using ProntoForms. Field workers now need only five minutes to complete their daily work journals – a task that used to take half an hour out of their days.
Travis Vought, the company’s Vice President says, “ProntoForms has changed everything…. It’s made everything they do in the field easier.” He adds, “Conservatively, ProntoForms is saving our field teams half an hour per day. That adds up quickly.”
As a result, capturing data via a mobile field service app gives firstline workers more time to do what they love, fixing and repairing things, solving problems, and engaging with customers.
We set you up to provide techs with all the information they need
Spending time searching for information that should be readily on hand is frustrating for anyone, but when it’s a technician who’s on the clock, their time is money, and they want to be productive.
ProntoForms provides them with all of the information required to complete jobs consistently and in adherence to standard operating procedures. Offer techs easy-to-follow, detailed work instructions, including contextual resource images such as diagrams and repair guidance that are accessible offline.
We assist you in reducing service workers’ stress.
Working smarter means field techs can complete jobs and tasks faster, with greater efficiency. As a result, mobile apps help them reliably get complex work done on the first visit. And the result is fewer negative interactions with customers, and a happy customer is a happy service worker.
Remote sites have their unique challenges. With ProntoForms, you can guide service workers through processes in areas without network connectivity. The app automatically submits data collected in the field when connectivity is restored.
We help field service technicians satisfy customers.
A major takeaway gleaned from the 2021 Voice of the Field Service Engineer (VoFSE) Survey is how passionate service workers feel about ensuring the customer is satisfied. It’s clear; they care a lot.
A success story we like to share relates to the positive customer satisfaction outcomes that have followed from Johnson Controls’ adoption of ProntoForms. Johnson Controls now boasts improved field visibility, increased data collection capabilities, and greater technician empowerment, and customer transparency.
When speaking of why they chose our solution, David Bishop, Director of Service Operations at JCI said, “We want to give [technicians] all the tools that we possibly can to help them become the hero in front of our customers therefore when the time comes, they need additional service, they’re going to look to Johnson Controls.”
Conclusion
The Service Council’s 2021 Voice of the Field Service Engineer (VoFSE) Survey will help you gain greater awareness of areas to focus on to improve processes to retain and satisfy service workers.
For additional suggestions, we invite you to check out our fascinating IdeaShare recording, ‘A Technician & Executive Sit-down: Fostering technician loyalty, retention, and satisfaction.’ This panel discussion provides a front-row seat to see what field service techs need to deliver exceptional results.
