How to Choose a Field Service Management Tool

Don’t be distracted by the new shiny toy. Technology actually has to do something for your business to be of value. Therefore when evaluating any new software, the best place to start is with your business goals.

• What are your objectives?
• What barriers exist?
• How could technology help you do things better or more efficiently?

For example, if your business goal is to increase your customer satisfaction scores, a field service management (FSM) tool can help you boost first-time fix rates. It ensures an engineer with the right skillset is sent to each job, they can access a full service history and technical manual through the app, and their van is fully stocked with parts at all times.  

But, FSM tools aren’t created equal – and it’s highly unlikely it’s been developed for your business alone, so you’ll have to do some research. In this article we’ll help you to determine how to choose a field service management tool that is right for your business. 

Understand Your Business Needs for Field Service Management

Unsurprisingly, field service management tools come with a range of features, such as work order management, preventative maintenance, scheduler, inventory management, reporting and analytics, time tracking and more. But don’t get distracted. It’s only a list of what the tool can do – not what you need the tool to do. 

When you’re thinking about how to choose a field service management tool, take a moment to ‘audit’ your business, so you’re really clear on what functionality you need and why. In addition to your business goals, ask yourself:

Internal capabilities:

• How many field engineers do you have? 
• How tech-savvy is your team?
• What does your team expect from an FSM tool?
• How quickly could you implement an FSM tool? Would you need any help?

Problem areas:

• What occasions have you failed to meet your SLAs?
• How many delays have you experienced due to inaccurate inventory or the availability of spare parts?
• How many times has the wrong field technician been assigned to a job?
• What is your first-time fix rate?

Operations:

• Do your engineers tend to work on-site with customers or remotely?
• What percentage of your work is maintenance?
• What systems do you currently use?
• What legislation applies to your organisation?

Gain Insights From Your Engineers and Wider Team

To make this decision alone is risky, because you’re likely to end up with a tool that fails to be useful, usable, or used. But you can’t ask for everyone’s opinion, because you’ll end up with a beast of requirements – and that too leads to a tool, which fails to be useful, usable, or used.

So what do you do to choose a field service management tool that is right for your business?

First, identify your key stakeholders. For example, the service director, operations director, managing director/CEO, and aftersales director. This is your go-to group to solicit information about your internal processes, which informs your field service management tool requirements. For example:

• How do end customers log service requests?
• How are jobs scheduled?
• How do field staff communicate with office-based staff?
• How are services updated?

Second, ask your engineers for their opinions. As the ones following the processes every day, they’ll instantly know what is/isn’t working and where improvements can be made. Think about using a survey to ask key questions like:

• What tasks are the biggest drain on your time?
• What percentage of your time do you spend doing your job vs. admin/travel?
• What’s the most stressful part of the role?

For example, a common bugbear we hear a lot is the amount of paperwork field engineers need to complete. Office staff hand engineers paper job sheets for the day, then later they’ll send a text about an ‘urgent’ job, there’s another form to update when spare parts are used, and another when the job’s complete.

But it doesn’t need to be this way.

Look at the Features That Would Benefit Your Business

The biggest mistake you could make is choosing a job management tool over a field service management tool – and it’s easily done. When you start looking at the options available to you, many tools claim to be an FSM tool. But look closer, and you’ll see this is only available as an add-on. The problem is, managing a ‘job’ and managing the servicing of a complicated piece of equipment is very different. If your tool wasn’t designed for FSM from the outset, it’s never going to be fit for purpose, because it’s made to meet a different need.

So how do you avoid making this mistake?

Look at whether the tool has asset management functionality. Asset management gives you everything you need to take control of your assets, such as asset service history, engineering manuals, parts history and usage tracking. It gives you a more complete tool, with more information, and covers every eventuality you might come across in a service department. 

Find a Tool That Works for Mobile

Believe it or not, there are some major players in the market whose app is just a web portal you can log on to. Can you imagine how clunky that’s going to be to use if you’re out in the field?!

So, top tip #1 when choosing a field service management tool – find one with a mobile app! 

Designing for mobile is completely different to designing for online users. FSM software providers should have invested heavily in developing apps that are intuitive and easy to use to help their engineers become more productive.

For example, our latest mobile app release includes several updates to make it more accessible for one-handed use, distinct icons clearly marking action buttons like ‘Accept’ and ‘Reject’, and streamlined menus to make it easier for users to find what they need.

At a minimum, ensure the FSM tool’s mobile app allows users to:

• Access schedules – including last minute job changes or delays
• Access service history and manuals for the asset being serviced or repaired
• Update job statuses
• Access job checklists
• Track spare parts and inventory – as well as the ability to place orders in the field
• Generate quotes and invoices
• Communicate with customers on the go
• Works offline for sites without WiFi

Evaluate Usability and User Experience in FSM Tools

Functionality is just one side of the coin. You could have the best field service management software in the world, but if it doesn’t appeal to users, they won’t use it. When evaluating a tool, think about:

Usability and User Experience

• Is the navigation simple?
• Is important information clearly displayed and detailed information easy to find?
• Does the software include tooltips to prompt the user?

Visual Design and Accessibility

• Is the design clean with no unnecessary text or icons?
• Is the contrast between the text and background good?
• Do clickable buttons and icons stand out?

Customisation and Branding

• Can you tailor fields and workflows to your requirements?
• Can you add your branding to the platform?
• Can you include your personal templates for documents? 

One way to judge how usable an FSM tool will be without even looking at it, is to check the support offered by the service provider. If the first line of contact is via a chatbot, it doesn’t signal good things for a long-term relationship. But if you speak to a real person (bonus points if you’re appointed a customer success contact!), only good things will follow.

Also, take a look at the onboarding process. If you’re left to your own devices after signing on the dotted line, you’re likely to struggle getting non-technical users making the most of the tool. At Service Geeni, we give our customers access to hundreds of video tutorials. It doesn’t matter how tech-savvy you are, we’ll guide you step-by-step on how to use our software, so you get the most from your investment.

Integrate FSM Software with Your Existing Systems

Integrations help to simplify your business processes, connect users and improve data accuracy, as well as protect your existing investments. But it’s rarely as simple as plugging one system into another. It takes a lot of manual effort to integrate and configure systems so they work as one. 

Granted, there are tools, like Zapier, which are designed to make the integration process easier. But in our experience, it can limit what a customer is able to do with their field service management tool.

If you have the internal resource to perform your integrations, great. If not, you’ll want to be clear on the support offered by the service provider to get you up and running quickly. For example, at Service Geeni we have a dedicated integrations team. This makes common integrations, like Salesforce and Xero, relatively quick and simple, and more complex connections, like SAP, achievable. 

How to Choose a Field Service Management Tool That Scales With Your Business

Adopting field service management software is a long-term investment, so you want to feel confident that whatever tool you choose can grow with your business. Some FSM tools are better suited to smaller businesses. This means once you grow it becomes more difficult to use as more data and use cases are added. Other FSM tools may start off as a great deal, but once you start adding on more functionality it becomes very expensive very quickly.

When considering whether an FSM tool is fit to help you long-term, think about:

• Does the pricing/contract limit how much you can grow, in terms of more jobs, field engineers and data?
• How easy is it to set up new users? If more training is needed, what does that cost?
• How regularly are updates released? Will you receive new functionality as standard?
• What does the product roadmap look like in relation to emerging technologies?
• How easy is it to scale back?

Also, think about how your operating model might change as you scale. For example, if there’s times when you’re struggling to keep up with demand, or perhaps the hiring process turns into a nightmare, you might decide to subcontract work out. Does your FSM tool have a subcontractor module to help with this? With the right functionality, scheduling a job with a sub-contractor becomes as simple as allocating it to one of your own engineers.

How Much Should FSM Software Cost?

The top 3 mistakes customers make when evaluating field service management software costs:

1. Comparing costs, because you’re highly unlikely to be comparing like-for-like.
2. Assuming all the functionality shown is included in the basic pricing.
3. Not asking for additional costs, such as implementation fees.

Pricing is always a tricky area because it tells you very little about what you’re getting – only what you need to invest. Instead, you’re better off looking at the wider picture to evaluate different tools based on their ROI.

For example:

• Does the FSM tool have all the functionality you need? Or will you need additional tools?
• Will the FSM tool integrate with your existing systems? 
• Are there support costs associated with this? And what about implementation costs?
• Does the level of support offered match your business needs?
• Is it a one-time purchase or a monthly subscription? And are there any add-ons?

When calculating the ROI of a tool, there’s a lot to consider beyond upfront and ongoing costs. There’s the impact the tool will have on your operational costs and productivity costs, as well as your brand reputation and customer satisfaction scores.

If you want to find out what savings you could make with Service Geeni, get in touch and ask about our ROI calculator.

So, How Do You Make the Final Decision?

By taking the above questions into consideration, you’ll (hopefully!) have a better idea of how to evaluate the right field service management tool for your business. As you come to make your final decision:

Be sure you have all the information

• Does the tool include all your non-negotiables as standards?
• What are the next steps? Can you implement it yourself? How long will it take? What are the training requirements? And what support is available?
• Have you checked the small print – SLAs, scalability constraints, additional charges and add-ons?

Talk to your stakeholders

• What’s their preference? And why?
• What would stop them saying ‘yes’?
• What would you need from them to ensure the adoption is successful?

Create a shortlist of 2-3 tools

• How do they compare?
• What do the reviews/case studies/client testimonials say?
• Can you watch a demo?

Research the company behind the tech

Afterall, this is going to be a long-term relationship and you want to know who you’re getting into bed with.

• What’s their reputation? 
• What do their stats say – how many years have they been in business, how many clients do they have, what is their client retention rate?
• Do they have experience of working with businesses like you? Can you get a reference?

Of course, nothing compares to a personalised demo where you can meet the team, see the software in action and ask any question you have – which brings us nicely to our final point…

If you would like to see what Service Geeni can do for you, let’s get a date in the diary.

Book a demo

You may also be interested in… 

• • What is Field Service Management Software?
  • Key Features of Field Service Management Software
  • What to look for in a Field Service Management Tool as a Hire Company
  • How to Reduce Paperwork with Field Service Management Software
  • How Field Service Management Tools Can Help You Increase First Time Fix Rates
  • 19 Benefits of Field Service Management Software You Never Thought of