Management in any business is not an easy feat. From delegating work to dealing with unexpected events, the variety of challenges can affect the business. Especially when the staff takes to the field to offer services according to clients’ needs and schedules, managing things with providers at different locations can become more complex. Not to forget the severe hit that productivity and business costs can take due to human errors such as overscheduling, data discrepancy, inefficient delegation, etc.
All of these problems have a single solution – service scheduling software. Service scheduling or field service scheduling software automates tasks to speed up the process while also eliminating the scope of human error. Let’s understand its benefits in detail.
1. Automated appointment scheduling
Many businesses are still scheduling appointments and bookings manually using pen, paper, records, and Google calendars. While these methods may suffice the needs of small businesses of 10 – 20 employees and a small clientele, they can be very ineffective in large and growing companies. Businesses that schedule appointments manually run the risk of critical mistakes, such as overbookings, double bookings, and incorrect bookings because of human error.
This problem is solved by service scheduling software that removes records and spreadsheets from the scheduling algorithm and gives businesses control of scheduling and rescheduling. Automated scheduling software flexibly responds to the scheduling requests and at the same time prevents scheduling conflicts such as incorrect bookings or overbookings.
2. Real-time management of field servicing data
Field service scheduling software does more than just scheduling services and appointments. It gives the user access to a centralized platform that allows:
- Managing time slots
- Creating automated workflows
- Delegating work orders as per the availability
- Creating quotations and invoices
- Updating service status in real-time, and much more.
Moreover, field service scheduling software allows access to the service data at multiple levels, ensuring that everyone from admin to the customer is in the loop.
Service scheduling software also allows communicating in real-time. The mobile-first approach will enable employees to share data, information, and updates while on the go, which reduces significant delays and miscommunication. An intelligent business servicing platform eliminates these common bottlenecks and enhances efficiency.
3. Scheduling control to customers
Customers today are tech-savvy and hate contacting administrators for a task as simple as scheduling an appointment. Having the liberty to schedule, reschedule, and cancel appointments and services per their calendar improves their experience with the business. That’s another reason why service scheduling software is so popular.
Service scheduling or field service scheduling software allows customers to schedule and reschedule their appointments through the customer portal. This reduces the amount of back and forth that goes into making and canceling appointments. Moreover, if the customers have to cancel an appointment or shift it, they can directly call the concerned person without sending emails and canceling requests to the admin.
4. Increased productivity through meaningful insights
Servicing companies that do not know their demand patterns fail to utilize their full potential despite offering excellent services. This is especially true in growing businesses since they lack predictive insights, which prevents creating a reliable goal and achievement path.
Service scheduling software gives clear insight into high-demand hours and the type of demand through automated reports and nudges. This helps businesses in managing resources and allocating service providers without any shortage while also optimizing the delegation. And this renders another benefit – optimized employee productivity. Automated scheduling ensures that all the available time is used effectively and that the business is more effective than ever.
5. Increased Savings
Imagine hiring and training employees to take care of tedious tasks such as checking availability, scheduling and rescheduling service appointments, managing cancellations, etc. This is a waste of talent and a waste of money when a single automated platform can do all these jobs so that you can hire employees for tasks that require human intervention.
Automated field service scheduling saves cost in other ways as well, such as:
- Rescheduling and canceling in time, which prevents customer no-shows that they can’t be charged for.
- Preventing service delays through automated reminders to mobile workers.
Moreover, the use of paper for scheduling and reporting attributes to the high cost to the company. And with the help of software for such tasks, the need for paper is reduced multifold, hence reducing cost.
6. Reduced Waste
The traveling time of service providers when visiting service locations must be minimized to reduce fuel waste. Therefore, businesses must aim to assign service providers optimally based on location. This can be done through automated scheduling and automated route & traffic mapping features of service scheduling software.
It allows assigning services based on the providers’ location and proximity to the destination, which saves businesses wastage of fuel. And there are other benefits as well:
- Reduced travel cost
- Optimized number of appointments in a day
- Reduced employee burnout
- Increased employee productivity
Understand your business requirements and put the benefits of service scheduling software to work.
Contributor
Akhil Rajan
Akhil Rajan is a Customer Success Specialist at Zuper, an intelligent workforce management platform for service-oriented businesses. Working with customers on a daily basis, he has a deep understanding of their needs and pain points and so he is able to contribute to the marketing strategies for Zuper with the content he writes.