It takes active, engaged management to maintain and improve field service profitability over time. This isn’t a project, an initiative, or a task force. It requires the installation and operation of a management system that ensures continued focus and improvement.
Start with the following 6 steps as a framework for continuous improvement:
1. Document
Take the time to write down the important things. That includes your sales, service and administrative processes. The simple act of writing it down will highlight inefficiencies and rework and identify the target areas for focused improvement.
2. Train
Ensure that you have a program to train your teams on the technical and the soft skills needed to deliver an outstanding experience. That includes management and the front-line team. Don't expect your team to know your processes if you've never trained them.
3. Measure
Measure the important inputs to delivering a great customer experience and act on those results to grow your profitability over time. Remember that people aren’t robots and they may have a bad day. Include them in understanding the root cause of poor results.
4. Take Action
When an individual underperforms, coach the individual to improvement. When the system or process underperforms, re-engineer it to deliver better results.
5. Listen to your Customers
If you are continuously listening to and reacting to feedback from your customers, you will gain their loyalty and grow your business over time. As you make changes to your processes and behaviour, your customers will let you know if you got it right.
6. Repeat.
How do you drive continuous improvement in your field service operation?
Share your experiences in the comments below and learn more about field service transformation with Chapman Management Solutions at www.chapmansolutions.ca.
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