1. Field Communications
Staying in touch with your field employees is crucial, which means choosing a platform to communicate through. Many home service businesses turn to Google Sheets, emails or texts for communication solutions between office employees and field employees. However, these solutions are not practical. They result in miscommunication, leaving employees feeling disconnected and unsupported. We know how resistant technicians can be to technology solutions. If technology is not easy to use, it results in low adoption rates.
The right solution is getting your team on a simple app, similar to the messaging apps your technicians may be used to. A comprehensive solution that centralizes your communications can cut down wasted time and improve employee satisfaction by improving internal communications. On the other hand, inefficient communication takes away from your field service technicians’ performance. So, facilitating communications prepares your workforce with the information they need and lets everyone focus on getting the job done well.
2. Communication Norms
As we mentioned, every one of your employees needs to be kept in the loop to perform their best. Therefore, it is vital to communicate often. However, often- does not mean constant. Daily check-ups are great, but you do not want to bombard your co-workers either. Establish communication norms.
Field workers should check in with management and vice versa. Consequently, having a platform that provides an inbox is a perfect approach. Employees get a notification when messages are unread. Furthermore, by prioritizing a message as low or high priority, employees can answer according to the appropriate timeframes. Not only will you build relationships with your team, but your employees will feel valued and heard.
3. Other Approaches
The best teams are made up of people with diverse skills who can work collaboratively. Problem-solving and quick responses to unknown situations are important skills for field service teams. Therefore, individuals in different departments need to communicate.
A “messaging style” is not the only way you can develop a connected and high-performing team. A great way to do this is to update quotes and work orders with notes and pictures. Adding updates at every stage of a quote or work order means employees are not directly communicating but are staying connected and on the same page. Having a history of these updates makes it easier for every employee to understand a job- and it keeps everyone accountable. Having a technology solution with these features results in higher productivity, which boosts the company’s revenue. Proper field communications ensure your team receives your updates in real-time.
Strong communication across your entire business leads to more informed, engaged, and ultimately higher-performing employees. By giving all your employees an easy way to communicate, you are sure to see positive results. If you’d like to know more about YourRadar and its Communication features, please call 1-800-661-1755 or visit www.yourradar.net.
