2 Key Methods of Technician Scheduling for Field Service Companies

Vern is the owner of a local plumbing company with a large fleet of vans and crews. Though each crew has at least one licensed plumber, they all have different core competencies, and Vern has many choices about how the company handles technician scheduling.

When it comes time to schedule your own crews based on the jobs on your calendar, you have options. The choices you make could affect your profitability, so take note of these two scheduling methods.

1. Technician Scheduling By Zones

This is the most obvious form of technician scheduling; prioritizing based on the location of jobs. Reducing drive times means technicians will have more time to work on the billable stuff. Careful planning can save not just time but fuel, which will help your profitability.

If you offer online booking, you don’t have to open your entire schedule of availability and leave it up to chance that your routes will be manageable. If you schedule your availability in zones, they won’t have to suffer the problem of having a crew drive all the way across town to complete a job. For example, can open your schedule up to jobs on the east side of town on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and the west on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

2. Scheduling by Core Competency

Not all crews are created equal. Technician scheduling often has to take into account the skills of your technicians. For example, the plumbing company in our example above. They offer residential plumbing installations and emergency response to leaks and floods. Their crews have different specialties that make them better at certain job types. Vern can choose to open up the company’s booking availability based on when team members with special skills are available and on the clock.

What’s more, he can combine the two strategies above, to make sure his days are optimized in terms of travel time, and the expertise of his team.

You Choose the Availability, The Customers Book the Jobs

Having field service software with online booking has helped many businesses, large and small, to boost productivity and profitability. It works for HVAC franchise Modern Purair, to help schedule jobs for their entire enterprise. “We’re up to 30% online booking, which is huge strategically in our industry,” says Modern Purair CEO Lane Martin. “Nobody else can offer true online booking with instant availability and real truck routing.” It’s not just a reduction in office time, but also the convenience for customers that gives them an edge. ”This self-serve model just works. Customers see their options and can book a time that’s convenient for them – so they’re more likely just to schedule it directly than if they had to call in.”

Want to learn more about field service software can help with your technician scheduling? Book a free, private demo of Vonigo.