The time recording of service technicians should be quick and easy and cause as little worry as possible. But how best to organize and automate it?
It starts with the right (field) service management software
Everything depends on having the right tools to properly automate service technician time tracking. Preferably as a fully integrated part of the service management software or, even better, as a fully integrated part of your dealer management system. In the blog '4 rules for field service automation' read more about that.
Working with 'statuses'
You can choose to record hours using predefined statuses. That is, field service workers indicate on their laptop or mobile device when they are on their way to a service job, when they start a work order, when they take a break, etc. Working with statuses takes people very little time, and it provides real-time insight into work to the minute. It does require a lot of discipline to change the status all the time. Another disadvantage is that it is not always easy in practice. Consider, for example, a mechanic who works on two work orders simultaneously; it then becomes very difficult to register the hours worked per work order with statuses.
"You want the most accurate insight possible into the activities of your field staff without interfering with their primary work."
Having time filled in
Of course, the hours worked can also be entered into the system at the end of the day. The field technician then enters the start time and end time of the activities he or she has performed. It has the great advantage of allowing the technician to focus entirely on his or her primary duties during the day rather than on administrative matters. However, it does not provide real-time insight into service technician activities during the day. An alternative may be to have the mechanics complete the hours several times a day.
Balancing between control and flexibility
There is no "best" method for field service timekeeping. It depends on the type of organization, your people and the type of service work they perform, which method is most appropriate. You'll find that it's often a balancing act between controlling what happens on the one hand and being flexible and convenient on the other. Or to put it another way; you want the most accurate insight possible into the activities of your field service employees without hindering them from performing their primary duties. Whatever method you choose; digital time registration will in any case provide you with more efficiency and less headaches than the traditional paper work order.
