What is a Workflow?
Think about how your business operates. What services do you provide to generate revenue? Whether you focus on residential or commercial work, the concept of workflows is central to your operations.
When we refer to workflows, we mean the series of steps your business takes to effectively acquire customers, deliver services, and collect payments. If your business offers multiple services, you can establish distinct workflows designed for each service.
Workflows are crucial because studies indicate that businesses with optimized workflows can increase their revenue by as much as 20%. This increase is often attributed to higher productivity, reduced downtime, and the ability to take on more services/jobs due to streamlined, repeatable processes.
To start building your Custom Status Workflows specifically for jobs in FieldPulse, click here.
How Workflows Differ
1. Service Type:
The steps in your workflow will vary based on the type of service you are performing.
Emergency Services: These require quick responses, which often means fewer workflow steps/statuses.
Installation Services: The workflow steps/statuses are structured to focus on a systematic process for setup, ensuring all necessary tasks are completed efficiently.
Standard Maintenance Services: These workflows are designed to ensure thoroughness in general and preventative maintenance tasks while allowing for flexibility to adapt to varying service needs and unexpected repairs.
2. Business Size:
Smaller Businesses:
Team members often wear multiple hats, which allows for a fast-paced work environment. While workflows may be shorter, it’s essential that they are clearly defined to ensure consistency and effectiveness in service delivery.
Larger Businesses:
These organizations typically utilize more granular workflows with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, reflecting their larger staff size.
They implement checks and balances, such as multiple approval stages for estimates and invoices, to ensure high-quality performance and accountability.
3. Goals:
Below are some potential business goals to reflect on, along with essential elements to weave into your workflows as you build them.
Customer Satisfaction:
Design workflows to enhance the customer experience.
Prioritize effective communication and timely service delivery.
Establish follow-up processes to ensure customer satisfaction.
Increase Revenue:
Create and test repeatable, templated workflows.
Enable faster job completion and consistency.
Allow for taking on more projects and increasing overall service capacity.
Implement upselling and cross-selling strategies, such as offering maintenance plans during service calls.
Compliance & Safety:
Incorporate steps to ensure compliance with safety standards and legal obligations.
Example: Electrical companies may include mandatory safety checks and documentation for every service.
Prioritizing compliance helps mitigate risks and protect the business's reputation.
Operational Efficiency:
Minimize delays and streamline processes.
Clearly define roles and responsibilities.
Use Subtasks and Custom Forms to enhance efficiency.
Create record templates (Job, Estimate, and Invoice Records) for specific services to save time and money.
What Makes a Workflow Effective?
Clarity | Each step of your workflow is clearly defined with specific tasks and responsibilities assigned to individuals or teams. |
Ease of Use | Your workflow is straightforward and easy to follow, which will help you gain buy-in from your team members. Remember, repeatable workflows lead to repeatable success. |
Flexibility | Your workflow can adapt to changes or unexpected challenges without significant disruption. |
Opportunities for Communication | There are clear channels for communication among team members and customers, ensuring everyone is informed. |
Encourages Documentation | Important processes and decisions are documented, making it easy to track progress and ensure consistency. |
Key Pillars of a Field Service Workflow
Below are best practice recommendations for statuses/steps that we encourage you to incorporate into your workflows. Each pillar addresses critical aspects of your operations, ensuring that you are well-equipped to meet customer needs and drive business success.
1. Customer Acquisition
Tracking Customer Lead Sources: Are you monitoring how your customers find out about your business and services?
Initial Contact Process: What happens as soon as a customer calls requesting service? Does your response process change depending on the type of service the customer needs?
2. Team Scheduling
Service Assignment: Are there instances where you would leave a service unscheduled or unassigned initially?
Team vs. Individual Assignments: Are you assigning services to an entire team or specific team members?
Specialization Tracking: Do your team members have specific areas of expertise? How are you tracking this to ensure the most qualified team member is assigned to each service?
3. Service Management
Pre-Departure Tasks: What tasks do you want your technicians to complete before leaving the service site?
Documentation Practices: How and where are technicians documenting their activities on-site?
Are they using Custom Forms, Subtasks, Job Notes, and/or Comments?
4. Estimates/Invoices
Estimate Process: When providing an estimate, is it a separate visit, or do you provide the estimate and begin work on the same day?
Estimate Options: Do you offer traditional estimates or "good, better, best" options?
Signature Requirements: Do you require a signature on an estimate before starting the service? Is this done in person or sent via email with a dynamic link?
Pricebook Utilization: Do you utilize a pricebook for consistency in your estimates?
Template Use: For services that have consistent materials and charges, can you utilize a template for estimates?
5. Collecting Payment
Payment Process: What does the payment process look like for your business? Do you plan to collect payment on site? If so, have you checked out FieldPulse Payments?
Financing Options: Do you offer financing to your customers?
Follow-Up Procedures: Do you have follow-up processes in place for invoices that are past due?
What Determines the Workflows I Need & Use?
Several key factors influence the workflows you need and how they should be structured:
1. Nature of Services Offered:
The specific services you provide will significantly impact your workflows. For instance, HVAC installation and maintenance may require different steps compared to plumbing repairs or electrical inspections. Understanding the unique requirements of each service will help you design tailored workflows.
2. Regulatory Compliance:
Each trade has its own set of regulations and standards that must be adhered to. Your workflows should incorporate steps to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal regulations, including safety protocols and licensing requirements. This is crucial for maintaining legal and operational integrity.
3. Team Structure and Roles:
The size and structure of your team will affect your workflows. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities help streamline processes and ensure accountability. This can vary based on the number of technicians, administrative staff, and support personnel you have, so it’s important to align workflows with your team’s capabilities.
4. Job Complexity and Determining Subtasks:
The complexity of the jobs you undertake will influence your workflows. More complex projects may require additional steps for planning, coordination, and execution, while simpler tasks may have more straightforward workflows. Assessing job complexity will help you determine the necessary statuses and subtasks to include.
5. Communication Cadences with Customers:
Timely communication is vital for quality service delivery. Consider how your workflows facilitate effective communication with customers, including follow-up processes to ensure satisfaction and address any concerns.
6. Inventory and Supply Chain Management:
The availability of materials and equipment can impact your workflows. Ensuring that necessary supplies are on hand and managing inventory effectively can streamline operations and reduce delays, allowing for smoother service delivery. If supplies need to be ordered, your workflow can include a status/step for that.
7. Payment Processes:
Understanding when and how you get paid is essential for your workflows. Consider how your payment processes are integrated into your workflows to ensure timely invoicing and collection, which is critical for maintaining cash flow. Best practice recommendation from our team, utilize FieldPulse Payments.
Common Inefficiencies That We See Slow Down Workflows in FieldPulse
Below are common inefficiencies that can disrupt workflows in FieldPulse. By being aware of these issues, you can make informed adjustments to your processes ahead of time, leading to increased productivity and a more seamless service experience for both your team and your customers.
Inefficiency | Solution |
Not organizing & segmenting your customers, services, estimates, and invoices. |
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Not tracking the time spent completing a service. |
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Having no process in place for scheduling follow-up visits. |
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Spending too much time on tedious tasks. |
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No ability to collect payment quickly in person or via email/text. |
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Not setting up automated customer communications. |
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Not asking your customers to leave reviews for your business and/or team members. |
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Workflow FAQs
What is the benefit of having a workflow?
Workflows contribute to a more organized, efficient, and productive work environment, ultimately driving business success. You don’t have to overhaul your operations overnight. Begin by identify your most common or most error-prone job types and build a repeatable workflow that supports consistency and clarity across your team. Having an established workflow will help your business scale with confidence, not chaos.
Can I adapt a workflow once I am in it?
Yes! FieldPulse is a flexible system designed to help your team navigate the challenges of a busy day in the field. If you arrive for a general repair and realize it is going to be a much larger job—resulting in another visit, a new estimate, and/or an additional invoice—you can easily make those adjustments within the system!
Have additional questions?
Contact us at support@fieldpulse.com or use the chat feature in the bottom right corner of your screen.