As innovators continue to advance modern technology and broaden the scope of influence on today’s society, businesses are continually benefitting and growing as a result. Think back to just fifty years ago- salespeople relied on in-person advertisement opportunities, ranging from pounding the pavement and knocking on potential customers’ doors to piling into a car and driving across the country with on-hand inventory in the trunk to try to sell to people. Management had no way of predicting the success of these sales each day and would remain unaware until their salespeople checked in remotely or returned with the remaining unsold products.
Now think of the modern day – with improved connectivity through advanced technology, the days of knocking on doors with inventory, calling potential customers with, and keeping track of sales on paper notepads are long gone. Instead, business management tools, client data, invoicing systems, and various forms of mobile communication can all be accessed digitally, creating a path for improved communication that is accessible to every team and individual engaged in an organization. As a result of this improved network, businesses are better suited to serve their customers, create more efficient mediums for work, and improve the overall quality of the goods or services they provide.
These technological advancements, alongside the Covid-19 pandemic, have reformed how work is done; businesses have needed to evolve their management styles to match the increasingly popular employment option of working from home. This shift has allowed these businesses to remain productive, efficient, and supportive of their employees and customers, leading many to permanently operate under either a work-from-home or hybrid employment model.
What Have We Learned?
It’s safe to say that many of us agree that we, as a society, have learned a lot throughout the COVID pandemic these past few years. Our ways of life have changed significantly as we’ve adapted to social distancing, mask mandates, and vaccinations. The “new normal” is vastly different from our lives in the past, even just five years ago. These significant changes have driven businesses to evolve, and those who have adapted have experienced incredible growth. With sweeping changes in the digital landscape, it is no surprise that business management software has had a lasting impact and has continued to grow in popularity and effectiveness.
What is Salesforce Field Service?
Salesforce Field Service (SFS), formally known as Field Service Lightning (FSL), is an extension of the Service Cloud within Salesforce that connects customers, businesses, products, and services all on a single, shared platform.
SFS is designed to provide agents, dispatchers, and mobile employees with all the necessary information and resources to guarantee the best customer satisfaction. It is a single platform that allows its users to manage the complete spectrum of the business’ field services.
How Does Salesforce Field Service Work?
If a business is interested in investing in SFS, success lies in the synchronization and involvement of these three essential partners on the SFS platform:
- Call center
- Dispatch
- Field service technician
In order to experience the entire set of benefits of the new system, it is vital that the three partners listed above are utilizing the software. Regardless of whether an organization implements this specific software or any other new system, any sweeping changes will fall short of management’s vision and expectations without cooperation and participation from all parties involved.
These partners work together in a sequence of activities. The first point of contact in this flow is the call center. When customers call to create a service order, the call center records it in the system, which creates an order record. Next, dispatch receives the service order and schedules an appointment for the mobile workforce to arrive at the clients’ location at specific times. Finally, the field service technicians can remotely view all orders and enter the necessary information, updating the order record while on site. They can also take customer signatures and record that information as well, completing the service order.
Benefits of Salesforce Field Service
A robust component of the Salesforce Service Cloud suite, Salesforce Field Service offers impressive automation and integration of mobile workforces with office staff and dispatchers. It presents many ways to improve communication and provides management tools to increase efficiency. There are several core components of the software system:
- Easy-to-use interface
- Establishes operational hours
- Standardizes appointment data for staff
- Improves communication with a mobile workforce to any location
- Allows for instant access to inventory and delivery status
- Records all field service data allowing for later analysis of trends
Some of the benefits include the following:
- Managing work orders
- Scheduling and dispatching mobile workforce
- Monitoring and managing assets
- Managing dispatch console
- Being accessible to employees remotely
Salesforce Field Service streamlines all processes by standardizing various components of the workforce. When different components work in partnership to help synchronize efforts, there is an increase in efficiency.
With this powerful suite of tools, the creation and management of work orders can be seamless. It also allows for scheduling and dispatch control over the mobile workforce in the field, which is important when managing numerous field personnel responding to different client meetings. The virtues of the software are mutually beneficial, as mobile workers also have access to all aspects of the system and can communicate easily with other departments within the organization.
Recording all field service data in one location means the information can be analyzed to identify areas needing improvement. Never before has refinement been so easy.
Salesforce Field Service is a tool that helps unify the workforce as a single team. When each part of a business is striding with the others, it breeds success in every aspect of the day-to-day operation.
Components of Salesforce Field Service
Field Service Managed Package
The Field Service Managed Package can assist dispatchers in the following tasks:
- Optimize staff according to schedules
- Offer a comprehensive list of appointments
- of the service area
Field Service Mobile App
Implementing mobile apps is an excellent way to fully integrate field technicians with staff members in remote locations. Real-time data is shared amongst all colleagues, allowing for a consistent, inclusive, free flow of information, increasing efficiency and effectiveness; the mobile app ensures that every branch of an organization receives the same information and is on the same page.
Some mobile app functionality includes the following:
- Checking appointments
- Tracking work orders
- Communicating with contacts and other staff
Why Cirrius Solutions for Salesforce Field Service?
Improving efficiency often raises customer satisfaction, which is imperative in today’s market. If people aren’t satisfied with a business’s goods or services, they will likely not be returning customers, and the business could struggle to build a loyal customer base. If a business is not utilizing a centralized system to help manage its mobile teams, it loses valuable time, resources, and potential customers.
Any business can reap the benefits of Salesforce Field Service through automation and streamlining of existing processes. Cirrius Solutions is here to help customers take advantage of the unique opportunities that Salesforce provides. Our Salesforce Certified SFS consultants will take a hands-on approach to provide customer assistance via video chatting and screen-sharing to enable custom services and support from anywhere, anytime, without a technician needing to be onsite. To learn more about how Cirrius Solutions can help you make the most of your Salesforce investment, please contact us at info@cirriussolutions.com.
