Are your colleagues getting more information about the status of their pizza delivery than they are about the equipment failure they reported last week? Isn’t it about time you got a grip on your FM work order software?
Is your work request and work order system a black hole? If so, are your requesters in the dark about the progress of their work orders? Do your engineers and contractors lack the communication tools they need to progress jobs and fix problems faster?
That gift you ordered? Practically the moment you confirm payment, you have an estimated delivery time, together with the name and inside leg measurement of the person who’ll be delivering it to you. Not to mention a quick request for a review from you once your parcel has arrived.
A report from IBM at the turn of the decade concluded the ‘Amazon effect’ had fundamentally shifted our expectations of all the organisations we deal with on a daily basis:
Now the hyperconnected comms solutions of hyperscale businesses like Amazon and eBay have gone mainstream.
Even the smallest pizza joint or cab firm is likely to have a SAAS set up to keep everyone in the loop via SMS/push/email about the status of their Meat Feast or their ride home.
If you don’t get an automated notification from your taxi driver saying they’re on their way and a follow-up text when they arrive, you’ll feel abandoned and shortchanged. They’ll even be prompted to give you a call when they’re outside to pick you up if they’re still not sure where you are.
But Facilities Management generally remains stuck in a pre-Amazon state of denial.
Send an email to FM about the heating packing up, or a door that’s sticking and you’ll likely get an email back confirming they’re on to it and not much else. This isn’t helping anyone.
Yet the expectations of everyone involved in the chain remain sky high.
As the gap widens between the slick service delivery of the ‘outside world’ and the lack of automation in facilities management, efficiency is being compromised, FMs are failing to impress internally and the future of their teams may hang in the balance:
If you haven’t got a joined-up process and technology that keep everyone in the chain connected at every point you may find:
CAFM systems that help you set up connected workflows with effective communication tools and mobile friendly interfaces will keep your jobs moving down the funnel - and your customers in the loop.
First, take a step back. How do the requesters notify you when they’ve got a problem? Are they using a mobile friendly form? Does it structure the data effectively, making it simple to categorise and automate workflows? Can users upload photos and videos so that engineers can see the problem for themselves. Is the work request automatically forwarded to the call centre? Do the requesters get an instant, automated email response informing them of updates and expected next steps?
Work requests need to be automatically transformed into work orders that can be instantly triaged by the operations team. The work order software that your FM team use should make it easy for your operations team to:
A good CAFM system will prioritise good communication between requesters, call centres, FM operations, contractors and engineers. It will come with the chat functionality that lets engineers and contractors get the extra information they need about an issue from the call centre.
Choose a CAFM that comes with:
Keeping your customers informed about the progress of the request is essential. They require reassurance that their request is being dealt with. The contractors need to be aware of their requests and SLA expectations whilst the engineer needs to be sure they’re well informed over the issue and have access to the asset when they arrive on site. Email and SMS notifications can give everyone the information they need at every stage. Automating these communications will cut down on the manual administration involved and prevent unnecessary inbound and outbound calls for your operations team. Instead, all stakeholders can be constantly updated and nobody is left in the dark.
It’s the age of seamless service delivery. FM teams are finding they are being challenged to up their game at every turn. The business requires higher visibility and control whilst the C-Suite wants more accountability around the way we hit SLA targets and serve our customers.
For FMs, finding the CAFM partners who can help them personalise, automate and optimise their work order process can be hard.
But those who do it right will not only find they are serving their clients more effectively. They’ll find they are finally in control of the data they need to improve their strategic thinking.