Ensure Long-Term Business Success with Facilities Management Software
Bringing on new clients is great for business, but it also can mean a lot more administrative work for your team. And if your team is already maxed out, you may be faced with a difficult decision: Hire more people or risk burning out your staff.
But facilities management companies have an alternative option that would allow their operations team to be more powerful and efficient: shifting to a work order platform with built-in CMMS designed specifically for facilities management companies.
So, how can you ensure long-term success with a facilities management software platform? By focusing on these five features.
Integrations
Software integrations are the key to improving efficiency and productivity. For facilities management companies, being able to utilize their clients’ work order systems, such as ServiceChannel or Corrigo, is critical. And every company they want to work with has a different platform.
“There are about a dozen or so large client work order systems that our customers are essentially forced to use if they want to get the business from those clients,” says Brian Kohler, CEO of Automated Decision. “That’s very typical.”
Plus, facilities management companies have their own systems for assigning work to subcontractors, tracking invoices and more.
Without software integrations, there’s a “chair swivel” that’s required — an admin who moves from screen to screen, copying the work order details out of one system (or even an email), then pasting it into their internal system.
“That doesn’t sound like a lot of work to copy and paste, but when you’re doing clips of hundreds or thousands of records, it adds up,” Kohler says.
A work order engine with ample built-in software integrations automates the copy and paste and helps your back office focus on other, more critical tasks.
Scalability
Scaling your facilities management business can be a challenge if you have to continually hire administrative team members to manage the work orders. Software integrations allow you to maximize your current team and become more efficient.
“Moving to a work order platform built specifically for facilities management companies that offers ample software integrations can help you scale without needing to bring on additional administrative people,” Kohler says.
Be sure to look for a work order platform that can handle an increasing number of subcontractors, client locations, and back office users as your company grows. It should also be able to scale to manage a growing volume of work orders providing features such as automated work order assignment, intelligent maintenance scheduling and prioritization.
A scalable platform should also be easily configurable and customizable to accommodate your business needs as they evolve. And a modular architecture will enable flexibility so that you can add or remove features or functionalities as needed.
Complete and accurate customer data
Reducing manual data entry lowers the risk for errors, eliminates duplicative work orders and promotes real-time communication. Plus, integrating systems can provide customer service teams with more complete and accurate proof-of-service data all in one place, allowing them to respond more effectively to customer needs. Contractors can easily check into a job, mark it as complete and upload photos of the assigned project.
Plus, proof-of-service data doesn’t belong to one group or another. When all teams can access the available data, they are empowered to make the best decisions possible based on accurate and complete information.
Real-time visibility
When systems are connected to one another and subcontractors are able to check into a job via an app and upload their images — and there isn’t the lag of administrative copy and paste — the customer is able to see what is happening at their properties in real time. This can empower decision-making.
“The data can even go beyond seeing that snow has been removed or that the grass has been cut,” Kohler says. “If a facilities manager just needs a visual on a location’s facade, for example, they could create a work order with their provider, who could send out a subcontractor. Once the contractor arrives and uploads photos, the facilities manager now has eyes on the location very quickly and without ever leaving the office.”
Mobile app consolidation
You’re competing with a lot of FM companies for talent, and you want to use every angle to attract the best subcontractors. Some facilities management companies require subcontractors to learn and manage multiple apps for the different systems that each end client uses — as well as the facilities management company’s own system.
“When they can work with a facilities management company that can make their life easier by introducing a single app to simplify their field reporting experience, they’ll take that work over other FM companies,” Kohler says. “They know it’s easy to clock in, capture field services, clock out and get paid. And at the end of the day, those guys and their happiness really matter because they’re the ones getting the services done.”
Ultimately, consolidating mobile apps gives subcontractors seamless access to all the functionalities and features they need, while saving them time switching between apps. Plus, having a single app gives subcontractors a consistent and intuitive user interface, which increases their satisfaction and engagement. And with your own consolidated application, you’ll be better positioned for future enhancements and additions.
How Automated Decision can help
Understanding how different systems need to work together is where Automated Decision shines. Our ConnectAD work order management engine is fully configurable and customizable so you can manage all of your leads, clients, locations, work, subcontractors and in-house staff all in one place.
No matter what systems you’re already using to manage your operations or the work order platforms you’re using for all of your customers, Automated Decision’s applications and our built-in integrations can bring everything together in one place and make work easier and more manageable for your teams.
Curious if we can help you integrate your various systems? (Spoiler alert: We can.) Contact us today.