5 Good Reasons to Adopt a Service Management Software for Remote Work

Going remote in the service industry? Here’s how service management software helps!

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, 43% of U.S. employees worked remotely at least intermittently. 69% of employers offered remote work options to some of their employees. These numbers have shot up considerably since March 2020. But remote work throws up several challenges once the initial fervor subsides. Technology hiccups, time management, interruptions at home, interaction and communication challenges, etc. are some of the roadblocks that affect remote work productivity. Service management software enables businesses to overcome these challenges.
Read more: How Service Management Software Enhance Efficiency
Here is how a service business management software helps handle remote work challenges effectively:

1. Seamless Collaboration

Remote work remains a non-starter without reliable and effective collaboration solutions. 
Generic communication tools such as Telegram, WhatsApp, Google Chat, Skype, or Zoom do the job at a basic level. But enterprises seeking efficiency and productivity improvements need an integrated service business management software, customized to the specific requirements. For instance, email offers an instant and straightforward way to communicate. But an endless stream of emails overwhelms the user and makes tracing difficult.
This is where a service management software integrated with collaboration tools comes to your rescue: 

• Record, classify and retrieve conversations. Users may capture screens, share screenshots, and record meetings. They may share content as required.
• Offer a seamless and customizable interface. For instance, VoIP systems route calls through the Internet, to pre-empt unwanted interruptions.
• Boost employee morale. Without the social space of the office environment, many employees become disconnected and isolated. A service management suite enables structured collaboration and makes the remote workplace lively.

Read more: 6 Reasons To Use An Integrated Software Like ReachOut For Your HVAC Estimates

2. Improved Customer Service

Enterprises deploying service management software serve their customers better.
Service business management software improves enterprise scalability. The enterprise may, for instance, add hundreds or thousands of new remote users overnight. Universities who had to shift entire courses into an online mode within a few days in March 2020 could do so effortlessly. Students, faculty members, and staff used service management suites to open new accounts overnight and hit the ground running.
Service order software enables customer service teams to keep track of conversations. An integrated suite links each conversation to the customer. Any agent, located anywhere in the globe, may access the latest customer engagement, made by any agent, through any channel. The integrated tool also pulls in data from other systems such as CRM, and analytics. Agents may initiate the engagement based on the customer’s preferences.
Storing customer information at a central pane improves analytics. The detailed insights deliver handy metrics such as the number of issues resolved per day or by each agent, and the priority of open issues. Follow-up on these metrics improve operational efficiency and deliver world-class service.
Read more: 6 Crucial Metrics in Field Service Management and How to Improve Them

3. Timely Resolution to Problems

Successful service enterprises are always anxious to nip in the bud anything that impedes operational flow.
Managers use integrated service management suites to track operations in real-time. Automated systems alert the responsible person when processes take longer than estimated. Lack of real-time operational insights may delay responses, and cause even minor issues to snowball into big crises.
Field management apps track field agent movement, predicting an accurate ETA at the customer location. GPS tracking of fleets ensures the timely movement of materials and service personnel.
Remote technicians use video conferencing and augmented reality to guide an on-premises agent or the customer. These self-service and remote assistance capabilities enable emergency repairs.

4. Improved Productivity

Channeling remote users through service business management software allows employees to:

• Access powerful cloud-based tools to get the work done, with single sign-on. The low local installation footprint improves security and reduces demand for computing resources.
• Search for the required information or resources easily. Without an integrated tool, agents spend 28% of their time searching for the right answer and are successful only 20% of the time. Access to structured information depositories such as wikis compensates for the advice given by senior pros in an office set-up.
• Automate processes. For instance, an algorithm-powered field management suite assigns the right field agent to the right task. Agents spend more time servicing customers and less time on the road. Matching technician skills and synchronizing inventory to work orders also increase first-time fix rates, sparing revisits. Automated invoicing improves billing accuracy and ensures payment collection on time.

Read more: How an Intuitive Field service management software Contributes to a Happy Workforce

5. Enhanced Security

Service business management software improves security.
Employees who switch to remote work need secure access to enterprise assets, databases, and other information. Likewise, customer support representatives have to support customers remotely. The service management software serves as the entry point for such remote users to access the network securely. Admins have a central console to enforce policies and manage access.
Accessing enterprise data using open tools increases risk. The remote worker, for instance, may forward a trade secret to an external contact by mistake. An integrated suite offers whitelists to eliminate such risks.
The best service business management software offers everything for remote users to perform their job well. The enterprise becomes a 24×7, location-neutral set-up. The competitive benefits on offer are huge. Want to know how ReachOut makes the best service management software for your business? Contact our expert today.