What is First-Time Fix Rate in Field Service Business? How to Calculate & Improve FTFR?

Field service providers rely on quality customer service for their sustainability and success. Field service organizations must aim to deliver customer experiences that match customer expectations.

And what does a customer expect? Customers expect prompt service responses. 

According to HubSpot Research, 90% of customers rate an “immediate” response as essential or very important when they have a customer service question.

Any delay in service delivery or completion of a service task will only increase the customer’s annoyance. It creates friction in the business-customer relationship. To combat this, field service providers must improve their service quality and first-time fix rates. Equip your field service agents with the right tools, knowledge and training to finish the repair tasks on the first visit.

First-time fix rates are one way to gauge whether you’re providing quality customer service. Let’s read about what is first-time fix rate and how can you improve FTFR for your field service business.

What is First-Time Fix Rate?

The first-time fix rate, shortened as FTFR, is a metric that measures your field service efficiency. FTFR is the percentage of customers who receive a successful repair job within the first attempt or how often jobs get completed the first time around.  

To put it in another way, the first-time fix rate is the percentage of service and repair tasks that get completed within the first visit by the field technician without the need for additional expertise, multiple to and fro to the office or more visits.

To improve your first-time fix rate, consider implementing a training program that teaches technicians how to diagnose issues and troubleshoot problems. Also, ensure that technicians are following best practices when performing repairs. These include taking notes during the job, documenting the problem, and communicating clearly with clients.

How to Calculate First-Time Fix Rate?

The first-time fix rate is the percentage of calls that result in a first-time fix. It’s calculated by dividing the number of jobs completed on the first visit by the total number of jobs. Then multiply that result by 100 to convert it to a percentage.

A good rule of thumb is that if you’re getting anywhere near 50% of your calls fixed within the first repair, you’re probably doing something right. But, if you’re only getting 25%, you may want to look at ways to improve your process to improve FTFR.

Why Should Field Service Providers Calculate First-time Fix Rate?

The FTFR is one of the best metrics to assess the field service performance of your business and field technicians. First-time fix rate calculation also indicates whether your client base is growing or shrinking and the customer satisfaction levels.

First-time fix rate calculation lets you see how many times per month you’re able to perform a repair without having to call additional support or additional visits. This helps you understand how quickly you can turn around a job, and it shows you how much money you’re saving by performing these jobs yourself.

Improved FTFR is closely related to the success of your company. Thus, you must track and measure it regularly.

Why is a High First-Time Fix Rate Important?

A high first-time fix rate indicates that technicians are successfully fixing problems without having to call back multiple times.

A low first-time fix rate shows that technicians are not properly trained or that they’re not following proper procedures.

A poor first-time fix rate indicates the poor performance of your field service company, poor customer experience and hints that something is wrong with your product or service. This is the time to figure out what went wrong and make changes to improve the services.

If you find that your first-time fix rate is too high, you can consider offering free trials to prospective clients. Free trials give you the opportunity to show off your product or service without having to commit to making a purchase. Afterwards, you can offer discounts to those who decide to become long-term clients.

First-time Fixes Increase Field Employee Productivity

The average service technician spends about $1,200 per month on parts and supplies. If you could reduce those costs by 10%, you’d make $120 extra every month. But what if there was another way to save money?

That’s where FTFR comes into play. With high FTFR, your technicians spend less time waiting around for parts and more time fixing problems. We’ve found that field technicians are able to complete more jobs in one day than they did before they implemented FTFR.

Increased Customer Retention

A high first-time fix rate (FTFR) rate indicates a positive customer experience and increases profitability for your business.

Field service organisations that achieve a first-time fix rate of over 70% boast an impressive 86% customer retention rate.

Companies with a high first-time fix rate enjoy better customer retention rates because they’re able to resolve most issues without having to reorder parts or send out technicians again. And since customers don’t mind waiting around while you work on a solution, they’ll stick around longer.

What are the factors that Affect First-Time Fix Rates?

There are many factors that affect the first-time fix rate. Some of these include:•

• Customer satisfaction
• Call volume
• Admin efficiency
• Technicians availability
• Technician training and performance
• Equipment availability
• Quality of equipment
• Customer complaints
• Technical support issues

5 Ways To Improve First-Time Fix Rate

The average fix rate for a technician is about 40%. But there are ways to improve it. Here are five proven strategies for improving your first-time fix rate.

1. Assign Your Best-Skilled Workers

In times like these, it becomes even more important to assign work to the best people you have. If you are lucky enough to have a team of skilled technicians, make sure each one knows exactly what he/she needs to do. 

When assigning work, keep the following points in mind:

• Have a clear view of all the field employees’ schedules and availability
• Match the technician’s skills with the job requirement
• Think about how long it might take to complete the task
• What data and customer details to share with the assigned field tech
• Make sure every field employee has enough tasks
• Avoid overloading field workers with too many tasks

2. Pair the Right Technician with the Right Job

Matchmaking is one of the biggest challenges facing businesses today. As your field service team grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to find qualified employees. Dispatching incorrectly or the wrong technician leads to needless costs and lost revenue.

And even if you do manage to hire the best field service agents, there are still plenty of opportunities to improve your efficiency. That’s where a matchmaker comes in.

The key to creating a successful matchmaking system lies in how well you define the tasks involved. Besides defining the job, you need to decide whether you want to assign a single technician to multiple jobs or assign different field technicians to the same job. This decision depends on many factors, including the complexity of the work, the skill level required, and the number of hours needed.

Once you’ve defined the tasks, you need to determine the criteria to match the right person to the right job. With the help of a service technician scheduling tool, you can automate the process of finding the right technician for every task. In fact, you might just discover that you don’t need to spend as much time searching for talent.

3. Improve Real-time Communication Between In-Office and Field Staff

Communication is key to successful project management. In fact, it’s one of the most critical factors in determining whether a project succeeds or fails.

Hence streamline your communications process. This includes improving the way you communicate internally and externally. For example, make sure everyone knows what information to share across teams and departments.

So, how can you improve communication between the in-office service centre staff and the mobile workforce? Here are the tips to help you out:

• On a new incoming service request, gather enough information about the customer and their service query. Note down the details in the CRM.
• Give the assigned technician access to the customer data on the go without travelling to the office. Attach the necessary job instructions as well. Using a cloud-based CRM enables the technicians to view all the necessary data from their mobile phones themselves.
• Use collaborative software like the FSM tool that helps field service teams communicate and work together without having to meet face-to-face. Allowing people to interact virtually, saves companies money and increases productivity.
• Equip your field service technicians with a field service app that allows automated route planning. This helps them reach the customer’s location accurately, safely and quickly. 
• The GPS tracker enabled in the technician FSM app notifies the manager about the mobility of the technicians, keeping a constant check on whether they are navigating to the right location. 
• The technicians can update the job progress on the same FSM app and also order inventories if needed. This helps the in-office service manager to monitor the jobs from the office and they can also help the technician instantly with the right knowledge or dispatch another technician for support if any problem arises during the service.
• The field service manager can get notified on the field app when the job gets completed along with the payment status.
• The manager can then quickly assign another job to the technician and dispatch him instantly via a mobile notification on his field service mobile app.

With the use of field service management software, the in-office service manager and the field workers can communicate in real-time with better accuracy. This prevents wasting time making multiple phone calls to retrieve job progress updates. 

4. Monitor Your Mobile Workforce

Unoservice FSM app with integrated GPS helps field service centres manage their mobile workforce effectively. The field service manager can see where each field service technician is, what job he/she is working on, how long it takes him/her to complete tasks, and even communicate with drivers via text messages. This information allows dispatchers to make better decisions about scheduling and routing assignments.

Mobile workforce management is important for giving customers great customer service. By having access to up-to-the-minute data, dispatchers are able to respond faster to requests and provide better customer service overall.

Real-time visibility is essential for adapting to changing conditions. When dispatchers know exactly where every driver is at any given moment, they can adjust routes and schedules accordingly. They can also use this information to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

5. Use Field Service Management Software to Increase FTFR

Field service organizations are trying to use field service management software or smartphone apps to help reduce the number of follow-up visits. These tools allow technicians to access information about customer accounts, equipment, and reports directly from their smartphones.

There are many benefits to using an FSM, including an increased first-time fix rate, increased productivity, better customer satisfaction, and improved safety.

The most important thing about FSM is that it allows field technicians to work smarter, not harder. It helps companies track jobs, schedules, equipment, and tasks throughout the entire process. This makes it easier for managers to keep track of everything, and ensures that employees are always following up on what needs to be done.

Another benefit of having an FSM is that it provides a way for field technicians to view reports, such as job status, location history, equipment usage, and more. This gives them insight into how well their team members are performing, allowing them to take action accordingly.

Finally, the solar FSM tool increases employee safety. By keeping everyone updated on where each technician is, the chances of accidents happening are greatly decreased. This reduces the risk of injuries and fatalities, making it safer for both customers and workers. 

Conclusion

First-time fix rates are critical benchmarks for organizations that rely heavily on field services. They measure how well a field service organization handles customer inquiries. A high first-time fix rate indicates that field service agents are quickly resolving issues, while a low first-time fix rate suggests that customers are waiting too long to get their queries resolved.

Adopting technology eases your field business operations and helps your field team complete more jobs in a day. Try the Unoservice field management app for free to see how it can boost the first-time fix rate for your field service business.

Frequently Asked Questions about First-time Fix Rate