New Year’s Resolutions for Field Service Business

Written By Service Fusion

Topic Goals, Growth, Tips,

New Year’s resolutions are not just a great way to improve on personal goals; business owners in field service can benefit from reflecting on the ups and downs from the past year to create resolutions and goals for a stellar 2020. Did you accomplish your business goals for 2019? If not, this time of year is a great opportunity to take a close look at your past performance and how you can improve to meet or exceed your goals. Set those resolutions for 2020 so there is something to look forward to in the decade: growth and success!

Once you’ve assessed how business went in 2019, you can begin to think about how to improve for 2020. Keep in mind that resolutions should be tailored to fit your company’s resources and capabilities. This will ensure that your goals and the start of the new decade will be beneficial and attainable. It’s important that you carefully outline how you’re going to stick to your resolutions and make them a reality, such as with team assessments or a digital tracker, in order to help you and your team stay focused on your goals.

To give you some guidance and ideas, we’ve gathered our top recommended New Year’s resolutions that will help your field service business grow and acquire even more success in 2020.

Stay ahead of the busy times
Looking back on the previous year, there should be clear indicators that point to your company’s busiest time(s) of the year. Was there a period when you received more calls than you could handle? Was there a pattern for when your team was scheduling the most jobs? Knowing when your company is at its busiest can help you prepare for the increase of customer requests and business by allocating more staff and other resources.

If you don’t usually have a problem handling a sudden increase of service request phone calls and business, it can still be beneficial to know when business starts to slow down or ramp up, whether it’s seasonally or consistent fluctuation during the week. Your slower periods of business could be improved by planning ahead and promoting certain offers or specials, depending on the time of year and customer base, for example.

Be an active member of your community

If your business doesn’t already give back to the community or actively participate in community functions or events, the start of a new year is a great time to start. Starting a partnership with local organizations in your community can help provide much needed resources for those organizations, whether you’re participating in a charity event or sponsoring a little league team.

Not only is it just good for the soul, but giving back and being active throughout the year builds trust and demonstrates that you’re invested in the current and future customer’s community. It’ll also build brand recognition and keep your business fresh in the mind of neighbors for when they need your services. Whether it means volunteering or making donations, many people within and surrounding the community can benefit from your contributions and activities.

Set a standard for a healthy work-life balance

Being a business owner can take its toll. While it may not be easy to find time for yourself, it is detrimental to your success as a business owner. Yes, a healthy work-life balance is important for employees too, but far too many business owners push themselves aside for this. You owe it to yourself to take a breather every now and then to take care of yourself.

We understand how busy and demanding your position is. Taking 20 minutes out of each day to take a walk, reflect on the day, or do something you personally enjoy can help you re-focus on the task at hand when you come back to it. Try going outside by yourself to have your lunch instead of always eating at your desk or on the go. When you’re stuck, frustrated, or feel at a loss with a particular issue, take a step back for a minute. Listen to some music to temporarily clear your mind, take a walk around the block, or practice light meditation to clear your mind. Pursue balance and clarity on a daily basis, not just for your business but also for yourself, so you can be the best you available.

Practice and improve communication

You don’t need us to tell you that communication is key, but sometimes it can be hard for teams to communicate efficiently at all times. This is especially true when teams from multiple departments get together, which can further be made more complicated by varying personalities. When communication is lacking, things can fall through the cracks, and your business can end up losing a customer, client, or even an employee. To improve communication in 2020, your business can adopt remote communication tools and schedule weekly meetings for thorough check ins with everyone, face to face.

For example, a common error in communication occurs when various departments and personalities into consideration. One person saying one thing can mean something different to the other. One person may view an issue one way because of their department, whereas someone else in charge of different tasks and duties see the issue in a different light. Many times this error in communication is made clear during an all-in team meeting. Take note of this happening and force the hand to talk it out. Since this is a particularly common issue in communication, we’ve found that taking an additional few minutes to have each party explain where they’re coming from, what is important to them and what they are trying to get across

Cut out the excess

Some business owners put off getting rid of that piece of machinery that doesn’t work quite right anymore, and the annual deep clean can often get pushed to the next month and then the next month until it doesn’t happen at all. Excess clutter, including equipment and machinery, can actually hurt your company’s ability to operate efficiently. It’s better to deal with problems when they arise rather than waiting for them to turn into even bigger issues.

Field Service Business owners should assess what they would like to improve on in the year 2020 and lay out measurable steps that will help them achieve their goals. With the above New Year’s resolutions options, your business will be off to a great start in the new year and upcoming decade!