Finding the right field manager could be a long-term process with no guarantee of the results. The person that you think will be a great manager may not want to be a manager, may try the position and then decide that he doesn’t like it and leaves, his wife or significant other gets a job in another city and they move…anything can happen. But, from the positive side, you might find someone who can step up to the plate, take on the responsibility and shine…and build a great, profitably department with contented team members who love coming to work.
Don’t limit yourself to those who are already working in the field (or in the office) rather than managing. I’ve known many office managers who have become great service managers. I’ve known many field service technicians who could not make the transition from service technician to manager and went back in the field. So, keep an open mind with respect to who might be your next managers.
Here are the musts for your field managers (I cover them in depth in my field manager school in Jacksonville, FL – see below for details):
#1: Know the role of a field manager.
The role of a field manager is to operate a profitable department. They must take care of field and customer issues before they turn into major crises.
#2: Give your field managers access to the Profit and Loss statement for their departments.
This is a manager’s scorecard. They can’t achieve #1 without knowing when they are doing well and where the problems are if they aren’t so they can be corrected. Therefore, you need departmentalized financial statements…and they have to be accurate!
If the person you want to be a manager has no understanding of how to read a profit and loss statement,, they have to go to school or you have to teach them how to read financial statements.
#3: Establish the most important KPI for the manager
What minimum net profit per hour for the department do you, as the owner, want the department to achieve? The manager’s bonus will be based on this number.
#4: With the manager, establish the KPI’s for the team
The dispatch KPI’s are the percentage of travel time, debriefing after service calls, and keeping the dispatch board full.
The field KPI’s are percentage of average service ticket revenue, completing jobs in the estimated time, callbacks, billable hours, and maintenance plan leads/enrollments (if these are part of their duties). For residential companies, collection percentage should also be a KPI.
#5: Give the manager the authority, responsibility, and accountability for the department
Giving authority can be the toughest one for owners. Many like giving responsibility without the authority to make decisions. Owners must let the manager manage. Will the manager make mistakes? Of course. The manager must correct the mistakes and learn from them. That makes the manager better.
How financially fit is your business?
Click here to take this one minute assessment.
Ruth King is well known as “The Profitability Master.” She is passionate about helping small business owners become profitable and stay profitable. For over 40 years she has coached, trained, and helped contractors and others achieve the business growth and goals they wanted to achieve.
Contact Ruth by emailing ruthking@hvacchannel.tv.
