Five Key Performance Indicators You Should Be Tracking for Your Appliance Repair Business

Oct 10, 2024
Rossware
4
min read

Key performance indicators, or KPIs, are metrics that show what things are being done in your business. These indicators are quantitative in nature, measure business performance, and are a way to track your progress towards goals, as they rely on benchmarking to show progress over time. They can also be used to measure employee performance for annual reviews and retention decisions. KPIs generate valuable insight that allows for data-driven decisions to guide the direction of your company.

Different KPIs can tell a story about different aspects of the business. They can measure operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and overall health of the business. It is important to select and use the KPIs that matter the most to your business and the goals you have set.  These indicators can be a useful addition to your toolbox for forecasting and strategic planning.

First Call Complete

This indicator details the percentage of service calls that are completed on the first visit, without the need for additional visits. A high first call complete percentage indicates an efficient diagnosis and repair process which can impact customer satisfaction and reduce operational costs. It can also identify training needs or areas of improvement for individual technician performance.

Revenue per Technician

Revenue per Technician measures the revenue generated by each technician over a specific period (daily, monthly, quarterly, etc.). This helps to assess the productivity and effectiveness of your workforce, showing the contributions of technicians to the bottom line. It can help guide staffing decisions and assist in forecasting and budgeting. Regularly tracking this metric can aid in making decisions about hiring, training, and to make operational improvements.

Callback Percentage

Callback Percentage measures the frequency at which customers require additional service after an initial repair. It highlights the quality of service provided and can indicate issues with the effectiveness of repairs, training, or customer communication. A high callback percentage can prompt a review of technician practices, indicate training needs, or bring attention to operational efficiency issues. Managing your callback percentage can improve operational efficiency and enhance the quality of service, which leads to better customer retention. Overall, it can reduce unnecessary costs associated with repeat visits.

Average Days to Complete a Call

This metric is important to understand operational efficiency and customer service responsiveness. It assists in identifying bottlenecks in your processes, provides insight into how quickly customers can expect service, and helps to understand scheduling and resource allocation. A lower average indicates more efficient processes, which in turn leads to greater customer satisfaction.

This one is a little bit more complicated to calculate. You’ll need to collect data on calls completed within a specific timeframe (i.e. monthly, quarterly) and note the date of the initial call and the date the service was completed. This will give you the days for completion of each call, which then you add together to find the total number of days it took to complete all the calls. Then, take the number of total days taken to complete jobs and divide by the total number of completed calls.

Labor Cost as Percentage of Revenue

Labor costs as a percentage of revenue measure the amount of total revenue that is spent on labor costs. It is important to assess how much of the total earnings are being spent on labor expenses, which helps evaluate efficiency and profitability. Understanding this percentage can identify whether labor costs are too high, prompting action. It also provides insight into how efficiently your labor is being utilized in relation to the revenue that is generated from them. Monitoring this KPI can help maintain a healthy balance between costs and income, ensuring long-term profitability.

Reports in ServiceDesk

ServiceDesk makes it easy to monitor these key performance indicators by offering you a selection of ready-made reports. By selecting Periodic Reports from the main menu (or using the shortcut F11) and then navigating to Tech Performance you can find your First Call Completes in the Percentage of Completion report. You can review your Revenue Per Technician in the Techs Revenue report. You can review your Callback Percentage two different ways in the Callback/Recall Rates report.

You can review your KPIs relative to Average Days to Complete a Call by examining the Quality of Service report found under Client Performance. This report looks at your overall service, but also breaks down your numbers based on your High Volume Clients, a helpful metric when analyzing contracts and determining if third parties are responsible for delays in completing repairs.

Finally, you can utilize the information found in your Sales Summary and Payroll reports to determine your Labor Cost Percentage as compared to your revenue.

Conclusion

In the competitive landscape of appliance repair, tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) is essential for driving business success. The five KPIs highlighted provide valuable insights into various facets of your operations. By focusing on these metrics, you can enhance operational efficiency, improve customer satisfaction, and make informed decisions that contribute to the overall health of your business.

Regularly monitoring these KPIs enables you to identify strengths and weaknesses within your processes, guiding strategic planning and resource allocation. Ultimately, leveraging data-driven insights from these indicators will empower you to optimize performance, elevate customer experiences, and ensure the long-term profitability of your appliance repair business.