Technicians are one of the primary resources for your income, so if they steal or misuse inventory, time or references, problems can result. The answer to any problems with technicians is in your software and your business processes. AlarmKey by Reliable Group, Bellmore, N.Y., offers some tips for tightening control of your inventory and work hours.

Q: I think my technicians are stealing inventory. How can I prevent this, and how do I know if they are actually stealing?

• Use inventory tracking – First, if you feel that your technicians are stealing equipment, do a physical inventory. Keeping inventory from “walking” is completely preventable.
• Do spot checks – Conduct spot checks of your technicians’ trucks and inventory. Every week or every two weeks, check one or two trucks. Make a list of 10 or 12 items, and search for these items on your techs’ trucks. This will build technician awareness, and you will get an idea if any items are disappearing.
• Item pick lists – If your current software allows for it, print out a copy of the work order pick list (without pricing). At the end of the day or the next time the technician calls in, have the office manager cross-check the items from the work order. When the technicians come back to the office, have the office manager check off all items on the list.
• As-you-go distribution – Distribute items to your technicians that apply to work orders only. Do not store more inventory than is necessary on installation trucks. This option is not practical for technicians who are primarily handling service calls, but it is definitely worth considering.

Q: My technicians take longer to finish jobs. I think they’re not always at work when they’re away. How can I stop them from misusing time?

If technician productivity decreases, your cost for jobs increases. But something even more troubling is that if technician productivity decreases, it may mean that they are working on another job and stealing business from you.

To prevent technicians from misusing time and doing their own work on your watch, there should be incentives put in place.

• Enforce piece pay and assign points – In addition to their regular salary, generate incentives for technicians as you do with your sales force.

The first step is to assign points to the installation of pieces of equipment. This process should be based on a difficulty factor and your profitability on the job. For example, you can assign two points for the installation of a keypad and four points for the installation of a CCTV camera.

• You should monitor how many points your technicians acquire every one or two weeks. This will give you an idea of whether they are meeting the requirements or not.
• Reward bonuses to technicians who have bypassed a pre-determined average point. This process will increase the amount of productivity among your technicians. The rewards will ensure increased output from the technicians in the same time frames.

Q: One of my technicians stole a reference from my last job. He is now making the money that should have been mine. How can I stop this from happening again?

Upon completion of jobs, many technicians will steal references from the customer. It is a common practice and an extremely detrimental one. The theft of equipment will cost you once – the theft of a reference could end up costing you thousands of dollars in additional revenue.

To prevent techs from walking away with references, you need to polish your sales techniques.

• Follow up with your customers during and after the job has been completed. Upon completion of the job, you can even up-sell the customer when it is appropriate.

It may seem like a simple task to accomplish, but if you formalize the follow-ups and make them a part of your sales and customer service process, it generates a more pleasant experience and increases your chances at up-sells and additional sales.

Hopefully after implementing some of the above-mentioned solutions, you will be able to harness the resource of your technicians and run a more profitable business.

For more information about how to manage technicians, visit www.alarmkey.com.