By Roland Ligtenberg
Key performance indicators (KPIs) aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. They’re the pulse of any contracting business. They tell business owners in real time how well their company is performing in the critical areas that matter most – and help guide them to data-backed decisions that will enhance efficiency and profitability.
If you’re successfully tracking and leveraging KPIs, you know how important they are – and the value of the actionable insights they can provide. If you’re tracking them but haven’t seen the results you expected, it may be time to revisit your strategy and implementation.
And if you haven’t been monitoring KPIs at all, here’s why you should – and a few tips for getting started.
What are KPIs?
KPIs are measurable benchmarks that reflect how well your business is performing against its goals. In the skilled trades, they show you things like whether your crews are on time, if job sizes are growing, and how efficiently your team is running.
KPIs allow contractors to identify performance trends over time. Are job sizes increasing month over month? Are repeat customers coming back? Where are the bottlenecks that result in a performance dropping off?
Where do they come from?
It all starts with data. Today’s field service management technology can supply you with an almost limitless stream of data related to technicians, jobsite performance, equipment details and customer experience. It can include job locations, technician experience, customer demographics, or even weather patterns.
But data is only the raw material for KPIs. Intelligent technology allows business owners to leverage their available data to produce insights they can act on. KPIs are the meaningful results extracted from that data.
Think of data as the forest, and KPIs as the trees you need to focus on. When you track the right KPIs, you’re converting data into actionable points that can drive revenue, productivity, and customer satisfaction.
Why do KPIs matter?
Data is only as valuable as your ability to act on it. If you see that technicians who complete jobs faster are generating higher customer satisfaction, you can refine your training programs around speed and efficiency. If higher average ticket sizes are coming from upselling maintenance packages, systematize that process across your team. Use the insights to systematize improvements.
Over time, you can refine your KPIs to be more predictive than reactive. That way, you can anticipate challenges instead of reacting after the fact.
Getting started
If that sounds like KPIs involve a lot of extra work, they shouldn’t. It’s not about gathering data. It’s about using it.
When monitored and deployed properly, KPI management should be automatic. You should be able to centralize all the key data you’re tracking, from job completion times to revenue per technician, so it’s accessible directly from your existing workflows.
When evaluating tools to help monitor your company’s KPIs, look for solutions that automate data capture, streamline reporting, and help you dig deeper without making it complicated. A full reporting suite should help manage every aspect of your workflow, from estimates and job costing to billable hours and materials used. With an AI-powered analyst, contractors can ask direct questions and get actionable insights in real-time instead of manually digging through reports. AI analysts are changing the game for anyone who wants to focus more on growing the business than building complex reports. It makes data accessible without needing to be a data expert.
A best-in-class platform brings everything together. And with an automated process, the data will be consistent and accurate. Clean data coming in means good insights going out.
Keep it simple
Just because you have access to so much granular data doesn’t mean you have to track it all. Focus on actionable insights and small changes that stack up over time.
For companies that want to improve their KPIs, that means simplify. Focus on no more than three to five KPIs that truly move the needle for your business.
If you’re just getting started, pick one or two key metrics that drive revenue—maybe job size or technician efficiency. Track those first. Once you’ve got that down, build on it. Use tools that make it automatic and frictionless to ensure you’re getting maximum value.
Finally, remember that KPIs aren’t static. What works today might change as your business scales or market conditions shift. Keep evolving your KPIs. And make sure your team knows why these numbers matter. This isn’t just about data. It’s about running a lean, profitable business that can adapt and grow.
Roland Ligtenberg is a co-founder of Housecall Pro, the best field service management platform serving over 45,000 home service companies. Housecall Pro’s comprehensive suite of features, solutions, reports and state-of-the-art AI capabilities empower home service professionals to save time, sell bigger jobs and provide best-in-class service so they can discover new opportunities to grow and effectively outpace the competition.
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