Call Backs

I belong to an online group "Serviceroundtable.com" At least once a year the subject of callbacks comes up and I usually see the same type of responses on whether we are giving them enough time, or should we penalize them for callbacks or maybe even not pay them for callbacks and so on. About two years ago I did some consulting work for a fairly large mechanical contractor in the midwest and one of their major issues was callbacks. During my first meeting with all management and supervisors I had them fill out a questionnaire that is part of a needs assessment I require for each consulting job. I do this to identify what the challenges are, and to determine if I can actually help. One of the questions is, "How often do you you spend a day in the field with one of your installers or service technicians and when did this occur last?" I found, during that session, that no one had been on a ride with anyone in over four years.

This is kind of like coaching a football game without being at the game, or even watching it on TV. Yet you plan on counseling the players about their performance a year after the game is over? When I managed a staff of over sixty field technicians, I made it a point that I or one of the other supervisors had to spend at least one half a day with each guy at least twice per year. Each supervisor had to fill out a field evaluation sheet during that ride-along to ensure the technician followed all required protocol on every service visit. If we had someone with a problem or issues, they received more attention. Part of coaching is actually being there and watching and making recommendations. There was a saying that I used to hear about twenty years ago and it was MBWA, Managing By Walking (or Wandering) Around. You can develop your employees skills and your management skills if you watch and consult them while they are performing their day-to-day tasks. Not only based on what you see in some report or what you hear from a third party.