What KPIs do you track for your field operations? What does 'good' look like?

Another way to think about this is separating leading indicators from lagging outcomes. Your first-time fix rate is a good example of something that predicts customer satisfaction and repeat business before those show up in your financials.

At my previous company, we found that schedule adherence (techs arriving within the committed window) correlated more strongly with NPS than anything else we measured. We targeted 92% and generally saw customer retention improve when we stayed above 90%.

One metric that often gets overlooked: dispatcher-to-tech ratio. At 14 technicians, you're likely at 1:14 or maybe 1:7 if you have two dispatchers. Industry best practice for complex dispatch is 1:8 to 1:12. Above that, you start seeing schedule quality degrade even if individual metrics look fine.

Didn't expect that ratio to matter so much. We're at 1:14 with one dispatcher and I've definitely noticed the quality slipping on complex days. Thanks for that benchmark.

I'll give you the numbers that actually get people fired or bonused where I work...

First-time fix rate: 75% is the minimum, 85% is solid, anything over 90% you're either cherry-picking jobs or lying. HVAC specifically — parts availability kills this number.

Utilization (billable hours / available hours): Target 70%, panic below 60%. Don't let anyone tell you 80%+ is sustainable for field work. Drive time exists.

Callback rate within 30 days: Under 5% or we have a conversation. Under 3% and you're one of the good ones.

The one I watch personally: average response time to dispatch (how fast they acknowledge the job in the app). Under 5 minutes means they're paying attention. Over 15 and they're probably driving, on another job, or ignoring their phone... and only one of those is acceptable.

In my experience that 70% utilization target is aggressive for electrical work with permit inspections and utility coordination. We run closer to 60-65% and it's still profitable. Depends on your market.

What actually matters for us is revenue per hour on-site — are you making money when you're there, regardless of how much driving you do? We track that tighter than utilization.

Adding a few we use that haven't been mentioned:

• Parts fill rate from van stock: Target 80% of common items available without warehouse trip or emergency order
• Quote-to-job conversion: 60% is decent, 75%+ means your pricing and scoping are calibrated
• Days to invoice: Under 2 days from job close. This one hits cash flow directly.

We also track technician-initiated reschedules — how often are your own people causing disruption versus external factors? Target under 10% of jobs.

I'd challenge the premise slightly. Before selecting KPIs, ask what problem you're solving.

If cash flow is tight, days-to-invoice and first-time fix rate matter most. If you're losing technicians, utilization and callback rate are secondary to schedule stability and overtime hours.

At your size, I'd recommend three metrics maximum for your weekly standup. More than that and you're measuring, not managing. My suggestion:

1. Revenue per technician (weekly trend)
2. First-time fix rate (quality signal)
3. Schedule adherence (customer commitment)

Everything else is monthly review at your scale.

We tried tracking 12 KPIs. Nobody looked at them. Now we have 3 on a dashboard in the break room and people actually care.

First-time fix, utilization, customer rating. That's it. Targets are 80%, 65%, 4.5 stars.

My advice: pick fewer than you think you need. You can always add more.

Thanks for starting this conversation, Brandon! We want to make sure you're set up for success here.

For teams getting started with formal KPI tracking, we've put together a framework that maps common metrics to operational goals. You might find Technician Performance Reports helpful for understanding what's available out of the box, and Overview of FieldPulse Reports walks through how to configure custom views for your specific metrics.

I'd also be curious — are you planning to share these numbers with your technicians directly, or keep them manager-facing initially? We've seen both approaches work, and I'm happy to share what we've learned from other customers who've gone through this transition.

Feel free to reach out if you'd like to connect on your specific setup!

my boss just started tracking "jobs per day" and its annoying tbh like yeah i can do 5 easy calls or 2 hard ones he doesnt get that

metric that actually matters to me is my callback rate. under 5% and i know im doing good work. everything else feels like bean counting

One metric I didn't see mentioned: revenue per dispatch hour — not per technician hour, but per hour your dispatcher is actually working. This tells you if your scheduling is efficient or if you're burning labor on poor routing.

We improved this 23% by adding Route Optimization and requiring 48-hour lookahead on all non-emergency jobs. The tool is only as good as the discipline around using it.

Also — and this is critical — make sure your technicians understand why you're tracking each metric. We had pushback on utilization until we explained it was about proving we needed to hire more people, not squeezing the existing team. Framing matters.