Case Study: Techs LOVE Real-Time Time Entry!

No one wants to piss off the Techs or push them out of the organization, but yet they LOVE real-time time entry. Yes, you read that right: Once Techs are exposed to and trained on the benefits of Real-Time Time Entries, they willingly jump on board. Really!

All but the worst Techs prefer a smooth, productive, and efficient workday free of Chaos - and they will embrace almost anything to get there.

Don’t believe me? Read on!

The lack of Real-Time Time Entry is the root cause of:

1)     Churn at the MSP

2)     Noisy, Disruptive, Jumping the Line Clients

3)     Creation of the non-alert duplicate tickets

In addition, it causes:

1)     Tech inefficiency because of poor documentation

2)     Writing off honest billable hours due to inaccurate Time Entries

3)     Missing billable hours

With all this downside, why do we not do more to remedy the situation?  I strongly believe it is because no one wants to piss off the Techs or push them out of the organization.  So, we put up with all this lack of accountability BS.

What if there was a better way?  There is. What if there were tools that could be leveraged to create a positive collaborative mentor/coaching relationship?  There are. And what if these tools were reasonably easy to implement and had a proven track record of improving Tech Real-Time Time Entry? Yep, we’ve got that covered too.

A quick case study that demonstrates the proven track record:

Here are Real-Time Time Entry comparisons from one of Advanced Global’s recent Clients. 

In November 2021 - the month before Advanced Global’s partnership with the MSP - the Time Entry delay between disengagement and putting in the Time Entry was running 9 hours and 41 minutes on average. This is hardly Real-Time. 

In the first month of the engagement, we began implementing things to make the job easier for the Techs. Time Entry delay improved to an average of 7 hours and 34 minutes. While this wasn’t great and still not Real-Time, it was an improvement.  A month after Advanced Global declared our work done, the delay was 0 hours and 34 minutes on average. Now that is Real-Time Time Entry performance!

That’s right, Tech Real-Time Time Entry performance across the whole Team improved by an impressive 94% to an average of 34 minutes.  Now, what Owner, Client, or Service Manager would not be beaming with pride and appreciation! Oh, and by the way, when we told the Owner of the actual Team performance data, he did just that: beamed from ear to ear.  Cleartech Testimony

So, what does it take to achieve a Team Real-Time Time Entry performance of 34 minutes? 

 

Here are a few articles on the subject that we know you’ll find helpful:

Real-Time Time entry, it’s not just a myth! — Advanced Global MSP Coaching 

Advanced Global - Reliable Time Entry Monitoring — Advanced Global MSP Coaching

Tame the wild west at your MSP with a few simple solutions. — Advanced Global MSP Coaching

We’re THROUGH with Underperforming KPIs: To War we go! — Advanced Global MSP Coaching

 

Hopefully, after reading this mini case study, you now believe me that Techs really do love (or at least appreciate) Real-Time Time Entry once the entire eTam is using it. And hey, there’s a side benefit too: it tremendously cuts down on Service Coordinators inflicting bodily harm on the Techs.

 

Now, what if you’re thinking this is great, but it won’t work here? THINK AGAIN.  This case study was for a 7 Tech shop.  Advanced Global has 3 Techs, 19 Techs, and 80 Tech clients enjoying similar results.  Maybe not down to 34-minute delay on average, but all under 1 hour. 

 

Here are some testimonies that testify to the effectiveness of the program:

Cleartech Testimony

Intermix IT Testimony

 

If you’d like Advanced Global’s expertise coaching/mentoring your Team on the subject of Real-Time Time Entry, check out this coaching package to find out how we can help:

Autotask Real-Time Time Entry Package — Advanced Global MSP Coaching

 

The elephant in the room:

Who is Advanced Global, and why should we listen to them?

Recently someone we’ve communicated with since DattoCon 2018, who was faithfully reading our articles, commented that up until a few months ago, “I really did not know what Advanced Global does.” So, here are a few bullet points to let anyone interested know who we are and what we do:

1)     We Are – the Autotask Global Service Delivery Authority

2)     We Help – MSPs thrive

3)     We Solve – Service Delivery issues, inefficiencies, and challenges by making sure:

a.     techs know what to work on next

b.     someone is managing all open tickets and driving them to completion

c.      the staffing levels are correct, and the workload is balanced

d.     Real-Time Time Entry is a cultural habit

e.     the Client has a great client experience

f.       profit is maximized

g.     Autotask is being fully leveraged

h.     the historical data that is in the Autotask software is accessible to benchmark, track & USE effectively

i.       the Service Delivery operations can scale

j.       projects are completed On-Time and On-Budget

k.     the company can grow

l.       MSPs know what they don’t know

4)     Our Tools:

a.     Autotask “Best in Class” standard build

b.     Our MSP robust Service Delivery SOP library

c.      Advanced Autotask Live Reports

d.     Expertise in providing a transformational educational experience

 

Note: We are not philosophers; we are doers with 31+ years of Service Delivery experience, bringing real Service Delivery Improvement change, profitability, and Best in Class performance.

 

We start by offering a FREE No-Obligation PSA Configuration Evaluation.

 

Until next time – stay profitable, my friends.

Steve & Co