MSP Evolution: An MSPs Most Important SOP - Part II
Technician Allocation & Scheduling for MSPs (or how to avoid the zombie apocalypse)
kai·zen [ˈkīz(ə)n, ˈkīˌzen] noun
a Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement of working practices, personal efficiency, etc.
(Data from Oxford Languages)
“If you are going to do kaizen continuously, you’ve got to assume that things are a mess. Too many people just assume that things are all right the way they are. Aren’t you guys convinced that the way you’re doing things is the right way? That’s no way to get anything done. Kaizen is about changing the way things are. If you assume that things are all right the way they are, you can’t do kaizen. So, change something!”
- Taiichi Ohno, Father of the Toyota Production System
Chaos Abounds
The #1 reason for operational chaos at an MSP is the lack of Tech Allocation and Scheduling. Many MSPs just stuff everything into a worklist and let the Techs sort it out. Fun fact: Not all Client Requests fit in the worklist. Surprised?
Hear me out. There are 4 types of Client Requests that must be scheduled:
Project Work (only if you want it done profitably, on time, and on budget)
Working with the Client (you could just ambush the Client with “I have this ticket, let’s work on it now” ...but let’s just say that’s not a good Client Experience
Much preventative maintenance work (better to block the time out way in advance so you don’t blow up the accounting server at end of month or upset your team members by disrupting their vacations, projects, etc.)
Onsite work – including incidents and alerts such as replacing a UPS battery (until Elon figures that one out)
Make sense? If you truly believe that you can just chuck a ticket at a Tech for any of the above for the best experience, I would love to hear from you: Info@advancedglobalmspcoaching.com.
Wait. Who am I? I guess it does make sense to know who I am before you email me your argument. Hi. I’m Stephen Buyze. Whether you are new to this little discussion on what I call Autotask PSAutomation or a long-time reader – welcome. It’s so nice to have you here. In case you didn’t know, my team and I at Advanced Global MSP Coaching specialize in helping Clients get off their butts, grow their MSPs, and become Autotask Gladiators.
In this blog I offer strategies and solutions on how YOU (yes, I mean YOU- whether you are a Tech, an Owner, or the Service Manager) can improve YOUR MSP. (By the way, this is Part II of this article – Part I is here)
The Tip of the Iceberg
Back to Tech Allocation. It goes way beyond scheduling. It includes the process of blocking out time for each Client Request Workflow. For example, if we know how many hours of Critical Requests are going to come in on any given day, we can pre-position someone to engage on the request with no All-Hands-On-Deck chaos. We must make sure we have room on the Techs’ Workload for reactive work that comes in day in and day out.
Which means we need to be managing workloads 3-4 days out for Moves, Adds, and Changes. And after all this stuff, including the Tru Methods preventative Maintenance program (or Karl Palachuk’s checklists if they are more your style), then we know where and with whom we can schedule projects. In other words, projects get the leftovers after everything else has been allocated for! (Speaking of Karl, he also suggests keeping your tickets scheduled 3 days out.)
As Managed Service Providers (MSPs for you journalists looking for a wordbyte for your stories) strive to deliver exceptional service, they face significant challenges in efficiently allocating and scheduling technicians to meet client demands. The dynamic nature of client requests necessitates a strategic approach to technician deployment to ensure timely and effective resolutions.
A Strategic Approach
Effective technician allocation involves assigning the right personnel to specific tasks based on their skill sets, availability, and the complexity of the requests. This requires a comprehensive understanding of each tech's capabilities and workload, as well as the ability to anticipate and respond to future client needs.
Scheduling techs to provide optimal coverage while minimizing downtime and maximizing productivity is crucial for maintaining operational efficiency. This involves creating flexible schedules that can accommodate routine maintenance tasks, moves/adds/&changes, and emergency interventions. Advanced scheduling tools and historical data analytics can aid in making informed decisions about tech deployment.
Efficient tech allocation and scheduling are essential for MSPs to enhance service quality and client satisfaction. By leveraging strategic planning, advanced tools, and real-time data, MSPs can ensure that techs are effectively utilized - leading to improved operational performance and client outcomes using these key points.
Welcome (Back) to Tech Allocation & Scheduling
When to Schedule
Where to Schedule
Preparing Historical Data
Analyzing the Historical Data - The AOF Report
Non-Project Scheduling
Automating the Non-Project Scheduling using TimeZest
Project Scheduling
Dispatch Calendar
Work Groups
Workflow Distribution Report
Scheduled Tickets with No Future Service Calls
(Reminder: We covered the first 4 last week)
Automating the Non-Project Scheduling Using TimeZest
The TimeZest tool plays a crucial role in automating the non-project scheduling, which significantly enhances the efficiency of tech allocation. By seamlessly integrating with Autotask, TimeZest fully automates the scheduling process enabling your Techs can quickly reach out to Clients and let them schedule a time that works for both of you – without all the phone tag.
Probably the #1 benefit of using TimeZest is that it not only schedules the Autotask Service Call but also places an invite in both the Client and Tech’s calendar reminding them they have already made a commitment to a date and time.
(I remember when I was pretty new to an MSP, and we sent out a tech for an all-day project planned - we thought - for quite some time. The Client turned them away saying they weren’t expected and couldn’t be accommodated. What a disruption, waste of billable hours, and embarrassment for my MSP!)
Project Scheduling
Effective project scheduling is a cornerstone of efficient Project Management, crucial for completing the project profitably, on time and on budget; not to mention delivering a high-quality project and Client experience.
Rule #1: ALL PROJECTS MUST BE SCHEDULED
(FYI, Rule #1 if zombies may be around, is cardio.)
As I have hopefully made very clear: You cannot take a project request and just dump it in a queue and ask the Tech’s to figure it out. There is never enough extra time left to fit a project in – they must be scheduled to finish profitably, on time, and on budget!
Scheduling Projects takes a lot of factors into consideration. The process starts with understanding What Was Sold (WWS): including Hours, Skillset, Parts ETA, and Scheduling Patterns (not all projects can be done in consecutive hours – nor are consecutive hours usually available). From there, based on the Historical Data, you need to know what the average Project Availability of each of the Project Engineers is (hint: this is not 32 or 40 hours per week), the volume of disruptions, and the remaining hours of existing Project Work already on the Project Engineer.
Based on these seven factors, a Project Coordinator / Manager can start thinking of where to schedule the project. There are three methods of project scheduling:
Task by Task
Tickets
Project Scheduling Task
My favorite is using a Ticket to block out enough time for the project, plus buffers (10% of the projects available hours, and a day for every 40 hours of project time between projects). The buffer days keep projects from being train wrecks when project scheduling slides, and the 10% buffers buffer against an unusual number of disruptions.
By using a ticket to block out time:
Opportunity Placeholder scheduling can easily be flipped from one Client Opportunity to another
The tickets can be mixed in with other ticket management on the dashboards
If a Client melts down or some kind of security incident (don’t say br....) occurs, you can likely pivot resources without wrecking other Clients’ and Techs’ schedules by re-assignments causing cascading SLA misses).
Dispatch Calendar
The Dispatch Calendar is an indispensable tool for MSPs seeking to optimize technician scheduling and allocation. By offering real-time visibility into tech availability, the Dispatch Calendar allows MSPs to assign tasks efficiently, ensuring that project timelines are met and high-quality service is delivered. This visibility is crucial for preventing scheduling conflicts and overlaps, which can otherwise lead to delays and inefficiencies.
One of the key advantages of the Dispatch Calendar is its ability to integrate seamlessly with other scheduling tools, such as TimeZest. This integration enables MSPs to coordinate both project and non-project activities, ensuring that routine maintenance, training sessions, and administrative duties are accounted for without disrupting critical project work. The dynamic nature of the Dispatch Calendar allows it to adapt to real-time data, providing MSPs with the flexibility to respond swiftly to changing demands and unexpected events.
Workgroups
Workgroups are a little-known tool in Autotask that aids in Tech Allocation. As an MSP expands its technical support Team, grouping the Team(s) into different workgroups allows the MSP to manage them easier. Workgroups can be used in Dispatch Calendars, Live Reports, and some Widgets.
Workgroups allow different views based on which Team, Pod, Skillset, Client Base, etc. the Technician/Engineer fits into. They are used in performance reporting, availability visibility, and workload assessment.
Workflow Distribution Report
The Workflow Distribution Report is an intake QC report that monitors the distribution of Client Requests as they are segmented and categorized into different workflows. Having monitored years of historical data, we can expect an MSP to have less than 10% Critical Requests or Project work. Medium and Quick Hits (requests needing less than an hour) will be most of the requests creating a nice double hump bell curve, with neither above 35% of all Client Requests. The rest of the workflows fit between these two key indicators.
If the # of Client Requests in the Medium workflow are more than 50% of all requests, it is a sign they are coming in as a Medium (the same is true for Standard/Normal/Low) and not being Triaged. If Critical or Projects are more than 10% it is a sign that more items are being categorized as Critical or Project work, usually to draw attention to them so they can jump the line.
Scheduled Tickets with No Future Service Calls
As hard as we try, there are just times when Client Requests are going to slip through the cracks and head for their 1st Birthday. One of these areas is scheduled tickets that have not been completed as scheduled. In the old days (before AG), Techs would hide these tickets in their back pockets, not tell anyone about them, hoping to fit them in by working evenings or weekends.
Thus, the Weekly Open Ticket Review was developed. Oh, what a waste of time and effort! I used to sit in these meetings every week and by the time we finished the review, there was no time to do any work – it was a waste of my time, the managers time, and the Tech’s time) And next week (no matter how many times the Tech said “Oh, I just need to put my time in and close it”) the ticket was still there and more time was wasted next week reviewing the same set of All Open Tickets. So, if on average, it takes 3-45 minutes to complete an engagement, a ticket that sees its 1st birthday has at least 53 hours in it – 52 hours of wasted billable hours that most likely were never recorded, except as true up time in the time sheets – WHAT A WASTE.
A much better way is to run two reports: Backlog List of Tickets (BLT), and Scheduled Tickets with no Future Service Calls. For the Scheduled Tickets with no Future Service Calls it is a simple matter of scheduling 2 more hours of time, with a note in the Service Call that says “either complete this ticket in this allotted scheduled time or tell the Service Coordinators Name how much more time needs to be scheduled.”
If the ticket is to be returned to the Tech’s worklist, then remove all the Service Calls and change the status to Ready to Engage.
TLDR: Technician Allocation for Client Requests
The lack of adequately Allocating Time for all the hours needed per Client Request categorization based on Historical Data is the #1 cause of Chaos in the MSPs work environment.
The solution is Tech Allocation and Scheduling which by itself will:
Increase Tech performance by at least 10%
Increase Client Satisfaction by at least 20%
Lower the stress on the Workforce by at least 50%
And result in a ZEN work environment
Imagine, experiencing these benefits. And there is only one way for smart MSPs to achieve them – talk with Advanced Global. We are here to help. For a FREE Tech Allocation Strategy Call with Steve, click here.
(By the way: Rule #2 is double tap – always verify the ticket complete before closing it. And #3, well....my rules for surviving the zombie apocalypse are best left for another day)
Please make sure to tune in next week, same Bat time, same Bat channel.
And please, if you got any value out of this, your peers will too. Please forward to coworkers and MSPs that may appreciate the knowledge.
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