This new feature lets you control whether Dispatch Pro factors in on-call technician shifts when it assigns jobs, so your after-hours coverage is part of the automated dispatching workflow.
What's new?
Before this feature, Dispatch Pro had no way to consider on-call technician shifts when determining who was available for a job. After-hours jobs had to be assigned manually or went unrouted. Now, a new setting on the Dispatch Pro Settings screen gives you direct control over whether Dispatch Pro includes on-call shifts in job assignments. When you turn the setting on, Dispatch Pro sees which technicians are on call and includes them alongside technicians on normal shifts. You can also override the setting at the business unit level for more granular control.
Resources
Before and after
Before (current)
An after-hours job comes in and needs to be assigned.
Dispatch Pro only considers technicians with normal working shifts.
On call technicians are not visible to Dispatch Pro.
A dispatcher must manually check who is on call and assign the job by hand.
Impact: After-hours jobs are delayed because they require manual intervention. On call technicians sit idle while dispatchers scramble to find available coverage.
Try the current workflow in your account
After
Go to the navigation bar and click Settings.
In the side panel, go to Dispatch Pro > Settings.
On the Dispatch Pro Settings screen that opens, click the Routing tab under Settings.
In Settings 1.7, turn on the Should Dispatch Pro use on call shifts for job assignments? Toggle.
When an after-hours job comes in, Dispatch Pro now sees on-call technicians as available. Dispatch Pro automatically assigns the job to the best-fit on call technician. Override the setting at the business unit level if certain divisions should not use on-call shifts.
Impact: After-hours jobs are routed automatically to the right on call technician without manual effort. Response times improve and dispatchers save time.
Test the changes in the NEXT environment
Who uses this feature
Commercial Service and Replacement, Residential Service and Replacement
Administrators, Dispatchers
Region availability: All regions
How it works for your industry
Residential Service and Replacement
An HVAC company has technicians on rotating on-call schedules for weekend emergencies. They turn on the setting in Dispatch Pro so that Saturday jobs are automatically routed to whichever technician is on call, instead of going unassigned until a dispatcher is available.
A plumbing company receives an emergency water heater call on a Sunday evening. With the on-call shift setting enabled, Dispatch Pro sees the on-call plumber and assigns the job right away, reducing the homeowner's wait time.
An electrical contractor runs a small after-hours team for urgent panel repairs. They override the on call shift setting to OFF for their new construction business unit, which operates strictly Monday through Friday, while keeping it ON for their residential service division.
Commercial Service and Replacement
A commercial HVAC company handles after-hours maintenance for office buildings under service agreements. With the on call shift setting enabled, Dispatch Pro automatically routes overnight calls to on call technicians instead of leaving jobs unassigned until morning.
A commercial plumbing company receives an emergency backflow call at a restaurant on a Saturday night. Dispatch Pro checks who is on call and assigns the closest available technician, keeping the restaurant operational.
A multi-division mechanical contractor turns the on-call setting ON for their service division but overrides it to OFF for their commercial construction division, which does not run weekend shifts.
How to prepare
Confirm that your on-call technician shifts are up to date in the Technician Shifts screen. Dispatch Pro uses existing on call shifts to determine after-hours availability.
Identify which business units should use on call shifts for automated dispatching and which should not. Plan your business unit overrides before turning the setting on.
Train dispatchers on how the new setting works so they understand that Dispatch Pro will now include on-call technicians in job assignments when the setting is enabled.
Align your after-hours workflow with your team. Decide whether all business units use the same approach or if some divisions need different configurations.
Bookmark any knowledge base articles or Academy videos for team training.