Salesforce's Gary Brandeleer and Field Service News' Kris Oldland discuss the true value of the service engineer and outline a future of field service where break-fix is no longer part of our day-to-day lexicon...

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IF A DEVICE FAILS, CSAT WILL GO DOWN

Perhaps one of the biggest questions of the current times for the field service sector, as we plot our way towards the new normal, is should we be redefining the value proposition of what field service delivery means, in an age of remote service and a post-pandemic world? It's an embryonic question. Indeed, it's an embryonic conversation, but it's one that the field service sector needs to be having.

Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News recently authored a white paper on this topic, published in partnership with Salesforce to kick start the discussion. To get further insight into the area Oldland invited Salesforce's Gary Brandeleer onto the Field Service Podcast to gain further understanding and learn from Gary's experience working with a number of different organisations in the areas of digital transformation so we can start to piece together exactly how we should be rethinking the value proposition of service delivery.
In the above highlight from that conversation, Brandeleer and Oldland start discussing what the real value is of the field service engineer.

"The key aspect and all the research that we've run on where the value is regarding service engineers, suggests that the value lies in the fact that they are subject matter experts, and that's come from across research projects, interviews, Think Tank Sessions that we've run at Field Service News. It is a constant, consistent theme," explains Oldland.

"The real value of the engineer is having a subject matter expert on-site, so I think we might see an annual, biannual, or even quarterly review process where that engineer, the subject matter expert, goes on and spends the day with the customer. A scenario where they aren't just on-site to fix a couple of issues, but looks at how those assets are interacting looks at how the data that they have from other organisations, across the fleet and outlines to the customer how to optimise for those.

"Then the more day to day routine, or the quick break, fix problems that can be solved remotely, that's where that level of remote-first comes in," he adds.

What if you could transform this relationship into one where the customer will never expect and never experience a failure?"

- Gary Brandeleer, Salesforce

"I think, I wish that, in 10 years from now we will not even know what break-fix is," adds Brandeleer.

"What I mean by this is with more and more new products being developed, the product shouldn't break anymore. It will need to be maintained - and it needs to be very clear how to maintain it, so it doesn't break. I think that's really where I wish all our customers were right now because when one of your devices is breaking, essentially, you can't have a good CSAT - it's nearly impossible.
"Yes, the service provider can get in to fix the problem quickly, and they can get the CSAT up again, but the break is going to see the CSAT going down for sure.

"What if you could transform this relationship into one where the customer will never expect and never experience a failure? Where they will never experience breaking points with your device? To say to the customer, we are going to create this relationship where we guarantee you that the assets won't break. We are going to make sure that we execute on this promise, delivering you a device and a service that leads to a position where the asset you need won't ever let you down - and at the same time, the customer understands clearly what they're going to pay for it. It's much easier as a relationship to say 'okay, yes, you're paying $1,000 a month for the service contract, but you have no break-fix, no surprises.'"

"I think that's really where I think these relationships can grow into true partnerships."

Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.

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Further Reading:

• Find the full episode of this interview and the entire back catalogue of The Field Service Podcast @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts
• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
• Read more about the impact of Covid-19 on Field Service @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/en-gb/covid-19
• Connect with Gary Brandeleer on LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/garybrandeleer/
• Follow Michael Kuebel on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/garybrandeleer?lang=en
• Find out more about Salesforce Field Service Solutions @ www.salesforce.com/uk/products/service-cloud/field-service-lightning/
• Follow Salesforce on twitter @ twitter.com/salesforce