AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Aly Pinder

What is the value of a customer relationship? Is it worth it to over-deliver on SLAs just to keep a paying client? What role does field service have in keeping customers happy? Aly Pinder, senior research analyst analyst, Service Management, Aberdeen Group,  shares his views.

These are all questions which have put a microscope on service technicians and field engineers. Historically, the field service team was solely looked to in order to show up on time based on a 4-8 hour service window and fix a failure. But in this age of empowered customers, the field service team is expected to deliver real value to each customer interaction (while also, of course, fixing the failure).

But with this demand for increased value comes the opportunity to find new products and services that customers need and want to buy. As seen in Aberdeen’s Service Revenue: Unearth an Untapped Stream of Dollars research, eight out of ten top performers (81%) were able to attain their service revenue goals in 2014 and they also cultivate an environment of innovation for their service offerings to meet the needs of their customers. But how did these service organizations and manufacturers achieve these results? Did the money just fall from the trees? Of course not, these companies helped the field team excel at service and wow their customers into new opportunities.

The path to this level of engagement is outlined below and should be the centerpiece of any strategy to drive profitability from the field:

• The carrot is often more successful than the stick in business. Incentives, if targeted the right way, have the ability to drive the behaviors which can transform an organization.[quote float="left"]The carrot is often more successful than the stick in business. 

   

  This is true for the field team. If your organization only monitors or incents doing more jobs as quickly as possible, your technicians will neglect aspects of the service experience which could prove valuable to customers. Savvy service leaders implement incentives and performance goals which tackle both short-term operational objectives and long-term relationship goals like profitability, revenue, and customer satisfaction.
• Give the sales team a view into the field. The sales team has a difficult job (and no, I am not pandering to the sales executives out there). They “always must be closing” new business. And one of their top challenges is having enough leads to close. This is where the field service team can help out. Service technicians are in front of customers every day, they’re in front of the equipment on site, and they even have access to the competition’s assets. But in order to connect customer insight with the sales team, the field needs the mobile tools AND the training to pass along the right information. Technicians need to ask the right questions while on site with customers and have their eyes / ears open to gaps in the current products and services being used. Passing these leads on to sales can drive the top line for the entire organization.
• Don’t give service away for free.

   

  Don’t give service away for free. Too often organizations send technicians out to customers to service equipment and assets which are no longer under warranty or within a service contract. This is a missed opportunity. Top performing organizations ensure their service team delivers service which is being paid for. And when contracts expire or are close to, technicians don’t have to refuse service but they will have the knowledge to give the customer a small nudge reminding them their bill is due.

The field service team has a special place in the hearts and minds of customers. Technicians show up when there is a problem (or before), fix it, and leave with a smile. But this relationship has the opportunity to garner insights that can turn into new revenue opportunities. I don’t think technicians should be salespeople, but they understand customers, equipment, and assets. And this insight makes them invaluable in finding the next dollar while ensuring customers remain happy.

 

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With customer satisfaction now the top metric in defining field service success,  the future of service and service revenue generation is in preparing the service organisation to have the right conversations with customers before, during, and after a service visit,  says Aly Pinder, senior research analyst analyst, Service Management, Aberdeen Group.

Field service has long been a task oriented function of the organisation. Receive a customer call, schedule a technician, dispatch the tech, route the tech to the customer site, fix the problem, and then move on to the next job. Granted this is rudimentary recap of what happens, but I hope the picture is clear. A customer with a failed asset or piece of equipment, would then need the service organisation to reactively send a technician out to solve the problem with the goal of having technicians complete as many jobs as possible in a given day.
This model has been effective for quite a while, but a shift is occurring in field service. Aberdeen’s State of Service Management 2015: Connect to Your Customers (March 2015) research highlighted that the top metric defining success in service is customer satisfaction, not operational efficiency or cost containment. Furthermore, increased competition in service and heightened customer expectations demand the field service organisation enhance customer value. Unfortunately, too many organisations still view service and field technicians as reactive, fix it resources as opposed to agents building customer value and revenue opportunities. Top performers ensure they equip technicians with the support and tools to do both.[quote float="left"]Service revenue opportunities cannot come at the cost of quality service.

Aberdeen’s recent Service Revenue: Unearth an Untapped Stream of Dollars report (May 2015), highlighted top performers are 56% more likely than peers to have met their service revenue growth goals in the previous 12 months. But does this mean organisations should turn technicians into field sales people? Do technicians have the acumen to be motivated by commission? I think these are the wrong questions. The future of service and service revenue generation is in preparing the service organisation to have the right conversations with customers before, during, and after a service visit.

 

• Before the service call, provide the dispatch team with insight in regard to in-warranty or under service contract customer issues. The back office should have access to customer history, equipment information, and contract and warranty insight. The dispatch team must review warranty entitlements and service contracts before scheduling a service job. Before a work order has been issued is the best time to discuss with a customer the work that needs to be done, what is covered, and how additional services can be added if desired. This proactive conversation will not only avoid sending a technician out who must complete uncovered service, but also provides an opportunity to renew a service contract.[quote float="right"]Technicians are heroes, they want to solve problems and make customers happy.

   

• During the service call, make sure techs know if service is  being given away for free. There are times when a service organisation is OK with giving service away for free. There will be errors made or opportunities to take a short-term loss in lieu of cementing a longer term profitable customer partnership. The problem is when technicians have zero visibility into the contract or warranty status of equipment during every service call. Technicians do not want to be the bad guy / lady who denies service because a service contract has expired. Technicians are heroes, they want to solve problems and make customers happy. For this reason, it is imperative that technicians have real-time access to customer information (i.e., warranty status, repair history). This insight doesn’t only help avoid delivering “free service”, it empowers technicians to have better conversations with customers while on site.
• After the service call, help move from resolution to a sales engagement. Mobile technology empowers the field service team to not only document and close a work order, but also to create future sales opportunities. Leading organisations have incentivised technicians to be the eyes and ears of the sales function to unearth future prospects for cross- and up-sell opportunities. The key is to ensure technicians prioritise solving the customer issue and not future sales. Technicians have to remain trusted customer partners; once they are viewed as sales people they will lose the trust of the customer.

Service revenue opportunities cannot come at the cost of quality service. These two goals must be complimentary. Top performing organisations equip the entire service team with the insight to make revenue generating decisions in real-time. But these companies understand the viability of the organisation demands that customers continue to value the service being provided.

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Has the social world changed service delivery? Or is field service still all about a schedule, a technician, a truck, and a tool box?Aly Pinder of Aberdeen asks...

The short answer is both are correct. Field service is still all about getting a service person to solve a customer problem. Granted, sometimes this can be done remotely, without a technician at all. But for the most part, technicians still help resolve issues.

However, social is beginning to play a larger role in the execution of service. Social collaborative tools often have the perception of being a consumer medium which has little to no value in business. Much of this perception is driven by our knowledge of social coming from the games we play on our personal mobile devices or by seeing young adults wasting their day away on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. This mindset is slowly changing, and the top performers are leading the way. Aberdeen’s Social Field Service: Collaboration on the Fly (March 2015) report highlights that half of the Best-in-Class provide technicians with access to social media and collaborative tools; as compared to only 35% of peers. These top performers aren’t necessarily given technicians Facebook apps on their work phones, but they are empowering technicians with the ability to access information and communication tools to deliver faster resolution or collaborate with peers.

The future of field service demands that technicians have real-time access to data to ensure they are able to resolve issues on extremely complex equipment. Challenges like a retiring workforce, more aggressive competition, and increased customer expectations mean technicians and service teams don’t have an unlimited amount of time to find the answers to service issues. For this reason, the use of social has the opportunity to connect technicians with the intelligence to solve these problems in real-time. In order to achieve these types of gains, a few trends below should be adopted -

Do not miss out on hearing the voice of the customer.

If you haven’t heard about the empowered customer, then you haven’t been listening. Customers today have more influence and information than ever before. Consequently, it is imperative that service organisations listen to their customers, whether through channels like surveys or through social. But more importantly, organisations need to turn the voice of the customer into new products and services based on this intelligence. Just listening is a starting point, but action to improve is the true test of successful interaction between customers and the service organisation.

Escape the costs and loss of productivity incurred from all-day training sessions for the field team.

Service doesn’t stop. Equipment, parts, and machines fail. And these assets don’t care that a service organisation has scheduled an all-day off-site meeting to train the service team on the latest service techniques. Social tools allow a service organisation the ability to share best practices and new techniques via a mobile device so technicians don’t need to leave the field. This dynamic learning model also means that procedural changes can be communicated in real-time and not at one-off meetings.

Avoid the tendency to neglect investment in technology infrastructure.

Technology tools are changing all the time. The days of paper work orders and receipts are coming to an end. Unfortunately, as seen in Aberdeen’s recent State of Service Management 2015: Connect to Your Customers research (March 2015), nearly half of organisations (40%) still find that they are challenged by insufficient technology infrastructure. Despite this lack of investment for many organisations, the technology available for businesses is immense. The next generation of tools has been able to turn the volume of data flowing into the business into intelligence. For this reason, organisations need to evaluate, identify, and invest in technology tools which connect service to improved resolution.

Don’t wall off the field team from your customer.

Technicians have a strong partnership with customers. Often times, the field service technician is a trusted advisor for the customer, as they help solve problems for the customer in a very difficult time. Social doesn’t have to mean that technicians are creating blogs, but there is the opportunity that they can inform customers as to the status of a work order or their arrival on site.

Social collaborative tools can seem daunting in business – no one wants their brand sullied because a rogue employee posts something inappropriate. But despite the horror stories and PR blunders, the value of social collaboration should outweigh the potential landmines. It is important for field service organizations to avoid the fear of social, as it is more than just a consumer trend. Social tools have the opportunity to connect the field service team with customers, the back office, and each other. Service in 2015 moves at the speed of a tweet or a post, and organisations must take advantage of this increased access to information and insight. Don’t get left in the past, leverage the tools of the present to build the type of service which will excel in the future.

 

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Field Service is evolving in front of our eyes. Aly Pinder, Senior Research Analyst at Aberdeen looks at what we need to do now to embrace the future...

Many things aren’t as they were for your father or grandfather. Technology moves at such a rapid pace that even I have lost track as to what is the latest and greatest social media platform that has revolutionised the internet, or at least the lives of teenagers.

Even though it is easy to dismiss either end of the technology spectrum – should our business jump at the latest trend or will we save money and heartache by staying the course that was paved by our legacy systems back in the early 2000s?

Both strategies have their faults and may lead to hard times, but I propose there is a middle ground that is necessary for field service.

As much as we would all like to bury our heads in the sand and not accept that the world around us is changing, field service has evolved.

[quote float="left"]Customers expect better service every day, management has seen the light in regard to the value (i.e., profitability) that field service can drive, and our service teams are getting older and are deciding to move on. So why hasn’t field service adapted?

Customers expect better service every day, management has seen the light in regard to the value (i.e., profitability) that field service can drive, and our service teams are getting older and are deciding to move on. So why hasn’t field service adapted?

 

Why are we so reluctant to change as the winds around us continue to sway.

Partially it’s because changing a global network which has become accustomed to doing things a certain way is difficult. Also, no one wants to be wrong, this is our livelihood. But we can no longer sit back and let the rest of the technology world pass the field service industry by as we move in 2015 and beyond.

Not only have customers changed, but almost as importantly the field service technician within your businesses is changing and service leaders must begin to react to keep and hire the next wave of field service heroes. This isn’t easy, but below are three trends which will play a big role in the success of organisations as they move into the future of field service:

Use the tools that make your techs more productive.

As more and more millennials enter the field service workforce, organisations must begin to adapt to their preferences and strengths. In Aberdeen’s recent research report, Emerging Workforce in the Field: Tech-Savvy to Technician (December 2014), the average age of the field worker was 32 years old with approximately one fifth of the workforce under 30.

This isn’t quite a wave of millennials just yet, however a top challenge for many organisations is the ageing workforce and retirement. Why wait to adapt to the changing needs of your workforce?

Despite the (negative) buzz, millennials aren’t that different from previous generations. But they have grown up in an age which they have always had access to the internet and a connected device. They expect to have this capability at work too. Organisations that provide these workers with the latest technology, much of which is moving towards a more consumer look and feel, will have a better chance of hiring the best of the next crop of technicians.

BYOD is not dead in field service.

The wave of excitement for BYOD (bring your own device) has waned a bit since the thoughts of this strategy revolutionising IT. Concerns around security, device proliferation and management, and a decrease in productivity led some organisations to turn away from BYOD.

However, as seen in Aberdeen’s BYOD: A Flood of Devices in the Field report (December 2014), nearly two-thirds of top performing companies currently leverage some level of BYOD within their field service operation.

These top performers found that this strategy had no negative impact on key metrics such as SLA compliance and service margin, while slightly improving employee satisfaction. And as we all know, happy employees make happy customers.

Create the right incentives to drive the right behaviours in field service delivery.

As customer expectations as to what great service is continues to change, the field service team also needs to evolve. No longer is it good enough to just show up within a four or two hour window, resolution is the name of the game for many customers. Furthermore, the way organisations are differentiating in this 21st century economy is through service, and the quality of service being provided.

[quote float="right"]This may seem like marketing or consumer jargon, but even in B2B environments customers have begun to expect a heightened experience and more value-add services.

With this shift scheduling technologies must ensure that the right technician with the right skills and the right service attitude shows up to work with the right customer. This may seem like marketing or consumer jargon, but even in B2B environments customers have begun to expect a heightened experience and more value-add services.

 

This is both a threat, but also an opportunity for the savvy service organisations that adapt to this changing environment and ensures that technicians aren’t only showing up to turn a wrench, but are equipped to solve customer needs.

The field service environment is not stagnant. However, too often organisations work under the mindset that customers will not leave, profitability will continue to grow, and technicians will always do the right thing. The challenge many organisations are facing as we enter 2015 is that the status quo will not be acceptable, and the field service organisation will need to evolve in order to excel.

The opportunity is still great, but the leaders will do well by adapting to the needs of their customers and technicians.

 

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To read Aly Pinder's latest white paper sponsored by Trimble Field Service Management which looks at why Generation Y is a good fit for field service click here

 

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The lines between consumer mobile technology and business innovation have begun to blur. No longer is it unimaginable that a field service technician completes a work order on a smartphone. Just a few years ago if techs were mobile, they were carrying a rugged phone or laptop. But where will this convergence of the consumer and business worlds end? Aberdeen's Aly Pinder asks...

Tablets? BYOD (bring your own device)? Wearables?

It is difficult sometimes to differentiate between hype and true value when addressing technology advancements. The topic of wearables has garnered some interest over the past year as devices like Fitbits, Fuel Bands, and Google Glass gain steam in the consumer marketplace. Organizations, however, are often slower to adopt new technology as they must build the business case in order to minimize risk and avoid passing fads. Aberdeen’s recent Service Mobility: The Right Technology for the Tech research (August 2014) revealed that 6% of the field service workforce for those surveyed was equipped with wearable devices. Despite this relatively low adoption rate, 20% of organizations listed interest in this technology over the next 12 months. There are both opportunities with the technology, but organizations must also be mindful of some challenges.

Insight at the Ready: Benefits of Wearables in the Field

1. Every technician can be an expert. Mobile devices like smart watches, cameras, or glasses have the ability to provide technicians with data at the point of need. The equipment technicians have to service is becoming more and more complex, requiring more variability of skills to reach resolution. Wearables can enable faster, more dynamic intelligence that isn’t available from reviewing static manuals which are outdated the moment they are published.
2. Personal performance trackers empower the tech. In your personal life, it is fun to track the number of steps you take every day or monitor sleep patterns. But organizations must be mindful of technicians who may feel like the service organization is tracking too much. The key is to gain buy-in from the field that these tools are meant to improve productivity and performance, and not a way to penalize. Wearable technology can provide technicians with a benchmark of what good performance looks like, and build an example for future improvement.
3. Link the tech to the back office. Field service technicians are the face of the organization with the customer. Their interaction must mean more to the organization that simply a turned wrench. As more technicians get connected to mobile devices, the ability to capture real-time insight into the customer relationship can be made available to other business functions (i.e., sales).

Watch Out: Potential Challenges of Wearables in the Field

1. Is it just a smaller, less practical smartphone? Part of the value in mobile tools is the ability to provide real-time information for a field technician. But these mobile devices need to empower technicians, and should not be treated as just another device. Historically, mobility has evolved to help lessen the number of devices needed to complete field service. However, if wearables are still dependent on a smart phone or laptop, are they really delivering the value service needs?
2. Can you hear me now? Disconnection while on the road is a real threat to service employees. Not all field service work is conducted in areas that are connected to wireless networks. Technicians need to be able to do work both on and offline. If wearables can’t provide insight while offline, their usefulness will be limited.
3. Tough enough for you? Consumer-grade technology often elicits the fear of damage when put under the pressure of a rugged work environment. As organizations begin to explore the applicability of wearables for field service, devices must get more rugged to handle the demands of many field service environments.

Eight of ten organizations (82%) sampled in Aberdeen’s 2014 mobility research still view mobility as a strategic initiative over the next 12 months. Historically, this evolution was a move from paper to a handheld device for the technician.

As technology advances, field service organizations are beginning to explore the feasibility of wearables. In order to avoid this technology going the way of a fad, it must improve a worker’s productivity while also directly enhancing the overall customer experience.

Aly Pinder, research analyst and mobile workforce specialist with the Aberdeen Group joins Field Service News with a new monthly column. In this first feature he looks at how companies can stand out in 'the age of the customer'

How would you rate your organisation’s ability to deliver great service?

Now, how would your customers rate your service?

I think both questions can lead to valuable insights into how the service organisation needs to evolve in 2014. But the customer’s take on your service is becoming more important than ever. Aberdeen’s recent research on the State of Service Management: Roadmap to a Profitable 2014 (March 2014) highlighted the top pressure facing organisations is increased competition both in products and services (52% of respondents, n = 170). No longer can service and manufacturing organisations rest on their laurels that the customer will not find someone else who can provide similar if not more value. For this reason, it is imperative that organisations re-train their focus on improving the service experience and providing value to the customer relationship.

In order to achieve this heightened level of service to the customer, a few lessons should be learned from top performers recently sampled from Aberdeen’s research. These best practices are just a starting point, but should be followed to ensure competition doesn’t eat away at your profits or customer base -

Craft a culture of service.

Exceptional service can only be achieved if the entire organisation is on board to deliver value to the customer. Often times we view service as a “problem” for field service or the contact centre. This is not a winning approach. The field service team is often the function which is in closest proximity to the customer, but each team within the organisation can have a positive impact on the relationship. For example, engineering has the opportunity to make products that are easier for customers to use and doesn’t break as frequently, marketing has the ability to highlight products or services that most align with customer needs, and operations can make service delivery more efficient by removing clutter from the service chain.

Learn from your customers.

Customers are more than just a means to more revenue. Customers show a window into the future of innovation and viability for the organisation. Top performers in Aberdeen’s research were 50% more likely than peers to proactively capture customer feedback in regard to product and service performance (66% vs. 44%, respectively). Organisations that do not listen to customers’ needs will miss out on finding that next great product or service. Furthermore, customers have more clout than ever, so neglecting them will not only impact one sale it may also negatively influence their connected ecosystem of current and future sales.

Design products for improved service.

Continuous improvement is a topic often denoted to manufacturing or operations. However, I propose that all organisations and functional areas should strive to continuously improve the offerings for their customers. The best performing organisations in Aberdeen’s sample were twice as likely to design products for improved serviceability (56% vs. 28%, respectively). These firms relayed customer and usage data from the field to engineering and design teams to enhance future products. An emerging concept for service organisations is “ease of doing business” for the customer, designing products for serviceability is the next frontier of this concept.

Find out what motivates your great service team.

Does your organisation know what motivates its field service teams? Not many organisations do. We just assume that an hourly wage is all it takes to have a technician who is excited to provide exceptional service. And this may be true at times, but organisations need to provide customers with even more valuable experiences. Thus firms must take a look at the employee’s motivation to create a link. Organisations are missing opportunities to identify gaps in service because technicians are not engaged to go beyond just turning the wrench to see the customer’s true needs.

Field service excellence is no longer a simple proposition of meeting a schedule. Top performers are looking to the service organisation to provide enhanced value to customers and become a willing partner for innovation.