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ClickSoftware, a leading provider of field service management solutions for the enterprise, recently announced that Aragon Research, a technology-focused research and advisory firm, has recognised the company as a 2016 Hot Vendor in the Internet of Things (IoT) category.

Each year, Aragon Research selects Hot Vendors -- across multiple industries -- that continue to push their respective fields' boundaries into new ways of experimenting with techniques and strategies to improve business. ClickSoftware was one of five selected in the category of IoT.

ClickSoftware develops software for use by the field service industry, to maximise productivity and improve customer service. Its software contains advanced decision-making algorithms that helps managers optimise business practices, complete more service calls per day, and arm field service professionals with the information they need to delight customers. Aragon Research recognised ClickSoftware, an early adopter of integrating IoT functionality into its platform, for its ability to go "beyond the current approach to field service" and traditional scheduling functionality.

 

"The rise of IoT is forcing change in business models, and the Field Service industry is no exception as the need to make all workers productive is the current business imperative," said Jim Lundy, founder and chief executive officer, Aragon Research. "ClickSoftware is innovating by leveraging IoT to deliver a solution that's truly impactful and helping solve some of the most sophisticated service challenges today."

"We are honoured to be recognised by Aragon Research as a Hot Vendor in the Internet of Things category for 2016," said Tom Heiser, chief executive officer, ClickSoftware. "Our inclusion in this report validates our commitment to providing the most advanced Field Service Management solutions on the market and demonstrates that our technology is instrumental in advancing the power of IoT in the field service industry."

 

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Find out more about ClickSoftware in the Field Service Directory here

 

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ClickSoftware have for a long time been seen as a key leader amongst field service solution providers. But the sector has gone through rapid evolution within the last few years with technology moving forward whilst the market becomes ever more competitive.

Meanwhile, ClickSoftware have been through an evolution of their own, with new ownership and a new CEO Tom Heiser, at the helm.

And he is determined to see the optimisation specialists stay at the forefront of the industry. Kris Oldland reports...

If you ask any seasoned field service professional to name check three field service software providers you can almost guarantee that ClickSoftware will be one of those they mention.

For many years ClickSoftware has been viewed as the gold standard in terms of field service optimisation. However, the market is going through rapid change and is now more fiercely competitive than ever before. In such an environment, relying on past reputations is a dangerous game to play - even when your reputation is one as strong as that which ClickSoftware can boast.

However, across the last year, ClickSoftware have gone through rapid changes of their own. After long running and widespread rumours of SAP acquiring the company proved to ultimately be unfounded, the company was purchased by Californian based private equity firm Fransicso Partners.

This was followed by the appointment of Tom Heiser, formerly of EMC as a new CEO, and whilst many of the Israeli talent that pushed ClickSoftware to the forefront of the sector remain on board, Heiser’s arrival heralds a new era for ClickSoftware, with both their approach to technology and culture having a delicate shift of focus to help them hold on to their position as an industry leader.

When we meet for the first time Heiser himself comes across initially as very much something of a people person, a firm handshake is balanced by a warm ‘Hollywood’ smile and he carries that air of informality and confidence that seems to be becoming commonplace amongst senior executives working for US tech firms these days.

When we meet we are also joined by Mike Karlskind, a man with a career spanning some twenty years plus with ClickSoftware.

Given the recent restructure of ClickSoftware, one could be forgiven for thinking this was the old guard introducing the new. However, as conversation unravels across the next hour or so, it seems more that Heiser understands and values the talent and history embedded within the company, and intends to utilise it.

 

His aim it seems, is not so much a complete re-imagining and reinvention of ClickSoftware, more gentle refinement, to ensure that the company remains ahead both in terms of technology and of course market-share.

Part of that process is ensuring that the company retain a focus on R&D but also that they make sure the market is aware of that focus.

“Before I flew over here I spent sat down with some senior industry analysts in Israel “ says Heiser, “and they were saying to me, the technology behind ClickSoftware is right at the top, but you guys really need to start banging the drum some more.”

Indeed, in their midsts ClickSoftware have some fantastic success stories, including European automobile glass replacement giant Belron, who operate in the UK as Autoglass.

“Mike and I have been speaking to a number of our clients’ COOs, Presidents etc recently and having strategic conversations around how to best leverage our solution and one of the best examples is Autoglass based over here [in the UK].”

 

“They have a net promoter customer satisfaction score which is like crazy high and they’re using  ClickSoftware as a tool to completely differentiate themselves from their competition, and I’m really proud to see that.”

But what about the shift in focus in terms of technology? What can we expect from ClickSoftware moving forwards?

Well it is clear from speaking with Heiser that he sees very much the future of both ClickSoftware and enterprise computing in general, as being based in the Cloud. However, he also understands that the shift from the still prevalent traditional on-premise model to a Cloud based world is not solely about the development of the technology.

“The thing is, shifting and changing the culture is actually harder than getting the technology right,” he begins.

“With the technology, you just get the right people, you invest in it, and you’re going to ultimately do it. The second area is the business model, which as a small public company, which is what we were, makes it super hard to go to the Cloud.”

 

“Now we have with a board of six people in Moshe [former CEO and founder] myself and four guys from Francisco Partners, who are all super smart guys that have done this before. So I feel with the six of us we can do it, but how do we do this with the new business models?”

“How do we go from an on-premise model with cash flow up front to a subscription model which is where we feel we need to be. Everybody wants to be on the other side, nobody wants to go through that process. But we’re set to get there.”

As he speaks, Heiser conveys a sense of the magnitude of the task not only faced by him and his team in terms of moving with the ever growing traction driving software solutions towards the Cloud, but also faced by the industry in general.

However, there is also an underlying confidence that he and his team are more than up to the challenge, that he cannot contain.

[quote float="right']I look at culture as the biggest challenge, but then there are some people here that are so energised by what we’re doing it’s like, ‘let’s go faster’

“Culture is the third element we need to mention. I look at culture as the biggest challenge, but then there are some people here that are so energised by what we’re doing it’s like, ‘let’s go faster’ I feel like I’m holding you back! - It’s really invigorating, but we need to rein it in every now and then and make sure we’re all on the same track.”

 

Having spent an hour with Heiser, it is clear his enthusiasm could genuinely be infectious, yet it is also clear that he is grounded enough to see the woods as well as the trees. He is also smart enough to not only keep key members of his team such as Karlskind close by, but also to admit when it is time to turn to them for support.

There may have been a number of changes for ClickSoftware in the last year or so, but with Heiser at the helm there is a good chance that their position as one of the leading brands in the market will remain firmly intact.

 

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Powerful, flexible and scalable cloud computing technology is opening up multiple new opportunities for businesses to improve customer service, develop better ways for customers to -serve themselves and introduce new technologies more quickly and easily.  However, the ready availability of business applications via the cloud has also raised the issue of data security and how to keep information about people and the businesses they work in, secure and private at every level.

In Part One  we looked at how cloud is an enabler for field service organisations and in Part Two how technology is facilitating enhanced centralised control and better people management and communications.

In this third and final instalment of our coverage of the recent debate on “Cloud and Mobility: The next frontier for Field Service Management”  which was organised by ClickSoftware, we’ll consider in more detail the most important ways in which technology can improve overall customer service and how organisations should deal with the issues of security and privacy.

The debate was chaired by Forrester’s senior analyst, Paul Miller, with a panel including: Tim Faulkner, Senior Vice President at ClickSoftware; Dr Carsten Sorensen, Associate Professor in Digital Innovation at the London School of Economics; Katelyn Burrill, Product Marketing Manager at ClickSoftware; and Phil Wainewright, Chair at Euro Cloud UK.

Self-serving customers

One popular trend for improving overall levels of customer service, is to offer new technologies to customers that allow them to “self-serve”, the idea being that customers have a faster and more tailored experience which costs the business less to deliver.  But where is the competitive advantage and business vale of providing customer service in this way, if everything is being done by the customer themselves and the suppliers have no opportunities to engage directly with their customers?

One particularly interesting example to consider here is the case of energy smart meters.  Smart meters monitor energy consumption in real-time and automatically send electronic meter readings to providers. While the devices improve operations for utilities companies, providing real-time usage data that helps them to forecast demand and also help their customers to minimise energy usage and save money, once smart meters are installed, the suppliers never need to visit houses and offices to take meter readings.

“In the smart meter world, the biggest challenge that utilities suppliers worry about is how to roll out the smart meters,” says Tim Faulkner. “But finding new ways to maintain customer loyalty and revenue should also be looked at as a high priority activity because technicians are going to be in the customers’ homes far less frequently. The energy vendors will install the smart meter and not be back for maybe five years. Their opportunity to impress the brand upon the customer and sell more services or products is much less reduced.”

 

“You have to find things people want and talk to them about it when you’re there,” explains the LSE's Dr Carsten Sorensen. “We go to fix or install stuff. If you look at utilities companies, they’re not silly. Once they do arrive, it’s all about upselling.”

However, Phil Wainwright, of Euro Cloud UK, argues that physical presence is only a very small aspect of the opportunities available to business to interact with customers.

“A huge part of a good brand experience and competitive advantage in the modern world is minimising the amount of frustrating interaction the customer has with individuals not equipped to deal with their problems. It’s all about delivering competitive advantage by delivering good quality customer service through any medium.”

Human interaction

So what happens when we reach that stage where, in many or most cases, the customer is in charge of managing the services themselves, through mobile apps, smart meters and similar associated technologies?  In a situation where devices pass information directly back to a central location, there is less interaction. If most of the information that vendors have comes from customers, where does the competitive advantage come from and where do suppliers offer value if everything is done by the users or their devices?

“Why do you need people?” asks Sorensen. “You need them to build the services and interact. We are social animals. We need to find clever ways to interact with each other. Plus, once we have smart things embedded in our walls, in our shower heads and everywhere, we’ll need more help to understand and maintain them!”

 

The other clear opportunity for field services organisations rolling out smart devices and mobile apps is from utilisation of the considerable amounts of highly valuable data being generated. So how might they start do to clever things with this data? One obviously practical and impactful use of data is in getting a better understanding of each individual customer’s behaviour – what they are using, how they use it, when they use it for example.

“The other is being able to predict what kind of approach you’ll need to take to address any issue based on job type and history of that job with that customer,” Faulkner explains. “Building in this kind of predictive analysis for parts is a direction that ClickSoftware is taking now in our R&D team. There’s a mix there. You can automate it and/or provide decision-making capability. And you also need to use human beings who have personal experience and can understand the context and add value. Because an automated decision can sometimes be a wrong one.”

Data privacy

Finally, when dealing with apps or smart devices in homes that are collecting a lot of data, there is the issue of privacy and data security to be addressed. What happens, for example, with the data being collected by companies that can effectively tell where you are and where you’ve been, when you are in or out, what you are doing and what you might like to do?

As Paul Miller, Senior Analyst at Forrester, points out, even while the likelihood of that data being abused is very low, “the customer has a nagging doubt that bad people or Big Brother will do something with the data. How will a field service organisation respond to that?”

Gauging the best response is largely down to having a good understanding of the trade-off customers are willing to make between privacy and convenience. “Companies need to work out their push-pull line,” says Sorensen, “as it becomes increasingly complex and risky to manage all that data.”

The bottom line is that data privacy is a huge focus, for governments, legislators and brands alike. Plus, in addition to looking at privacy from a consumer perspective, it’s also insightful to consider the ways in which field service software providers deal with issues of data privacy from the point of view of their business customers.

“Until the advent of the cloud, vendors always provided systems in a company’s premises and the data is therefore only accessible within that company” says Faulkner. When the project is in live operation, we’ll get insight into how it’s being used. The cloud gives us the opportunity to see and share best practice across many customers, and look at what value there is in providing an additional service or function as well as to advise customers on what they should do to become best in class.”

 

Many of ClickSoftware’s customers are household brand names and they take issues of data security and customer privacy very seriously and work through it diligently as Faulkner explains. “They have specialist teams that work on security topics, and they have big legal teams. It’s about education, about trust that the brand has transparency.”

It really matters to consumers and to businesses what data people have on them and what they use it for.  Companies need to work out their push-pull approach.  No-one wants to be called at four in the morning with an upsell proposition when they are on holiday on the other side of the world!

What's often discussed in the media is that everyone should have a social contract with their suppliers.  It's not just 'we give you X and you pay us Y', it's a back and forth negotiation which should be based on situation and context.  As individuals we can be hypocritical in terms of data privacy, when it works for us and we get a reward, we're all for it but when something goes wrong, we claim that we didn’t agree to the terms.

The field service professionals can be a key part of the evolution.  They are there, speaking to the customer and can provide real feedback on what the customer does and doesn’t need, what went well and what topics of discussion, goods and services the customer liked and engaged with.  Empowering the people on the ground to decide how they interact and feedback will go a long way towards assuaging any concerns about how personal and business data is being used.

Training engineers to use personal interactions as an opportunity to be brand ambassadors, looking for upsell and feedback opportunities is what all field service companies should be aiming for.

Through discussions with both academic and industry experts, this debate looked at how cloud and mobility will impact the field service industry and help businesses achieve their goals both now and in the future. The three-part series covered why cloud is an enabler for field service businesses, how technology is allowing central control and improving employee management and, with this final part of the series, looking at how technology can improve customer service and the issue of privacy.

 

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In his leader for issue 12 of Field Service News, Editor-in-Chief Kris Oldland discusses the number of field service solution providers companies flourishing in an industry that is going through seismic change and evolution... 

 

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Click here to download a digital version of Field Service News issue 12 now

 

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As the field service conference season enters full swing there have been plenty of solution providers banging the drum of late...

Indeed, the list of field service solution providers at Field Service USA held in Palm Springs a month ago was a certifiable who’s who of the industry, and alongside what was a truly fantastic three days of education, there were a number of big announcements from some of the industry’s key players.

ClickSoftware announced a new solution that takes advantage of some pretty slick artificial intelligence algorithms, Trimble Field Service Management introduced an entire new end-to-end FSM suite called Pulse whilst ServiceMax announced a very interesting tool called Service Performance Metrics that brings together analytics and best-practices in a highly innovative solution.

Then there were the new kids on the block such as Help Lightning, whose ‘mobile merged reality’ solution we’ve championed in Field Service News previously as a great use of an emerging technology that could have a truly disruptive impact on the industry.

Another honourable mention should also go to Co-Tap whose collaboration tool is perfectly set to help empower knowledge sharing and intra-engineer collaboration, a perfect tool for the emerging millennial workforce.

Not to be out done by their software counterparts, there has been plenty of innovation coming from the hardware side of the industry of late as well.

Getac have announced the launch of the next-gen S400, a fully rugged laptop that has the footprint of a regular business notebook, whilst the Toughbook 20 (which Field Service News first reported as being in development back in March last year) is the world’s first fully rugged detachable and has been picking up some very positive comments since it became available at the beginning of the year.

Another impressive looking piece of kit is Gen2Wave’s RP1600 which I got my hands on this month. The RP1600 sits in the relative embryonic niche between rugged smartphone and handheld computer - a form factor that I can certainly see evolving rapidly. You can find my review of the RP1600 on page 36.

 

And if new technology launches are the drums being banged, then it is also important to note that there have been a number of new band leaders coming to the fore lately too.

Perhaps the highest profile of these is the new CEO at industry stalwarts ClickSoftware. Following the sale of the company to Californian private equity firm Francisco Partners, Tom Heiser has been appointed and in his own words one of his first tasks is to start ‘banging the drum’ a bit more about the innovations his R&D team are developing.

Another new CEO on the block is Chris Proctor of OneServe who has had a meteoric rise through the Exeter based company within the last year. Proctor also sees the need to raise the bar in terms of shouting about the Exeter based companies successes, and is not afraid to call out his competitors (as he did back in Field Service News back in November last year).

In this issue we’ve exclusive interviews with both Proctor (page 18) and Heiser (page 40) as well as another new face to field service Rei Kasai who recently joined ServiceMax from SAP and spoke to us about what exactly Service Performance Metrics means (page 32).

Of course, we can’t talk about new developments from solution providers with out mentioning Microsoft who with their purchase of FieldOne and it’s subsequent recent re-brand to Field Service have arrived firmly back within the field service sector with all the swagger of the Rolling Stones announcing a new world tour.

Like the Rolling Stones, Microsoft having been around seemingly forever, yet they still have it in them to mix it with the very best. By incorporating FieldOne into their wider Dynamics platform, the software giant have put together a very attractive solution and I spoke to Carsten Groth about Microsoft’s plans for Field Service which you can read on page 50.

With so much development and innovation in the sector it is truly an exciting time, and such fierce competition amongst field service solution providers is not only indicative of the growing importance of service within industry, but also can only be a good thing for practitioners when it comes to finding the right solution for them.

Bang on.

 

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Click here to download a digital version of Field Service News issue 12 now

 

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Field service management is a key part of the customer experience. Meeting the engineers or technicians despatched to their house is often the end-user’s first and only human engagement with the company. Cloud and mobility technology is helping to improve the flexibility and collaboration between central control systems and individual fieldworkers, ensuring customers experience the best possible service and field service professionals become brand ambassadors, as well as technical problem solvers.

In Part One of this three part series on  the next Frontier for Field Service Management, our panel considered the fundamental importance of the power and scalability of cloud computing and the ways in which it is revolutionising field service management. In Part Two they  discuss the importance of striking a balance between central control and individual initiative.

The debate was hosted by ClickSoftware and chaired by Forrester’s senior analyst, Paul Miller. Joining him were Tim Faulkner, Senior Vice President at ClickSoftware; Dr Carsten Sorensen, Associate Professor in Digital Innovation at London School of Economics; Katelyn Burrill, Product Marketing Manager at ClickSoftware; and Phil Wainewright, Chair at Euro Cloud UK.

Central control and individual collaboration

In order to provide the quality and consistent levels of service that today’s customers demand, businesses still need to retain a degree of control centrally.

“You need to deliver on promises and provide a consistent level of service and quality that the customer wants,” explained Tim Faulkner.  “You also need to allow for improvisation and tools that allow the technician to make decisions on whether or not to replace a part there and then or call a buddy to help.”

The cloud is both an enabler and a leveller, according to Faulkner. “It’s bringing down barriers to adopting field service solutions that were there before, enabling large corporations to deploy different methods and enabling smaller companies to adopt the same applications.”

 

Faulkner explains how ingenious adoptions of new cloud and mobile technologies allows FSM companies to better utilise their existing workforce, putting both technology and a greater decision-making autonomy in the hands of individuals.

It is exactly this enabling ability of cloud technology that helps networks or companies co-ordinate more widely distributed, flexible and fast-response supply chains, according to the LSE's Dr. Carsten Sorensen.

“The 21^st century is about helping individuals and companies alike to adapt to emerging needs, to react immediately when something goes wrong or identify where there is room for improvement,” says Sorensen. He thinks that the cloud is fundamentally transforming the way organisations do business.

The reality for FSM businesses is that workers out in the field are becoming increasingly digitally enabled with mobile devices of their own (and supplied by their employers) of various kinds. And those organisations that are able to capitalise on this new way of communicating, swiftly and wisely, are set to benefit.

The UK police -  how the operate like Uber

Perhaps one of the best examples of advanced users of field service technology in the UK to date is the police service.[quote float="right"]One of the best examples of advanced users of field service technology in the UK to date is the police service.

 

“The police don’t talk about mobile technology,” Sorensen explains. “For decades they’ve talked about mobile data. The whole point is instead of having a very localised arrangement – where somebody calls a police station and they dispatch on a two-way radio system that somebody should go somewhere -  now they operate, in principle, like Uber. They did ten years ago and they still do now.

“Ordinary police officers have a queue of incidents and they choose one like a customer in a taxi rank. Whenever you try to solve one problem, you may have other problems and you need to balance what everyone is aware of. Fundamentally, you can transfer the way work is done.”

So are there lessons to be drawn from this police model for businesses to learn from?

“With most large companies, you have to spend hours on the phone to get in touch with a human being,” adds Sorensen. “For a lot of companies, their competitive advantage will come from having a civilised human being to talk to you.”

The police case study is particularly interesting to ClickSoftware's Katelyn Burrill, because issues around automating, picking and choosing jobs are things that she deals with a lot with her customers.

“Automating that process is one of the huge benefits that companies achieve,” says Burrill. “It’s managing the change that these field workers go through when a new technology is implemented. If they don’t understand the benefits and just see it as Big Brother managing their day all of a sudden, they won’t manage the technology to the best of its ability.”

The lesson here is that field workers often have their own ways of operating that have worked well enough for them for many years, so it's vital that they don’t think that their own discretion and autonomy is somehow being removed from them.

“That’s how projects fail,” says Burrill. “When organisations don’t sell it into them in a strategic manner. They [the field workers] need to be part of the process to organise how you’ll go about changing and what’s acceptable to change.”

After all, the people out there in the field are often a lot smarter about what’s really happening and what needs to happen than the people in head office, who might not understand the bigger picture and certainly can’t see it in real-time.

“Let’s not forget that the field service workforce is already using smart technologies, already sending photos and videos on their smartphones to ask: how do we get this done?” notes Phil Wainewright, Chair of Euro Cloud UK.

“You need to build a more collaborative infrastructure that takes advantage of how things really work on the ground.”

In part three of the debate we move on to consider ways in which technology can improve customer service and we address issues like privacy and security.

 

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The global field service market is estimated to jump from $1.58 billion last year to more than $3.5 billion by 2019, according to research firm MarketsandMarkets. This three-part series will look at how cloud is an enabler for field service organisations, how technology is allowing central control and improving people management, rounding off with a look at how technology can improve customer service and the issue of privacy.

The series has emerged following a recent panel debate with experts and academics, hosted by ClickSoftware and chaired by Forrester’s senior analyst, Paul Miller. The panel included: Tim Faulkner, Senior Vice President at ClickSoftware, Dr Carsten Sorensen, Associate Professor in Digital Innovation at London School of Economics, Katelyn Burrill, Product Marketing Manager at ClickSoftware, and Phil Wainewright, Chair at Euro Cloud UK.

The cloud as an enabler and the automation landscape

 Paul Miller opened the debate: “We're here to talk about cloud and field service. A lot of the visible manifestations are out in the field, for instance the device the engineer is holding when they walk into your house is probably accessing applications and data held in the cloud – but do we really need the cloud for all that? Why is the cloud important?”

“We all get excited about new technology,” Phil Wainewright responds. “What's changed now is the Internet and that's brought two things – digital connectedness and extremely powerful and not so powerful smart devices. There are more computers in the world today than there are people; cheap devices, with the ability to be connected to each other and to the computing power of the cloud, are falling right into the hands of individuals. The final ingredient is the hugely elastic scalable power of the cloud. You can pool it into a vast cauldron of big data and pop out analytics and use the information to develop more efficient processes.”

 

“For ClickSoftware it's a different model and it brings down barriers to adopting field service solutions that were there before,” said Tim Faulkner. “Any company with its own IT department probably had a traditional approach of evaluating a solution, looking at the integrations needed, buying the hardware, setting it up and making that capex investment – as an organisation, you bank on seeing returns as you ramp up and roll out.”

Faulkner continued, “That's not easy for a small organisation to do though. Cloud is a leveller and enables small organisations to adopt the same applications. For large corporations it helps them to deploy different methods. Maybe not the big waterfall approach, but a more agile incremental way in shorter timeframes. Cloud is definitely an enabler for that, opening new opportunities for business units within larger corporations. Last year, in Europe, the adoption of our cloud-based solutions surpassed my forecasts at the beginning of the year – we expected 25% of new customers and it ended up being closer to 50%!”

Miller interjects: “Allowing smaller companies to adopt the same solution as their biggest competitors?”

“Using cloud based field service technology allows flexibility and speed,” said Dr Carsten Sorensen.  “If you look at manufacturing, in the old days you'd have a siloed approach – by the time you got to the last person to sign for a new component, they'd realise it couldn't be made within the constraints and they'd have to go back and start again.

Dr Sorensen continued, “We need to understand all of the constraints straight away. One of the key things in business is to allow individuals to make rapid decisions while at the same time making sure they don’t make bad decisions for the company. In the past, these individuals had information in a handbook or on their computer back at the office or depot. In the 21^st century, individuals, wherever they are, need to make the right choices and the infrastructure needs to be in their hands to make those informed decisions. We haven’t really worked out how to utilise this yet.”

 

“Business infrastructure is an important angle,” said Wainewright. “The way businesses are organised needs to be changed to take advantage of the new technologies.”

Sorensen jumped in at this point: “They need to balance ERP systems that automate the process that tells people what to do at what stage. It makes it possible to have flexible communication. The challenge is for big companies to manage this to facilitate processes but also enable discussions and flexibility. The more lightweight infrastructure you have the better it is for flexibility. Cloud technology makes it more lightweight.”

Rounding off the first part of the debate Miller asked Katelyn Burrell how organisations are changing how they deal with their own customers, with cloud playing a big part of that. “When prospects come to ClickSoftware looking for a cloud solution from you, is that recognition part of the solution? Are they thinking about the broader strategic shift?”

“They are absolutely thinking about the broader strategic shift,” said Burrell. “We started nearly 20 years’ ago with on premise solutions only, we're experts at that. It has to be a transformative project where all stakeholders are involved up-front. What the cloud has done now is enabled more experimentation within the organisation, possibly without the involvement of IT. A business unit might come to us and say they want to make this transformation and need help selling to the executives. The cloud has enabled them to do a pilot project before going on a bigger scale.

What's really driving it for our customers is that their products and services are becoming more commoditised, and how they deliver their services is a key differentiator. They need to improve their customer experience, but also keep their operations and costs in check, servicing the needs of the business and the customer.”

Look out for Part Two of the debate, when the focus switches to central control and people management, and how development of the devices available allows greater oversight and communications with workers out in the field.

 

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Marina Stedman, ClickSoftware brings us the concluding part of her feature looking at the multi-faceted challenges field service managers and supervisors face and a key philosophy in how to best serve customers...

In my last article for Field Service News, I outlined how our philosophy centres around helping service organisations answer five questions – the five Ws of field service, in order to best serve their customers and touched on the first of these Who does what.

Now let’s take a look at the remaining four Ws and why they are important for field service organisations.

W#2: With What?

Our second “W” is all about the tools. What tools are needed to complete the required actions?

Sending out field technicians qualified to fix a specific issue still can’t help if they don’t have the tools needed.

Not all mobile systems are created equal. A scheduling system that can send out an alert to a field supervisor that a field technician has been double-booked isn’t much help if it also doesn’t provide the tools to deal with that issue.

According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers analysis on mobile deployments, implementing the right mobile tools and approach to field operations improves productivity 20 to 30 percent.

 

It also was found to decrease the time needed for field operations between 5 and 7 percent, which translated into saving millions of dollars each year.

We’ve already established that a mobile tool has to provide the functionality for a field supervisor to complete back-end and field tasks - all the “What”s of the field supervisor’s job. However, to achieve the kinds of operational improvements and cost savings possible, the right mobile tool has to meet two more criteria:

• Scope and speed to provide real time data. A field supervisor can only complete managerial and paperwork tasks remotely if they have reliable, up-to-the-minute data.The opposite is also true. They can only control field operations from the office if they can see what’s happening in the field.Accurate, real time information gives the field supervisor visibility into what’s happening on the ground. They can see that a field technician isn’t where the schedule says he should be and they can contact that field technician immediately. There are no more blind spots.
• Easy to learn; easy to use. One of the biggest reasons new software rollouts fail is lack of adoption by the end users. Much has been written about the consumerisation of B2B applications, and with good reason.Both field supervisors and technicians need their mobile apps to just work, or they won’t use them. Or at least, won’t use them well enough for the company to realise the expected benefits of having a mobile system.

W#3 and #4: When and Where?

These questions are the golden eggs of mobile because the right answers are “Whenever” and “Wherever.” Information or decisions needed in any given moment can be accessed or made in that moment. A speedy, full-function mobile app releases the field supervisor’s bottleneck in two ways:

1. The distinction between “field” and “office” tasks becomes obliterated. Location no longer restricts what the field supervisor can do
2. Because location no longer constricts the field supervisor, the field supervisor is no longer the bottleneck preventing other people from completing their tasks efficiently.

That holiday request? Once approved by the field supervisor on their mobile device, the system is updated in real time so the schedulers back at the office are aware of the change in capacity for that day.

An emergency service request comes into the office. The mobile field supervisor sees it, and can assign it to an available technician already nearby.

Now the customer gets same day service, and your company gets maximum utilisation out of a field technician who is kept fully scheduled during the day.

W#5: for Whom?

There are numerous stakeholders relying on field supervisors being able to stay on top of all their tasks and demands but for a service organisation, the most important “Who” is always the customer.

And who is the lynchpin between the field supervisor and the customer – the field technician.

By erasing the boundary between office and field tasks, the field supervisor gains time to spend on the most critical task: mentoring the field technicians. Whether it’s more time side by side with a field technician on a call, or being available to answer questions via text, chat or video camera, a field supervisor can better serve technicians once freed from the desk.

 

When the field supervisor has more time to train and mentor the field technicians, you get happier, more qualified people. As their skills grow, they can complete more complex tasks and finish simple tasks faster, so you’re increasing your field utilisation potential without major increases in labour costs or staffing. Best of all, your field supervisors can spend more time mentoring field technicians without falling behind on the operational and managerial tasks the back-end stakeholders rely on.

Fast pace and high pressure make mobile the release valve

Applying the Five Ws of customer service for field supervisors means using mobile to empower them to carry out all their responsibilities regardless of location.

They need the ability to monitor and act in real time. When field supervisors don’t have to choose between sitting at a desk or being in the field, they can more efficiently carry out their roles by allocating their time and energy where it provides the highest return: mentoring and assisting field technicians to deliver enterprise -quality customer service.

 

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ClickSoftware, a leading provider of field service management solutions for the enterprise, today introduced Click Field Service Edge, a new cloud-based, mobile workforce management platform designed to meet the needs of the largest and most demanding field service providers.

Adoption of the cloud has more than doubled over the past two years and, with that, cloud-based software solutions have become entrenched in the business world.

Recognising the technological benefits for field service companies, ClickSoftware's first, cloud only, SaaS-based solution delivers field service management in an entirely new way.

With patented artificial intelligence, Click Field Service Edge connects enterprise customers with automated real-time insight and intelligent decision-making tools that provide a new level of productivity and efficiency to field workforce performance.

 

"As a company that has successfully managed billions of service engagements, and is exclusively focused on providing field service technology - since creating the market - we know what it takes to help our customers always be a step ahead of the demand, not just move in lockstep with it," explained Tom Heiser, ClickSoftware's Chief Executive Officer.

"We designed Click Field Service Edge to help prepare for the future, and transform the business of customer field service operations from reactive to predictive."

Benefits of the new Click Field Service Edge include:

Increased Service Intelligence and Collaboration:

Real-time status updates - including location and estimated time of arrival - provide organisations with competitive service advantages, enabling them to quickly plan, respond and deliver the best customer service experience possible.

Leveraging established service policies and intelligent decision recommendations helps increase business users' efficiency and productivity. Additionally, integrated tools and bi-directional communication, such as interactive appointment confirmation details, not only improve customer engagements, but also increase customer satisfaction, retention and organic revenue growth.

Ease-of-Use:

Intuitive tools and a flexible user interface allows mangers to create, test and deploy new functionality to drive user efficiency, productivity and satisfaction. Continual, seamless upgrades provide greater agility and enable business users to stay ahead of the competition while also eliminating the expense and time of IT integration.

Improved Scale and Scope:

Developed for the cloud, the solution's performance-optimised architecture offers efficiency, scalable and flexibility to continually support business growth and the changing technology needs of the market for decades to come. In addition, Click Field Service

Edge's intelligent mobile efficiency eliminates unnecessary data transfer on field devices to ensure that critical data is sent and received - even when connections are not optimal.

"It's clear that field service is in the midst of a shift from the basic 'install and fix' procedures to a much more strategic focus on customer engagement," said Jim Lundy, founder and CEO, Aragon Research.

"The influx of new cloud and mobile technology, the availability of big data and the arrival of IoT has led us to a place where field service is empowering businesses to differentiate their offerings, and positively impact every customer interaction throughout the service experience."

 

Click Field Service Edge is currently deployed with key customers including; Pacific Biodiesel, a leader in community-based biodiesel production and Southern Dock, one of the nation's largest providers of commercial doors, loading dock equipment and dock maintenance services.

"As a growing company, we needed a future-proof mobile workforce management solution that would fulfill our changing business needs while providing consistently great service to our customers," explained Katy Chandler, Director at Southern Dock.

"The advanced capabilities, together with a great user experience and the flexibility of the configuration options, made it an easy choice for us."

Click Field Service Edge allows any enterprise worker-from field service professionals to supervisors, dispatchers and managers-to build personalised, strategic engagements that resonate with their customers. These improved engagements, in turn, increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, retention, and customer lifetime value.

 

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When we look at the introduction of any new element into the way our business operates there are a number of factors that define whether that project will be a success or not. Of course there is the the question of whether the tools being implemented are capable of delivering all of the improvements in efficiencies that were promised during the selection process.

However, perhaps more importantly to the potential success of any new technology introduced to a workflow is exactly how it is introduced to the workforce. Basically how well the change management process is approached.

Indeed Change Management is a vital element for most businesses as they continue to keep pace with the latest trends in technology to help them gain competitive edge.

In field service in particular, where we are seeing continual and developing adoption of technology, as companies seek to improve the efficiency and productivity of their field service operations, it is perhaps one of the most important functions of senior business leadership.

As such one of the key presentations given at last year’s ClickConnect UK conference was given by Simon Brown, Operations Development Manager, at vehicle repair and replacement giant Belron (who trade as Autoglass within the UK)

Brown joined Belron in 2000 to take a lead role in the division which was part of the Autoglass business analyst team, tasked.with driving change management.

Prior to this Brown had spent his entire post university career having worked in retail developing a wealth of experience in business process based projects as well as experience in implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tools.

It was this experience that put him in a perfect place to help guide Autoglass and then on a wider scale, parent organisation Belron, through number of planned process changes including the management of an implementation of field service management tool ClickSoftware.

 

Therefore Brown’s session at this year’s ClickConnect UK conference was highly anticipated and it provided a great opportunity to gain some insight into the tools Brown used when approaching these tasks.

However, what was also particularly illuminating was some of the out of the box thinking and left-field role models that Brown looked to when building his own specific approach to change management that were revealed as he made his way through his presentation.

There were a number of excellent moments at the recent ClickConnect UK conference and one that stood out in particular was when Simon Brown of vehicle glass replacement giant Belron shared some of his secrets for achieving change management success...

Of course there are a number of well known and well established change management theories and processes with names such as ADKAR, Kotter, and APMG as well as tools such as the Change Curve familiar to those who have explored the area and Brown has embraced a number of these when adapting his own approach - which whilst being sophisticated and comprehensive enough to ensure success in the various projects he’s undertaken with Belron, also remains rooted in what is essentially a fairly simple concept.

In fact there is one fundamental tenant that Brown holds at the centre of his approach to change management. That is simply to ensure we engage the ‘Head, the Heart and the Hands’ throughout the change management process.

 

If we are going to achieve a successful transition from one approach to another then it is absolutely vital that each of our team absolutely understands what the benefits will be for making the change (Heart), exactly why we are making the change (Head) and exactly how we will be making that change (Hands).

Such a three-pronged approach will help overcome many of the conventional, to be expected barriers to adoption amongst a team.

It will also help speed up adoption, as if done correctly, messaging around the change will engender emotional buy-in, plus speedier adoption of the incoming new tools and processes.

However, before even trying to seek the approval and buy-in from the workforce, it is absolutely crucial and fundamentally important Brown believes that we have full buy-in from the board – something that he admits was a significant part in the successful change management projects he has undertaken whilst at Belron.

In fact that support went right to the very top with Brown able to utilise a video of the video of the Autoglass Managing Director himself outlining why the organisation were about to go through such a significant change in their core operating processes.

What is also important Brown emphasises, is to keep the messaging the same throughout.

This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be using varied formats to deliver that messaging – in fact the more ways we can find of delivering the message whether it be via email, video, poster letter, meetings or any other manner you can think of, means more chance of both connecting with different members of the team (different people respond better to different stimuli) and ensuring the message gets understood via consistent reinforcement.

Nor does it mean that those delivering the message (again whether it is in person, print or video) should be sticking doggedly to a highly regimented script full of legalese and marketing blurb.

Again whilst this may tick a number of boxes in the corporate handbook, it will ultimately fail to convey the key ‘what’s-in-it-for-me’ message that will help you connect with the hearts and minds of your workers. What is important however is to keep the same core messaging throughout all the different communication channels.

Very simply there should be some fundamental facts that all those involved in the change management roll out are aware of. Facts that should form the bedrock and foundations of any messaging relating to the change.

 

In the case of Autoglass such continuity was ensured by delivering a program of two day events for every manager involved within the change management process that was not only supported by the involvement of top tier motivational speakers but also at least one senior director at each event to help clarify exactly what the reasons for undertaking the change were, and what benefits would be delivered both on the personal and the business level.

In Brown’s own words ‘Repetition is crucial, as is having all senior leaders standing shoulder to shoulder delivering the same core message. One of the well-established change management processes that Brown and the team at Belron incorporated into their own change management approach was ADKAR a system developed by one of the leading organisations within the niche consulting sector of Change Management Prosci.

Standing for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Re-enforcement, ADKAR provides a clear easily followed structure to help build a cohesive strategy in how to tackle a change management project and sits at the heart of Belron’s change management processes.

In fact when reflecting back on some of the learnings he had made from previous change

management projects at Autoglass it was straying slightly from the simple ADKAR structure that was their biggest single mistake Brown admits.

Whilst following the stages correctly throughout an initial phase of rolling out field service automation tool ClickSoftware, the one area that got overlooked was the final stage of the process ie: re-enforcement.

“We were so busy getting the next group live that we didn’t spend enough time focussing on the re-enforcement stage” explained Brown and this could potentially lead to undermining much of the good work that had been undertaken so far.

The danger being that unless the successes of the roll out are being re-enforced through continuous positive messaging there is a danger that some of the more negative pain points of the change process, and there inevitably will be some in any change management project, can become magnified.

 

"If people fill that empty space [where positive reenforcement discussions should be] with negatives then there is a risk of people re-enforcing those negatives” explained Brown.

The other well established tool that Brown embraced is the Change Curve. Essentially a visual tool that shows four key phases an individual will go through when undertaking a change - namely being denial, doubt, exploration and acceptance (although there are numerous variations on these four stages cited by different consultants etc.)

The benefit of using the change curve Brown explained was that first it creates an environment wherein anxiety, which is a natural emotion most people encounter when facing change, is easily and comfortably discussed in a constructive and functional manner.

Secondly and perhaps most importantly is that it provides a single language for discussing the change management process at all levels throughout the process.

For example a manager could discuss where his team are in terms of the change curve, when feeding back to the senior change management team with a clear description that is easily understood by everyone involved in the discussion.

Equally such a conversation could be had on a one-to-one basis with a team member as the manager tries to help them along the change management journey.

As mentioned earlier in this article there are many varying processes and tools that can be applied to change management.

Indeed what Brown and the team at Belron have done very successfully in their approach to establishing their own blueprint for successful change management is to identify those tools which worked well in the framework of their existing corporate persona, and adapted them to their needs - rather than rigidly following a set of business processes that may not quite fit with their existing corporate policies etc.

It is this flexibility and adaptability that is a key component in the success of Belron’s change management strategies to date alongside a constant evaluation of what is working and subsequent refinement of processes - coupled of course with Brown’s own clear passion for the subject, a passion which has also led him to drawing further inspiration from more leftfield sources.

 

One of these that Brown spoke about was New York City Police commissioner William Bratton who famously brought significant change to the NYPD successfully reducing crime rates at a time when all of his predecessors had failed.

Bratton is a fascinating character worthy of study for anyone interested in the traits of leadership, but his work with the NYPD truly struck a chord with Brown who comments ‘I saw in him and what he was doing a number of elements that could be part of the ADKAR model’ Brown explained. “He just intuitively led tremendous change”

And this perhaps brings us to the final ingredient of good change management.

It needs to be led by someone inherently in tune with the people they are trying to guide through the change management process. Something both Bratton and Brown have in common.

“I think you have to be a strong, people focussed leader rather than someone who is perhaps more driven by figures, someone who is highly competitive” Brown concludes and again he is fortunate to be working for an organisation which shares this ethos.

“Strong emotional intelligence, and people leadership are fundamental part of being a leader within our group.” he adds and it is this core trait that seems to be running through the spine of Belron from CEO down.

Whilst this is not easy to replicate, it is clearly at the heart of their continuing success in delivering successful implementations of new systems and tools that have pushed them to forefront of their sector and ahead of their competitors and peers.

 

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