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Report suggests spend largely driven by new emerging digital services such as cloud, the Internet of Things and the roll-out of 5G.

Si2 Partners’ Nick Frank outlines why we can’t just expect our field service engineers to naturally achieve the status of trusted advisors without guidance, training and empowerment. 

Just because we tell our people we want them to be Trusted Advisors, does not mean they will succeed. We can give them mobile systems to escalate leads to sales, implement compensation systems and KPI’s to encourage behaviour, and provide training on service offers, but without embedding a Trusted Advisor mindset into our service teams, these efforts will be wasted.

The good news is that many of the traits of Trusted Advisors are already in the DNA of good service people. What they need is clarity on their role and an understanding of how to talk to customers so that they achieve a WIN, WIN, WIN:

• A Win for the customer so that every conversation they have moves them closer to their goal;
• A Win for the company to develop customer loyalty and profitability;
• A Win for themselves so they feel great about their job. 

What makes a Trusted Advisor different? At the very minimum they are good customer problem solvers. What starts to differentiate them from others is their ability to have meaningful conversations with customers that always seem to move towards solutions. They are able to provide options together with the benefits for various decision the customer might make. They normally have a high level of personal maturity in that they do not try to tell customers what to THINK. Instead they influence them by what they SAY and DO, and because they consistently deliver, customers trust their advice.

As the notion of a Trusted Advisor is widely used across sales & service, the job context is extremely important. For example, in field service and technical support the Trusted Advisor role is more about providing options than closing deals. Whereas in sales it is more about how we build rapport and credibility within a consultative selling process. Clearly understanding the context in which the Trusted Advisor mindset is being developed is vitally important to successful adoption.

In all cases, importance of having a great conversation cannot be underestimated. Technical people can have a tendency to focus more on the narrow problem than the wider customer relationship. This can lead them to missing important data in the problem-solving process and so failing to find the route cause.

Or just as important, the company misses out on opportunities to add value to the customers business whether that be through helpful advice or the identification of commercial activities. Another challenge many technical people have is that without realising it, they can talk in a way which makes customers defensive or aggressive. For example the next time you are having a conversation, listen for the “…yes, but…”. You may notice that it is a way of saying NO, which probably pulls up really negative feelings for you the listener. The trick is to learn the language that turns these negative situations into positive outcomes.

"Technical people can focus more on the narrow problem than the wider customer relationship..."

Sales people also need good conversations, and in particular understanding the art of closing the deal without losing their rapport with the customer. This is a very different version of Trusted Advisor and it is important not to get the sales version mixed up with technical service.

Service leaders who want to improve how their teams communicate with customers, might consider having the following conversations with their own people:

Clarify what you mean by a Trusted Advisor and the role they play in your organisation. In particular the customer needs and what makes them successful, as well as your companies business goals. This is where distinguishing the difference between selling and advising will be absolutely critical to your success

Develop a Mindset where every conversation we have with customers moves them a step closer to their goal. It may not be the complete solution, but it is a step in the right direction no matter how bad and uncomfortable the situation is. This very basic philosophy is key to training your people to deal with conflict, as well encourage them to have dynamic and collaborative relationships through solution orientated language.

Provide Tools and methods that allow us to actively listen, to talk more effectively, to manage conflict and resolve difficult customer situations. These tools are critical to helping us to prepare ourselves to be a Trusted Advisor in what can be challenging and stressful situations.

Practice in real-life scenarios with your team to see how they react under stress. We are constantly amazed at how confident many service people are about talking to customers in a training environment, yet it all falls apart in a customer situation.

Refresh: Developing how your team interacts with customers is not a one-off event and needs to be constantly mentored and coached.

If you want to develop the Trusted Advisor in your teams, then in addition to processes and propositions, you will need to start to have conversations about their role in the business, the listening skills they must develop and the language to use in order to create dynamic solution orientated relationships.

If you would like to know more about developing Trusted Advisor programmes in your business, then you can contact nick at nick.frank@si2partners.com or visit the si2 website here.

With a strong Wi-Fi signal and your trusty smartphone, it’s easy to stay connected on land,  but how do communications  change when you’re in the middle of the ocean or orbiting in space?

They’re both extreme field service scenarios, but which is better for communication? Global Navigation Solutions has been investigating who can connect better — crew or astronauts?

Life at sea

The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 advises that ship operators should give crews “reasonable access to ship-to-shore telephone communications, and email and Internet facilities, where available, with any charges for the use of these services being reasonable in amount”. But just how closely are operators following these guidelines?

Between April and August 2015, the 2015 Crew Connectivity Survey was carried out to establish what crew communications at sea are really like.

On average, respondents spent over 7 months per year at sea. A mission to the International Space Station (ISS) lasts around six months. Despite being in the earth’s atmosphere, it seems crews are often less connected than astronauts in orbit .

While 58% of respondents said they had access to crew communications always or most of the time — this is up 2% on 2014’s results. However, 35% of respondents only have access sometimes. 7% have never had access while on-board. While this may seem a small percentage, it equates to 103,000 global seafarers who have no way of contacting loved ones — up 25,000 since 2014.

 

Across all sectors, of those surveyed:[unordered_list style="bullet"]

• 79% had access to satellite telephone,  the  most widely available communication method.
• Only 43% had internet access.
• 42% had access to text-only emails.
• 28% had access to onboard GSM.
• 24% had access to SMS messaging.

On land, we can stay connected almost anywhere, with the exception of mountain peaks and remote locations. At sea, it’s a very different story.

• [unordered_list style="bullet"]
  • 47% can access crew communications on the ship’s bridge
  • Just 36% of respondents can access crew communications privately in their cabin
  • 35% can access crew communications in a communal area
  • 29% can access crew communications in an on-board office
  • 13% can access crew communications in the engine control room

When these services are available, only 18 % there were no limiting factors; 59% said the services are too expensive, 27% 27% said too many people were trying to use them and 26% said they don’t get regular use.

Clearly, cost is a major drawback for many crew members.  Just over half (53%) has free access to text-only email, 49% has free Internet access and email with attachments, 41% could have video chats, 24% could access free SMS messaging, while on-board GSM for voice calls was available to only 12% and satellite phones to 7%.

In port

Where crew communications are limited on-board, there is potential to stay in touch with family and friends when the ship is in port. However, 72% never or rarely go ashore during port calls and just 6% are able to go ashore on every port call

Of those who do go ashore, 28% use crew welfare facilities while in port and 34% used internet/Wi-Fi services, 6% used the telephone and 4% purchased local SIM cards.

Is rank a factor?

Of the 3,057 total respondents from over 30 countries, 59% of were officers and 41% were ratings. 32% of officers always have access to crew communications. Just 27% of ratings always have access.

So, how effective has the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 been? On the whole, the majority believe crew communications has improved. However, 39% said it had not improved since it was introduced and 3% said it had even got worse.

Life in Space

“But even with all the technology that we have today -- satellites, buoys, underwater vehicles and ship tracks -- we have better maps of the surface of Mars and the moon than we do the bottom of the ocean. “ — Gene Feldman

Over the years, our knowledge and exploration of space has grown. As technology has advanced, it’s being used to make the lives of astronauts more comfortable during explorations.

 

The Intergalactic Internet

In 2010, NASA enhanced the quality of life of astronauts with the release of a special software update that allowed them personal access to the internet.

Expedition 22’s Flight Engineer, T.J. Creamer was the first to use the intergalactic internet, posting the following tweet: "Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station - the 1st live tweet from Space! :) More soon, send your ?s"

Speed

While the internet may ease the isolation of space, it doesn’t offer the quickest connection, as a result of the distance signals have to travel. In 2015, astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted while in space: “We have a slow internet connection. Worse than what dial-up was like. Using it to answer your question right now.”

When an astronaut in space clicks an Internetlink, the request travels 22,000 miles to a network of geosynchronous satellites. This is passed to a receiver on the Earth before being passed back to the astronaut’s laptop or tablet.

Accessing the Internet

According to NASA spokesman, David Steitz, astronauts have laptops on board, including one in their personal sleeping quarters. They are also given tablet computers so they can video chat with family and friends at home.

Phone

Astronauts can make phone calls from space too, although the technology is a lot more complicated than a standard landline.

Astronauts can call friends and family using the Softphone, specialist software found on laptops. By using Internet Protocol (IP), signals are routed from space to Earth. Astronauts can dial numbers through the computer’s keypad and speak through a headset.

It means astronauts can dial any number and speak to anyone they wish and it’s more private than previous communication methods, which included Mission Control. However, the space station can block or go out of range of the phone call signals and because of the distance, there is often a lag in conversations.[quote float="left"]While the internet may ease the isolation of space, it doesn’t offer the quickest connection, as a result of the distance signals have to travel

 

Life at sea vs life in space: the verdict

So, who has the better deal in terms of communication: crew or astronauts?

Availability: astronauts have access to emails, social media, video calling and phone calls, while communications services for crews differ by ship operator.

Cost: Astronauts have free communication, while costs for crews differ between ship operators.

Privacy: Astronauts have personal laptops in their sleeping quarters while only a small proportion of crew members can access communication services privately in their cabin.

The results seem definitive - despite being 400km away from Earth, ISS astronauts are better connected than sailors who travel the 361 million square km of our planet’s oceans.

 

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For field service organisations looking to augment their end-to-end service management offering, there’s a range of innovative technologies that can make a real difference. We’ve already seen technologies such as cloud, mobile, social media and self-service start to extend the capabilities of field operation, however one that has had less focus until now is the increasing use of web chat.

Field service operations have traditionally struggled to unite two key elements – the technical expertise of their field-based engineers with the availability of their service desks. Not surprisingly, engineers are always busy – either travelling to a customer location or already engaged onsite.

Now with multi-way web chat, however, it is possible to bring field engineers and the service desk together. Service agents can now bring other experts from any department into their customer conversations, and – through mobiles and customer service apps – bring in field-based engineers from any location.

Web chat is one of the most rapidly growing channels – particularly among younger customers. As well as providing an additional channel for customers to check for updates and advice from the service desk, chat is now set to play an increasingly important role within field service management.

Examples of how chat can be put to work include helping field staff to exchange best practice, and also connecting customers directly to field staff to speed resolution.

Chat can enable direct communications between field staff, allowing them to use mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets to create conversation threads to share knowledge on recent issues and exchange resolution tips.

Chat can also be put to use as part of an integrated customer service approach. When clients are speaking to a service desk agent and need further assistance, the agent can quickly open up a 3-way chat session with the appropriate expert field service engineer. Often client issues can be resolved in this way without the field service professional actually needing to visit the client site.

For organisations looking to add chat to their service management portfolio, it’s important to look for solutions that can extend the value of their existing systems approach. Key functionality should include the ability for service centre agents to conduct multiple chats, chat conferencing, as well as the ability to integrate with knowledge bases and FAQs.

While chat can be deployed on a standalone basis, it delivers optimum value as part of broader multi-channel universal queue approach – ideally accessible from the service desk via a streamlined service agent desktop. Implemented correctly, chat increases choice for customers, and opens up the opportunity to link directly with service experts who can resolve client requests quickly and cost-effectively.