Organisation create online interactive safety courses for remote workers.

The British Safety Council have developed and launched a series of interactive online courses for remote workers looking to continue their health, safety and environmental learning during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Same Tutors

'Live-Online' allows students to connect remotely to the courses using a PC, laptop or tablet and interact with the same tutors who deliver the British Safety Council's face-to-face teaching.

The enhanced modules were developed following student feedback to an original suite of learning delivered at the start of the pandemic. Mike Robinson, the British Safety Council's Chief Executive explained how the comments influenced their decision to make the modules interactive with real-time tutor assistance.

“At the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis the British Safety Council launched a series of free online resources to help employers and employees adapt to new ways of working and the feedback we received has been very positive." he said. "Live Online now takes that one step further, for people that want structured support from a tutor without having to be in a classroom."

WorkWaves's Route Manager made free for six weeks in UK and Ireland.

A collaboration between Leadent Digital and WorkWave means suppliers of critical goods and services in the UK and Ireland can access the fleet-management's route-planning software free of charge.

Swift Implementation

For six weeks essential industries will be able to utilise WorkWave's Route Manager platform which can be implemented in hours, the two companies say.

Firms on the front line are having to expand swiftly to meet demand for home deliveries and other services and it is hoped use of the software can help companies optimise their resources and support new and inexperienced drivers.

Leadent Digital's CEO Alastair Clifford-Jones said seeing the growth of essential industries during the Covid-19 outbreak influenced the collaboration. "When we saw so many organisations working so hard in these unprecedented times, we needed to help and this seemed the best way of using our skills and resources to support the national effort. We have seen companies growing very rapidly to meet demand and this could really help them cope."

For more details about the offer click here.

Thai firm Eko offers TELCOs free use of its workplace platform during outbreak.

In an effort to support TELCOs during the Covid-19 pandemic, employee software provider Eko are offering free use of its virtual workplace platform.

Suite of Tools

Users who sign-up for the subscription-based platform will only be charged when the current situation stabilises and will have access to the virtual workstation's suite of tools including: Banner, a tool for creating visual banner announcements for staff; Broadcast, a way of communicating clear, company wide announcements; a library of documentation covering, health and safety, health insurance and travel polices for example; a real-time catalogue of checklists and attachments; and a real-time chat facility for accurate and instant communication.

As the impact of the virus takes a firmer hold globally, the need for remote technology in enabling business continuity is growing. Companies are requiring solutions that can at the very least offer a semblance of 'business as usual' and assist in continuity strategies.

Korawad Chearavanont, CEO at Eko, hopes the offer can help negate some of the anxiety that businesses are feeling. "The virus outbreak has been a big concern for businesses that are frantically preparing contingency plans," he said. "If our platform can give peace of mind to businesses and help to keep employees informed and feeling calmer during this unprecedented time, then it just seems like the right thing to do." 

An unexpected but amusing cameo in a recent live stream with Nick Frank and Harald Wasserman not only brought a welcome moment of levity but also shone a spotlight on an important, but often overlooked aspect of remote working. Kris Oldland, reflects back on the session... 

I'm sure everyone of us at the moment is under a greater level of strain than we have ever felt before.

For me personally, I can confess to having never been under so much pressure. As an independent publisher, we have a tendency to punch well above our weight as it is, with an output that matches and dare I say it, betters that of any of the mainstream publishers I have worked for during my entire career in publishing. This is something I take immense pride in. 

Similarly, as the field service sectors leading global voice, I felt it was simply our duty to react in a proactive and positive manner to the current Covid19 pandemic and so establishing the support channel that we have created to host a series of live sessions to help offer guidance to field service companies during this time was something that I knew in my heart we had to move mountains to do. 

It is at times of crisis that we need both leaders and we need to come together as a community. It is our job as the primary layer of news media in the global field service sector to facilitate that. And we may be winging it a little, as are we all at the moment, but so far, I think we've done a reasonable job of achieving quite a lot in very little time - thanks in the main to the wonderful support from our friends in the industry.

But I'll freely admit, it has been tough, I'm tired and I know there is a long way to go yet. We'll get there, but there is a long, long way to go.

 

An Excellent Moment of Learning from an Unexpected Source: 

So a week or so on from the first Emergency Symposium we hosted on Covid-19 and its impact on field service organisations and I have just a moment to take stock on everything that happened in a whirlwind of anxiety, anticipation, and action.

While there have been countless excellent learnings from our Covid19 sessions, which you can catch up on here, perhaps one of the most important aspects of the current situation was raised by an unexpected cameo on my recent stream with Nick Frank and Harald Wasserman of Si2 Partners. 

 

"It was the follow up cameo that brought a wonderful moment of levity into what have quite understandably been a series of tense sessions across the week..."

 

It was a moment of sheer unexpected levity, and it shone a light on a very important, yet potentially easily overlooked, aspect of the remote working environment we are all currently engaged in. 

Just as Nick was speaking about the importance of strong leadership we saw a blurred flash across the camera as his young daughter entered into the shot. However, it was the follow up cameo that brought a wonderful moment of levity into what have quite understandably been a series of tense sessions across the week. With the wonderful exuberance of youth on her side, Nick's daughter proceeded to torment her Dad, with a pair of bunny ears behind his head and a wry smile to our live audience before treating us to one more wave as her brief, but enjoyable cameo came to an end. 

It was an endearing moment, one that reminded us all of the humanity that lies behind the screen - something that was acknowledged by a number of the audience in the chat room of the live session. 

 

"Actually, you are letting people in to your lives and I think this is quite difficult for some people..."

 

Nick coped with things admirably, and there were shades of Professor Robert Kelly's famous BBC video interview, which went viral, for sure. However, what this intervention brought forward was an important discussion on the importance of levity in these challenging times. 

"The thing about remote working and 'virtual sessions' is that they are very intense," Frank commented during the stream. 

"The meetings are much shorter, they are to the point and rather than having one or two sessions which are much longer these are shorter, more frequent and more intense. The other thing is that you can see the environment. Actually, you are letting people in to your lives and I think this is quite difficult for some people. 

"But now, because of the situation we are in, people are getting used to the seeing the working environment and it actually becomes OK, we're all in the same boat and it is of no surprise. What it brings is an informality to the discussion which completely changes the means of communication.

"I think it is these moments of levity and socialisation that can allow us to understand our teams as people and who they are and that is an important part of leadership, and good leadership is vital at the moment." 

Well said Nick and thanks Katy for bringing a smile to many of our faces at an intense time. It was a lesson many of us needed - i.e. to remember that while we may be working a million miles an hour to get through this crisis, while the rolling news continues to update us on everything that is in front of us, ultimately we must remember that a moment of levity, a reminder of the human behind the screen, can be a wonderful tonic to keep us going. 

 

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Finally, to say a big thank you for everyone who has joined our new Patreon tiers of paid for support of our work. 

We will be arranging for all of our premium content library to be uploaded to a non-sponsored, members only access area in the coming week and will also be setting up the discussion groups and arranging for some additional member only interviews to be conducted so watch this space.  

If you are interested in accessing our additional membership tiers you can do so from as little as £15/month and throughout the duration of the pandemic that costs will give you access to the top tier VIP membership as well. Find out more @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/subscription-tiers

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Company says its photo and video-based app can help reduce contact between technicians and customers.

XOi Technologies have made access to their Vision app free to new customers until September 1 in an effort to support the service sector during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lockdowns

With lockdowns being implemented globally alongside initiatives such as social distancing the number of physical service calls are being reduced. It means the use of remote technology in the sector is becoming more prominent.

XOi’s cloud-based application uses Vision uses photo and video documentation with real-time remote video support which the firms says can cut down customer and engineer interactions.

“Going completely remote simply isn’t an option for the field service industry, where site visits are just part of the job,” XOi’s CEO Aaron Salow said. “But with technology like ours, it’s possible to reduce the face-to-face interactions that technicians experience on calls. By offering wider access to XOi, we feel like we’re doing our part to keep the industry we serve engaged, connected, and productive during a difficult period.”

As the virus takes a firmer hold on infrastructure Salow hoped the decision to offer their technology free of charge would affirm the wellbeing of the company’s community. “Our top priority is the health and safety of our own employees, workers in the contracting industry, and our customers and partners,” he said. “These are difficult circumstances for the communities we serve. We see an opportunity to reach out to them and offer something that can help their team members and customers stay safe while also supporting their businesses during a period of financial strain.”

 

For details on the offer, visit http://www.xoi.io/xoi-offer/ contact Nick Hughes at nhughes@xoi.io for further information.

Louise Robertson from Localz outlines some of the challenges the mobile workforce face during the pandemic and ways of negating its impact.

 

Covid-19 means we are living in an extraordinary time; we are hyper-aware of who we are interacting with on a day-to-day basis. This is further heightened by the need to reduce the number of people we connect within the real world. Human movement has been restricted to assist with #flattenthecurve.

Essential services must continue to function and mobile workers need to keep the infrastructure working. Roadside assistance, plumbers fixing broken heating and boilers, electricians restoring power, utility personnel performing essential maintenance, healthcare workers attending to in-home patients, and deliveries of everyday essentials.

Confinement is rapidly altering consumer expectations, activities, and motivations, this will impact the customer perception of different brands in different ways. (Day 3 and I am crawling the walls of my home office) Keep in mind you have an opportunity to excel (or fail) because customer expectations are high now with so much emotion and uncertainty.

 

The delivery of service and products has changed 

Everyone is brainstorming isolated customer scenarios to build a customer-centric approach in the face of Covid19. Consider:

Changes to customer needs and journeys

There is no longer ‘business as usual.’ Customer awareness, concern, and reaction to the virus is rapidly shifting expectations and needs. Growing government restrictions will impact customer demands.

Be proactive now with information for customers

Over-communicate with customers and employees who are concerned and demanding information. Use agile, personalised daily communications to keep teams updated, protected and positive.

Put the isolated customer at the centre of your plan. Address how you can help customers keep themselves safe in this pandemic and address their concerns and fears. Conveying what your brand is doing to ensure a safe service or shopping experience in physical locations can earn trust (and business).

Information that will reassure customers can include:

• Advance identification of the mobile worker sent to the consumer: photo, name, vehicle registration number, relevant licence credentials, and even body temperature readings.
• Pre-arrival information, job details, accurate ETAs, and tracking maps that update in real-time. The customer can be prepared to socially distance themselves.
• Real-time two-way communications between the mobile worker and the consumer enabling contactless property access and sharing of last-minute details.
• The issuing of unique one-time PINs enables deliveries and service appointments to be authorised, approved and completed in a contactless manner as there is no need for any physical contact or signing on a device.
• For product deliveries ‘to the doorstep’, customers can advise a safe place, can track precise arrival, and can be notified of delivery completion - helping to reduce concerns about goods being left outdoors.

Communication in action

You can proactively collect feedback from customers in real-time to monitor how your field team is coping.

How your brand responds to questions like this will vary wildly based on your category. Reviewing the tone of your marketing and communications plans at this time is important. You have to pull planned communications which are out of sync with the crisis. (Cruise offers and restaurant experiences)

Gartner says, "Listen to your customers": CX and customer insight leaders are in a better position than others in the organization to understand how customer needs and expectations are swiftly changing.

Real-Time Feedback

Attitudes and perceptions will change very rapidly, so it will be essential to establish real-time feedback monitoring and reporting. People who were not taking the virus seriously a week ago are doing so today. Simply put, month-old data on customer attitudes and perceptions of your service may as well be decade-old data. Have full visibility of your mobile workers to keep abreast of changes that may occur day-to-day in the coming weeks and months.

Where your brand depends on real-world delivery of products and services plan...

• How you will serve customers if those are curtailed?
• Will you need to implement testing or provide masks to customers?
• How will you deal with customers who exhibit symptoms? Must your employees in every location understand and interact with local health officials?
• How can you use communications to support people who are quarantined?
• Can you shift to contactless digital delivery of field services?
  
  

Answers to these questions are not easy since they involve issues of product, logistics, inventory, supply chain, and operations. These questions are not only relevant for brands in the most immediately affected categories, like health products and travel. These questions can and will impact your customers and your brands in the coming months.

Resources are shifting as companies change their focus from solving broken touchpoints to addressing distinct and urgent customer needs and flexing to address severe operational, manufacturing, or logistics issues. Under normal conditions, CX leaders fight to secure and keep resources, but in the coming months, their ability to use customer insight to inform urgent decisions and support shifts in priorities will be more important than maintaining a steady course.

“In this extraordinary period of time, it has never been more important to address the fears of consumers who are literally locked in and worried about everyone they interact with. Reassuring them with frequent communication so they know exactly who to expect, the steps you’ve taken to keep them safe, precisely when you’ll arrive and enabling them to communicate their precise instructions for access is not just important, it’s vital. Without this, you may well find you’re locked out.”

(Tim Andrew, Co-Founder, CEO Localz)

NB This article was inspired by an article from Augie Ray of Gartner which you can read here. 

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Take a look at these videos to see how Localz is helping during the pandemic in terms of communication, feedback and team visibility.

 

Members' community release content covering forecasting, scheduling and flexibility to help companies plan during outbreak.

Business community The Forum have introduced a suite of free digital modules to help businesses with continuity throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

Virtual collaboration

The content, packaged as as series of learning academy modules, webinars and a virtual collaboration, will cover homeworking strategies, forecasting, scheduling and flexibility

The programme began yesterday (24 March) and concludes on 16 April with a networking call for members to share experiences.

Paul Smedley, Founder and Chair of The Forum hopes the content can strengthen business' resolve during this period. "It’s during times like this when you need to remember you are part of a community of best practice, so don’t be alone. The Forum is your friendly, safe environment for sharing ideas, top tips and pitfalls to avoid.

"In this time of uncertainty its important that we collaborate and work together, bringing together ideas and use this time as an opportunity to learn and continue to raise standards."

AI firm join list of firms offering free usage of tools during pandemic.

RevTwo have made their AI-powered tool Navigator free of charge for the remainder of 2020 to support field service firms during the Covid-19 outbreak.

 

Avoid call-outs

The Navigator tool uses AI, which the firms says, enables technicians, call center agents and machine operators to resolve service issues faster. It comes at a time when large-scale social distancing and self-isolation means engineers are having to find different ways to complete tasks while avoiding call-outs.

"We believe that empowering end-users to resolve issues can help service and support teams in many important ways," a statement from the company explained. "Especially in these uncertain times, helping service techs avoid making some site visits is even more important."

The outfit have joined an array of companies offering their resources to the service sector during the pandemic including ServiceMax, Augmentir and Safeture.

"COVID-19 will be beaten with the cooperation of millions of hands doing their part," Dale Calder, RevTwo's CEO and Founder urged. "In that spirit, we have decided to make RevTwo Navigator free for customer self-service for the rest of 2020."

Navigator is available today on the Apple Store. You can download it here. Android support will be available March 30.

Fleet solutions provider give free access to SmartFlow Driver and Subcontractor Management Apps during pandemic.

Microlise has announced it will be making its SmartFlow driver and workflow management app free of charge to existing customers.

The app will be provided free of charge for the duration of the Coronavirus crisis, both to customers not currently using SmartFlow, and to those customers who already use the application, with any increase beyond typical usage incurring no additional charges.

Easing Supply Chain Pressure

The announcement comes as increased levels of consumer buying, fuelled by Covid-19, adds pressure to a supply chain which is already at operating at a high-level. Furthermore, these heightened levels are expected to continue for longer than traditional peak periods.

SmartFlow, the firms says, is a simple mobile application that supports customers to track the location of temporary or third-party drivers, manage tasks, workflows and communications, and collect proof of delivery information. Users are able to provide the App to subcontractors or contract-based drivers, with set-up taking just minutes, with all the collected data feeding directly into the Microlise solution in place.

Commenting Nadeem Raza, Microlise CEO said: “Our customers are depending on our mission-critical systems as never before. We are doing all we can to support their efforts and have identified SmartFlow as a valuable support tool in the current climate. SmartFlow will allow our customers to add additional capacity, secure in the knowledge that they can manage the operational impact in an efficient, effective and transparent way. We are working closely with our customers during this time to proactively identify areas where Microlise can provide additional support - SmartFlow is just one offering that can be quickly deployed to support operators who need to bring additional drivers on-stream.”