In this article for Field Service News, Michael Blumberg, President of Blumberg Advisory Group, discusses the "new normal" expectation for field service organisations to offer a proactive, connected, and remote service...

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Over the last 12 months, Field Service Organizations (FSOs) have had to rethink how they deliver service due to the restrictions of COVID-19. With the limited ability to provide onsite, face-to-face service 100% of the time, FSOs needed to implement new processes and procedures to ensure their employees' and customers' health and safety. One of the developments which emerged was the concept of a Hybrid-Service Delivery model. This model, fueled by remote monitoring and IoT technology, enables FSOs to resolve a significant amount of service issues remotely through enhanced triage and troubleshooting capabilities while improving technicians' ability to quickly resolve onsite service issues if an onsite dispatch is needed.

The ability to offer and deliver this proactive, connected, and remote service, which had once been the domain of best-practice companies, has become the "new normal" expectation for FSOs of all sizes. Covid-19 may have been the catalyst for rapid change, but the foundation for these offerings has been building for many years. At issue, several macro-environmental trends have been fueling investment in the building blocks necessary for delivering a proactive, connected service experience. These trends include the proliferation of IoT devices, Moore's Law, and Servitization.

The significance of COVID-19 was that it forced FSOs to adopt and apply the building blocks of Hybrid Service much sooner than expected as a matter of survival. Indeed, a recent study by Field Service News reveals that 67% of respondent companies surveyed have implemented these types of solutions because of COVID. However, many FSO industry participants found themselves quickly cobbling together these solutions to deal with the immediacy of the situation. This has led to gaps in capabilities within and between FSOs. The industry now faces the challenge of filling in these gaps by systemizing and scaling these capabilities and providing access to FSOs of all sizes.

FIELD SERVICE ORGANISATIONS ARE USING UtaaS SOLUTIONS TO PROVIDE CUSTOMERS WITH A PROACTIVE SERVICE

The ability to capture and monitor data from assets in the field is central to the Hybrid Service Delivery model. By collecting, monitoring, and analyzing this data, FSOs can anticipate future service events and reduce face-to-face onsite visits. It enables FSOs to take the appropriate preventive actions to resolve problems, often remotely before they occur, which extends the life of their customer's equipment. Lastly, they can generate new revenue sources through an Uptime as a Service (UtaaS) offering. Through a UtaaS offering, FSOs can meet their objectives of cost reduction, service excellence, and revenue growth. These objectives will remain central to FSO strategies in the new normal. To provide UtaaS, FSOs must have a few basic building blocks in place, including but not limited to

• the capability to read data from assets in the field
• the ability to read data in real-time
• the ability to utilize the data as part of a triage process for identifying faults and guiding the best route for issue resolution
• automation of the workflows and processes to activate service
• accessibility to organizations of all sizes
  

Achieving this outcome presents a challenge for a significant segment of the Field Service Industry. Per research from Field Service New, three quarters (76%) of respondents can read data from assets in the field, but only two-thirds can view it in real-time. The net effect is that only 51% of respondents have this combined capability. While 72% can utilize the data as part of the triage process, slightly more than one-third (36%) possess all three abilities. In other words, there is a large gap in capabilities between FSOs who have fully enabled UtaaS solutions in place and those who don't. Only a small segment of the market has all the building blocks and can deliver a complete Hybrid Service experience.

Fortunately, macro trends such as Moore's Law combined with cloud computing and advancements in telemetry have made it possible for SMB and Mid-Sized companies to implement many of the foundational components for UtaaS solutions in recent years. The technology has become more affordable, easier, and efficient to deploy. It also helps that software vendors have made a strategic decision to target these market participants.

Field Aware, a developer of Field Service Management software, and ThingTech, a supplier of IoT -based Asset Management solution, are two such vendors who have teamed up to deliver UtaaS solutions accessible to organizations of all sizes. Their combined solution provides a perspective of what to look for in a best-in-breed, UtaaS solution.

The UtaaS solution from FieldAware and ThingTech enables companies to gather data from any asset type in the field. The data is processed in real-time and produces alerts, reports, and notifications based on user-configured rules and workflows. Based on these rules and workflows, automation within the FieldAware service hub triggers the appropriate action. For example, submit a work order, dispatch a technician, or schedule a preventative maintenance visit. Once the service event is completed, the technician can document his actions and update the system through his mobile device.

M.E.S.O., a company that provides Fleet Maintenance on capital intensive, mobile equipment found in multiple industries (i.e., Oil & Gas, Construction, Utilities, etc.), needed a solution that could provide a line of sight to the assets in the field, facilitate high levels of technician efficiency and productivity, and streamline back-office operations. M.E.S.O. was able to achieve these results by implementing the UtaaS solution described above.

By implementing this solution, M.E.S.O. can provide its customers with a predictive and proactive solution that increases uptime, reduces maintenance and repair expenditures, and extends the equipment lifecycle. This solution also saves M.E.S.O. an enormous amount of time. Backoffice productivity has improved by a factor of five without hiring additional staff. The decision to provide Uptime as a Service and invest in the has had positive results for M.E.S.O. The management team views it as a huge competitive advantage, and it plays a central role in the company's sales & marketing message.

Read Michael’s latest white paper, Uptime as a Service: Driving Service Excellence, Cost Reduction, and Growth in the New Normal, to obtain more insights and perspectives on this topic.  Click Here

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more FSN exclusive articles by Michael Blumberg @ www.fieldservicenews.com/michael-blumberg
• Read Michael's latest white paper @ info.fieldaware.com/Uptime-as-a-Service-IOT-White-Paper
• Read about the impact of COVID-19 on the field service sector @ www.fieldservicenews.com/covid-19
• Follow Michael Blumberg on Twitter @ twitter.com/blumberg1
• Connect with Michael Blumberg directly by email @ michaelblumberg@blumbergadvisor.com

Sam Klaidman, Founder and Principal Adviser at Middlesex Consulting, analyses the five global trends that will drive the future of field service...

In the science of dynamics speed is defined as the rate of displacement of a moving object over time (d/t). Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of speed over time (d/t2). And then comes jerk – the rate of change of acceleration over time (d/t3).

Why, you ask, do we care? Because until March 2020, we have been experiencing a period in which the rate of change of our “world” has been steadily accelerating. And then COVID-19 came along and changes that were projected to take years to accomplish were somehow accomplished in weeks or months. Mentally we felt as though the car we were riding in suddenly crashed into a bridge support and we were thrown into an airbag. We experienced jerk!

When we operate in a period of acceleration, we have time to prepare our self and our team to adapt to new operating conditions. It is still hard for many people to adapt as quickly as the change occurs, but they still have warning and can frequently participate in designing the new “world.” Unfortunately, the side effect of jerk is that changes suddenly appear and people must adapt without having the time to figure out how they will be affected. They don’t get a clear answer to the age-old question WIIFM (what’s in it for me?).

Since the world of Field Service depends on people, our own, our partners, and our customers, we must be sensitive to how our new operating procedures will impact them and effect their personnel and professional lives. We must consider all these people as we specify, design, implement, test, and go-live with sub-projects that will come together to create the new world that is rushing towards us.

THE five trends driving the future of field service

First a word of warning! On the morning of January 2, 2021, I read this in a Bloomberg News daily mailing:

Last year taught us that sweeping forecasts are pretty much a waste of time. Amid a raging virus, a global recession and a rapid markets turnaround, no one could have guessed that a record $120 trillion of stock would change hands on U.S. exchanges in 2020, that Tesla short-sellers would get burned so badly, or that Bitcoin would be such a huge hit with Wall Street. It’s hard to say which trends will continue into 2021. The forecasts to watch are those that only look one or two months ahead, or 10 to 20 years ahead, Jared Dillian writes in Bloomberg Opinion. As for all the prognostications in between—better to ignore them.

These five trends will drive the future of field service:

In the long-term, climate change will have the greatest influence on field service - how it is performed, who does the actual service work, how are parts managed, and how value is created. And because mitigating climate change is so critical, so complex, and so expensive, we will see unique changes being implemented in each industry and in each geographic entity and finally in each business.

In the medium term, there are two major changes which have already started to impact us:

• New business models like XaaS, IoT, and use of machine language and AI

• The circular economy and refurbishing and/or remanufacturing major assemblies or even complete products

In the short term, we are already seeing major changes due to the desire of customers for touchless service and the continuing trend of the aging workforce. What is not known is how must each of these trends will impact any specific industry or company. Knowing requires a familiarity of the specific details about what is happening behind the closed door of all the major players plus any potential entries. So, this article will discuss each trend and you, the knowledgeable reader, can pass each idea through your specific knowledge filters. You can then decide how much time, effort, and money to invest in getting your business ready to take advantage of any opportunities that develop. Now let’s look individually at each trend starting at the top of the pyramid. We start here because you should always keep this trend in mind as you address each lower level trend to make sure you do not have to redo some lower level change as you address the longer-term drivers.

CLIMATE CHANGE

We are all familiar with the need to make a major reduction in global greenhouse gases. It now appears that in the US, the Biden administration will kick our country’s response to the problem into high gear. In most other developed countries, the effort is already underway. As manufacturers and service providers of energy-driven machines, we will find ourselves on the front lines of the action. The greatest fear for OEMs business is that the environment will cause disruption in manufacturing operations. Think about the forest fires we have seen in the American west and Australia, the need for barriers to hold back tides and storm surges in London and Venice, and the drought in the American south-west during the 1930’s.

In October 2020, Boston Consulting Group published an article Climate Disruption And The Path To Profits For Machinery Makers. Here are five of the identified reasons why machinery OEMs, and their service organizations, will be impacted.

1. End users are disrupted – Reduced use of coal will reduce railroad shipments. Oilfield service will be reduced by decreased production of oil and gas. Power generated by solar and wind equipment will increase.<
2. Product design priorities shift – As manufacturers shift to the circular economy, the service groups may assume responsibility for refurbishment and rebuilding instead of on-site service. And new products will likely be more reliable than the models replaced and use fewer parts.
3. Business models change – Value will shift as manufacturers offer Product as a Service and IoT. Newer design will include fewer wear parts and the need for spares will decline. Increased use of digital twins will reduce on-site troubleshooting of failures. On the upside, newer items will include more software, which presents new service and support opportunities.
4. Value chains become circular – Field engineers will have to become experts in both recycling their equipment and consulting on a facility’s total operation to reduce their carbon footprint.
5. Weather, sea-level, and operational risks increase – Service contracts and warranties will have to change to minimize liability risks due to temperature and water-level changes

NEW BUSINESS MODELS LIKE XAAS

Businesses have been evaluating XaaS since it took off with SaaS. Now they are trying to tie XaaS and IoT into a new service based long-term contract where they are selling customer outcomes instead of hardware and service. The main advantage of the XaaS/pay for performance model is that customers and OEMs goals and objectives are totally aligned by focusing on meeting the customer’s needs. It makes their relationship a win-win partnership, not a win-lose contest. Unfortunately, according to Cooperberg in 2019, currently less than 3% of asset operators buy outcomes instead of assets. This trend is in the medium term because there is a long way to go. A secondary advantage of the hardware as a service model is that the OEM always retains ownership of the product. At the end of life, it can be brought back to the factory (possible a part of the service business) and either totally broken down into recyclable pieces or reusable spare parts or disposed of in an environmentally sound method. The challenge is that the OEM loses the initial sale and revenue when your product ships but gain the recurring revenue which can last over the total lifetime of the products and then extend as upgrades or replacements are installed. When it comes to servitization, where services are merged with products so the buyer can buy outcomes, there are a few obstacles that have to be cleared first. For example, again according to Cooperberg:

• Only 36% of asset operators have data and use it effectively
• 35% of asset operators still use in-house spreadsheets/excel to track current maintenance operations
• Only 35% of OEM’s connect all their new products
  

And a report prepared by The MPI Group in April 2020, The Power of Industry 4.0 in New Product Development stated:

• 40% (average) of revenues are from products with embedded smart devices/intelligence.
• The profit margin on these products is 34% (average), significantly higher than margins for other products (29% average).
• Significant improvements were likely to occur with access to data from products or services in the field.

In other words, most asset operators and OEM’s still are in the install-fix-decommission world. The transition to servitization will take more than 5-years unless something happens to accelerate the transition. And the improved margin may be that driver.

TOUCHLESS SERVICE

Right after COVID-19 hit, asset operators shifted from wanting on-site service to demanding touchless service. They wanted to keep as many outsiders out of their facility because any one of them could be primed to infect their whole workforce. And fortunately, merged/augmented reality product were on the brink of exploding for other reasons. OEM’s liked them because a highly skilled field service technician could stay in one place and support multiple relatively inexpensive and more junior field tech at the same time as one on-site call would take.

As the internal application worked so well, some OEM’s decided to try using the same systems with both B2C customers (even unskilled homeowners) and B2B operators or internal maintenance techs. And it worked! Less response time to get in from of the equipment and a quicker than expected restoral time.

The major challenge, and hence the major opportunity, is spare parts availability. OEM’s do not dispatch service technicians unless 1) they believe the fix will not require parts or 2) the technician a local service engineers carries spare parts as trunk stock, or the OEM coordinates the arrival of the field technician with the arrival of the needed parts.

When the internal facilities’ technician does the work, they don’t usually stock replacement parts. So, the tradeoff is technician travel time or parts delivery time. Or the OEM can stock spare parts in their customer’s facility either as an outright sale or as consigned inventory. This is an opportunity and can come in several ways including:

• Consigning or selling spare parts to the asset operator.
• Creating a local stocking location which is available to all customers in a selected area and located in one of them.
• Stocking parts in a controlled location available to a select group of customers.
• In all these examples, any parts used must be returned to the OEM. The OEM will then ship a replacement part to the stocking location.

Logistics and spare parts availability will be an area that OEM’s focus on as they try and roll-out more touchless service contracts.

AGING WORKFORCE

In September 2020, I published a Thomas Insights post “The Silver Tsunami: As Older Employees Plan for Retirement, It's Time to Plan for the Future of Your Workforce.” The article provides guidance about how to move forward and get ready for a different type of workforce. However, it assumes that your business will be the same in the future as it is today.

But we can see that what you do depends on these five trends. They will impact the number and backgrounds of your internal workforce going forward. And this mix will change depending on how quickly both you and your customers adapt to the solutions you both work together to create. In other words, you can make a one to five-year plan for dealing with each trend, but your labor plan has to be no more than one year because you are dealing with people’s livelihood and you don’t want to be known as a company that hires and fires often.

CONCLUSION

The future has at least five significant initiatives that all manufacturing companies will have to manage. The good news is that you now have the time to plan and test potential decisions.

Remember – “What got you here won’t get you there.”

 

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
• Read more exclusive FSN articles by Sam Klaidman @ www.fieldservicenews.com/sam-klaidman
• Connect to Sam Klaidman @ www.linkedin.com/samklaidman
• Find out more about Middlesex Consulting @ www.middlesexconsulting.com
• Read more from Sam Klaidman @ middlesexconsulting.com/blog

 

Mactavish, the specialist outsourced insurance buyer and claims resolution expert, says many commercial policyholders have faced drastic premium increases this year as insurers look to improve margins in a hardening market, sometimes of up to 800%. This is coming in addition to a greater focus on newer risks such as the increase in cyber crime that has been spurred by the pandemic and the rise of remote working.

As insurers also look to protect their reserves and minimise claims payments, Mactavish says it has also seen considerable erosion in the quality and extent of the insurance cover offered to policyholders. This is often buried in T&Cs without being flagged by either insurers or brokers, meaning that policyholders may not be aware of their increased exposure.

INSURANCE RATES ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO RISE IN 2020 AND SOME COMPANIES MIGHT BE UNABLE TO PAY FOR THEIR COVER

Market surveys are showing 34% increases in premiums across the board, but this masks a much more complex picture. Lines such as Crime, Professional Indemnity, Pension Trustees’ Liability and Directors’ and Officers’ insurance have risen far in excess of this. In addition, some industries have suffered much more than others. Firms in the construction, energy, food and beverage, travel, manufacturing and waste sectors will be experiencing particularly challenging renewals.

Mactavish warns that it expects rates to continue to rise in 2021 and says that some companies will be unable to pay for their cover, meaning they will be forced to reduce operations, lay-off employees or even go into administration.

Mactavish is one of the largest independent ‘buyers’ of commercial insurance in the UK, and this year it has helped clients cut the cost of their insurance premiums by 50% in some cases by using a unique approach that runs brokers in head-to-head competition along with their preferred insurance partners. In addition, while cost is an important area of focus, Mactavish has also improved the quality of its clients’ cover by negotiating critical changes to policy wordings.

Bruce Hepburn, CEO, Mactavish said: “For years, the insurance industry has sold its cover on the basis of price as opposed to quality and this has pushed premiums down, when in many cases they should have been higher. The insurance market is hardening now, and premiums are rising dramatically as insurers seek to make up lost ground quickly. The timing couldn’t be worse for firms that are still being battered by the economic fall-out from the pandemic. For some businesses, these unexpected cost increases could be the final nail in the coffin.”

“Aside from playing a role in pushing price increases, COVID-19 has also exacerbated many risk areas. As just one example, there has been a marked increase in cyber crime as employees moved to home-based working. This creates a double whammy effect where policyholders need to buy more insurance at precisely the moment that prices are spiking.”

Hepburn added: “While brokers naturally prefer exclusive relationships, our work shows that you get a much better outcome when there is real competitive pressure between competing suppliers. Since many brokers receive premium-linked commissions from insurers, policyholders should be wary of taking cost increases at face value.”

Mactavish cited a recent engagement in which a financial services firm had been badly let down by its broker. Even on the day its insurance was set to renew, the incumbent was unable to confirm that it had secured 100% of the capacity the firm required. Worse, a number of exclusions had crept into the policy wordings that had removed vast swathes of essential cover. Working at speed, Mactavish was able to put in place all of the required capacity, get rid of the onerous exclusions and achieve a double-digit cost saving.

Mactavish specialises in helping employers enhance their chances of securing reliable insurance policies at competitive prices, and resolving claims disputes.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Leadership and Strategy  @ www.fieldservicenews.com/eadership-and-strategy
• Read more about Mactavish on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/mactavish
• Find out more more about Mactavish @ www.mactavishgroup.com
• Follow Mactavish on Twitter @ twitter.com/MactavishGroup
• Follow Mactavish on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/mactavish

Modern professionals have done commendable work of implementing Internet of Things (IoT) devices within their company. But many IoT deployments swiftly hit a stumbling block due to the lack of information ownership and enterprise-wide data access.

In a world battered by the COVID-19 outbreak, IoT is expeditiously modernizing data management initiatives.

The pandemic has drawn needed attention to the unintended consequences of pursuing business continuity through fragmented and rigid IT infrastructures. Firms used to clutch at outdated IT assets—but today, they are viewing things in reverse. Despite their previously rosy assessments of legacy IT infrastructures, many companies are now positioning cutting-edge IoT systems as core enablers for ongoing operations. Research confirms this premise, outlining “the growing focus of organizations in reducing operational costs by incorporating advanced tools and techniques that assist in effectively managing the equipment.” The sector’s demand for customized industrial IoT solutions is also growing significantly.

This commitment to prioritize IoT innovation is inevitably igniting a transformation of industry standards and implicitly—data management. As any revolutionizing force, IoT is driving “a significant shift in the requirements for storing and managing data,” according to Gartner analysts—and it strengthens the move to potentially unknown territories, such as “non-relational forms of data persistence that enable high-speed and high-volume data.”

IoT IS EXPEDITIOUSLY MODERNIZING DATA MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES DURING THE PANDEMIC

The lack of IoT standardization prevents industry players from understanding newly emergent requirements for data. It’s often aging and highly inflexible IT system landscapes that hinder a firm’s connectivity needs and real-time data collection—but so is the absence of standardization across the IoT landscape. Beyond the sheer amount of information generated by smart devices, experts not only identify IoT data as being “inherently multi-dimensional and noisy by nature,” but also tremendously perishable. The collection of IoT data can’t, therefore, fit in a traditional database. But without specialized IoT standards, professionals may find it nearly impossible to recognize shifting data requirements.

Another probable reason for not achieving value from IoT deployments is the narrow grip firms currently have on as-built information ownership. As-built data, or in experts’ words, “the information related to the raw parts, materials, and processes to build a product,” is traditionally owned by service managers. More often than not, platform owners and service-providing departments have the right to manipulate the data they are storing; alternatively, they can share a limited amount of information with select users. IoT-related efforts, however, should not only converge on the same data sets; when all aspects of business are enriched with IoT data, the company-wide involvement of stakeholders also becomes crucial. As evidenced by Christian Renaud, Research Director at 451 Research:

“The best data strategies are co-created by stakeholders including the business, the IT department, and the operations team working together.”

This type of reasoning is not foreign to industry players. From finance to research and development to sales and supply chain management, all aspects of business can capitalize on data—but if only a fraction of data is accessed, exchanged, and used wisely, IoT efforts will meet with varying degrees of success.

Many IoT-related impediments are commonly rooted in the restricted ownership of information and the lack of company-wide data access. Therefore, much of the conversation about IoT innovation centers on a fundamental question: Can professionals become custodians of data to patently facilitate the spread of information for greater stakeholder involvement?

There Is Mounting Pressure on Stakeholders To Be Looped In On the Firms IoT Efforts

Efficient data management is among the primary factors that create IoT value for stakeholders. Equally important to veritably meet stakeholder needs is—as argued by the NSW Government IoT Policy Guidance—seeking engagement. But before anything else, it’s essential to consider if the firm’s ”planned data uses [...] deliver value to the community [and provide] transparency and choice around what data is collected and how it will be used.”

As IoT programs aren’t a one-man performance, the IoT Policy Guidance broadly encourages industry players to consult with stakeholders while designing data requirements; one thing is to acknowledge the needs of each stakeholder, and another is to practically factor in their involvement.

An instructive example comes from Bright Wolf. Under the influence of company-wide IoT initiatives, this trusted provider of industrial IoT solutions recently developed Zero Waste Engineering™—a methodology that allows firms to:

• Validate the business case for a broad-gauge IoT strategy;
• Design plans that address the requirements of each stakeholder;
• Create an adaptable data processing system that communicates outcomes to stakeholders.

Another standard procedure for getting stakeholder involvement is to identify a Data Governance Champion—or more precisely, a senior leader that has the ability to “create a steering committee to establish policies [...] around data,” experts say.

Such methods facilitate the flow of data across the firm as they build potent data transmission links between departments while creating trusted networks and demonstrating value—which triggers the company-wide involvement of stakeholders.

To a certain extent, wide-ranging participation in IoT innovation demands revised organizational policies on data management; without an evolving data model that opens access to information, the business is siloed. Yet it’s not always the incapacity of a firm’s leadership to dissolve data barriers that hinders information sharing. Sometimes, permission to access data exists predominantly in pockets.

The Lack of Data Ownership Is Getting Renewed Attention

Having partial ownership of data cripples many efforts at unified IoT strategies—at a minimum, it contributes to the quick proliferation of misinformation across the firm.

It’s not uncommon for organizations to experience a lack of data owners. Remarkably enough, data can be under the exclusive control of the service-providing department (or platform owner)—even if it doesn’t necessarily own the given data.

Still and all, many organizations have managed to assign data owners for their assets—only to restrict enterprise-wide access in order to limit the exposure to security risks. Today, there is a solution to this problem: Blockchain of Things protects data ownership and privacy of end-users. “With proof of ownership and distributed data transactions,” a study reveals, “blockchain technology provides a natural channel for trade between data producers.”

Firms are essentially adjusting to data ownership issues by understanding that it doesn’t always matter who holds title to data; as specialists suggest, a better question to ask now is: “Who can access it?”.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Learn more about Copperberg @ www.copperberg.com
• Read more about Data Management @ www.fieldservicenews.com/data-management
• Connect with Teodora Gaici on LinkedIn @ linkedin.com/teodoragaici
• Follow Copperberg on Twitter @ twitter.com/CopperbergAB

In this exclusive article for Field Service News, Michael Blumberg, President of Blumberg Advisory Group, analyzes how remote support tools will continue to provide lots of benefits to organizations in the field service sector in the post-pandemic world.

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One of the ways that Field Service Organizations (FSOs) have been able to overcome the challenges of Covid-19 is through the provision of Remote Support, also known as Touchless Service. This represents a viable way for FSOs to renegotiate SLAs and to effectively resolve customers’ service issues where restrictions exist. Although remote support has been around for some time, it was not always the preferred solution. Covid-19 has made the provision of remote support a necessity.

Since the onset of the pandemic, there has been an increase in the use of remote support tools to deliver a Touchless Service experience. The increase can be measured in terms of the number of companies using these tools and applications, the frequency in which they are used, and the applications in which they are used. Originally perceived as an application for delivering 2^nd tier expert support, remote support tools are now used in a broad array of service situations from installations, to depot repair, to site surveys and application support.

Many industry participants wonder how remote support tools will be utilized Post COVID. Will FSOs abandon Touchless Service for a more traditional onsite experience? The answer is no. Touchless Service is now becoming table stakes for FSOs. This is because remote support tools offer a lot of benefits to a service organization and the customer. One of the biggest benefits is it eliminates friction, and friction is caused when there are a lot of touches, steps, or time involved in completing a task or process. Remote support tools enable FSOs to reduce or eliminate technician travel time which allows them to complete more calls per day.

REMOTE SUPPORT  WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE VALUE TO ORGANISATIONS AND CUSTOMERS POST COVID

No doubt, FSOs will need to incorporate Touchless Service into their overall business strategy. The specifics of how and when remote support will be deployed will depend in part on the industry or vertical market. Key considerations include the complexity, criticality, and safety issues involved in supporting the install base. Touchless Service is appropriate for supporting equipment in an environment that’s not complex and where the customer is willing and capable of participating in the service resolution process.  However, a more complex service environment, one that is mission-critical and presents safety concerns or requires specialized skills or certification, will likely mandate an onsite service visit. Nevertheless, remote support tools can still play a critical role in providing expert assistance in either case.

FSOs also need to decide when to deploy or emphasize the softer skills involved in maintaining high levels of customer loyalty and satisfaction. After all, the human connection is important and it’s just not the same with remote support, even if it involves video.   As such, FSOs should evaluate the critical touchpoints during the customer journey where an in-person site visit is both appropriate and valuable. These can be planned or ad-hoc or by exception. For example, in reoccurring service issues or during a service event that occurs less than 90 days before service contract renewal. In these instances, the technician servs as a brand ambassador and trusted advisor to the customer.

FSOs may also want to consider how they monetize their investment in remote support technologies. The ability to monetize will depend on the economics of service delivery, customer willingness to pay, or the competitive practices within a specific service market. In other words, there are use cases where it could be more economical for an FSO to provide remote support as part of a basic service offering and not charge extra while there are other use cases that justify offering it as part of a premium-priced, value-added service. Assuming monetization is an objective, then there are several steps that an FSO needs to accomplish First, they need to gain clarity about the value-in-use of remote support. They need to be able to clearly articulate this value to their customers. The second step is to construct service offerings with different price points. Third, conduct market research to validate there’s a value to the customer and the customer is willing to pay for theses services. Fourth, determine the addressable market for the service. Lastly, create a go-to-market plan and roll-out the new offering to a select group of pilot customers.

Remote support will continue to provide a trifecta of value in our post-pandemic world. Value driver #1 is that it dramatically improves the customer experience. Customers receive faster service and are more engaged in the service resolution process. Value driver #2 is that it optimizes service delivery, so an FSO can do more with fewer people. Remote support frees technicians from travel which means one technician can handle more service request per day. Value driver #3 is increased technician productivity. Less time on the road means more time resolving customers' issues remotely, which leads to more calls completed per day.

It is important that FSOs view the rollout of remote support solutions from a strategic perspective not simply as another application within their technicians or tech support personnels’ tool kit. Remote support has implications for various aspects of the service business and stakeholders. Due diligence is required when it comes to integrating remote support into the overall service business strategy since the return on investment can be significant.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more exclusive articles by Michael Blumberg @ www.fieldservicenews.com/michael-blumberg
• Read about the impact of COVID-19 on the field service sector @ www.fieldservicenews.com/covid-19
• Follow Michael Blumberg on Twitter @ twitter.com/blumberg1
• Connect with Michael Blumberg directly by email @ michaelblumberg@blumbergadvisor.com

As the serial crises of 2020 redefine customer engagement, customer service leaders are transforming their operations, accelerating digital transformation, and overhauling their workforce management strategies. That’s according to Salesforce’s fourth State of Service research report, released today, which provides a snapshot of the priorities, challenges, and trajectories of customer service teams around the world. This edition is based on Salesforce’s largest and most global survey of customer service agents, decision makers, mobile workers, and dispatchers: over 7,000 respondents across 33 countries.

“We knew based on our previous research that businesses no longer view their service and support operations as cost centers, but as strategic assets that benefit revenue and retention as customer expectations soar,” said Bill Patterson, EVP and GM of B2B CRM at Salesforce. This research helps us and our customers understand how the playbook is changing, and what the best teams do differently from their competitors as they move back into growth mode.” [CTT]

From the channels they use to serve customers to the spaces employees work from to the skill sets agents require, there’s not much that hasn’t changed for customer service organizations. Here are some key takeaways.

 

The pandemic has exposed customer service shortcomings, but leaders are taking decisive action

The impacts of COVID-19 were a wake up call for customer service organizations used to the status quo. As workers stayed at home and customers asked questions for which there were no answers, customer service leaders were faced with conundrums with far reaching consequences for their teams.

Eighty-eight percent of service professionals say the pandemic exposed technology gaps, and 86% say the same for service channel gaps as customers flocked away from physical locations and towards digital methods of engagement. Teams also found shortcomings that went beyond the obvious. For example, 87% realized that their existing policies and protocols — such as cancellation fees for events that were prohibited by public health measures — were not suited for current circumstances.

Faced with these challenges, service teams and their leaders are making transformations that will endure beyond the current crisis. Eighty-three percent of service organizations have changed policies to provide customers with more flexibility, for instance, and 78% have invested in new technology as a result of the pandemic.

“Leaders are taking this time to rethink the value of experiences and reimagine engagement with customers and employees alike,” said Brian Solis, Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce.”It’s not just about technology. Sometimes technology is at its best when invisible. We’re going to see significantly more agile, innovative, and relevant organizations emerge from this crisis that provide modern and sought-after experiences that change the game for everyone.”

 

Digital transformation is accelerating for customers and employees alike

A related research report shows the extent to which customers have shifted to digital, as well as how that shift is expected to persist. Consumers and business buyers estimate that six out of ten of their interactions with companies will occur online in 2021, up from 42% in 2019.

This uptick has coincided with a surge in adoption of various digital channels by service organizations. Video support saw the highest rate of increase in adoption since 2018 (+42%), followed by live chat (+35%) and messenger apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger (+29%). Conversely, the share of organizations offering in-person service and support fell by 16%.

The digital transformation of customer service goes beyond the increased use of digital channels. Service teams also ramped up their adoption of artificial intelligence by 32% since 2018, and their adoption of chatbots shot up by 67%.

"It's never been more important to remove friction from every user experience." says Jim Roth, Executive Vice President of Customer Support at Salesforce. "In our personal lives, we so often solve issues on our own with a simple Google search. We reach out to our friends and family on our preferred communication channels, during a time that's good for us. When we interact with companies, we expect the same level of easy, seamless interactions. If a company makes it too hard for customers to engage, they may become former customers."

 

Service teams are being challenged by a new era of workforce engagement

Customer service workforces, rooted in contact centers, were spun into upheaval as stay at home orders spread across the world and social distancing became part of daily life. Over half (54%) of global customer service professionals worked from home during 2020, and only 43% expect to return to their normal workplace in 2021.

The shift to remote work has not impacted productivity as much as some may assume, with a majority (72%) of service agents agreeing they have all the tools and technology they need to work remotely. But as 54% of organizations experienced increased case volume, many of them have brought on contractors (42%) or employees from other departments (62%) to help. Just 25% of service professionals say their organizations excel at training such employees from afar, and even fewer (19%) say the same for their ability to onboard these employees in the first place.

 

Training is a focus as requisite skill sets evolve

Particularly during a crisis, the role of a customer service agent can no longer be limited to closing tickets. Agents are now expected to be knowledgeable, consultative, and above all, empathetic to customers’ unique needs and circumstances. A mix of hard and soft skills — communication, listening, and product knowledge — are in the highest demand. What’s more, service organizations accelerated their tracking of revenue more than any other metric since 2018 (up 57%), putting new expectations for sales savviness on agents’ plates.

Despite tightened budgets, service organizations by-and-large continue to invest in training programs and infrastructure, with a particularly significant bump in the share of teams with access to on-demand training (61%). Far from an entry level position, customer service agents see their roles as providing increasing opportunity even amidst an economic downturn. Sixty-seven percent of agents say they have a clear career path, up from 59% in 2018.

“You’re going to see more blurred lines between different roles moving forward,” predicted Salesforce Global Growth Evangelist Tiffani Bova. “This isn’t new, but it’s accelerating. It’s why so many companies have realized that ‘customer success’ is a more appropriate term than ‘customer service,’ especially when they’ve committed to being more customer-centric. Service has to be part of growth strategies. That’s when customer success truly has a significant impact on the bottom line.”

 

Field service is thriving, even amid a pandemic

Over the summer of 2020, Salesforce found that 70% of consumers, including 67% of Americans) still preferred in-person appointments where on-site support was a must, such as appliance repairs or internet installs, with the remainder opting for digital alternatives. Accordingly, three-quarters of decision makers with field service continue to see significant revenue from their operations and nearly seven in ten (69%) continue to make significant investments in their mobile workers through tactics such as additional hiring, training, technology investment.

Field Service News Analysis:

Having had access to a selection of the key data relating to the service sector in the UK, some additional key findings Field Service News has identified that will be of interest to Field Service Directors include: 

In response to the pandemic:

• 82% of service teams say they’ve shifted workflows/processes
• 85% of service teams say they’ve changed policies to provide more flexibility to customers
• 60% of service decision makers say they’ve invested in new service technology

Agents’ ability to find information needed to do their job:

• 83% of agents can remotely access all the data and information they need
• 57% of service teams have brought in employees from other departments to work in service and support roles
• 49% of agents see a clear path for career growth at their job
• 61% of service decision makers say they’re making significant investments in agent training

Field Service spotlight:

• 76% of service decision markets say field service is a key part of their overall strategy
• 68% of service decision makers say field service drives significant revenue for their company

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Digital Transformation @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
• Read more about the impact of the pandemic on the field service sector @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/en-gb/covid-19
• Read more key research into the the key trends within field service sector @ https://research.fieldservicenews.com/
• Follow Salesforce on twitter @ https://twitter.com/salesforce
• Find out more about the solutions Salesforce provide to the field service sector @ https://www.salesforce.com/uk/products/service-cloud/field-service/
• Read more features and news relating to Salesforce on Field Service News @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/hs-search-results?term=salesforce