Field service organisations face increasing competition, declining margin and high customer expectations. But, they also are challenged by new technologies, such as social, mobile, cloud, analytics, IoT and M2M, and wearables. Each new technology...
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May 26, 2015 • Features • MIllennials • Recruitment • servicepower • Software and Apps
Field service organisations face increasing competition, declining margin and high customer expectations. But, they also are challenged by new technologies, such as social, mobile, cloud, analytics, IoT and M2M, and wearables. Each new technology has potential to revolutionise field service just as field mobility technology did several years ago. Marne Martin, CEO of ServicePower looks at why technology is just one ingredient in field service excellence..
ServicePower is spending much time and effort in innovating our field service management software. We are working hard to be innovative and stay ahead of the latest technologies such that our customers have the best in class FSM solution today, but are also positioned to take advantage of new advances as they hit the market. We are completely mobilising the field service call, enabling the field based tech to complete all onsite processes in one trip. We’re incorporating social collaboration to ensure that the tech has access to materials and expert assistance from the office to get the job finished. We’re partnering with one of the world’s leading research institutions, the University of Manchester, to further improve our scheduling algorithms.
We cannot dismiss perhaps the most important element in the delivery of field based services: the field technician.
However, we cannot dismiss perhaps the most important element in the delivery of field based services: the field technician.
How does the emerging workforce, which is young, technically savvy and collaborative, affect your ability to provide exceptional field service? Let’s look at the following important issues regarding the technicians in your workforce.
Recruitment
One of the top challenges field service organisations face right now is the retiring workforce. However, according to Aberdeen more than half of field service organisations wait until there is an opening to fill to recruit a new technician, rather than doing so proactively. While it’s important to find a great technician with the skills required to perform the services offered by the organisation, it’s just as important to also understand the needs and motivations of its young (averaging 32 years old), technically savvy recruits, and do so prior to needing to fill a position. To that end, it’s also important to identify what will ensure the highest retention rates with the new workforce.
Technology Adoption
With the young, and we’re really talking about Millennials, which in 2015 are projected to surpass the Baby Boom generation as the largest living generation, comes adoption of more and more consumer oriented technologies. Aberdeen says that 62% of best-in-class field service organisations are incorporating some level of BYOD strategy. That’s happening because these young recruits are helping to speed the transition due to high adoption rates of mobile, connected technologies for personal use. As a matter of fact, in America, 2 of every 5 households only have wireless telephones. Technology is changing our personal and professional lives.
Service Evolution
The newest generation of young, tech savvy and collaborative field service technicians grew up with computers and social networks, text, email and chat. It’s how they communicate.
For the customer, further downtime and inconvenience are eliminated. For the field service organisation, costs are minimised, customer satisfaction and brand loyalty are improved.
For the customer, further downtime and inconvenience are eliminated. For the field service organisation, costs are minimised, customer satisfaction and brand loyalty are improved.
Strategy
Field technicians are your face to the customer. They are often the only point of contact a customer has with your organisation post sale. So, how do we find the best and brightest field technicians, and keep them?
- Proactively identify what your customers want.
- The Boomers are retiring. Proactively identify how to attract Millennials to your organisation.
- Identify how to keep workers engaged with your field service operation
- Train them effectively
- Offer and support utilisation new technologies such as wearables, which contribute to their success.
- Provide access to the tools, information and experts to make them heroes to your customers
- Support social communications
- Document how and when to use it for company purposes. A 140 character Tweet can be a huge PR success or a nightmare for your operation
- Encourage adoption of new technologies like route optimization, IoT and M2M and video. The business value of these tools empowers the field technician to create happy customers and make their own day a success![/unordered_list]
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May 25, 2015 • Features • Future of FIeld Service
The Internet of Things is going to change everything, especially field service, Tim Faulkner of ClickSoftware explains why...
The Internet of Things is going to change everything, especially field service, Tim Faulkner of ClickSoftware explains why...
Much has been made of the Internet of Things (IoT). For many years now the concept of a plethora of interconnected devices working together has been mooted.
Devices communicating with one another to share information, pass content, allow for tasks to be completed -all creates a grand mesh of interlocking technology that allow for people to be connected anywhere and anytime.
To do this, more devices will need to become “smart”. They will require a constant connection to the internet or to other devices in order to communicate. From traffic lights, to door locks, to home heating systems, everything will be connected to the internet and working in harmony with other smart devices. Take the traffic light as just one thing that will change in the IoT.
It is regulating traffic while the information it observes is sent to the central command hub, which is then shared with the vehicle and driver half a mile down the road to urge them to change speed and ease congestion. Three disparate objects are working together thanks to the interconnectivity an IoT curates.
There is no point having an IoT car when as soon as you leave the city, all the functionality becomes redundant. Equally, the hardware needs to change.
Each piece of equipment, product, and even building, needs to have connectivity built into it. We are already seeing items like tablets built specifically for businesses to support fieldworkers in any kind of environment and effectively communicate with other mobile workers.
But IoT technology will see that taken a step further. Hard hats, wristbands, tools – all will have sensors built-in to allow for interaction with other smart devices.
Because of these initial hurdles, we are still some way off that point, but we are seeing early signs of enterprise adopting the approach and looking at where connected devices can work together to make tasks a little easier. With the launch of a range of new smartwatches, most notably the Apple Watch, we now have devices that function far more effectively when connected to another device. Arguably, this is the first mainstream example of the IoT making its way into our everyday lives.
Meanwhile, at the recent CeBIT event in France, the talk of the technology show was the impending influence a Connected Economy is going to have.
Think of the Connected Economy as the opening foray into a full IoT concept, with devices that have some interconnectivity and some that are wearable too. Each device gains, shares, and passes information from one to another, all of which is then captured and controlled from a central hub.
For enterprise companies, the potential for this technology is significant. If you are running a big logistics project for example, much of the success or failure of the project hinges on human error.
Workers are constantly checking in, updating stock, and ensuring the right rosters of skills and expertise are in place.
An automated system which is instantly updated thanks to connected devices will go a long way to eliminating the risk of human error, and should allow people to get on with the job they have been asked to do, rather than the often time consuming administrative elements.
Cisco has predicted that the Internet of Everything, their take on IoT, could be worth $14.4 trillion of value for enterprises globally ahead of 2022.
The reason for this is because the concept opens up a whole new platform for businesses to operate in, from streamlining costs, to using cloud services to hosting data, to designing and implementing the new smart devices.
It is streamlining of costs where businesses will see the most value. Data can be collected in the field, sent back, and then the appropriate task and resource assigned.
Devices stationed in remote locations will be able to flag when maintenance is due, or when damage has been sustained. That data can then be shared and a team dispatched to handle the issue.
As consumers, we will receive a package at home and the moment the smart box is opened, that will be the signal the job has been completed There is a huge opportunity for all businesses in the IoT space. Our growing dependence on smartphones suggests the concept of always being “on” is one that appeals to people.
To get to that point however, we will need to see dramatic improvements in connectivity and an overhaul of how we produce items. Connectivity now needs to be at the heart of how products are designed to ensure this grand mesh of technology interacting together leaps from the pages of theory into the practice of reality.
Find out more about ClickSoftware in the Field Service News Directory
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May 22, 2015 • Features • IFS • scheduling • Software and Apps
IFS's Tom Bowe takes a look at the feeling we've all had before where the day is spinning out of control and helps identify how we can stop it with field service technologies...
IFS's Tom Bowe takes a look at the feeling we've all had before where the day is spinning out of control and helps identify how we can stop it with field service technologies...
You know what I mean. It’s 8 a.m. Two field techs have called in sick, three started late and four more are in training, your dispatchers are already biting their nails, and the schedule is looking more like scrambled eggs and less like the beautifully organised chart that 30 minutes ago was going to hit 100% of your SLAs.
Perhaps you have a legacy system that just can’t keep up with demand. Perhaps you use a ‘temporary’ Band-Aid application, or a hodge-podge of Excel and other manual systems. Whatever your predicament, there is a better way.
You’ve heard it before - the right technician, at the right place and right time, with the right tools. Right? This marketing buzz only means so much. What does an optimised schedule truly mean for your business?
You’ve heard it before - the right technician, at the right place and right time, with the right tools. Right? This marketing buzz only means so much. What does an optimised schedule truly mean for your business?
The end game is to deliver the best service possible balanced between lowest cost and highest profit. Pretty simple, right? No, actually that is kind of hard. There is a cost and usually a revenue side of every factor that drives your service business. If you had unlimited resources you could probably keep all your customers happy all the time, right?
If you had engineers within a few minutes’ drive of all of your customers and they all had every part that could ever be used to service the equipment they repair, you could literally achieve the ultimate goal of 100% satisfaction because these techs would be there when equipment fails, and they would always have the right part. But that’s fantasyland, not to mention super-expensive.
What you need is an intelligent system to consider all the dimensions and constraints of your service operations and evaluate them in real-time to make sure you are making the best decision to achieve target service levels.
In other words achieving a level of customer satisfaction where customers return for additional product and service purchases, while you deliver that service at the highest profit and lowest cost possible. So what kinds of dimensions and constraints are we referring to?
The dimensions of field service scheduling usually include geography, capacity, traffic, work to be performed, rules about the work to be performed, parts, people and time. These constraints, and many more, each have an impact on your operating margin. Let’s look at some examples.
The dimensions of field service scheduling usually include geography, capacity, traffic, work to be performed, rules about the work to be performed, parts, people and time. These constraints, and many more, each have an impact on your operating margin.
The work itself is defined when the job is created. It could be an urgent job that requires immediate attention, or a lower priority PM service inserted into the schedule at the last possible moment given their proximity and availability.
Maybe a technician arrived on site and could not get access to the equipment, or the repair took half the time expected. Why not recognise that you now have additional capacity and dynamically adjust the schedule to increase productivity? Perhaps you can do one more job today or you can arrive 10 minutes early to the next one, but maybe there is a penalty clause. These are all factors in making the best decision.
Rules usually define who can do a given job. Do they have the skills, certifications or even travel visas. Are they qualified, available and how much do they cost? Are they close enough, can they get the parts needed, or is someone else closer and equally qualified?
All of these decisions are balanced against time. For instance, knowing where each resource is currently located, who is on time vs. running late, how far do they have to travel to their next job, and if that made sense at 8am in the morning, does the same set of circumstances apply at 9:05am? The same can be said about the value of each service call to your business.
The customer’s happiness is not static. There is a time period within which your response is adequate and after that satisfaction dwindles or costs rise depending on the SLA. And 1 hour appointment windows are better than 2, 3 or 4 hours. Even better if you tell the customer the tech’s estimated time of arrival (ETA).
Today, the best enterprise service management software solutions take all of these factors, and more, into consideration when providing an optimised end-to-end service delivery schedule. Optimised scheduling, as part of an intelligent mobile workforce management solution, means complete field visibility, on-time every time, anywhere.
It means less human error and better efficiency. It gives you back the control you might think you’ve lost…so you can get that cup of coffee at 8:15am instead of having to manage another blow-up crisis.
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May 22, 2015 • Features • Research • scheduling • software advice • Software and Apps
A recent study by US firm Software Advice, a company offering comparisons and research for dispatch software, identified a number of insights into how the levels of service provided by home services are impacted by dispatching technology with...
A recent study by US firm Software Advice, a company offering comparisons and research for dispatch software, identified a number of insights into how the levels of service provided by home services are impacted by dispatching technology with GPS-enabled capabilities.
We spoke with Justin Guinn, the field service market researcher at Software Advice, who conducted the study and developed an in-depth report on the topic. We discussed how, when it comes to home service providers, common customer pain points can include lengthy arrival-time windows and waiting on late technicians. We dove into how GPS-enabled software offers a solution to these pain points by providing more effective scheduling, routing and dispatching.
Field Service News: Your new study shows the impact that scheduling has on customer satisfaction. What did you uncover?
Justin Guinn: Our study uncovered that accurate, strategic scheduling is imperative for successful field service businesses. We found that after a service provider is an hour late to an appointment, two-thirds of consumers simply won’t do business with that company again. In such a competitive market, this sort of customer attrition can kill a business.
Fortunately for service providers, proper scheduling, routing, and dispatching software directs technicians along optimised daily routes so that they most effectively get from appointment to appointment in a timely manner.
FSN: Things can always come up in the field. Is there something that service providers can do to retain those customers if they are running late?
JG: Interestingly, we found that 73 percent of consumers are more likely to rehire a provider if they receive a notification with an updated arrival time for the technician. Clearly customers expect punctuality, but this indicates they also just want to be kept in the know. We all greatly value our time, so this makes sense. This is why many field service software offerings feature automated text messaging capabilities that do just this.
FSN: So, technology can automatically help a business keep a loyal client base?
JG: Well, to maintain loyal customer base field service businesses first and foremost need to obviously deliver quality work with great customer service. Dispatching and scheduling software isn’t going to “fix” technicians with clumsy skills and/or crummy attitudes, but, like I mentioned, it does ensure punctuality and offer an effective remedy to late technicians. The software also enables applicable service segments to schedule repeat/recurring visits while onsite with customers, ensuring retention; some systems even act as a point of sale, allowing technicians to accept payment for the current job and any newly scheduled visits.
These capabilities above are great for increasing revenue and generating customer retention, but what about growing a field service business footprint? Dispatching and scheduling software plays an important role in achieving this growth by simply enabling technicians to get more work orders completed each day. We found that 95 percent of service business saw an increase in work orders completed per technician per day. Work orders equal customers, and the more customer interactions a service business can create, the more relationships they can build and the more chances for repeat business.
FSN: Apart from customer-facing benefits or the number of work orders per day, did you discover any other direct financial benefits of this kind of software?
JG: The other main benefit of this software comes into play by reducing overhead costs and expenses.
Our study showed that 89 percent of service companies see a decrease in fuel costs after adopting dispatching and scheduling software. It makes sense: optimised routing leads to less time spent on the road and less time spent sitting in traffic, thus less fuel being used. On top of that, our research shows that 95 percent of businesses see an increase in technician punctuality after implementing this kind of technology. This brings it back to the first point of getting mobile technicians to a job on time, thus retaining more customers.
Some of these systems can get even more granular by tracking technicians’ driving habits. For example, this capability allows the back office to see if a technician is accelerating too quickly, thus unnecessarily burning fuel. As a mobile workforce grows, so to does the impact of this feature. But no matter the workforce size, tracking and monitoring driving habits enables companies to increase safety by implementing and incentivizing driving best practices.
FSN: You had another recent report that found 54% of field service businesses don't use any software at all to manage their business. For that majority, why do you think they're hesitant to adopt technology?
JG: A likely reason that field service software adoption rates are so low is because companies/owners/managers might be intimidated by the many software choices. So instead of springing for software, they continue going about their manual ways until it eventually just becomes too much to handle. We talk to many field service operators everyday, and this is typically the predicament they’re facing.
They’ve been operating their business with “comfortable disorganisation,” but it’s taking a toll on their professional and personal life. That’s why we try to provide a personalised shortlist of products based on the needs of their business. In a sense, we’re typically the first step for field service operators to get their business in order and reclaim some sanity in their lives.
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May 21, 2015 • Features • Future of FIeld Service • future of field service • pristine io • Smart Glasses
A lot of technology can improve the way we work in field service but none can change the way we operate so fundamentally as the introduction of smart glasses. That is the opinion of Kyle Semani, CEO of Pristine IO and in this series of articles...
A lot of technology can improve the way we work in field service but none can change the way we operate so fundamentally as the introduction of smart glasses. That is the opinion of Kyle Semani, CEO of Pristine IO and in this series of articles we've talked exclusively to Semani at length on why he sees smart glasses revolutionising the field service industries.
In the first part of this series we looked at the why despite Google removing their Glass Xplorer program in field service at least the future of Glass and other competitor products is very much alive and well. In part two we Semani outlined some very significant savings that can be made through the correct application of smart glasses in field service. Now in the final feature of this series we look at some of the challenges faced by smart glasses and how they can be overcome...
As anyone who managed to get their hands on a Beta edition of Glass will testify excitement soon turned to frustration as you realised that even with moderate use the battery life just wasn’t enough to last you more than a few hours, five or six if you were lucky. Surely this is an issue that must be rectified if Smart Glasses are to have a place in field service?
“Our system today gets two to three times the battery life that you’d get if you were using a consumer product straight out of the box.”
“That’s mainly down to optimisations being made at the operating system level as well as our own app doing a number of different things to help out.” He clarifies. However, he doesn’t stop there.
He continues to point out that even without such optimisation fears around battery life really aren’t that valid anyway.
“In terms of practical use” he continues “well we aggregate our customer data and the average call length is between eight and twelve minutes, very few of our calls exceed that time-line and the reality is that nobody needs to watch video for that long.
They may call back twenty minutes later but it’s pretty rare that someone needs to call for fortyfive minutes straight. It’s just not very useful and that just doesn’t happen. So battery life isn’t by and large proven to be an issue.”
He has a point, a very good one at that.
Something that many of us are guilty of is trying to align wearable devices with existing mobile computing options such as tablets, smart phones and so on.
However, the simple fact is that the use case is very different. We need to think of what the smart glasses would, and would not, be used for. If we do this then the reality is that as Samani asserts battery life really needn’t become a significant issue.
“I don’t think that smart watches and smart glasses are that comparable. Yes there both wearables but the use cases for both are really far apart.”
“I don’t think that smart watches and smart glasses are that comparable. Yes there both wearables but the use cases for both are really far apart.”
Actually the biggest issue Samani and his team are challenged with is how complex such a device is to use. “The biggest push-back we get is ‘will my field service techs be able to use it effectively?’
For them it’s a legitimate concern, they haven’t used smart glasses in the wild.”He states.
“What I say in that conversation is we have definitively proven, with our customers, that this works and our platform is incredibly easy to use.”
In fairness he certainly isn’t exaggerating when he says it’s easy to use.
Describing the user experience Samani explains “Literally all you need to do is put on the glasses and say ‘OK Glass request support.’”
“After that everything else becomes automated. And the person wearing the glass can focus on the job at hand whether they are turning a wrench, opening a panel, soldering wires... it doesn’t really matter what that person is doing the system becomes completley automated and is incredibly easy to use.”
So with all of the potential gains and very assured responses to potential pitfalls it seems Samani really is the right man , in the right place at the right time and Pristine’s already healthy initial growth is surely set to continue. The only question remains when will we start to see further widespread adoption of smart glasses?
“I think in 2016 it’ll become a reasonably discussed topic, people will accept this is happening people are already doing it and it’ll really start to grow from there.” Samani says.
“You look at IoT in the field service world or workforce management, these are technologies widely discussed in the field service industry and it’s pretty commonly expected that if your not already doing it, you’re going to do it in the next few years. I think in 2016 that type of conversation will happen around smart glasses.”
“I think in 2016 it’ll become a reasonably discussed topic, people will accept this is happening people are already doing it and it’ll really start to grow from there.”
“Our belief is that glasses will be the ones that really deliver the value for enterprise. Watches can’t really impact how your tech works too much, glasses could change the way we structure our workforce entirely.”
Again with such ambitious rhetoric accuations could be aimed at Samani of over egging the custard. However, whilst he certainly has a tangible excitement to his tone as mentioned above, it is also countered by a measured authroity. He truly believes that smart glasses will change the way we work and he is systematically building his case piece by piece.
“When the data becomes more robust and proven we will publicise it and expect a lot more people to follow suit.” He concludes “There will be definetly some variability in differing industries, who adopts first and why - the more expensive the problem the more likely a company will be to adopt our solution sooner, but we are witnessing a lot of interest and we expect to see a big change in how global field service teams, and even regional ones, deliver customer service in the not so distant future”
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May 20, 2015 • Features • Advanced Field Service • mobile apps • research • Research • resources
In the first part of this exclusive research project run in partnership with Advanced Field Service, we looked at the types of mobile devices being used in the field and why it seems that the days of pen and paper are becoming increasingly numbered....
In the first part of this exclusive research project run in partnership with Advanced Field Service, we looked at the types of mobile devices being used in the field and why it seems that the days of pen and paper are becoming increasingly numbered. In the second of this four part series we look at whether there is a future for wearables in field service, are devices being used rugged or consumer and has BYOD worked and in part three we looked at how engineers react and respond to the mobility tools they are given.
Now in the final part of this series we turn our attention to what is field service professionals expect from a field service mobile application
There is also a white paper accompanying this series, with even further insights, which you can download here
Operating systems
Having taken a look at whose making the decisions lets return to the decisions being made.
Earlier in this series we looked at the choice between rugged or consumer grade products but what about the software?
Around a third (32%) of companies state they have mixed multiple OS’s in use amongst their field engineers.
Aside from these companies however the most popular OS is now Android which alongside the 16% of companies using Apple’s iOS is another clear indication of the rise in prominence of both Tablets and Smart-phones as tools being provided to field service engineers.
However, despite giving away ground to Apple and Android in the mobile market, Window’s still hold onto a relatively strong market share of the OS’s being used in field service with 23% of companies stating that this is their OS of choice.
Also similarly as with the figures around laptops maybe being distorted somewhat by the amount of companies using multiple devices, the same logic would also likely see Window’s market share increase as the majority of laptops would be on a Windows OS of some form.
Going Native
But in an age of HTML5 and Cloud based SaaS solutions how important is an OS anyway?
Well for a very large majority of companies (86%) it seems that operating systems are at the very least a consideration in the selection of a device, whilst for 41% of companies it is a very important factor.
When we reflect back to the worries identified earlier in this report around integration problems then perhaps this is understandable. Keeping HTML5 and web based applications in mind however, is it important for a field service app to be native to any given OS?
Again the majority of our respondents suggested that it is.
Over two-thirds (69%) of companies felt that it was important that a field service app is native to the OS it is running on, whilst 35% felt it was very important.
Of course a native app will not only appear far more polished it can often have far richer functionality as it is designed to work in tandem with both the operating system and the device itself.
And our research shows that expectations for field service apps is now extremely high.
Access to account information, access to technical documents, visibility into parts availability, delivery of automatic status updates, recording of time sheets, photo and signature capture and data security were expected as part of a field service app by more than 60% of our respondents.
What we want in a field service app – everything!
However, when it came to the functionality that was required in a field service app the most important element by far was “Access work schedule and complete jobs on site” which almost two thirds of companies (63%) placed amongst the most important functions they require in an app.
What is definitely encouraging is that the most common reason for companies upgrading their existing systems is to improve the service they are delivering to their customers.
Finally lets look at why companies invest in field service solutions.
What is definitely encouraging is that the most common reason for companies upgrading their existing systems is to improve the service they are delivering to their customers.
I am a firm believer in putting the customers at the heart of all we do in field service and it appears I am not alone in this ethos.
However the good news is that often by doing so we can see other benefits. One of these is improving productivity which was the second most commonly cited reason for investing in a new field service management solution.
This was followed by the “reduction of paperwork” and “cost savings” being the third and fourth most popular reasons for a new system while “Automation of routine tasks” was the fifth most popular reason cited. Finally despite the often painted Big Brother impact of a field service solution, visibility into workers was actually the least common of the reasons given for introducing a new field service management solution.
Want to know more? Download the exclusive research report now!
Find out more about Advanced Field Service in the Field Service News Directory
Please note that by downloading the above research report you agree to these fascinating terms and conditions
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May 19, 2015 • Features • Management • MIllennials • Patrice Eberline • Recruitment • servicemax
In our recent series of articles we have asked if recruitment is going to be field services greatest challenge and explored why despite a negative press millennials are in fact a natural fit for field service.
In our recent series of articles we have asked if recruitment is going to be field services greatest challenge and explored why despite a negative press millennials are in fact a natural fit for field service.
The reason for this series is to introduce some of the themes ahead of our next webinar which is being held tomorrow at 4pm GMT. You can register for this webinar by clicking this link.
In the final part of this series we look at how we can attract millennials to our organisation.
“Gone are the days of where a company’s participation in regional hiring events or advertising in a paper or even a website is going to bring in a throng of great candidates.” Comments ServiceMax’s Patrice Eberline.
“This generation has different hot buttons and therefore requires different bait to entice them to your company.”
Eberline is a firm believer in having to understand the mindset of millennials and restructuring our approach towards recruitment if we are to attract the best-of-the-best to our companies.
“In order to attract this generation we need to support the notion that recruiting is a two way street. In addition to screening for skills and fits we need to pay attention to supporting their hot buttons also” She explains.
In our forthcoming webinar Eberline will outline seven of these hot buttons which consist of:
Company Values Mission and purpose.
“At every opportunity underscore your companies higher purpose so they can pull context from social media.” She states
“The values, the mission, the benefits of a company should not be ignored in the recruiting process. Remember that these candidates have an unlimited amount of information and access to that information via the web. They will likely come to an interview with a great deal more knowledge than you might expect.”
The social media presence of your brand.
“Social is where they live we can’t ignore it.” Says Eberline “Use this as an outlet to educate candidates, to pull candidates in, to outline your values, just reach out because they will in turn be reaching out. This is the generation that makes that fan base weak or strong through social and it’s not afraid of liking or unliking so this does play a part in recruiting.”
Work life balance
“Something very important for millennials but it does not necessarily mean they are looking for an easy ride.” She insists
“On the contrary millennials are going to work very, very hard for you. That energy they bring is incredible but they are going to respect your respect for work life balance so don’t forget to include that in the conversation. “
Mentorship and training
“Mentorship and training is huge for millennials who really value face time.” Explains Eberline
“Now this may give us some unique challenges as many in field service are managing remote teams. However, if we put a TM at the end of FaceTime it becomes the app. Bring technology in to the mix to enable one to one time ads millennials value learning from others.”
Teamwork and shared goals
“Setting up situations and setting up role expectations that support their collaborative nature that shouldn’t be ignored.” Eberline comments
“Being able to encourage collaboration is something that will bring this generation to you and keep them with you longer.
Variety of experience and growth potential
“Variety is the spice of life.” She adds “They want to experience it all and they want to experience it as much as possible in their work world as much as in their private life. “
Social responsibility
“Millennials gravitate to companies with a strong social responsibility.” Eberline explains “So if your company has that outreach, if it has that as part of its company values then highlight it.”
To hear more from Eberline as well as an additional feature from Nick Frank looking at monetizing IoT in field service click here to register now.
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May 19, 2015 • Features • Martin Summerhayes • Events • Service Management Expo • Tim Jones • tomtom
Running across the 16th, 17th and 18th of June the Service Management Exporemains one of Europe’s key field service events and Field Service News is pleased to be hosting the free educational sessions in the Field Service Solutions theatre once...
Running across the 16th, 17th and 18th of June the Service Management Expo remains one of Europe’s key field service events and Field Service News is pleased to be hosting the free educational sessions in the Field Service Solutions theatre once again this year.
In this the final part of this series we look at the third day sessions of the Field Service Solutions Theatre which is being hosted again by Field Service News.
Catch up on what is happening on Day One by clicking here and Day Two by clicking here.
As per Day One and Day Two of the event we see the opening session being given by the Field Service Solutions Theatre co-sponsors IFS and Field Service Management who begin proceedings with a half an hour presentation starting at 12:15pm.
Oldland and Summerhayes will be tackling perhaps the biggest threat that field service companies are currently facing – namely that of the ageing workforce
In this half an hour session entitled “Employing the next generation of field service engineers” Oldland and Summerhayes will be tackling perhaps the biggest threat that field service companies are currently facing – namely that of the ageing workforce and how companies such as Fujitsu can overcome this challenge.
Having had an exceptional career working from field service engineer himself through to managing teams of varying sizes from a handful to a continent before finally arriving in his current role with Fujitsu, Summerhayes is expertly placed to share his insight into not only the dangers we face as one generation reaches retirement age but also how we must interact with the field service engineers of tomorrow from a young age in order to capture their attention and guide them towards a role in field service.
We follow this session by inviting one of the guests from last year who was a true highlight of the event program, Tim Jones, Professional Services Manager Europe and India. At last years sessions Jones explained how he had moved his field service operations to a de-centralised system, taking time to outline the reasoning for his move, the process he and his team had undergone to make such a transition, how they reorganised there teams, and of course what the early signal are as to how the move is delivering.
It was a bold move when many other field service companies were looking towards doing the opposite and centralising their operations. However, if the amount of questions Jones faced after the interview was any form of indication last years session was certainly left the seeds of an idea in a number of those who attended.
It was a bold move when many other field service companies were looking towards doing the opposite and centralising their operations.
Finally to bring the sessions to a close we have one final panel discussions which brings together Field Service Solution Zone sponsors TomTom with a number of their partners as we discuss “How connectivity and data are at the core of next gen field service”. The session, which also includes representatives from AllOnMobile, Magenta and Smart Witness is designed to help us put together some of the key leanings from across the three days sessions and see how all of these various technologies can come together to improve a field service organisations daily workflow.
With many predicting that the future of field service will have connectivity at its heart, it will be interesting to see from these various technology leaders about how there various systems can integrate and connect with each other to enrich the data available. With a focus on enabling smarter decisions the session will ask how can we make the field engineers lives both safer and more effective efficient?
With a full three days worth of excellent and thought provoking line up of sessions the opportunity for discussion over a drink at the end of each day as the theatre becomes a networking hub is sure to be welcomed and on the final day it is certain to be a vibrant opportunity to discuss the ideas and trends highlighted both in the theatre solutions and the wider Service Management Exhibition as well.
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May 18, 2015 • Features • Management • Aly Pinder • Social Media
Has the social world changed service delivery? Or is field service still all about a schedule, a technician, a truck, and a tool box?Aly Pinder of Aberdeen asks...
Has the social world changed service delivery? Or is field service still all about a schedule, a technician, a truck, and a tool box?Aly Pinder of Aberdeen asks...
The short answer is both are correct. Field service is still all about getting a service person to solve a customer problem. Granted, sometimes this can be done remotely, without a technician at all. But for the most part, technicians still help resolve issues.
However, social is beginning to play a larger role in the execution of service. Social collaborative tools often have the perception of being a consumer medium which has little to no value in business. Much of this perception is driven by our knowledge of social coming from the games we play on our personal mobile devices or by seeing young adults wasting their day away on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. This mindset is slowly changing, and the top performers are leading the way. Aberdeen’s Social Field Service: Collaboration on the Fly (March 2015) report highlights that half of the Best-in-Class provide technicians with access to social media and collaborative tools; as compared to only 35% of peers. These top performers aren’t necessarily given technicians Facebook apps on their work phones, but they are empowering technicians with the ability to access information and communication tools to deliver faster resolution or collaborate with peers.
The future of field service demands that technicians have real-time access to data to ensure they are able to resolve issues on extremely complex equipment. Challenges like a retiring workforce, more aggressive competition, and increased customer expectations mean technicians and service teams don’t have an unlimited amount of time to find the answers to service issues. For this reason, the use of social has the opportunity to connect technicians with the intelligence to solve these problems in real-time. In order to achieve these types of gains, a few trends below should be adopted -
Do not miss out on hearing the voice of the customer.
If you haven’t heard about the empowered customer, then you haven’t been listening. Customers today have more influence and information than ever before. Consequently, it is imperative that service organisations listen to their customers, whether through channels like surveys or through social. But more importantly, organisations need to turn the voice of the customer into new products and services based on this intelligence. Just listening is a starting point, but action to improve is the true test of successful interaction between customers and the service organisation.
Escape the costs and loss of productivity incurred from all-day training sessions for the field team.
Service doesn’t stop. Equipment, parts, and machines fail. And these assets don’t care that a service organisation has scheduled an all-day off-site meeting to train the service team on the latest service techniques. Social tools allow a service organisation the ability to share best practices and new techniques via a mobile device so technicians don’t need to leave the field. This dynamic learning model also means that procedural changes can be communicated in real-time and not at one-off meetings.
Avoid the tendency to neglect investment in technology infrastructure.
Technology tools are changing all the time. The days of paper work orders and receipts are coming to an end. Unfortunately, as seen in Aberdeen’s recent State of Service Management 2015: Connect to Your Customers research (March 2015), nearly half of organisations (40%) still find that they are challenged by insufficient technology infrastructure. Despite this lack of investment for many organisations, the technology available for businesses is immense. The next generation of tools has been able to turn the volume of data flowing into the business into intelligence. For this reason, organisations need to evaluate, identify, and invest in technology tools which connect service to improved resolution.
Don’t wall off the field team from your customer.
Technicians have a strong partnership with customers. Often times, the field service technician is a trusted advisor for the customer, as they help solve problems for the customer in a very difficult time. Social doesn’t have to mean that technicians are creating blogs, but there is the opportunity that they can inform customers as to the status of a work order or their arrival on site.
Social collaborative tools can seem daunting in business – no one wants their brand sullied because a rogue employee posts something inappropriate. But despite the horror stories and PR blunders, the value of social collaboration should outweigh the potential landmines. It is important for field service organizations to avoid the fear of social, as it is more than just a consumer trend. Social tools have the opportunity to connect the field service team with customers, the back office, and each other. Service in 2015 moves at the speed of a tweet or a post, and organisations must take advantage of this increased access to information and insight. Don’t get left in the past, leverage the tools of the present to build the type of service which will excel in the future.
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