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Welcome to the latest edition of the Field Service News podcast. This month we are featuring a guest podcast recorded by field service management specialist, Aubrey Fox of Trimble Field Service Management.

In this podcast, which is supported by a series of slides Aubrey looks at just what type of companies can benefit from field service management systems before looking at the challenges field service companies can face. Basing his discussion on research undertaken and collated by Trimble FSM, Fox delivers an excellent and authoritative commentary, exploring how field service companies can transform the way they work  through the use of technology.

 

 

Please note that that promotion of this download is a joint venture between Field Service News and Trimble FSM and by downloading the podcast you agree to the fascinating terms and conditions which are available right here.

You can also find out more about Trimble in the Field Service News Directory by clicking here

Ahead of taking part in a live panel discussion on End to End field service management at this years Field Service Europe Conference, Field Service News Editor Kris Oldland, will be writing a series of features around the topic…

End-to-end field service management is a topic that we keep hearing about. Indeed our own recent podcast featuring Paul Sparkes, Product Director at Advanced Field Services focussed on the big question – just what is end-to-end field service management?

Paul gave both a detailed and candid response to this question, looking at the broader picture rather than from just his own organisations standpoint and if you haven’t yet listened to this podcast you can find it on the link above.

However, whilst we talked in depth about the end-to-end concept from a software point of view, from field service specific point of view as well as the wider viewpoint of having a number of systems (such as ERP and CRM) fully integrated as well, the conversation remained focussed on software and software alone.

All well and good but if we are to explore a fully end-to-end field service solution then we must consider other elements as well.

What type of hardware do our field service engineers require? What about in-vehicle computing? Telematics? Will our field service engineers be creating orders in the field? In which case what about mobile payment options? What about printing options for providing invoices and receipts?

Understanding the needs of both your customers and your field service engineers is crucial to ensuring that you’re investing in the right technology.

Understanding your customers lifecycle

The first place to focus, as with almost anything in business, is on your customers.

Whilst the benefits of implementing the right technology will of course improve your field service operation, the underlying reason for investment in technology should be "how can my customers benefit from this."

Of course the two are not mutually exclusive, indeed if you bring anything into your business that benefits your customer then it will almost certainly bring benefits to your company as well.

For example if your field engineers are given devices that are capable of video calls and 4G data transfer; the likelihood is that your field service engineers will be far more likely to improve first time fix rates as they will be able to access a wider pool of engineer knowledge whilst on premise than they would have had previously.

Your customer is happy as the disruption to his business is minimal.

 

The benefits to your company are that your field service engineers are working more effectively, so they are achieving more with less, all while maintaining great service standards.

This example, whilst highlighting the point of working to a customer centric model, is fairly obvious. However, if you keep your customers at the heart of your focus other less obvious but equally important points may arise.

For example, I mentioned in my introduction mobile printers. Do you know how your clients deal with receipts or invoices for example? Many companies including ourselves here at 1927 Media try to minimise the use of hardcopies in an effort to be more environmentally focussed.

What a waste it would be to invest in a mobile printer for each van in your fleet only to find out that 90% of your customers throw the hardcopy away after they have scanned it and would have preferred being sent documents by email anyway!

This information is almost certainly already held in your company somewhere; probably the easiest way of finding out is by asking your accounts team. I’m sure they could easily put together an overview of which of your clients require paper invoicing pretty quickly as they are dealing with your customers invoicing on a regular basis.

Lets say 50% of your clients need printed documents, maybe you could allocate printers based on the daily workload each field service engineer rather than fitting all your vehicles with them?

Would this be a more cost effective route? Of course you would have to look at the options. However, by taking a greater interest in your customers needs then you are able to seek out smarter ways of implementing your own technology

This of course can free up funds for other areas of investment too.

Understanding your field engineers working environment

Another important factor when considering purchasing hardware for your mobile workforce is the environment they will be operating in.

For some companies such as couriers or delivery organisations often a simple consumer device can be sufficient. If your mobile worker simply needs an interface that allows him to see his updated schedule and collect a signature then a low cost tablet could very well be the solution.

However, what if your engineer works in a more demanding environment where the device is likely to get wet, or is required to operate in temperatures beyond normal operating thresholds? Is the device likely to be knocked about a bit as part of its general day to day use?

As Ian Davies of Motion Computing noted in his excellent article on this subject

“A recent survey from VDC highlights the causes of this expense in using consumer grade units.  As part of a research project among IT decision makers at 215 companies managing a mobile device deployment, VDC discovered that the leading cause of device failure was that the tablet had been dropped.

The second cause was software issues but this was only marginally ahead of exposure to water and liquid (and just over 1 in 4 tablet PCs will face such exposure). Other leading causes of failure include excessive heat / cold, dust exposure and vibration.”

Understanding Total Cost of Ownership is a massive factor in deciding whether you should be perhaps taking the more expensive option, if in the long term you will see a greater lifespan per unit. It is essential you take into account your field service operatives working environment as well as their general workflow when considering which type of mobile hardware is right for your organisation.

We have barely scratched the surface of another area in the great end-to-end field service management question by looking at just some of the many considerations around hardware.

However, we will be continuing this series of features across the coming weeks to help you build a wider picture of all of the factors you should be considering when looking to build a fully end-to-end service management solution including revisiting some of the questions around software, a closer look at hardware and of course telematics, yet another crucial piece of the puzzle.

I am also particularly looking forward to participating in a panel debate on this topic at the Field Service Europe Conference which is shaping up to be a fantastic event.

 

 

The case for implementing a modern field service solution is well documented, the benefits clear and tangible. However the road to a successful implementation is fraught with challenges. Over the next few weeks we will be exploring this topic across a number of features which are sponsored by ServiceMax

There is also a corresponding white paper on this subject which you can access by clicking this link and completing the brief registration form

There is no hiding from the reality that the implementation of a modern service management solution involves a major change within business, including shifts in both processes and culture, driven by the technology. Change is hard, and without proper understanding of your goals and the challenges you face, successfully managing it can be at best a complicated and drawn out process, at worst an abject failure.

In fact according to Change Management guru John Kotter, 70% of change management efforts fail and this is largely due to a lack of preparation, a lack of understanding of best practices or more often than not a combination of both.

However, at the heart of every successful change management exercise there is one maxim that holds absolutely true. Change Management is always about people.

Despite often being mistakenly pigeon holed amongst Project Management, which is more focussed on business protocol and processes, the key to good Change Management is understanding and confront the emotional and personal impact change can have on your workforce both on the individual as well as the company at large.

It is widely quoted that on average two thirds of employees are resistant to using a new system. So before we even begin to plan for change we must consider some of the fundamental reasons why our workforce would be so anti-change, if we are to succeed.

For a start we must remember our workforce is made up a human beings, whilst this may seem like an obvious even condescending point to make, it is all to easy, especially in larger organisations to dehumanise the workforce, replacing names and personalities with numbers and statistics.

 

When focussing on the human aspect we can begin to understand the resistance we will face. It is our natural tendency to maximise reward and to minimise threat.

Sociology teaches us that there are five domains of social experience; status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness and when these are threatened we naturally resist change.

Inevitably an extensive change management exercise is going to impact on all five of these domains amongst your workforce so our goal cannot be to completely eliminate resistance, this would be an unrealistic and impossible task. Instead the intention should be to reduce the gap between introducing the change and full adoption of the change, thereby minimising the level of resistance faced and the duration that resistance lasts.

 

Research from McKenzie suggests organisations that utilise good change management best practices are likely to achieve 100% better business results through high employee adoption rates.

When it comes to implementing a new system across the workforce the stakes are absolutely huge, success can see significant improvements in productivity, efficiency and of course in the bottom line.

Failure can see value leakage resulting in a far longer time to see R.o.I (if at all) whilst simultaneously causing severe disruptions to the business as a whole. Put very simply there is an incredibly strong business case for making sure you get Change Management right.

Fortunately there are a number of differing resources that can be turned to, to help guide those who are undertaking such an operation. Some of which include:

Prosci

Prosci, whose name comes from a combination of professional and science, is one of the leading Change Management organisations in the world and their methods are cited as being used by more than three quarters of the Fortune 100.

Founded in 1994 they offer both benchmarking research and change management products.

 

The tools implemented in Prosci’s methodology are based on research into best practice of over 3400 international organisations.

The Prosci methodology has become one of the most widely used approaches to managing the people side of change in business and government. At the heart of their methodology is the ADKAR model which first appeared in 1999 as an outcome-oriented approach to facilitate individual change.

The model has taken hold as a simple and effective Change Management method, which has become one of the most widely used models of its kind in the world.

Kotter International

Headed up by a New York Times best-selling author, business entrepreneur and Harvard Professor, Dr. John P. Kotter, Kotter International is another of the world’s leading Change Management firms.

Their 8-step change management process is based upon thirty years worth of work by Kotter and aims to offer a holistic approach to Change Management and incorporates eight overlapping steps.

The first three are all about creating a climate for change. The next on engaging and enabling the organisation and the last implementing and sustaining change.

It has been noted that successful change occurs when there is commitment, a sense of urgency or momentum, stakeholder engagement, openness, clear vision, good and clear communication, strong leadership, and a well executed plan and Kotter’s 8 Step plan utilises each of these.

Lewin’s Un-Freeze, Change, Refreeze model

Developed by physicist and social scientist Kurt Lewin in the 1950’s this model became a fundamental building block for organisational change management, The name of the model refers to the three stage process of change. The concept uses the analogy of a block of ice and transforming its shape from a block to a cone. First you must make the ice amenable to change (unfreezing it), then the ice must be moulded to the shape you desire (change). Finally you must solidify the the new shape (refreeze)

Therefore the first step in any successful change process must be to understand the reason for change. In Lewin’s own words "Motivation for change must be generated before change can occur. One must be helped to re-examine many cherished assumptions about oneself and one's relations to others."

Across the next few weeks we will be exploring the stages of change management in more detail looking at 5 specific stages as defined and implemented by Tycho’s Sharon Moura when they recently implemented ServiceMax’s field service management platform.

To download a copy of the white paper “5 principals of change management in field service click here and complete the brief registration form.

 
This series is sponsored by:

 

Last month myself and Field Service News Editor Kris Oldland were fortunate enough to interview Dave Gordon from Rolls Royce’s Defence business in Bristol, about their Services Journey and why it is so important to the future growth of the business.

Although Rolls Royce is a leading global manufacturing business, many people do not realise that over 50% of its revenues are now generated through Services. Initially Services became a strategic contributor to growth in their Civil business as they reacted to customer and market pressures.

In his own very engaging way, Dave Gordon describes about how the defence business has taken these processes and embedded them into its core offering. As VP of Service Strategy and currently LiftSystem Programme Director for the new vertical takeoff Lightening Fighter, he is uniquely positioned to talk about the transformation from time and materials support contracts to sophisticated advanced services.

Rolls Royce started their journey by understanding what being good at services really meant. They very much took an OUTSIDE-IN approach, not only looking at their own industry, but best practice companies in unrelated businesses. A major challenge was how to apply the undoubted technical and innovative capability of Rolls Royce, to the mountain of data collected on their products, and turn it into value for the customer.

 

Key to this journey has been changing people’s mind-set through the metric of ‘Customer Disruption Cost’. This measure calculated the direct and indirect costs to their customers if the engine was not available. The tangible benefit was that it enabled Rolls Royce to build a value based offer around the customers business needs. The hidden benefit was that it focused the people within the organisation on what was really important to the customer.

Dave explains the importance breaking down the innovation of services into bite size chunks.

Starting first with availability contracts on small modules, and gradually increasing the scope as their knowledge and infrastructure grew. Key was building a database of how the product was used, enabling engineers to model their equipment behaviour, so as to predict future performance. Then leveraging this knowledge and insight to develop new proposition and solutions.

As the service business has matured, the data capture and analysis has increasingly moved into customer located Service Delivery Centres, so making the value creation processes truly co-constructed.

But in this age of nervousness around cyber crime and intellectual property, he stresses that security and segregation of customer data is key to developing a trusting collaboration with the customer.

It is this collaboration that has been key to their success. So not only has it been a journey for Rolls Royce, but their customers as well. They have had to step back from describing ‘what they want’, to ‘where they want to be’.

Dave Gordon goes on to say ‘Creating the future’ is all about deepening relationships and harnessing innovation around customer value. Key is the willingness to listen but where necessary take risks and innovate ‘outside the box’ to make change happen.

This exclusive interview will be appearing on Field Service News across the next few weeks and you can find the first part of this series by clicking this link.

Cathal McGloin, CEO of mobile enterprise app developer FeedHenry takes on the role of myth buster as he debunks a few false beliefs regarding mobile development across the enterprise.

This is following the mobile app platform provider analysed customer data and industry RFPs from organisations with more than 1,000 employees.

Myth #1:  Enterprise apps take at least six months to develop and deploy

Industry received wisdom dictates that apps, especially those designed for enterprise, can take at least half a year to build and launch. With some organisations requiring anywhere from 10-100 apps to serve different business units, the time required to build apps can appear prohibitive. However, the right mobile platform can halve app development time to just 60-90 days. The key is to reuse code and backend services where possible in order to speed integration.

Myth #2:  Data is king, but it's too complicated for apps to access legacy systems

Enterprise organisations that have already made large investments in systems, such as ERP, are hesitant to develop mobile apps that cannot seamlessly plug into existing mission-critical technologies. On average, a suite of enterprise apps connects to between 2 and 6 backend systems and APIs, including Sharepoint, Oracle, MySQL and SAP. Because 2 in 3 of these backend systems do not have accessible APIs, this can slow down the development process or make mobile apps unusable. Using an enterprise-grade mobile backend as a service (MBaaS) with an API infrastructure solves this issue by enabling legacy systems to be easily accessed by mobile devices.

Myth #3: Mobile app developers must keep up with a myriad of coding languages and frameworks – it's impossible

Learning new development languages in order to build individual apps for each device platform can be tedious, and for some enterprises entails constantly hiring fresh developers with different skill sets. According to Forrester, when creating hybrid cross-platform apps, developers often employ as many as 10 different coding languages for enterprise app development projects. Common coding languages required include HTML5, JavaScript, Objective C, C#, Sencha Touch and Node.js. and these don't even include languages proprietary to traditional MEAP platforms. To simplify development, developers can use mobile app platforms using a "Bring Your Own Toolkit" approach that allows them to use the languages and toolkits they are most comfortable with.

Myth #4: Enterprise apps are always data-heavy, placing high loads on handsets and backend systems

The best mobile app platforms take large amounts of data from the backend and transmit a small filtered set of data to the handset: reducing overall demands. For each enterprise app session, the size of data transferred for each app should be less than 1MB.

Myth #5: Having a "Chief of Mobility" is the best way to handle company-wide app development

This myth assumes that one central figure will successfully oversee app development and deployment across the enterprise. In reality, the average enterprise mobile app development project requires at least 20 personnel, including business heads, developers, project managers, IT and employees. By collaborating and using the same technology standards and requirements, a Mobile Centre of Excellence or Mobile Steering Committee can guide mobile projects across multiple business units without creating new silos.

Today's technology allows for the swift creation of apps without vendor lock-in should take advantage of the new technologies at their disposal. Agile, open, collaborative and powerful cloud-based mobile application platforms now render obsolete long-held notions around lengthy and complex app development and deployment.

Check out FeedHenry's infographic that outlines these 5 myths here!

 

The contact centre remains an important asset to many field service organisations, but like field service itself the contact centre is rapidly evolving. Here Gregoire Vigroux, European Marketing Director, TELUS International looks at what the call centre of tomorrow may look like... 

2014 is already almost unrecognisable from the call centre of 1984, 1994, even 2004. It is hard to think of a sector which has been through more change. Yet within the next few years we will witness another revolution in the contact centre world.

This matters to anyone in business. As more and more business processes are outsourced to specialist contact centres so increasingly the ability to find the best contact centre provider and then manage that resource is becoming a key business attribute. Your parents may have been evaluated on their ability to provide customer service, but you are more likely to be appraised on your ability to manage a customer service provider.

It pays then to be aware of how the sector is changing, and to be certain that you are working with a contact centre provider that is at the cutting edge of 2015 or 2016, not stuck in what is rapidly seen as the prehistoric days of 2012. Here then are five key changes to the contact sector that we will see taking place in the next few years.

Contact centres will be multinational

In the contact centre industry, only global players will be able to serve the multinationals. Globalisation is in full swing: in the contact centre field, as in many others, market integration and increasing international competition are realities. Successful contact centres are choosing to internationalise and become stronger financially in order to adapt to the new demands brought about by their clients’ international development.

Only global contact centres with platforms capable of serving dozens of languages, preferably from a single site, will be able to provide the global multilingual solution major contractors desire. In addition to this, the management of call centres has become more professionalised. Nowadays, this sector attracts more and more graduate managers and career consultants, compared to a few years ago when the field was occupied by small entrepreneurs.

Staff attrition will be yesterday’s problem

Staff retention has been a perennial problem for the contact centre industry. According to a study this year by the Everest Group Research, entitled The Business Impact of Contact Centre Attrition, it is possible to quantify the operational costs and loss of revenue directly caused by staff departure.

According to the study findings, "a typical U.S.-based 500-person contact centre with a 30 to 50% annual attrition rate could suffer a net loss of US$1-2 million in business value across cost and revenue over one year.” The issue of contact centre attrition rates is obviously not new to our industry. What changes, however, is industry leaders’ awareness of this topic, and ability to address it.

Generation Y has arrived

Generation Y (Gen Y) – those born between 1980 and 2000 – is the new labour force for the sector. These individuals already account for 80% of the total number of employees in some contact centres. This generation is also on the "other side of the phone", because its members are keen consumers, accounting for almost US$200 billion in spending per year worldwide.

Excellent multi-taskers. Generation Y grew up surrounded by computers, mobile devices and video games consoles. This generation is confident with technology but it also has a shorter attention span. The Internet puts everything at Gen Y’s fingertips. As a result, Gen Y has grown accustomed to rapid shifts in attention, with focus tending to wane after about 15 minutes.

 

Gen Y makes decisions based on consensus – usually by checking social media. Gen Y members are team players and love helping to solve complex problems collectively. Finally, for Gen Y the pay is not the only thing that counts. Understanding and being recognised for their individual value is what matters to most of them. Hence the importance of building a corporate culture that reflects the characteristics of this generation.

Corporate culture will be the key to success

Building a corporate culture that reflects the qualities of Generation Y is a major challenge for most companies. In contact centres we find many examples of highly motivated employees who have managed to positively affect the curves of certain brands’ customer satisfaction. Implementing a strong and consistent corporate culture is now taken more seriously by managers, since studies have shown its impact on profitability. Experience also teaches us that culture, to be effectively implemented, must be disconnected from service levels and purely financial incentive methods.

 

No longer a "sub-contractor", but a "value-adding partner"

To survive, contact centres can no longer limit themselves to being mere "suppliers" or "sub-contractors". Today, they must fully understand the processes of their clients and be able to evaluate and improve them. The goal is to deliver real economic levers to their clients, acting positively on costs, as well as on the quality and productivity of their work.

In addition, contact centres need to know their clients’ business and what their strengths, competitive advantages, weaknesses and challenges are so they can effectively serve and help them. Contact centres of the future will no longer be simple platforms mechanically applying procedures. A handful of companies in Europe have already anticipated this development, shaping their entire supervisory staff using Six Sigma methodology.

Welcome to the contact centre of the future, a multilingual and global player in which Generation Y will be the main driving force. Contractors’ search for a low-cost service and immediate gain will gradually fade, giving way to a more strategic model of outsourcing.

Based on the developments that we are gradually seeing taking place, the contact centre of the future will no longer be a "sub-contractor", much less a "mere executant": it will be a true strategic partner and an authentic brand ambassador.

Resource Type: White Paper
Published by: Exel Computer Systems

Title: Five benefits of a modern field service management system
About:  Understanding what benefits a modern field service management system can provide is vital if you are going to be able to secure the investment required from senior management to take improve the productivity of your field service operation. The following is compiled from extracts of that white paper

Download: Download the white paper by clicking here

It has been stated often and by many well respected industry commentators that a modern field service management solution is an essential tool for field service companies to operate efficiently...

It is imperative that companies no longer view the costs of such a system as an expense but an investment that can yield both increased revenue and reduced operational costs that will ultimately pay for itself.

A key element to building a successful case for securing the funds for that investment is understanding the benefits that a modern field service management can bring. In this white paper published by UK field service management specialists Exel Computer Systems we see five of the key benefits of a modern field service management solution.

1. Stock Visibility

Establishing a healthy cash-flow can be a challenge for companies of all sizes and stature and for field service companies one of this challenge is often magnified by costs being tied up in inventory.

A modern field service management system can provide visibility across the mobile workforce, something which would simply be impossible with either a manual system or an older technology platform. A modern field service management system will also help you identify which items are fast or slow moving helping to further extend a ‘Lean’ approach to inventory management.

2. Job Scheduling

Effective job scheduling sits at the centre of the argument for almost all modern field service management systems but in practice these fall into two separate categories which should be understood when selecting the field service management system that is right for your business.

At one end of the scale there is the simple ‘Call Allocation’ model, which does precisely what you would expect in that it simply allows an operator to decide which engineer gets which job based on their own guestimates. As you can imagine this model is heavily reliant on skilled operators.

At the other end of the scale is ‘Intelligent’ or ‘Dynamic’ scheduling which constantly rearranges the schedule automatically based on prescribed rules and data. As opposed to the ‘Call Allocation’ model which is reliant on human expertise an ‘Intelligent’ scheduler is reliant on having lots of incoming data which can be a costly exercise in terms of both initial resource and finance if it is to operate correctly.

Finally there is a newer, third type of system that bridges the gap and is becoming increasingly popular which is referred to as ‘Assisted Scheduling’. This combines the other two systems in that it utilises rules based logic to provide a suggested schedule but is adaptable by the operator. Understanding which type of system will benefit your organisation the most is an important factor in choosing the best field service management system for your organisation.

3. Time to Invoice

Ten years ago a delay of between 6-8 weeks between an engineer visit and an invoice reaching the customer was common place. As with understanding inventory, such a delay can put unnecessary strain on the P&L. With a modern field service management system the ability to invoice on a same day basis, even when the engineer is still onsite is very much a reality.

4. Costing

Keeping a track on costs is an essential, vital and fundamental element of any business. However, for companies with a field service division it is perhaps less transparent and therefore harder to achieve.

When workload doesn’t always necessarily mean profit then it is absolutely critical that you are able to have real-time access to the visibility of your costs alongside effective business reporting to allow you to measure and then manage. This is again a key benefit of a modern field service management system.

5. Customer Relationship Management

Okay so if we are completely honest the cliché that ‘the customer is always right’ may not always ring true in one thing is for certain, knowing and understanding your customers is the most effective way of doing business with them. A modern field service management system combines all the widely accepted benefits of a CRM system with the unique information relating to each interaction for every customer, including interactions with the field service engineers.

The greatest advantage is that this information is also available to every member of your mobile workforce, allowing for greater service as well as ensuring service contracts are up to date so work isn’t given away for free!

Want to know more? Click here to download the white paper and get further information on each of these benefits.

 

Poor service has become a commonplace scourge within the UK with service issues costing consumers nearly £15 billion a year research shows…

In fact over two thirds of UK customers (69%) have been frustrated by poor customer service, almost a half (46%) have demanded to speak to a supervisor and just over a third (34%) have stopped using the brand altogether.

These results are part of the findings from a global report by ClickSoftware, which was designed to assess what were the key frustrations faced by consumers.

Against a backdrop of recent ongoing billing problems with energy companies, over half (52%) of UK residents found utilities companies to be the most frustrating to deal with. It was found that spending over an hour trying to resolve an issue such as billing problem or a loss of power was a regular occurrence. In fact the average time people waited for a resolution was an incredible 4.3 hours.

Communication service providers were second on the list of poor service providers with over a quarter (29%) of consumers irritated at the amount of time they wasted with them. These were followed by Central Government (18%) and banking (15%), in third and fourth place respectively.

The economic impact of this sloppy service is not just restricted to the guilty parties however. UK workers are having to take time off to attend to matters during their working hours to resolve issues. The study revealed a total loss of nearly £15 billion a year, and an individual loss of almost £500 per person.

Then there is the emotional cost. Even the famously reserved British demeanour has it’s limits and over one in 10 (13%) of Brits have been driven so mad by bad service they have admitted to losing their cool and yelling at a service representative.

Meanwhile others have gone to extreme lengths to get better or quicker service, including lying (9%), crying to the service representative (real or fake tears) (4%) or even begging (3%).

Robert Williams, Vice President of UK & Ireland of ClickSoftware reflected on the findings commenting:

“This is a timely reminder for businesses that customer service is still one of the biggest factors in attracting and retaining customers,”

 

“Bad customer service is costing business up to a third of their revenue, and the knock on effect is that people are having to take precious holiday time just to deal with things that could and should be sorted much more easily.”

Aly Pinder, Senior Research Analyst at the Aberdeen Group and Field Service News columnist also commented:

“Ultimately, satisfied customers help drive retention and profitability for service organisations. Our research found those that reached a 90%+ customer satisfaction rate achieved an annual 6.1% growth in service revenue, 3.7% growth in overall revenue, and an 89% level of customer retention”

Meanwhile a separate research project, conducted by the CCA on behalf of Customer Engagement Optimisation specialists KANA indicated that the majority of UK organisations are dramatically underestimating the link between customer service and revenue.

 The survey of UK Contact Centre Association (CCA) members included respondents from a wide and diverse blend of varying industry verticals including financial services, retail and local government. Perhaps the most striking finding of this research was that less than half (40%) of those in senior management believed that customer service was key to driving revenue. In fact a fifth of respondents felt there was little or even no focus on customer service at a senior level.

 

Other findings of the survey also showed a distinct lack of appreciation of the link between customer service and the bottom line. Again well under half (41%) paid significant attention to the level the revenue they lost as a result of poor customer service. Incredibly, one in ten companies do not measure the financial implications of poor customer service at all.

The research also highlights what call centre agents perceive as key barriers to providing a better service: outdated systems, lack of investment, agent skills gaps and a lack of understanding or support at a senior level.

Unfortunately, the contact centre is often seen as an operational expense and nothing more,” says Steven Thurlow, head of worldwide product strategy for KANA. “Often, senior management will review functional aspects, such as speed of handling times and resolution times. This approach is unlikely to drive further investment and instead maintains a focus on efficiency above all else. Fast service and good customer experiences are not always the same thing.”

However, whilst it seems that Customer Service in the UK is suffering from poor standards whilst being woefully overlooked as a key factor in ensuring and growing revenue streams, yet further study has revealed clear evidence that there is an intrinsic link between customer satisfaction and business success.

In fact research conducted by Trimble Field Service Management highlighted that 71% of field service organisations use customer satisfaction as the main metric to measure the performance of their business. A recent industry report based around research commissioned by Trimble highlighted that there was a proven link between customer satisfaction, retention and profitability.

 

So are we facing a true disconnect between the impact customer service can have on field service businesses and the attention it gets within senior management? Are these frustrations related solely to the call centre or are they reflected in the levels of service delivered on the doorstep also?

We’re currently running a short survey ourselves which aims to assess the survey standards of companies in the field. If you want to find out how your standards compare to your competitors then take two minutes to complete the survey to receive a free copy of the benchmark report based on the results when published.

Also thanks to our sponsor on this project TomTom Telematics there is also a prize draw with three £50 Amazon vouchers available.

Click here to complete the survey and enter the prize draw now.

DA Systems' David Upton looks at how we must try to change the perception of technology costs from an expense to be justified to a necessary investment when approaching the board...

Recent research undertaken to understand attitudes towards investing in technology highlighted a generic problem within the transport and logistics industry. Companies all appreciate the benefits mobile technology can bring, yet they are not succeeding in securing the necessary investment required from business leadership. Why? Because technological investment is seen as an expense to be justified rather than an investment in reducing costs and generating more profits.

It was a problem for 80% of survey respondents, 88% of whom said that they wanted to introduce new mobile technology, but faced budget restrictions.

This suggests a further underlying issue because it means that they are not developing a compelling enough business case to address the return on investments to be expected. If they were, the funds would be flowing more freely. Most business cases centre on increasing revenue.

Obviously there is a revenue element to consider, but the primary advantage of mobile technology is that it increases the likelihood of a parcel being delivered first time around – which minimises some of the largest costs associated with business operations. This article explains how to develop a business case for technological investment and prioritises the benefits.

In the case of investing in mobile technology to provide customers with an estimated time of delivery to reduce the cost of failed deliveries, building a compelling business case should be relatively straightforward. The overall impetus should be cost reduction, with a focal point of preventing the cost of a missed first time delivery. This is estimated in the region of £23 per drop and causes a very significant erosion to profit margins when it isn’t achieved.

On average, 15% of deliveries fail on the first attempt because the customer was not aware of the delivery time, which could be managed by adopting mobile technology. Even absorbing the inefficiencies of a slightly empty delivery van because orders that have been pre-loaded get cancelled, is better than the cost of a missed delivery.

 

Optimising a delivery round to take the most economical route means saving on fuel, mileage time and being able to do more drops per vehicle. In turn this means a reduction in the number of drivers and vehicles, which again saves money. So taking all these factors into consideration, the emphasis in a business case should be on technology, which is self-financing, with payback achieved within the first year of investment at the latest.

Taking DPD as a good example of how costs can be reduced and revenues increased as a result of technological improvements, they have grown sales by over £100 million as a result of implementing ETA messaging. Of course enhancing customer interaction is an important factor, but the real benefit is derived from getting deliveries right first time and reducing the cost base.

If 15% of operational costs can be saved by getting deliveries right first time, achieving better optimisation of delivery routes and requiring fewer journeys means fewer drivers are required. And courier productivity levels can be further increased by using route optimisation software, which in turn can reduce the number of miles to be driven by 10%.

For a large delivery company with a £16 million fuel bill, this creates the potential to save up to £1.6 million on fuel costs. Given their profit margin is roughly 10%, this creates a net increase to the total bottom line of 10%, a huge bonus.

To quote another delivery company example, after it implemented route optimisation, fleet mileage was cut by 17% and overall fleet size was reduced by 7%. This is the type of rationale that needs to be used in a business case for technological investment, going beyond customer and branding benefits to deliver hard cost savings and potential for greater profits.

So far we have outlined just a few of the solid cost saving justifications to be included in a business case for investing in new technology and there are many more, ranging from improved communication with call centre staff and traffic management options, to reduced fuel consumption.

When developing a business case, delivery companies need to be clear about the tangible benefits and turn the way they approach investing in technology around. Think of it as less of ‘an expenditure to be justified’ and more as a way to make greater profits with immediate payback.