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Field Service News has recently been undertaking a piece of research in partnership with Tesseract to assess the appetite for attempts to assess the appetite in the field service industry for moving software to the cloud and utilising a Software as a Service (SaaS) as a delivery mechanism for field service software.

With the survey closing at the end of the week we thought we would give you a sneak peak at the results so far and remind you one last time that you to can help us build the picture of the field service industry today.

The survey itself is a maximum of 12 questions long, should take no more than a few minutes to complete and all respondents will not only be given an exclusive copy of the report findings but also be entered into our prize draw to win one of three Fifty pound Amazon vouchers!

 

Click here to enter the survey now!

 

Some key findings of the survey so far include the fact that whilst there is an undoubted buzz around cloud solutions and the SaaS model the shift to cloud computing hasn’t really happened on a grand scale as yet with 77% of companies surveyed still using an on premise solution for their field service management software.

The old fear of security issues in the cloud still apparently looms large in the minds of those decision makers in the field service industry with almost half (48%) of companies that have not opted to move their field service management system to the cloud citing security as a key worry that is holding them back.

However, there are bigger obstacles holding back the shift to the cloud it would seem. Almost three quarters (74%) of the field service companies that participated within the research to date identified that a key reason for not choosing cloud models so far are that they foresee compatibility issues with their existing systems and software.

What would seem apparent is that whilst the shift to the cloud hasn’t taken hold as dramatically as some may have predicted quite yet, it does seem somewhat inevitable that their will be a continued and steady growth in companies moving across to a cloud based system within the next few years.

For a start we see that of those companies now utilising a cloud based solution almost two thirds (57%) have changed software systems within just three years. This would suggest that as companies refresh their field service system the majority are moving towards cloud based solutions.

This fact is further emphasised when we see that over half (54%) of those companies that are currently using an on-premise solution are actively considering moving to a cloud based solution already when they next upgrade their field service management system.

One of the biggest reasons for this shift is the easy remote access that the cloud offers. Over two thirds (68%) of those companies that are considering moving to a cloud based solution cited this as one of the key factors for doing so.

They may suffer some problems when making the move, depending on how quickly the technology continues to move forward. Currently just under two thirds (60%) of companies operating a SaaS system have experienced some problems with connectivity, which would be expected of a system that is reliant on internet strength across varying regions but of course this will become less and less of a problem as network coverage continues to expand both on the local and international level.

Yet our research predicts that those opting for a cloud based field service management system are almost guaranteed success as 100% of companies that have implemented a cloud based solution indicated that they would recommend moving from on premise to SaaS/cloud based field service management systems to others.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree? Take a few minutes to enter the survey before it closes and have a chance of winning one of three £50 Amazon vouchers!

 

We live in an increasingly mobile world – how often you are at your desk when a crisis occurs? Where are your colleagues? Do they work in different offices and do they support your business continuity efforts? Teon Rosandic, VP EMEA, xMatters takes a look at then need for a virtual team strategy in modern business... 

Disasters can occur anytime and everyone may not be able to get to a physical location to manage the incident.  When an emergency occurs, we need to pull together teams, assess the incident, develop a plan of action and work the plan.  The team’s role is to manage and monitor the response, as well as the recovery of the business.

The primary function of any Incident Management Team is to establish and manage the Six Cs: Control, Command, Communication, Collaboration, Coordination, and Consistency.

Why do you need a Virtual Team and Process?

Primarily, because the world is mobile and employees may be dispersed, so there’s a threat of a pandemic or transportation is difficult.

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Virtual Team

1. No waiting – A virtual team allows you to manage the event immediately rather than waiting for the team to assemble in a location.
2. Flexibility – Plans, teams, and processes can be changed easily in a virtual world and meet the fast changing demands of a disaster.
3. Location – Team members can participate regardless of where they are, as long as they have access to a tool.
4. Redundancy – If your facility is damaged or not available, response is not delayed.
5. Cost effective – The cost of being mobile may be less than maintaining a physical space.
6. Efficient communication – Relevant teams can get updates in real time, view “live” status boards and hear or participate in briefings.
7. Timely resource deployment – Resources can be deployed quickly and efficiently, reducing response time, making recovery faster.
8. Safe - If there’s a disease outbreak

So if virtual centres are so great, why doesn’t everyone have one? Often, utilities are affected after a major disaster.  A virtual team is dependent on power, phones, computers, networks and the company’s data centre.

Processes and procedures

For any process to be effective, you need to have a plan.  If your processes and procedures are not thought-out, the virtual road will be full of obstacles. So, if the current team is a train-wreck, the virtual one will be a nightmare!

Virtual or physical, it is essential to carefully craft the following processes:

1. Roles and responsibilities – You need discipline and clearly identified processes. Everyone should know what he or she should do, and what other team members are responsible for. Using team checklists is useful for this. Think carefully about team organisation and use a well-honed methodology, such as the Incident Command System.
2. A well-defined process and criteria for incident assessment and activation. Have a team including facilities, security, and technology with key leadership showing in responsibility matrix.  We advocate the team discuss issues related to: Life safety, Facilities, Technology, Mission-critical business and Reputation.
3. Incident Action Planning meetings are essential and include documentation of current situation status, development of strategic objectives, assignment of objectives to a team owner, and the time and duration of the operational period. They are shared with those working on the issues and/or in senior management using mobile technology.
4. Ability to track status so you don’t overlook necessary tasks. Depending on the tool or platform you use, you could use virtual status boards giving privileges to team members or update the boards with current status and action steps.
5. During an incident, it is critical to gain awareness from multiple sources including: Employees, News sources and Social Media.
6. Team Notification, including timely and efficient notification of team members and business unit recovery staff is important and might be worth considering emergency notification system.
7. Integration of maps, floor plans, and real-time images must be easily found and available in a mobile/virtual setting.
8. Resource deployment and logistics tracking of physical equipment such as laptops, mobile phones, and office space and personnel.

What Type of Technology Do You Need?

It takes more than one phone-bridge to be successful.  One bridge per team should be created for the Initial Assessment Team, Incident Management Team, and senior management.  Where possible, this should also include Command, Operations, Logistics, Planning & Intelligence and Finance.

Tools are needed to facilitate online communication and include:

• Instant messaging  – On the company’s network or products such as Skype, instant messaging allows teams to talk in real time, allowing instant communication, coordination, and collaboration.
• Project management tools – Products such as SharePoint allows teams to work virtually, track actions, and document progress.
• Web-enabled meeting tools – Products including NetMeeting and WebEx can assist in facilitating virtual briefings and team organisation.

Many smartphones have advanced the state-of the- art of mobile incident management with apps that can: Store and recall plans, team definitions, roles and responsibilities, task lists, contact information.  They can also enable communication and collaboration processes leveraging hosted services and native smartphone capabilities for redundancy.

A virtual team, whether stand-alone or with an existing physical team and Command Centre, offers many advantages. If you can design a virtual process that embraces the Six Cs: Control, Command, Communication, Collaboration, Coordination, and Consistency, you’re almost there. Time to jump in and go mobile!

In part one of this exclusive interview with Telogis' Sergio Barata we learnt both about his personal background and the background of the company. In this second part of this three part series we discuss the growth of Telogis and the technology that makes Sergio tick.

FSN: With the launch of progression a few years ago Telogis stepped much more firmly into the field service software arena rather than solely fleet management. We have seen similar moves from other companies with a fleet technology background such as Trimble and TomTom, are the lines blurring between mobile workforce management and fleet management technologies?

SB:There is no doubt that telematics on its own is a pretty competitive space with a low barrier to entry. I think Trimble, TomTom, Telogis, companies like this, have taken that next step of investment in terms of R&D in trying to develop a more holistic approach. I do think that the companies that win will be those that offer true value to any organisation.

FSN: Since 2009 Telogis has been on the acquisitions trail with the purchase of Darby, Remote Dynamics, Integris, Onboard Advisor, Maptuit and Navtrak across just three years. How have the acquisitions of these companies shaped Telogis’ own development both as a company and also in terms of your product lines?

SB: We have been fairly aggressive in our acquisitions, having secured companies for either market share or for more depth in a particular segment of the market place. For instance we acquired Maptuit as a very dynamic navigation technology that we have integrated into the rest of our offering. We are always monitoring the UK market to see what makes sense.

FSN: One of these acquisitions, Onboard Advisor was a risk reduction product and you subsequently partnered with Travelers Insurance on their IntelliDrive fleet safety program. How important is technology in improving driver safety?

SB: The telematics driver-profiling element is essentially a tool for our largest customers, the enterprise fleets, to help bring in behavioural change that will increase opportunities to save on fuel and insurance costs.

We look for technology that allows us to engage the drivers directly in an innovative way to help manage and improve their driving behaviour; the idling, how they drive - sudden braking, acceleration, their speed. We then needed tools and dashboards to take that underlying data and the driver profiles to help large organisations change business practices to make improvements.

Certainly Onboard Advisor and the tie up with insurance telematics has been very important for us and our largest accounts, which have global fleets that deal with these issues and can now take advantage of this approach.

FSN: What was the first piece of technology that made a huge impression on you both personally and in a work environment?

SB: I think the biggest impression on me personally as well as the workplace, has been my iPhone.

Working in a technology led industry I got into smart phones and the Internet early. I’ve always been an early adopter but I don’t think anything has changed the way I think as when first picked up my iPhone. I had Nokia N70s, Blackberrys and so on, but nothing has been as complete, as easy to use and as seamless as the iPhone. 

 

Read part one of this interview here

Find out more about Telogis in our online directory here

Moving the field service division from being a cost centre to a profit centre is a shift that many companies are trying to undertake and something most service management experts suggest wherever possible.

There are fantastic opportunities for establishing revenue streams from your field service engineers but remember you employed them for their technical skills not their outstanding flair for sales. In fact, the likelihood is that many members of your mobile workforce may not be natural salesman and may find these additional requirements outside of their comfort zone.

To help you encourage your field service engineers to be more comfortable with the added expectation of becoming revenue generators Field Service News looks at five tips that you can role out to your field service engineers to help them grow and nurture their inner salesman.

Remember that the field service engineer is the expert

Field service engineers are knights in shining armour. Invariably they have been dispatched to fix a problem in your customers’ lives. Whether it be in the working environment or the home environment, your field service engineers are the experts that will get your customers’ back on track. As such they are given trusted advisor status from the moment they arrive on site.

Perhaps the most important and often hardest thing for a salesman to achieve is to gain the trust of their prospective clients. The field service engineer with their status as trusted advisor has broken down this first barrier immediately and is therefore in a great position to sell additional services or products.

Field service engineers who may not feel comfortable selling in a direct face to face environment (which can certainly be daunting for the inexperienced) should be reminded of their ‘trusted advisor’ status and be encouraged to draw confidence from this elevated position. In sales, confidence is absolutely everything.

Honesty is ALWAYS the best policy

Okay so your field service engineer is aware of the power of his position as a trusted advisor and is a super confident natural salesman.

Great, this gives him a perfect opportunity for that first time sale but as any good sales organisation will attest, whilst the first sales is important it is repeat business from your customer base that is absolutely vital to future proof your business.

Therefore it is essential that your field service engineer doesn’t taint the image of trusted advisor and only uses his position to sell your client products or services that are of genuine value to them.

Your clients are not stupid and if they are sold something that they didn’t necessarily need or at a price that is out of kilter with standard market rates, more often than not they won’t bother phoning you up to complain, they’ll simply take their business elsewhere.

However, if your field service engineer provides your clients with solutions to problems they need on a fair and honest basis, you will find that repeat sales will remain steady for years and years.

Don’t try to be a SALESMAN

If we were to ask you to describe a salesman how many of you would say loud tie, cocky attitude, and with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of cheesy lines? (Looking just like the chap at the top of this feature perhaps?)

Well, for a start remember not all salesmen are estate agents or second hand car dealers.

In fact you’ll probably find that those estate agents or second hand car dealers that fit into this stereotype of the ‘classic’ salesman are amongst the poorest performing in their respective field.

Whilst there are a number of sales techniques whether it be SPIN, AIDCA, DIPIDA or any of other acronym out there, the simple fact remains that the best sales people play to their strengths and are just themselves.

Sales needn’t be any more complicated than understanding your customers’ problem and offering them a solution. Your field service engineers should be better placed than any salesman to achieve this and don’t need to try to be something they’re not.

Educate your field service engineers on all your products

Your company may operate a number of related or even disparate solutions and your field service engineers are perfectly placed to cross sell if they have a broader understanding of your full product set beyond their own area of expertise.

Field service engineers are the greatest conduit that you have to your customers.

They are right there, talking to customers face to face, with a unique opportunity to gain insight into their needs. Whilst their primary role is to remedy a problem, and their secondary role may be a direct sale, a potential third role could be to be to open up cross selling opportunities into other areas of the business.

For example whilst recently having a field service engineer visit me to fix an issue with my phone line, I got into a conversation about broadband speeds.

The field service engineer was knowledgeable and gave me some good advice about moving to fibre optic internet (as well as other options for improving my broadband). He also worked for a rival company to my current broadband provider.

If he had been able to arrange an appointment for me to get fibre optic broadband installed I probably would have scheduled something there and then. If he had been able to arrange a call with a member of his company’s broadband sales team I would probably have agreed to a call and would have been a very warm prospect.

As it was he did neither and the likelihood is I will now remain with my existing provider and upgrade my service, because it is the easier option for me and I like most consumers will opt for the solution that requires the least hassle.

Yet had the field service engineer had the tools and incentive he could have sold me into another service his company provide as he had the knowledge and opportunity.

Give them the tools to succeed.

Which leads us into our final point, if you want to your field service engineers to become revenue generators, you need to give them the tools they need to achieve this. Fortunately the technology is all there waiting for you.

Key needs will include form creation and signature capture, access to ordering systems and of course payment collection. All of these can be found as apps that sit on smart devices operating on both Android and Apple’s iOS and can sit on a plethora of devices .

However, perhaps the most important consideration is to establish a transparent means of communication and interaction across all divisions of the company.

Whether this is a sophisticated cloud based end-to-end software solution or a simpler processed based solution that makes use of your existing assets, if you are expecting your field service engineers to become revenue generators you need to give them the tools to succeed.

 

 

When the Spice Girls arrived on the scene some 18 years ago (has it really been that long?) they predicted that what we wanted, what we really, really wanted was a Zigazgaarrr (whatever the hell that is). To be frank, that prediction hasn't come to much fruition. However, Feed Henry CEO Cathal McGloin's assertion that multiple OS and a choice of devices is what we really, really want (in field service at least) carries a bit more weight and may 'spice' up field workers' mobile experience...

In the beginning

Traditionally, field service teams have been equipped with rugged mobile devices, running some flavour of Microsoft's compact operating systems (generally either Windows CE or Windows Mobile), to allow engineers to tick off work orders and update inventory. Defacto wireless devices have been rugged, heavy notebooks or tablets, with limited functions and based on proprietary or embedded technologies.

Greater expectations

As field service employees have enjoyed their own consumer smartphones and tablets, their expectations of workplace mobility have changed.  Industrial handhelds appear archaic next to the latest Android or iOS smart devices. This is driving a shift towards acceptance of consumer mobile devices as the new rugged industrial mobile handheld. Attendees at the Field Service Europe Conference held in Amsterdam last October, were polled on their investment plans for workforce management and mobility. In the resulting 2014 European Services & Trends report, 43 per cent of decision makers reported that they were allocating budget to providing tablets to their field service teams, while 33 per cent reported that they were investing in smartphones.

It’s a hard knocks life

Despite being more expensive, Windows ruggedised devices had the edge over smart devices from Nokia, BlackBerry, Samsung and Apple, because their operating systems could not support field service apps such as Cognito and SAP. In addition, Microsoft devices were well-supported by an array of peripherals such as handheld printers, scanners and bar code readers. However, Microsoft failed to gain traction with Windows Phone, its successor to Windows Mobile, opening the door to Android, iOS and Blackberry to step in to the market. In terms of app development for smart devices, cross-platform solutions and toolkits have made app development faster, more affordable and easier, while also enabling apps that run on multiple OS platforms. While the newer smartphones and tablets provide attractive user interfaces and much richer functionality, some level of ruggedness is necessary to avoid downtime caused by battery life and the harsh working environments that field service employees operate in. Some organisations have addressed this by using rugged covers for consumer devices. VDC Research analyst, David Krebs, has highlighted problems with the ruggedisation of smartphones and tablets using simple covers. He points to their lack of robustness when field service employees are working in damp and dusty environments; problems when employees try to operate swipe screens while wearing protective gloves; poor battery life and device failures caused by vibration, knocks and temperature extremes. Conversely, ABI research found that the total cost of ownership (TCO) of a smartphone-based mobile field service strategy was up to 85% less than alternative rugged device deployments. These savings come from the smartphones' lower hardware costs, as well as increases in efficiency, owing to their connectivity, usability and portability, not to mention the lower cost and greater flexibility of app development.

Best of both worlds

When asked, most field service employees want the appearance and ease of use of consumer devices, combined with the robustness, stability and battery life of a traditional field service device, running apps that help them to work more efficiently. What we have to remember is that not every field service employee is working in a damp, dusty tunnel. Different roles demand different devices. In the same report 66 per cent of respondents stated that their organisations now view field service as a profit centre rather than a cost centre. As a result, we are starting to see enterprise demand for apps that can work across different devices and multiple operating systems, so that field service employees can select the devices that make them most productive.

Enterprisation of consumer devices in field service

We have worked with logistics, rail infrastructure and construction companies, that are starting to adopt new robust devices from Panasonic, CAT, Samsung, powered by Android. Even Apple devices are starting to make an appearance. These Android and iOS devices have a much larger pool of app developers and ISVs to feed them, as well as the availability of more modern software toolkits to accelerate the app development, deployment and update cycles. Legacy Windows apps appear very limited when compared to the latest field service apps being written for these smart devices. Typically, these enterprises have field service departments employing hundreds or thousands of skilled people, performing a variety of roles. Working with an enterprise mobile application platform provider like FeedHenry, these organisations are able to rapidly develop, deploy and maintain a range of sophisticated apps, tailored to a range of job roles within their field service departments. These apps can be managed on premise, or cloud-side, regardless of the devices selected by their engineers, quantity surveyors, foremen, crane drivers, radio and radar specialists and electricians.

Ask field service employees what they really want

From speaking to our own customers, the critical considerations for a sound field service mobile strategy are: 

• Seek input from actual end users before specifying device type and app functionality. The trend is towards a multiple OS environment, so plan for this in terms of sustainability and portability.
• Select open standards so as to increase the available pool of developers, access to developer toolkits, code re-use,while avoiding vendor lock-in
• It’s not just about creating an app. Consider the whole app lifecycle and how this is managed. Apps, by their nature, require frequent updates and upgrades so choosing an infrastructure that supports this will quickly pay off.
• Evaluate your enterprise data capture and backend system integration requirements The ability to unleash data efficiently, securely and seamlessly to the device is critical.
• Consider the durability and environmental conditions that the devices will have to withstand. Protective cases help but do not always address the full spectrum of device durability issues such as exposure to extreme temperatures, dust and vibration. However, expect that innovations will give consumer devices a better fit for these harsh environments.

ABI Research has found that the primary benefits that drove lower TCO for ruggedised smartphones were improved worker productivity and lower device costs. Productivity benefits were achieved through the longer battery life of smartphones, integrated mobile voice and data connectivity and the ability to push application updates over the air. Smartphone device costs are as much as eight times less than rugged devices. Even considering the higher replacement rate for smartphones, ABI has found that lower lifetime hardware costs are a key driver for companies choosing smartphones over rugged handhelds for their mobile field force applications.

Back to the Future

According to a recent report into mobile workers’ device preferences, undertaken by Aruba networks, 45 per cent reported that they want to be able to connect and communicate with the business from their cars. A fifth of the survey sample stated that they want their employers’ to provide them with wearable technology within the next five years. When organisations use an end-to-end mobile application platform (MAP), field service employees can gain the freedom to select the right device for their job, without sacrificing any app functionality. This is because MAPs securely link enterprise back end systems with mobile apps that can support multiple OS and various device form factors, so employees can select the device that is most appropriate to their working environment. Meanwhile, enterprises gain the ability to plan their mobile app strategies to support current and future devices, without having to redevelop code for every new batch of devices.

 

 

Having become a regular member of the Deloitte Fast Track 500 Telogis have become a firmly established leading provider in the US. Field Service News caught up with Sergio Barata, the man tasked with leading the charge into the United Kingdom.

FSN: You have been involved with Telogis since they launched in the UK. Firstly could you tell us a bit about your own background and also the approach you took when introducing what was a successful US product to the UK market?

SB: I moved to the UK just over ten years ago when first working for a mobile start-up and have worked in the LBS (location based services) space ever since. 

Initially starting in pure Geo Spatial technology, I find myself now immersed in the sector. I joined Telogis back in 2008, having just come from another US based software company where I had spent time localising and refocusing their key capabilities for the UK.  On joining Telogis, I had some specific views on how we should launch the company here – the leadership team understood and bought into the fact that we would have to localise correctly if we were to launch in such a competitive environment.

We initially started with our GeoBase product, thinking that if we could correctly localise and licence this within the UK as we have done in the US, we would have a strong platform to build upon. Once the underlying technology was in place, we could introduce the rest of our SaaS solution which is all built around this.

Since the early days Telogis has grown rapidly both in the UK and wider.  When I started at Telogis we had around 120 people in the whole organisation, now we have nearly 500. In the UK we have just moved into our new facility, which will allow us to continue to grow substantially.

FSN: With Telogis only being founded in 2001, you are in relative terms still a young company within the field service industry. Do you think this gives you an advantage in being able to build a cloud based solution from the ground up rather than having to adapt a legacy solution?

SB: We launched as a SaaS company, which in 2001 was quite a brave thing to do. Browser adoption, both as a way of working and technologically still wasn’t quite there - but that quickly shifted. The vision our founders had clearly worked. Around 2005/6 all our competitors had essentially become organisations supporting their customers in the field - not black boxes but servers with their software running on them, so their ability to innovate was hampered. Being cloud-based has meant we didn’t have these issues.

The other critical decision we made was not to develop our own hardware and to remain hardware agnostic. This has meant that our R&D budgets have been focused on the data, the software and our platform, which we are now selling as a strategic approach.

I think not having an incumbent legacy, adopting the hardware agnostic approach and choosing to be SaaS from day one has allowed us to remain innovative and scalable, which has been a key part of our success to date.

FSN: You recently wrote an article for Field Service News in which you talked about the platform approach, something we are hearing more and more of within the industry. Do you think this model, i.e. working with one provider for multiple solutions is likely to be the future for field service software?

SB: We certainly see the benefits of it!

When we meet customers we find many burdened with costly overheads and challenges of integration, even to the extent that they are not meeting the ROIs and initial business case. The costs that it takes to get systems to talk to each other can be significant.

There are also other elements: different companies have different commercial models - our telematics is a subscription model, making it straightforward to cost and manage. Other systems often have capital expenditure costs upfront and deploying different systems and suppliers efficiently can be very challenging.

We think starting with one part of a solution and then integrating other elements is the right approach. We never advocate the ‘big bang’ approach to implementing a complete solution - it’s not commercially or even technically feasible to embrace a whole system at once. Our strategy is based around ‘lets put one piece of the solution in and then work with you on building a longer term strategy and at the end you will come out with a holistic approach.’

The other question we address is the integration of our systems - the telematics, the routing and scheduling - with the customers’ systems that they have already deployed. We have some interesting platform tools, middleware/application programme interfaces that are essentially self-help modules that we can offer our customers to help this integration.

 These may be scripted alerting, customised reporting on driver stats or just workflow management that actually allows them to translate data between our solutions and their other systems. Integration can become seamless – there are even situations where they don’t even need to log into our system, they are just communicating with the cloud and getting the data straight out of it.

Look out for the next part of this exclusive interview coming soon...

Want to know more about Telogis? Check out their page in the Field Service News Online Directory here

It has long been known that field service organisations can utilise technology to reduce costs, boost efficiency and improve the productivity of their mobile workforce. But knowing exactly how to make the most of the technology and opportunities out there is not so black and white. Lucien Wynn, Managing Director of Oneserve discusses...

The last couple of years have brought mobile technology on in leaps and bounds, and as such there is now a plethora of options out there for utilising mobile technologies to improve workforce management. Organisations with a mobile workforce can, for example, use software installed on mobile devices to keep their technicians updated with all the information they need while in the field. Jobs can be updated, instant feedback on the progress of jobs can be provided and the technicians’ exact location can be tracked, all in real time. But implementing the right solution can be a challenge.

The importance of keeping up with the mobile revolution has not gone unnoticed; the 2013 Workforce Management Guide produced by the Aberdeen Group showed that 57% of organisations sampled viewed investing in mobile tools as a priority. Of course, investing in new gadgets alone is not enough, so what else should be considered when thinking about a new investment in technology?

Getting the mobile workforce to buy-in

The first step in making sure you achieve what you set out to when investing in new technology is to gain buy-in from those who will be using it. Without that, it will never be utilised properly and thus wasted. According to research from the Aberdeen Group, 67% of Best-in-Class field service organisations regarded gaining buy-in from their field service technicians as the most important aspect in ensuring the timely and effective deployment of a mobile solution. If your employees are involved in the decision-making process and know what they are getting when new technology is rolled out, they’ll be ready for it and much more likely to react positively to the change.

The impact on the organisation as a whole

The second step is to take a holistic approach to new investments in technology – consider the impact on your whole organisation, not just part of it. Even if new technology is only being deployed in a certain department, at some point it is likely to have an impact elsewhere. For example, consider a new piece of accounting software being used in the finance department – you’d be forgiven for assuming that it would never affect your field service technicians. But that may well not be true – imagine if it had an impact on the way expenses had to be submitted; everyone in the company who had to make expenses claims on a regular basis, including workers in the field, would be affected.

Short-term vs long-term

Another consideration should be the long-term impact of the new technology. Could it lead to an improvement in the way your business functions for many years to come? If so, don’t let worries about its impact in the short-term prevent you from adopting the technology. Most organisations, big and small, will experience some teething problems with new technology initially, but it often just takes a little time to bed in before it yields positive results. Of course, you will need to take into account both the potential long-term and short-term impacts on your business, but if the former outweigh the latter, then by all means you should do what you can to push the adoption of the new technology.

In summary, then, if you are to effectively utilise technology to increase the efficiency of your mobile workforce you’ll need to consider various factors. Of those mentioned above, perhaps the most important is gaining buy-in to the technology from your field workers. They’ve got to want to use the technology you supply them with, and are much more likely to do so if they know how it will help them in their daily jobs (they also, of course, need to know how to use it). Without that, you could be left with both an underutilised new technology and an underproductive workforce.

Of course, it’s also very important to consider how new technology will impact on your whole business, and not just those who it affects directly. If you’re making a big investment, it is inevitable that it will have an impact on the entire business so bear this in mind. At the same time, don’t let a big change put you off – if you think the move is right, go ahead with it.

Finally, remember to take a long-term view. Sometimes the cost of making a new investment in software or technology can seem high and lead you to question whether it is worth it. But consider what benefits the investment could bring over the next 1, 3 and 5 years and then take a fresh look – you may be surprised at the long term benefits it will bring.

The delivery of services and products today has changed beyond recognition, whether a consumer or a business user. The internet has created new ways of engaging with customers, with social media continuing to rise in stature as a customer support platform.  Such changes have created new heights in customer expectation levels across the whole supply chain.

The key to retaining the loyalty of a customer depends not only on the initial buying experience, but with after sales support this is equally as critical, if not more so.

Perception of after sales support

In many cases after sales support is seen as a cost to a manufacturer rather than the forefront of the customer experience. Such businesses therefore spend as little capital as possible to support any product failures within a warranty period, much to the anger of the consumer.

Such issues increase in severity when failures occur after the product warranty has expired, Manufacturers who don’t value the importance of after sales service absolve themselves of all responsibility, despite the fact that it’s their branding.

This approach to after sales support is unacceptable as the requirement of the customer is disregarded as meaningless, which in turn negatively affects brand recognition as word of such poor customer care spreads among the target audience.

This is of course the traditional way that manufacturers have set up after sales support for their products; a disparate, siloed service supply chain created as an afterthought, to support this limited process.

Setting an example

There are of course brands which are marvels at customer service, offering after sales support even once a warranty has expired, refusing to leave their valued customers out of pocket.

These customers often become advocates even when their product breaks based purely on their experience with a business’ after sales support and repair process. Companies that rely on hardware to offer services could risk losing clients if they are without machines for a lengthy time period so efficient resolution is a necessity.

However, examples of such exceptional after sales support are sadly few and far between, with many businesses simply outsourcing the repair service to a third party; washing their hands of the customer at the first possible opportunity.

Using this approach creates an assumptive supply chain where multiple suppliers rely on other businesses performing the action they are contracted to do. Each part of this siloed approach has no real affinity or connection to a customer, it is simply a process.

This is a perfect example of the small-minded attitude some companies have towards after sales support. Businesses now look only for a low cost, rapid solution without considering how customer experience and harm to brand reputation can last years beyond the product warranty.

The time to modernise is now

It is clear that traditional thinking within the services supply chain is flawed and must be challenged. Simply outsourcing after sales support to numerous third parties doesn’t take customer satisfaction into account. This is unacceptable.

The solution therefore is to streamline after sales service, eradicating the disparate elements of after sales support and offering a customer first, demand driven service. I see this as the future of after sales; guaranteeing correctly skilled field engineers with the required parts to resolve any issues will be on site within the service level agreement.

Like all concepts, traditionalist resistance will be ferocious, but inevitably futile. The current system is not fit for purpose and I challenge anyone to demonstrate it is.

Customers will profit from such an evolving service supply chain moving away from the cost process mentality, which has impaired customer satisfaction, towards a whole lifecycle product support strategy.

No longer will consumers find themselves forced to replace broken hardware once its warranty has expired. An innovative, forward thinking structure within the service supply chain should offer lifetime support.

Modernisation is long overdue and businesses must change the way they approach after sales support, or risk being left behind by companies willing to accept that the traditional service supply chain continues to fail on all counts.

The late Steve Downton was widely regarded as one of the service industries truly great thinkers. His forward outlook on how the industry can and must evolve has helped shape many best in class service organisations over the years and we are pleased to be able to offer you the opportunity to download this excellent white paper commissioned by Exel Computer Systems and written by Steve.

The paper explores exactly why fully integrated solutions can now be seen as the only effective way forward for those companies who are aspiring to achieve best in the class levels of service. It examines how the companies recognised for delivering service excellence are achieving success through taking full advantage of the technology available and utilising it to create effective and streamlined processes, taking full advantage of the ability to widen the individuals knowledge base and capabilities through a fully integrated approach.

The paper looks at the importance of the fully empowered customer, who have the power at their fingertips to assess not only your company but your customers as well. In todays environment it is essential to be seen as being efficient and effective. Customers’ expect a joined-up experience and offer little understanding if they meet with poor processes which ultimately lead to a poor customer experience.

However, integrated service delivery puts us on the cusp of a completely new way of doing business that actually provides value for the customer and the service provider alike. The paper highlights the importance of breaking down the siloes that are the legacy of outdated, old-style thinking and building clear transparency across the core operations of a business such as service, logistics and call centre.

When this is achieved and the service operation is fully integrated with the other elements of the organisation, a company can become ‘super charged’ in terms of reducing effort (cost/time) whilst simultaneously improving the service experience for customers and staff alike.

As the paper continues Steve outlines how such an integrated approach cannot only bring benefits in the present but can shape an organisation to become future-proofed for further evolution as service standards continue to develop, adapt and grow. The paper also explore the advance of mobile solutions, the key factors to understand when making the move towards a mobile mid-set and again looks to the future and the incoming generation of staff to whom mobile computing is nothing more than standard.

On the whole the white paper provides an intelligent, balanced and forward looking perspective on why field service companies should be looking to integrated solutions. Nothing less than you would expect from one of the industries sharpest minds.

Download your copy of this excellent white paper for free here