Recently in the Field Service News Digital Symposium, Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News, was joined by Mickey Rooney, Program Director JLL in a wide-ranging discussion that touches on a number of key points as the built environment...
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Mar 17, 2021 • Features • Cognito iQ • facilities management • Service Innovation and Design • Mickey Rooney • JLL • Integral • Built Environment
Recently in the Field Service News Digital Symposium, Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News, was joined by Mickey Rooney, Program Director JLL in a wide-ranging discussion that touches on a number of key points as the built environment sector faces a major pivot point in its evolution and reflect on the changes this will bring to field service operations on a massive scale.
Here, Rooney outlines why he believes that digital transformation has now reached a crucial point that will become the catalyst for significant and widespread change that field service organisations must adapt to and embrace.
Want to know more? FSN Premium Subscribers and FSN Elite Members can watch this full interview and hours more of in-depth long-form interviews with a series of field service leaders in the Field Service News Digital Symposium. Watch the interview with Mickey Rooney on the button below.
If you are currently on our free forever FSN Standard subscription tier or have yet to join 30,000 of our field service peers as a FSN subscriber you can find out more again on the button below.
Further Reading:
- Read more about the Digital Transformation in the field service sector @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
- Read more about Service Innovation and Design @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/service-innovation-and-design
- Read more about Leadership and Strategy in field service @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more about JLL/Integral @ https://integral.co.uk/
- Follow JLL/Integral on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/IntegralUKLtd
- Read more about Cognito iQ who are working closely with JLL/Integral @ https://www.cognitoiq.com/
- Connect with Mickey Rooney on LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickey-rooney-0106a161
Mar 17, 2021 • Features • Digital Transformation
Field Service News in partnership with RealWear, and OverIT have worked together to produce a detailed 22 page Essential Guide to Remote Service. In this second in a series of excerpts from that guide we continue to look at the benefits of an effective remote service solution...
In the last feature in this series we discussed improving health and safety, increasing geographical expansion opportunities and reducing the time it takes to get new engineers out into the field as three key benefits. Now we look at three more...
Empowering the blended workforce
By moving your most experienced resources away from the field and onto a remote service platform there is also an opportunity for field service companies to begin to completely re-imagine the way they develop their field workforce.
One of the outcomes of the millennial generation replacing the baby boomer generation in the workplace is a fundamental difference in how they perceive careers. The baby-boomer workforce was, in many respects, simpler to handle.
The concept of a job for life was common, and the career ladder was just that, a vertical route upwards.
However, the millennial generation is a very different beast entirely.
Millennials statistically are far more transient within the workforce than their baby-boomer colleagues. For millennials, career progression spans not just many companies but also many industries. This consideration must be factored into the equation when we begin to look at the makeup of the modern field service workforce.
Many field service organisations are beginning to move towards having a ‘deskilled’ field workforce where the majority of field workers have a broad yet shallow skill set that allows them to handle most routine tasks across a wide spectrum of devices/assets in the fleet. These technicians are supported by subject matter experts who have a narrower, yet far deeper and more granular level of knowledge and expertise in specific areas. These subject matter experts are then available to offer guidance via remote service delivery tools.
Indeed, let’s take this one step further.
Such an approach also sits well within the blended workforce model (which is where the workforce comprises a mix of internal and third-party workers), potentially unleashing the largely untapped potential of the gig economy within the field service sector - again an approach that is better aligned to the societal changes we are seeing which impact workforce planning and structuring.
Additionally, we must now also consider that many field service companies are facing new challenges to overcome the vast amount of lost capacity throughout 2020 as a result of the pandemic. With the spectre of COVID still looming across 2021 resulting in ongoing potential fluctuations in capacity at any given time, the need is more significant than ever for third-party workers. It is therefore likely we will see even further adoption of external workers within the sector.
Those organisations with the capabilities already in place to ‘dial-in’ knowledge and expertise instantly and on-demand via remote service tools are far better placed to make such a transition to leveraging the blended workforce more effectively.
Embracing the tools for outcome-based services
Another important emerging trend within the field service sector is the shift towards outcome-based services and servitization.
Servitization is a complex topic; however, the most straightforward definition would be when product and service are sold holistically across an asset’s lifecycle.
Crucially in a servitized approach, the customer’s key metric is no longer SLA adherence, but instead meeting guarantees of uptime.
With this shift in focus, the weighting on mean-time-to-resolution (MTTR) becomes an essential aspect of the service delivery program.
This is another area where remote service adoption at a sophisticated level, such as we have discussed in this paper, can have a considerable impact. In a world of remote service delivery, the service provider can turn to the closest available engineer, regardless of their level of expertise and still, in most instances, achieve a first-time-fix by having a remote expert with the knowledge and experience available instantly to guide them through the repair.
Indeed, alongside the connectivity of assets, remote service delivery is a fundamental layer of technology that can make the transition to a servitized approach possible. Field Service News Research recently outlined that currently, almost two-thirds of service organisations are introducing some advanced services into their portfolio.
Therefore, the importance of sophisticated technologies such as AR and head-mounted computers are likely to become increasingly commonplace within a field service setting as the move towards servitization continues.
Differentiating your service against that of your competition
As we commented on during the introduction, remote service as a service delivery method went from being utilised by a relatively small section of the industry, to being commonplace in 2020 as service companies scrambled to find a means of delivering service while under the restrictions of lockdowns.
With so many companies having simultaneously introduced some means of delivering service remotely, it is almost certain that both the service provider and their customers alike will be keen to harness the benefits of such an approach beyond the pandemic’s duration.
Research by Field Service News outlined that while nearly three-quarters of the field service companies had introduced remote service capabilities due to the pandemic, only a fifth of these were using sophisticated tools such as AR and head-mounted computers to do so.
This leads us to an interesting scenario and one where there could be a clear window of opportunity to gain a competitive advantage.
It is reasonable to assume that remote service delivery will be a significant part of the future. Yet currently the standards of delivery of remote service remain relatively low.
With so many companies suddenly arriving at the same place, it could well be that remote service may become a key battleground for competing service organisations.
Those who choose to adopt a more sophisticated approach to remote service delivery and who choose to leverage the latest technology within this space, are likely to be well-positioned when it comes to being able to differentiate on their ability to deliver service remotely.
In the next article in this series we will look at three more benefits of remote service; empowering the blended workforce, embracing the tools for outcome-based services and differentiating your service against that of your competition...
Further Reading:
This interview was undertaken as part of our development of our recently published Essential Guide to Remote Service. This guide offers insight into the important considerations field service companies need to be aware of when selecting remote service solutions suitable for their needs.
The guide looks at both the hardware and software considerations as well as containing a case study from Rail Cargo Group that looks at how they implemented such a solution which has revolutionised their industry.
This essential guide is currently available on our free-forever FSN Standard subscription tier for a limited time as well as being available to our FSN Premium subscribers and our FSN Elite members. If you are on any of these subscription/membership tiers you can access this guide by clicking the button below.
If you are not yet a subscriber, the button will take you to a dedicated registration page for FSN Standard that will give you instant access to this guide as well as access to the other Premium Resources currently available on this tier.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content, OverIT and Realwear who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this report.
Mar 17, 2021 • Features • Samir Gulati • servicepower • Blended Workforce • Managing the Mobile Workforce • Frank Gelbart
As part of a series of interviews for an exclusive Field Service News Documentary on the Blended Workforce in the Field Service sector, Kris Oldland, Editor in Chief spoke with Samir Gulati Chief Marketing and Product Officer and Frank Gelbart, CEO...
As part of a series of interviews for an exclusive Field Service News Documentary on the Blended Workforce in the Field Service sector, Kris Oldland, Editor in Chief spoke with Samir Gulati Chief Marketing and Product Officer and Frank Gelbart, CEO of ServicePower.
In this excerpt, we hear from both experts as they define the often confusing language of the blended workforce to give us a framework for a key conversation for the field service sector.
Want to know more?
Field Service News subscribers can access the documentary "The Blended Workforce and the New Normal" by clicking the button below:
If you are yet to subscribe you can join 30,0000 of your field service management peers by subscribing to FSN Standard for free and get instant access to the documentary and other selected resources available on our free forever, FSN Standard subscription tier.
If you hold either a FSN Premium or FSN Elite subscription you can find the full interview with Gulati and Gelbart in our Digital Symposium section of the website which is available at www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-symposium
Data usage note: By accessing the documentary you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content, ServicePower who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this report.
Mar 16, 2021 • Features • Digital Transformation • servicemax • softrware and apps
ServiceMax, the leader in asset-centric field service management, announced the debut of ServiceMax Engage, an intuitive mobile application that connects field service organizations with their end customers to increase service visibility, elevate...
ServiceMax, the leader in asset-centric field service management, announced the debut of ServiceMax Engage, an intuitive mobile application that connects field service organizations with their end customers to increase service visibility, elevate the customer experience, and ensure asset data quality. The announcement was made today at the kick-off of Maximize 2021, the 10th annual Global Field Service Conference.
ServiceMax Engage Helps Asset-Centric Service Organizations Involve and Support End Customers for Improved Service Execution
ServiceMax Engage addresses two major pain points facing service organizations: the desire for greater visibility into and involvement with the service process by end customers; and the challenge of maintaining complete and accurate asset data. “Now more than ever, we want to ensure end customers are active participants in the service lifecycle. ServiceMax Engage enables service organizations to deliver a better customer experience, ensure the asset data needed for effective service execution is precise, and build more resilient service processes with their customers,” said Amit Jain, Senior Vice President of Product, ServiceMax. “Service organizations continue to face challenges maintaining accurate data on complex assets. Engage provides end customers greater visibility and involvement in the service process and lays the foundation for leveraging technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence in the future.”
"Empowering customers to be more hands-on in managing their assets also helps to close a critical part of the feedback loop for manufacturers. Customers are best placed to validate information about assets in the field," said Nicole France, VP and Principal Analyst, Constellation Research. "Validating and updating that data increases the odds of getting the right fix the first time and improving preventive maintenance. It also ensures that customers have better visibility into their equipment and are more educated users."
ServiceMax Engage offers a range of benefits, including:
End Customer Benefits:
- Deeper involvement with the service process
- Self-service through remote support
- Real-time access to asset information
Service Outcomes:
- Enhanced customer experience and satisfaction
- Improved asset data accuracy and visibility
- Increased technician productivity
- Improved contract performance
- Increased service revenue
IT Benefits:
- Broader functionality and enhanced usability vs. a customer web portal
- Turnkey app = no additional implementation costs
- Seamless - native to ServiceMax and Salesforce
Learn more about ServiceMax Engage at www.servicemax.com/engage
Further Reading:
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
- Read more about ServiceMax on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/servicemax
- Find out about ServiceMax Engage @ www.servicemax.com/engage
- Follow ServiceMax on Twitter @ twitter.com/ServiceMax
Mar 15, 2021 • Features • management • BBA Consulting • field service management • Jim Baston • service strategies • Leadership and Strategy
Jim Baston, President of BBA Consulting Group, continues his series on “supercharging” revenue generation through the field service team. In this fourth blog he looks at identifying specifically what actions we need to take in order to define the...
Jim Baston, President of BBA Consulting Group, continues his series on “supercharging” revenue generation through the field service team. In this fourth blog he looks at identifying specifically what actions we need to take in order to define the service.
In my last blog, we identified the following list of possible steps we can take to ensure that our field service team is successful in generating new business opportunities:
- Define the service
- Support the initiative
- Get buy-in from supporting divisions
- Talk the walk
- Tell our customers
- Maintain focus
In this blog, we will look at the first step on our list – Define the service – and identify specifically what actions we need to take in order to do this.
Consider one of the maintenance services that you offer to your customers. Imagine for the moment that you left the details of what the service entails to each individual field service tech. What do you think would happen? One tech includes an oil change with every service. Another changes the oil every two services and a third does not change the oil at all. One tech makes certain adjustments and another doesn’t make any. In other words the service work completed (and therefore the service levels) varies depending on the tech that went to do the work.
Now think about how your customers will view your service offering. Will they be happy that the level of service provided would be determined by the person you send? Will they have confidence that they’re receiving “excellent” service? Will you keep them as a customer for long? Somehow, I doubt it.
So, if making proactive recommendations to customers is a service, then it’s important that we define what that service is, just as we would any other service that we provide. How are the proactive efforts of your field service team defined?
It’s best to start with defining specifically what we are doing. What is the service we are providing through the proactive efforts of the field service team? Why is this a service at all? What is the benefit for the customer?
Next consider what specifically we want the field team to do. Are there definite actions that we want them to take that will help them uncover opportunities to help? Are there certain questions that they should ask the customer? Are there any environmental factors that they should be on the lookout for?, etc.
What do we want them to do if they see an opportunity to help? Do we want them to bring it to the attention of the customer or simply record it on the work order summary for someone else to follow up? Will this expectation change depending on the size and scope of the opportunity? If they do bring it to the attention of the customer and the customer would like to explore the opportunity further, how is the opportunity captured so that nothing falls through the cracks?
And, remember to define the components of the service in terms of what the customer can expect. Can we be more specific about what the customer will receive? For example, our service might include an annual review of our performance with the customer. At the beginning of a contract, it could include a formal meeting where the key customer operational goals are identified and evaluate how we can contribute to these. Future meetings might involve reviewing the results of the proactive efforts of the field team over the past period, revisiting open recommendations and re-establishing operational goals for the coming year.
Reflection
Think about the product promotion efforts of your field service team. What can the customer expect when they sign up for this service? How will you describe it on your website?
Consider:
- Why is what you are asking your technicians to do a service (and not a sale)?
- Why are the field service team’s actions of benefit to your customers?
- What specific steps should all your field service technicians take to uncover and capture opportunities? For example:
- Should they make a special effort to visit with the customer before the service begins? After the service is completed?
- What questions should they ask?
- Are there specific things that the technician should look for or listen for that might provide them clues for opportunities to help?
- When an opportunity is found, what specifically do you want the technician to do with the lead?
- How and where do you want the technician to record the opportunity?
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more exclusive articles by Jim Baston @ www.fieldservicenews.com/jim-baston
- Connect with Jim Baston on LinkedIn @ linkedin.com/jimbaston
- Learn more about Jim Baston and BBA Consulting Group @ jimbaston.com
- Connect with Jim Baston directly by email @ jim@jimbaston.com
Mar 15, 2021 • Features • Digital Transformation
Field Service News in partnership with RealWear, and OverIT have worked together to produce a detailed 22 page Essential Guide to Remote Service.
As part of the research into this Essential Guide, Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News spoke with Alessandro Borzacchi, Senior Project Manager, Rail Cargo Group about their recent implementation of head-mounted computers and augmented reality-based remote service solution as part of our ongoing series of interview in the Field Service News Digital Symposium.
Here the two discuss what were the two key drivers behind RailCargo's decision to introduce remote service tools into their field service workflow.
Want to know more?
FSN Premium subscribers and FSN Elite members can access the full length interview plus many, many more in the Field Service New Digital Symposium. If you have an FSN Premium account you can access the video on the button below. If you are currently on our FSN Standard subscription tier you can upgrade your subscription by clicking the link below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can join 30,0000 of your field service management peers by subscribing to FSN Standard for free to gain access to a monthly selection of premium content or select either FSN Premium or FSN Elite for even more resources. Click the button above to visit our subscription page to find out more.
Further Reading:
This interview was undertaken as part of our development of our recently published Essential Guide to Remote Service. This guide offers insight into the important considerations field service companies need to be aware of when selecting remote service solutions suitable for their needs.
The guide looks at both the hardware and software considerations as well as containing a case study from Rail Cargo Group that looks at how they implemented such a solution which has revolutionised their industry.
This essential guide is currently available on our free-forever FSN Standard subscription tier for a limited time as well as being available to our FSN Premium subscribers and our FSN Elite members. If you are on any of these subscription/membership tiers you can access this guide by clicking the button below.
If you are not yet a subscriber, the button will take you to a dedicated registration page for FSN Standard that will give you instant access to this guide as well as access to the other Premium Resources currently available on this tier.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content, OverIT and Realwear who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this report.
Mar 15, 2021 • Features • Telecommunications • Blended Workforce • Managing the Mobile Workforce • Ericcson • Adam Gordon
As part of a series of interviews for an exclusive Field Service News Documentary on the Blended Workforce in the Field Service sector, produced in partnership with ServicePower Kris Oldland, Editor in Chief spoke with Adam Gordon, Head of Network...
As part of a series of interviews for an exclusive Field Service News Documentary on the Blended Workforce in the Field Service sector, produced in partnership with ServicePower Kris Oldland, Editor in Chief spoke with Adam Gordon, Head of Network Planning & Optimisation, Ericsson
In this excerpt from that interview, Gordon explains how Ericsson successfully leverage a network of third-party partners to increase the skills they have available across their field service operation
Want to know more?
Field Service News subscribers can access the documentary "The Blended Workforce and the New Normal" by clicking the button below:
If you are yet to subscribe you can join 30,0000 of your field service management peers by subscribing to FSN Standard for free and get instant access to the documentary and other selected resources available on our free forever, FSN Standard subscription tier.
If you hold either a FSN Premium or FSN Elite subscription you can find the full interview with Gordon in our Digital Symposium section of the website which is available at www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-symposium
Data usage note: By accessing the documentary you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content, ServicePower who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this report.
Mar 15, 2021 • Features • research • Digital Transformation • Covid-19
Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined by Michael Kuebel, Michele Federici and Sassi Idan of Salesforce as they analyse the findings of a wide-reaching study into the growing use of remote services in the field service sector...
Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined by Michael Kuebel, Michele Federici and Sassi Idan of Salesforce as they analyse the findings of a wide-reaching study into the growing use of remote services in the field service sector that has arisen since the pandemic.
In this final excerpt in the series the group discuss what service excellence looks like when it comes to remote service delivery
You can find further analysis of this research project at our dedicated research site research.fieldservicenews.com
Want to know more?
FSN Premium or FSN Elite subscribers can access the full video report of this debrief session by clicking the button below.
If you are currently on our free FSN Standard subscription you can upgrade your subscription for as little as £299|€349| $399 a year and gain access to this report, plus over a hundred other premium resources from across the Field Service News Digital Ecosystem and exclusive access to the Field Service News Digital Symposium with new in-depth, long-form interviews being added every week.
FSN Elite members also gain access to the Field Service News Masterclass Program, Think Tank and Collaboration real-time sessions and FSN Elite discussion boards for just £699|€789|$949 a year.
This Field Service News Research project was run in partnership with Salesforce, one of a select group of official Strategic Partners for Field Service News
Mar 12, 2021 • Features • Cognito iQ • facilities management • Service Innovation and Design • Mickey Rooney • JLL • Integral • Built Environment
Recently in the Field Service News Digital Symposium, Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News, was joined by Mickey Rooney, Program Director JLL in a wide-ranging discussion that touches on a number of key points as the built environment...
Recently in the Field Service News Digital Symposium, Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News, was joined by Mickey Rooney, Program Director JLL in a wide-ranging discussion that touches on a number of key points as the built environment sector faces a major pivot point in its evolution and reflect on the changes this will bring to field service operations on a massive scale.
In this excerpt from that interview, the two discuss exactly how the built environment and importantly how we are using it is changing and what this means for field service companies.
Want to know more? FSN Premium Subscribers and FSN Elite Members can watch this full interview and hours more of in-depth long-form interviews with a series of field service leaders in the Field Service News Digital Symposium. Watch the interview with Mickey Rooney on the button below.
If you are currently on our free forever FSN Standard subscription tier or have yet to join 30,000 of our field service peers as a FSN subscriber you can find out more again on the button below.
Further Reading:
- Read more about the Digital Transformation in the field service sector @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
- Read more about Service Innovation and Design @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/service-innovation-and-design
- Read more about Leadership and Strategy in field service @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more about JLL/Integral @ https://integral.co.uk/
- Follow JLL/Integral on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/IntegralUKLtd
- Read more about Cognito iQ who are working closely with JLL/Integral @ https://www.cognitoiq.com/
- Connect with Mickey Rooney on LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickey-rooney-0106a161
Field Service News is published by 1927 Media Ltd, an independent publisher whose sole focus is on the field service sector. As such our entire resources are focused on helping drive the field service sector forwards and aiming to best serve our industry through honest, incisive and innovative media coverage of the global field service sector.
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