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As Field Service News Editor, Kris Oldland continues our exclusive series looking at Change Management we move onto the third major consideration when undertaking a change management program, establishing a change agent network...

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

First of all lets have a quick recap. This series is focussed on managing change within your organisation and is based around the approach Sharon Moura, VP of IT Transformation and Strategy with Tyco took when the fire and safety giant moved to the ServiceMax field service management system.

Part one of the series explored some of the key principals of Change Management, including a look at some of the well-known approaches such as Kotter, Prosci and Lewin as well as looking at the five step approach which Moura took and which we are looking at in more detail in this series. In the following features we looked firstly at “Assessing the Change” and then the third feature of this Change Management series looked at “Engaging the Head & Heart”.

Now in this fourth instalment in our Change Management series we look at an area, which personally I believe to be perhaps, the most integral element to ensuring any change management program you undertake is a success. This is what Moura defines as building a change agent network. So lets look at this concept in a little more detail…

Understanding what a Change Agent is and why they are key to Change Management:

Well another term for a Change Agents would be Peer advocates and Gartner’s Elise Olding neatly sums up the approach stating,

“Change resistance is a myth. Employees support enterprise goals when they understand what needs to be done. Peer advocates put a face on change and leverage trusted informal leaders to create understanding among employees and influence organisational change”

In simplest terms when we are facing a change to our daily working lives, it’s not some distant figure from the boardroom that will convince us that this change has our interest at heart, it’s the people sat around us, those who we work with on a daily basis, our colleagues, our direct supervisors, our peers.

Indeed studies undertaken by change management specialists Prosci identified that the most effective communicators of change by a hefty margin were an employee’s immediate supervisor. However it is often the case that this tier of middle management is often left out of the change management process, more often than not because their primary role within the company absorbs of all their time. However. This is definitely not the way a successful change management program should flow.

 

These middle managers are absolutely key to establishing your change agent network and enabling the success of your change management program.

As Moura herself comments “If you are going to bring that level of middle management into the change management process at all, which of course you need to do, then they need to make sure change management is their number one area they should be spending their time on”

However, it is not just those in middle management that can form part of your change agent network. We touched on an example in the last feature within this series on change management to highlight some of the tools of persuasion that can be used to engage with employees on an emotional level. That example was for us to take a selection of end user employees such as field engineers and to bring them into the decision making process when selecting the new hardware to roll out to the field.

This is in effect building a change network in itself as you can almost guarantee if this group will feel both empowered and obligated to push through the change amongst their peers. Some of them may be supervisors and mid-level management; however, they could equally be regular employees.

What is important for your change management project is that they are (or have the potential to be) leaders and influencers amongst their peers. Active mouthpieces for why the change is a benefit to their peers on the individual level, so these are the audience you need to convince first. Show them that they will see and feel the benefit of your change management program and they will help spread the gospel amongst the wider staff.

Another key aspect of this approach is that by creating a change agent network your are opening up additional layers of information to assess how your change management program is being accepted and adopted as you move through the roll out. Feedback from your project team as to how you are progressing is of course important and expected. However, feedback from the employees is equally important as you can amend and adapt your strategy where necessary in response to what’s being well received and what is not.

 

As we mentioned in a previous feature within this series Change Management is an on-going process of evaluation and alteration, not a one shot effort. Similarly you must remember that change management is not about hard and fast rules that will work every time. Change management is about people and therefore different factions of your workforce, may adapt quicker than others. Certainly there is no “one-size-fits-all’ approach to either change management itself or the way you communicate it.

What makes a good Change Agent:

So who in your organisation would make a good change agent? A few suggestions as to what makes a good change agent are:

• A willingness to embrace change
• The desire to participate
• Good team players
• Mature responsible attitude
• Effective communicators
• Credible at grass roots level[/unordered_list]

Deploying your Change agent network:

Finally it’s worth taking time to consider how you will structure your change agent network. One of the most efficient means of doing so would likely be to distribute your change agent network within streams that each relate to a specific division within the business. For example, field engineers, dispatch, sales etc. In fact this is the approach that Moura took when rolling out ServiceMax to her team at Tyco.

“We created change agents by work streams” she explains “then we put change agent leaders in place in those work streams.”

“The responsibilities of those leaders was to anticipate issues, act as a sounding board for the organisation, provide suggestions and recommendations as to how we address the change, and of course communicating the change to the end users.”

This last point i.e. communicating the change is of course the primary reason for their endeavours and where they truly come into their own.

Simply ‘translating’ the reason your organisation is going through this change management process from corporate speak and into the workers language and outlining what is in it for them will take you a long way towards a successful change management project. Having that translation come from trusted and respected members of their work force will take it even farther.

Remember the lesson from the previous feature… change management is about people and people like people like them.

Therefore establishing a change agent network is absolutely integral to the success of your change management program. 

Download the white paper that accompanies this series

This series on Change Management is sponsored by:

Part Four of an exclusive Field Service News interview with Dave Gordon, Rolls Royce.

Here Dave speaks about the importance of being customer driven when it comes to developing excellence and innovating to achieve this, how they evolved their processes through collaboration with their clients, and finally why one size does not fit all when it comes to service delivery.....

Missed part one of this excellent series? Find it here

Missed part two of this excellent series? Find it here

Missed part three of this excellent series? Find it here

Want to see more? Subscribe to Field Service News by clicking this link and get access to download the full video in full.

Our exclusive series looking at Change Management written by Field Service News Editor Kris Oldland continues as we look at engaging with individuals on the emotional level to help reduce their fear of change... 

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

In part one of this series we looked at understanding what is change management and what steps should be taken to achieve a successful change management process, referring to the 5 step approach taken by Sharon Moura when global safety and security firm Tycho implemented ServiceMax’s field service management platform.

Part two looked at the first of these steps i.e. assessing the change. Now in part three of this exclusive series we look at the second of these steps, which Moura defines as “Engaging the head and the heart”

As we mentioned in the opening feature of this series the key to implementing a successful Change Management project lies in understanding the simple maxim that Change Management is all about people and managing individual responses to change.

For a change management program to be successful it is absolutely vital we acknowledge that change is about individuals, not organisations. Yes, the change will be driven by organisational needs and requirements, but individuals will implement it, individuals will determine its success.

Given this notion we must next consider how individuals will react to change. Successful change management is as much about feeling as it is about thinking. This is one of the key principals in the Kotter Change Management philosophy and is one that Moura also believes is an important step.

 

“People change when they see a truth that influences their feelings, a picture of the opportunities ahead, that can connect to the head and the heart” Moura explained in a recent webinar hosted by ServiceMax.

“It’s less about what they read, it’s less about analysis. That informs their thinking but it doesn’t inform their feelings” So how can we tap into each individual’s feelings, to help them take the emotional leap of faith that change requires? (Remember our natural instinct is usually to shy way from change as it is often feels like the less riskier option).

Well at least some if not all of Robert Cialdini’s six principals of influence are worth considering. In his famous best selling book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Cialdini identified 6 principals that can be used to influence the decision making process of others. Each of which tap into emotional responses, rather than intellectual responses.

These principals are:

Reciprocity:

In layman’s terms the desire to pay back a favour. Let’s take an example here. A field service company decides that they need to roll out new mobile devices to their field engineers.

By involving a group of field engineers in the selection process on which devices the company will purchase, the company is showing these engineers that they are valued members of the team, that both they and their opinions are respected.

The engineers will likely feel a sense of gratification that the company sees them as such and in return for this show of respect, they will almost certainly reciprocate, becoming champions of the new technology amongst their peers when it is rolled out.

Commitment and consistency:

Cialdini believes we all have a deep desire to be consistent. So how does this sit with change when surely change is the antithesis of consistency? Well this doesn’t necessarily need to be the case.

In fact the reason for change is often likely to be to uphold a core consistency of your organisation. For example – “our company has prided itself on being the market leader for over 25 years, and to help us continue to be the leading organisation in our sector we will be implementing a new system that will enable us to be more efficient in how we deliver and manage our field service operations”

Whilst effective change management will result in new cultures and processes being established, holding onto core company values isn’t mutually exclusive and this can be a powerful tool in negating the perception of change.

Social Proof:

Perhaps one of the most widely known of Cialdini’s principals, largely because it is the most evident in our day to day lives, is social proof. If we see others enjoying the benefit of change, it will make our decision to buy-in to the change so much easier on an emotional level.

Our natural herd mentality of ‘if it’s OK for them I guess it’s OK for me’ kicks in.

Remember that group of field engineers who are reciprocating the company’s faith in them by championing the change…

Liking:

The next of Cialdini’s principals is again one that we all inherently know. We do things for and agree with people we like more than we do for people we don’t like. While it’s not the most ground-breaking statement in the world, it is undeniably true.

What is perhaps less obvious but still inherently true is that as a rule of thumb we tend to like people who are like us. Our peers are important influencers on us. Oh there’s that group of peer led champions again…

Authority:

Cialdini asserts that we feel a sense of obligation to people in positions of authority. So we should bring the top bosses into the equation? But doesn’t that contradict points 3 and 4?

Well yes it does if we look at authority in the traditional manner. However, what is authority? More to the point who can speak with authority – continuing our example, perhaps someone who understands both the requirements and processes of the field engineers and someone who has already had actual hands on experience with the new devices?

Authority comes in many guises and our group of peer-based champions are on the horizon once more.

Scarcity:

This final principal is perhaps the least likely to be incorporated into a traditional change management program as of course the end goal is to minimise the period of change as effectively and quickly as possible.

However, perhaps in the initial wave of roll out it could be good to promote the benefits so those that aren’t part of wave one are eagerly anticipating when they can be upgraded?

What we do see from the above example is that having a group of field engineers within the intial decision making process led to opportunities to meet at least five of Cialdini’s six principals. This group became champions for the Change Management program and what Moura refers to as a Change Agent Network something we will explore in the next feature in this series.

However, before we get to that point, lets explore just a little further how we can effectively engage with this group on the individual level, in both the head and the heart.

 In Moura’s own words:

“Think about using story telling as a way to engage the head and the heart, producing report after report or communication after communication will not help here at all.” [quote float="right"]Producing report after report or communication after communication will not help here at all.

“Individual conversations are effective, small group conversations are effective and you should be topping and tailing all communications with  - why is this changing and what is in it for me”

 

And it is in this last sentence that we find perhaps the ultimate persuasive tool i.e. “What’s in it for me” If we can understand the pain points of our employees, whether it be field based or office based staff, if we can show them a picture of how this Change Management program will help them eliminate these problems in their daily lives, if we can show them that this change is as much about investing in them and making their lives easier as it is about increasing efficiency etc, then they are almost certainly going to be feel more open to the change.

If we get there, then we are on the right track for getting the emotional buy-in we need from these individuals to make this whole change management project a success.

Download the white paper that accompanies this series

This series is sponsored by:

Part Three of an exclusive Field Service News interview with Dave Gordon, Rolls Royce.

Here Dave speaks about how he measured the value of service, explains what he defines as disruption based availability (or project zero to give it its cooler sounding name) and how he uses greater understanding of his customers to motivate his own team at Rolls Royce.

Missed part one of this excellent series? Find it here

Missed part two of this excellent series? Find it here

Want to see more? Subscribe to Field Service News by clicking this link and get access to download the full video in full.

 

This is page two of this feature. If you arrived here first then click here to go to the beginning of the feature.

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

Process

The next area of consideration is process. What is the level of process change? Once again we look to the above points to be able to begin to what we will need to change in terms of processes in our business, how these changes will impact our business and ultimately how we can best manage these changes.

As with structure the key to managing change in processes is to be able to see the full picture and understand how each interaction within your company may be affected. [quote float="left"]As you assess the impact of your change management program it is essential to look across each and every process that is undertaken to understand if it is subject to change

 

Whether it is between office and field based staff, differing divisions within your company (service operations and sales for example) or even between your company and other third party organisations (either client or provider) you need to understand how your change management program will impact these interactions.

What changes will need to be made to your internal processes in order to accommodate these alterations? As you assess the impact of your change management program it is essential to look across each and every process that is undertaken to understand if it is subject to change and if so what those changes will be.  Then as with structure it is imperative that these changes are identified with all stakeholders informed and where required, new lines of responsibility clearly demarcated.

Tools

Finally we come to the point where perhaps many of us may have thought we should start –the actual tools that we will be bringing in, indeed those very tools that are the driving force of the whole change management project itself. Depending on where you are in the process of selecting your new system you may well have already chosen your new solution/configuration etc.

However, if you are still in the early stages perhaps you should consider bringing in representatives from various divisions of the workforce including managers, as well as field and office based operatives, as part of the selection process.

Not only will they give you great insight into how the tool will be implemented, but also they will form a core of your change agent network – a topic we will look at in further detail later in this series.

Yet if the decision has already been made in terms of selecting the tools you will be using then this may not be an option. You can however certainly turn to your technology provider to ask for their guidance at this point – they should be prepared to be share with you their experience of previous implementations and any good technology provider should be offering their full assistance throughout the implementation process and can be an invaluable partner as you tackle your change management program.

 

It is important to explore each of the above areas, assessing how they will be impacted by your change management program and planning how to best manage each of the steps of change. It is also important to remember that Change Management is not a one hit procedure and you should be continuously reviewing the impact of change on each of the above areas as you continue through to full adoption and beyond.

In the next feature in this series we will look at the importance of engaging both the head and the heart as you go through the Change Management Process.

In the meantime we recommend you download a copy of the white paper “5 principals of change management in field service click here and complete the brief registration form.

Our exclusive series looking at Change Management written by Field Service News Editor Kris Oldland continues with a focus on assessing the change as the first step towards a successful change management program. This series is 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.

In part one of this series we looked at understanding what is change management and what steps should be taken to achieve a successful change management process.

We took a brief look at some of the better-known change management approaches including the Prosci, Kotter and Lewin models. We also referred to the 5-step approach that Sharon Moura applied when global safety and security firm Tycho implemented ServiceMax’s field service management platform.

These five steps were; assessing the change, engaging the head and the heart, creating a change agent network, leading through the resistance and finally leading through the adoption cycle. Today we will examine the first of these steps… assessing the change. First we must understand exactly what will be changing. At first glance this may seem like stating the obvious, however this question runs far deeper than the initial surface change of implementing a new technology. What else will be changing in your organisation as a result?

It is absolutely vital that you take a holistic approach to understanding the level of impact that the Change Management project you are undertaking will have. You must consider how the culture, people, structure, process and tools are all set to change as a result of your project, in order to minimise the disruption on your business and accelerate adoption times. 

Culture:

First up how will the culture in your organisation be affected? This is perhaps the hardest and most complex of the considerations you will have to face as often the impact of change is subtle or even invisible at first. However, it is also perhaps the most important as the culture of a business, i.e. how the employees, management and even the business as a whole pull together, is key to on-going business success.

If there is a negative change in the culture of your organisation, its effect will be deeply felt and will have an adverse effect on company wide performance if left unchecked. Therefore it is imperative that you consider the impact on culture your change management project will have in your organisation. Will there be new behaviours within your workforce? Will these be felt amongst workers based in the office, field based workers or both? Will expectations change – from both employee and management perspectives?

 

Will these expectations be in-line with the actual reality and how will these change the dynamic between senior and middle management, and between middle management and employees? Will the change lead to greater transparency in how field engineers spend their day?

How will they react to that change? Will they feel your trust in them is diminished (big-brother is always watching) or will they feel more valued as you invest in the tools required to make their jobs easier? All of these questions and many more relate to the culture of a business, which is an often-overlooked yet crucial element in Change Management and where you must start, when assessing the impact of change to your business as a whole

People

Leading very much on from cultural change we must next consider the people change also. For example will there be any changes to the way teams are laid out? Will there be new management structures needed to be put in place? Of course one of the flip sides of implementing any technology to improve productivity will be that if the implementation is successful you may need less people to achieve the same workload.

Will staff need to be reallocated to different divisions of your organisation or will you need to explore the possibility of redundancies? Similarly when we look specifically at field service management one of the greatest benefits of implementing modern field service management solutions is that we can open up new streams of revenue directly from the field. Will this change the way we reward our people? Also will it mean that new divisions will be in closer contact? Again a people consideration when we think of how to employ best communication practices.

Structure

Once again structure leads on very much from people. As we can see the considerations for assessing the full impact of a Change Management project are wholly integrated. This is an important fact to comprehend as whilst understanding one facet can lead to greater comprehension of the whole, similarly overlooking one element can equally lead to overlooking other challenges that could rear their heads further down the line.

So how will your structure change? In the point above we looked at the impact on people of potentially creating new teams and adding or removing management layers but what will this mean from a business perspective? New reporting lines may need to be considered for example and new responsibilities may need to be clearly outlined.

It is important to understand how these changes will be shaped and to communicate any new responsibilities early with clear delineation and definition.

Also what about relationships with providers and vendors? Will the change in structure mean that there will be closer ties between field staff and your providers perhaps?

Again a much-vaunted benefit of modern field service systems is the ability for field service staff to see inventory in real time and order relevant parts when needed. Whilst this is of course an excellent benefit it will alter the structure of your business and therefore how your organisation adapts to accommodate this change must also be considered.

Click here to read page two of this feature...

We also suggest you download a copy of the corresponding white paper “5 principals of change management in field service" Click here for the white paper.

 
This series is sponsored by:

 

The next session of the Service Community has been announced and will be held in Manchester on the 1st of October. 

Following on from the fantastic success of the last meeting which was dedicated to the memory of founder Steve Downton this event sees yet another fantastic line up of service specialists from across the a broad spectrum of industries speaking.

Sessions include: 

• Professor  Tim Baines, Aston Business School discussing: ‘Challenges faced by UK Manufacturers as they adopt Servitisation as a Growth Strategy’

• John Pritchard, MAC Solutions, discussing “Remote Servicing & Internet of Things – Principles”

• Martin Gilday, Elekta, discussing “Reactive & Proactive Remote Service – Case Study”

• Martin Hotass, Siemens, discussing “Resource Planning for the Future.  Attracting people to the Service Industry”

Event Details:

Date: 1^st October

Time: 1pm – 5pm

Location: Sir William Siemens House, Princess Road, Manchester, M20 2UR

The event is free to attend for all service professionals but please register your attendance in advance by emailing theservicecommunity@gmail.com.

 

Part Two of an exclusive Field Service News interview with Dave Gordon, Rolls Royce.

Here Dave speaks about how he approached developing Rolls Royce's service delivery, and the importance of collaboration and trust, particularly when it comes to the proactive use of data to continually improve the service you are delivering to clients...

Missed part one of this excellent series? Find it here

Want to see more? Subscribe to Field Service News by clicking this link and get access to download the full video in full.

From Tesla’s electric cars to Siemens’ MRI machines, high-tech devices gather all kinds of data to indicate equipment health. Is the equipment running out of capacity? Is it low on fuel? Is there a problem with the disk drive? The shift in technology means a shift in skill-set for field service engineers. The team at smartvan.com explore this topic further

All of this data is valuable to the technicians who service the equipment, but only if they know how to interpret the information, which is why the shortage of skilled workers in the field is more pressing than ever.

This year 55 percent of hiring managers say they’re having difficulty filling jobs in installation, maintenance and repair occupations, according to a CareerBuilder study. There’s a race between technology and the skills needed to keep up with it, especially for technicians.

CONNECTED DEVICES’ IMPACT ON FIELD SERVICE

If the recent media obsession with the Internet of Things is any indication, we’ll soon live in a world where every device has the ability to talk to other machines—and to humans.

For technicians, it means their roles are becoming more proactive and less reactive. Instead of waiting until a part breaks to fix it, they’ll know well in advance that a screw is loose, for example, and catch an impending failure before it occurs.

New technology also is shifting more field service work from physical to mental labour. “Computers and other digital advances are doing for mental power—the ability to use our brains to understand and shape our environments—what the steam engine and its descendants did for muscle power,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology professors Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee write in their book “The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Machines.”

FUTURE AUTO MECHANICS

BMW’s vision for how its engineers will service cars offers a look at how connected devices are changing work. Jack Stewart, presenter of the BBC’s Science in Action series, paints a picture: “Instead of reaching for any of the shiny silver tools on his cart, the mechanic picks up a pair of what looks like sunglasses with connected buds for his ears. He glances back over to the engine, and this time he sees each component highlighted in bright colors, and is given computer-generated instructions on what to disassemble, in what order.”

In this scenario, the engineer needs an understanding of the technology at play, including how to execute the augmented reality system and interpret the computer-generated information.

EFFORTS TO BRING SKILLS UP TO PAR

As technology advances, some companies are backing efforts to retrain their workforces and help the next generation of workers acquire the science, technology, engineering and math skills that roles in the field will require.

MasTec, a Coral Gables, Fla.-based infrastructure engineering and construction company, helps veterans transfer skills to become wireless technicians. The company works with Warriors 4 Wireless, which provides training and advanced certification for veterans to build new careers in the telecommunications industry.

Cisco, purveyor of Internet of Everything ideas, runs a “Networking Academy,” which offers certificate courses to help people across industries build and maintain computer networks. “These programs ensure Cisco, its customers and partners have the talent they need to transform their business through the Internet of Everything,” according to the CareerBuilder study press release.

In April, Siemens donated nearly $660 million in software to a dozen technical schools and colleges in Massachusetts to help train a new generation of workers in advanced manufacturing.

As field service organizations look for and develop future talent, they’ll benefit from having employees whose skills complement those of the cutting edge technology the company uses. In other words, as Wired editorKevin Kelly put it, “You’ll be paid in the future based on how well you work with robots.”

It’s a brave new world for service technicians and field service engineers (FSE) these days — they’ve got iPhones and tablets to manage their work, some are driving cool hybrid vans, and even the equipment they fix can talk to them and tell them what’s wrong.

Beyond all that, the service-tech demographic is changing rapidly: service technicians from yesteryear (the days of clipboards, parts manuals and pagers) are getting sunsetted. A younger, more tech-savvy BYOD-generation service tech is beginning to fill the void. The next-gen service tech is also learning a bunch of critical new skills.

“The ability to accurately forecast what customers want and need is one of the more valuable aspects of field service today,” says Denis Pombriant of Beagle Research. Client knowledge and intuition comes not only from new tools that collect and analyze data, it also comes from a set of interpersonal skills each new technician in the field should be versed in.

Here are 3 skills areas that matter most:

PROACTIVE SALESMANSHIP

Service strategist Alex Alexander put it plainly: “There’s nobody that has more impact on future purchases of service or products than field service engineers.”

Alexander and others aren’t championing technicians in hopes they will put salespeople out of business, in fact, quite the contrary — now salespeople actually have their own workforce in the field, as well. And, as opposed to door-to-door salesmen, service techs are actually being invited into customer homes and places of business. Instead of being turned away by clients and dismissed for a cold-call — technicians are there for a purpose. If they perform their other duties efficiently and successfully, a client is certainly more apt to be open to learning about new products and practices from the company.

Engagement goes a long way. If you can provide your field workers with pertinent client information before they arrive on-site, they can use this information to personalize their service and create a more meaningful relationship with the client. Plus, if you already know what they’ve bought — you’re less likely to try to sell something they already have or don’t need. Attention to detail when it comes to clients is important and shouldn’t fall solely on your company’s sales team.

SOCIAL SKILLS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

Customers must feel comfortable with the people they allow into their space. Conversation is key to customer service and client comfort. Of course, speed is tantamount — everyone’s busy — but small talk can create a level of trust between your worker and the client.

People are more inclined to raise an issue in person and when they are feeling more comfortable, so arm your field workers with the appropriate customer service tools and information. Clients may raise an issue totally unrelated to the service call, but if your service technician brushes the query aside because they don’t know how to respond, trust (and maybe even the client) will be lost.

MASTERY OF MOBILE TECH

Next-generation field service is powered by the cloud — no longer by file folders, clipboards and your teams in the field need to reflect that.

Not just in the new toolset they carry around (rugged tablets, GPS devices, smartphones), but in how those tools change their behaviour and productivity — being able to pull up a parts diagram on a smartphone display, tapping into parts inventories, filling out job orders on the fly.

Not only is new technology helping FSEs learn more about their clients, it is also helping them complete tasks more proficiently. Because technology is constantly evolving, being able to adapt and learn how these new tools work is a must for today’s field tech.

People with a vested interest in the happenings of the technology world will be more enthusiastic to try new gadgets or implement a new system. Be wary of the technicians that are set to sticking to the “old ways” — this will only slow down the inevitable and can cause fissures between the tech and the customers as well as the techs themselves