Salesforce Upgrades Field Service Management to Prepare Mobile Workers for a Changing World

Oct 28, 2021 • News • Future of field servcice • field service management • Salesforce • Managing the Mobile Workforce • GLOBAL

Today, Salesforce introduced four new capabilities for Field Service to help businesses equip their mobile workforce for the future.

These features will enable businesses to scale resources to handle more complex jobs, customize mobile apps to tailor employee experiences, provide customers with flexible scheduling, and use video for both improved customer and employee interactions.

Customers today expect businesses to deliver world-class service whether they're working with an agent in a call center, engaging with a bot, or interacting with an agent in the field. But field technicians and organizations often don't have the tools, skills, and information to meet these expectations. In fact, 80% of field service professionals say the skills required for their job have evolved from just two years ago, and 81% see a direct link between their work and business performance. But learning those skills and delivering these experiences in the field isn’t easy -- especially at scale.

“With customers and employees looking for fast and easy digital service, the field service industry is ripe for change,” said Paul Whitelam, GM of Field Service Management at Salesforce. “Salesforce is a leader in field service management thanks to our powerful platform that delivers a complete customer view, and today’s innovations bring more trust, speed, and convenience to every field service interaction.”

FIELD SERVICE IS BUILT FOR CHANGE

Salesforce Field Service is a complete solution to manage your mobile workforce. Providing scheduling, mobile capabilities, AI to manage jobs and solve problems on the first visit, and swarming capabilities with Slack. It’s built on the world’s #1 CRM and part of a complete service offering that connects customer data and your service experts on one platform.
Today’s additions to Salesforce Field Service include:

Running on Hyperforce, Salesforce’s next-generation platform architecture, the Enhanced Scheduling and Optimization Engine will enable businesses to handle complex field service jobs in more locations around the world. For example, an IT services company can now expand to serve global customers on the same platform, and instantly get up and running in a new region. Optimization comes into play when a job requires several steps and technicians: for example, a Utility digging a hole for a new electric pole, installing the pole and wires, and adding wiring to nearby structures. Salesforce Field Service will enable companies to chain these steps together so dispatchers can see complex jobs in their entirety and better manage worker capacity.
Lightning Web Components for Field Service will enable businesses and partners to easily customize the Salesforce Field Service mobile app with advanced features and workflows to provide a better employee experience. For example, a water delivery company can create a custom app that pre-populates order information — like the delivery cadence and quantity — from Service Cloud into one page, saving the delivery person time on approvals and the headache of having to fill out the same information over and over. Lightning Web Components also provides new opportunities for partners and SIs to create industry-specific applications, such as a streamlined workflow for home security companies or industrial machinery manufacturers.
Appointment Assistant Self-Service Scheduling enables customers to schedule their own appointments and cancel, confirm, or reschedule, all without waiting on hold. And as customers make these changes, technician schedules and service resources will automatically adjust.
Visual Remote Assistant Two-Way Video now lets both agents and customers share their cameras in real time to troubleshoot issues. For example, an agent can show a customer step by step how to reset their cable box. On-site technicians can get real-time training or pull in additional support from contact center agents when needed.

Organizations are using Salesforce Field Service to respond faster and build trust

Organizations in dozens of industries around the world are using Salesforce Field Service to respond to the changing needs of their customers:

Hologic: "With Salesforce Field Service, Hologic is able to reduce time spent on site by equipping field service engineers with AI-powered recommendations and ensure we can get the right person to the right job at the right time, with the right part,” Pierre Malboeuf, Senior Director, National Field Service, Breast & Skeletal Health. “Field Service is a game changer and enables us to build a deep sense of trust with our customers."
AAA: "Today's consumer has zero tolerance for having to repeat themselves. Omnichannel servicing allows a customer to begin a request or service from one chosen channel and complete the request in a whole other service channel without losing a beat,” Shohreh Abedi, EVP, Chief Operations Technology Officer, Member Experience, The Auto Club Group. “Field Service has reduced over 25% of the volume that is being handled completely digitally without human interaction, through AI, chat or other digital self-service capabilities. The result of having a customer-centric approach is a happier, more delighted member, and Salesforce is a big part of our journey."
SafeStreets: “We needed a smart tool that would allow us to schedule security installs quickly in a matter of minutes and bring our reschedule rate down, because rescheduling often results in the customer cancelling the job,” said Eddie Prignano, VP of Systems Architecture. “Salesforce helped us create a great customer experience in a short amount of time that gives us confidence in our scheduling and gives the customer all the information they could want — from the name and photo of the technician, to where they are and their ETA, so the customer never feels like they’re in the dark. And as customers’ expectations require updates to these experiences, we have the flexibility to simply and easily make changes as necessary.”
MTI: "MTI provides security and tablet solutions to businesses like retailers, restaurants, hotels and hospitals, and the pandemic drove tremendous change in all of those businesses. By leveraging Salesforce Field Service, we’ve been able to reduce manual scheduling needs by 50% and run 70-80% of service trips through our optimization model,” Mary Jesse, CEO. “Not only that, but we’re able to drill down and see to the minute when somebody is on site, what they’re doing and how it relates back up to a complete customer project. The average time to resolve a case has decreased as we’ve leveraged multiple applications within the Salesforce ecosystem — increasing the speed and efficiency of our business."

DocuSign automates contract obligations in the field

Announced yesterday, DocuSign CRM for Field Service will allow customers to automate how they track, enforce, and update contract terms across departments and while in the field. Bringing in data on warranties and service level agreements (SLAs) from DocuSign CRM contracts directly into Service Cloud contract objects will enable smarter and more automated service experiences, and efficient service contract execution.

Additional Information

To learn more about how Salesforce Field Service is empowering mobile workforces to build trust and scale, watch the latest episode of At Your Service and visit the product page for more details.

Availability

Enhanced Scheduling and Optimization is currently available in beta.
Lightning Web Components for Field Service is currently available in pilot.
Appointment Assistant Self-Service Scheduling is generally available.
Visual Remote Assistant Two-Way Video is generally available.
DocuSign CLM for Salesforce Field Service will be available in 2022.

Embracing The Future, While Remaining Anchored to Excellence

May 20, 2021 • Features • Salesforce • Software and Apps • Covid-19 • Remote Services • Michael Maoz

In many ways the world in which we operate has changed so radically that the work-flows of just two years ago may today seem antiquated and outdated for many of us in the field service sector. Yet at the same time when it comes to the fundamentals of service excellence, the essence remains firm - consistently anticipating, meeting and exceeding our customer's needs. It is a balance that all field service companies are attempting to strike at the moment as Michael Maoz, Senior Vice President, Innovation Strategy, Salesforce, outlines in this in-depth article...

The last year has forced all of us to rethink how we live our lives and run our businesses. In field service, employees and customers are focused on:

Health and wellness
Contactless interaction
Safety
Self service and remote support to reduce onsite visits
Job effectiveness to ensure completion the first time

The organizations that excel at field service delivery share two characteristics:

C-Level executive commitment to field service as an area important to the business
Collaboration of field operations in an atmosphere of trust and transparency

This demonstrates empathy and an emphasis on alignment with the customer. These organizations recognize the central role that field service has in shaping perceptions about the brand overall. They listen to their customers, field technicians, dispatchers, customer service teams, and ecosystem partners. Amidst ongoing change, they use what they learn to stay aligned with different, and evolving, needs.

The enterprise goal is to profitably deliver a coordinated customer experience that spans the entire customer journey. In this way, the brand promise is consistent and reinforced at each step that builds lasting bonds with the customer

The realities of customer expectations in modern field service:

Customers expect field service to be as rewarding and easy as the best service experiences they have anywhere. The businesses that demonstrated innovation courage during the global pandemic were rewarded with strong growth. This innovation courage came through particularly strongly in field service, where every technician visit held the potential of a risk to health. The best companies reacted immediately and reexamined their technology priorities. They relegated long running strategic projects in favor of short sprints like remote visual support

With remote support, customers can use their video camera to show a field engineer the issue. The customer doesn’t need anyone to come onsite, and gets faster resolution; the company saves the truck roll. Making this more powerful, an AI component can be used to suggest possible root causes. A second AI component inside of the content management solution can extract the repair documents and instructions most relevant to the particular issue

When needing to go onsite, to provide the best experience, companies have shortened booking windows and provide proactive notifications on arrival time to keep customers updated and give them time to get ready. This reduces missed appointments, increases effectiveness, and provides a better experience for both the customer and the employee.

"One of our customers completely re-platformed their aging and disconnected software for phone support, website, mobile app and technician mobile applications onto a single platform from Salesforce. The resulting speed, consistency, and contactless service allowed them to accelerate business during the pandemic."

There are great cost savings through the combination of technologies such as remote visual support to significantly reduce the number of field visits, together with content discovery and appointment management, which speeds up the time to repair and shortens the onsite visit.

Beyond the cost savings to the enterprise, the use of new technologies and processes in a reimagined world of field service demonstrates empathy and alignment with the customer and with the employee, particularly during the pandemic, but equally so beyond the pandemic.

Customers expect to engage with their service provider via digital channels with the same easy and intuitive experience that they already have in every aspect of their life. A savvy field service organization needs to connect with their customers on the customer’s preferred channel, which is increasingly SMS and social channels. Customers expect their service providers to know them, know why they're there, and have the tools necessary to complete the task on the first visit.

Customer-Centricity is Critical:

The best organizations think of what matters most to the customer. The best service visit is the one that never happens to begin with; proactive support and remote resolution are of top importance. When a visit needs to occur, seamlessly managing the appointment is top of mind. The ability to provide the entire care environment is often overlooked.

It is not enough to book the visit at the customer’s desired time. True field service excellence also requires the organization to select the right technician, with the right skills. Excellence requires the organization to communicate the time of arrival, a summary of the work done at the time of the visit, and a follow up message, through messaging or email, that invites the customer to agree that the work is complete. This final piece: Agreeing that the job is not done until the customer says that it is done, is vital.

There is tremendous upside potential to boost revenue through field service for some industries such as home and business services, HVAC, medical equipment, complex device or infrastructure maintenance.

Many of our customers in these industries are already advanced in providing revenue-generating value-added field services. Some of these are remote diagnostics, remote software updates, remote monitoring, training the customer on best practices, owning centres of excellence that guarantee uptime, and selling uptime rather than selling the product in the first place! Look to these advanced industries. Learn from the best! There is no reason to invent best practices when they already exist in adjacent industries. In all of the cases we have covered, technology has been baked into reimagined processes.

What are the performance indicators that are the most meaningful to improve the brand? To lower costs? To boost sales? To improve the effectiveness and well-being of employees? To improve the customer experience?

One of our customers completely re-platformed their ageing and disconnected software for phone support, website, mobile app and technician mobile applications onto a single platform from Salesforce. The resulting speed, consistency, and contactless service allowed them to accelerate business during the pandemic. Their knowledge-empowered technicians to easily build trust with the customer.

These technicians are more highly motivated because they feel the empathy that the business has for them. They also have all of the information in their hands, and they know that the customer is situationally aware. These technicians are in the best position to build brand loyalty and deliver on upsell/cross-sell targets that many service businesses have.

The companies that are the trailblazers in improving field service to be more customer and employee-centric are measuring the value of improvements in five areas:

Brand loyalty
Costs
Sales
Employee experience
Customer experience

Selecting the first targets for improvement requires measurement. Here are practical and measurable questions to ask: What are the performance indicators that are the most meaningful to improve the brand? To lower costs? To boost sales? To improve the effectiveness and well-being of employees? To improve the customer experience?

Each of these questions has to be converted into real numbers. To lower costs, you might decide that job duration overruns need to be reduced 25%. For customer experience you may decide that the customer needs to select their own time window and within a two hour window, and they must receive a text message upon confirmation and before arrival. These all can be converted into quantifiable numbers.

The savvy field service leader will seize the momentum and move forward boldly with a customer and employee centric approach to innovating field service processes. Define success criteria by selecting the targets you want to measure, determine several relatively small changes to impact those targets, iterate quickly, and measure each process through the eyes of the customer and the technician. There has never been a better time to make the move from follower to leader, and your customers are expecting nothing less.

Deliver Service Anytime, Anywhere With Visual Remote Assistance

Apr 16, 2021 • Features • Remote Assistance • Salesforce • Managing the Mobile Workforce • Eric Jacobsen

With remote customer assistance, field service organisations can deliver service from anywhere, keeping both workers and customers safe writes Eric Jacobsen, VP Product Management, Salesforce...

No matter what’s happening in the world, customers still need service. Internet connections still go down, homes still need refrigerators, and washing machines still require maintenance. Customers still want fast and complete service the first time.

What has changed today is how customers feel about in-person service. Even with safety requirements for the pandemic in place, some customers are hesitant about having technicians on-site. Businesses are also concerned for employee safety and well-being.

Along with best practices, the right technology mitigates today’s safety concerns surrounding in-person service. That’s where visual remote assistance comes in to help customers get the service they need, while prioritising safety and maximising experiences for both customers and employees.

Support customer safety with remote support software

Provide visual customer assistance with remote support software to enable service or support from anywhere, anytime — without physical contact or high bandwidth connections. Remote support empowers contact centre agents and field service technicians to solve a customer’s problem through virtual real-time, guided interaction. It also allows experts to help on-site technicians resolve issues.

With advanced remote support software, an agent or technician sees a customer’s physical environment in real time through their smart device. They can guide customers using augmented reality (AR), which displays on-screen graphical information over the object that needs service. They provide targeted, step-by-step directions with annotations on their mobile screen to resolve many issues. And at the completion of the job, the service organisation has a visual record for future reference.

Depending on the service request, visual remote assistance can be used to solve customer problems on its own or in combination with in-person service as a hybrid approach.

Here are three examples of how remote support software can be used:

An agent resolves a customer’s issue: My washing machine sprays water all over my laundry room. I speak with a support agent, who determines there is a loose connection. The agent can guide me step-by-step on how to correct it using a visual remote assistant.
An expert helps an on-site technician solve a problem: A month later, my water heater starts making a funny noise. The agent can’t resolve the issue with remote assistance, so they schedule a visit. The on-site technician also can’t figure it out, so they use a visual remote assistant to get expert help to troubleshoot the issue.
A customer gets visual remote assistance and in-person support: In the winter, my furnace stops working. Using remote visual assistance, a technician determines two parts need to be replaced. The technician leaves the new parts outside my home and then uses a visual remote assistant to guide me through the repairs.

No matter how it’s done, using a visual remote assistant streamlines service delivery while boosting safety with access to knowledge and expertise in real time. Not having to always send an on-site technician also provides cost savings. Safe, complete, and efficient service leads to happier, loyal customers.

Boost worker safety, give back, and create employment opportunities

Addressing employee concerns about safety is equally important. This creates peace of mind and builds employee loyalty through mobile workforce engagement. In addition to keeping on-site workers safe, using a visual remote assistant also drives sustainability, creates jobs, and supports accessibility.

Stay safely off the road and support sustainability in field service

In some cases, using a visual remote assistant reduces or eliminates on-site service visits. This limits the time mobile field service workers spend on the road where they can encounter hazards. It also helps preserve the environment and infrastructure. For example, fewer trucks rolling means less emissions and wear and tear on roads — contributing to sustainability.

Retain and attract talent through job creation

Field service technicians work in remote locations and are exposed to heavy machinery, electrical equipment, and other hazards. Unfortunately, there are experienced and knowledgeable technicians who leave field service due to physical conditions, health concerns, and travel requirements.

Visual remote assistance enables technicians to provide field service in a setting more comfortable to them — helping retain mobile workers who otherwise may have left. This provides opportunities around accessibility and equality by opening up field service jobs to people who have strong technical skills, but are unable to do the on-site work themselves.

Get started quickly with remote support software

From an implementation standpoint, remote support software is quickly integrated into your existing service console. With a simple button click, agents can easily set up a virtual assistance session with a customer within the service console. Technicians can do this from their smart devices.

In a short time, you’ll provide visual remote assistance in real time from anywhere in the world — even if you’re in a remote location during a blizzard. It is designed to scale down and work even on low variable bandwidth connections, reducing the quality of the video and downgrading it to still frames, if necessary.

For customers, it’s also easy to use. Visual remote assistance can be launched from a mobile web browser and doesn’t require an additional app or software download. Customers simply click a link in a text message to start a remote service session.

Scale service with visual remote assistance

Today’s world has changed the way we conduct business and interact with one another. With remote customer assistance, field service organizations have more flexibility to deliver service from anywhere while keeping both workers and customers safe. See how Salesforce’s Visual Remote Assistant empowers your field service team, no matter what’s happening today, tomorrow, or beyond.

This article first appeared on the Salesforce corporate blog www.salesforce.com/blog/remote-virtual-assistance-service/

70% of Customers Prefer On-Site Service, Even Now — Is Your Field Service Ready To Deliver?

Jan 11, 2021 • Features • Digital Transformation • Salesforce

Bill Patterson, Executive Vice President and General Manager of CRM Applications at Salesforce outlines how to adapt your field service for today’s world while providing mission critical service, ensuring customer satisfaction, and driving revenue...

Field service hasn’t been immune to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many on-site service jobs were canceled or deferred for months due to safety mandates, travel restrictions, and customer concerns. As a result, some field service organisations have had to halt operations and reduce resources.

However, people continued to need support in their homes and businesses — reinforcing that field service remains mission critical. Many jobs, like repairing a washing machine for a family with six children, installing a standby generator for a senior citizen who lives in a hurricane-prone area, or maintaining an ultrasound machine for a hospital in a major city, need to be done by a field service technician in person. And according to Salesforce Snapshot Research, 70% of customers prefer on-site service over video.

Both mobile worker and customer safety has always been top of mind in field service. Today, as field service appointments increase, the need for safe, fast, and complete service delivery — the first time — becomes even more important.

Along with best practices, a flexible field service management solution helps your organisation to adapt and innovate to be resilient in today’s world.

You become more proactive, agile, and efficient in your approach to field service delivery — all while providing mission-critical service, ensuring customer satisfaction, and driving revenue.

Connect with customers to prepare for the appointment

Communication helps build trust and customer engagement.Field service management facilitates communication by empowering customers to self-serve with chatbots and customer portals and enabling organisations to provide updates on technician arrival time with automated alerts and messaging. Use this functionality to instruct customers on what they need to do to prepare for a safe service visit, including cleaning the workspace, wearing a mask, and social distancing.

Ensure first-time fix rates to avoid another visit

According to the State of Service report, 45% of mobile workers waste significant time because of inaccurate or outdated information. Make sure they have a complete view of the customer and job information, as well as knowledge articles, on their connected mobile device before they arrive for a service visit.

Having all data easily accessible in one place and being able to collaborate with other experts while in the field helps to boost efficiency and improve first-time fix resolution. This increases overall customer satisfaction and positions your organization for new business opportunities.

Have the right parts to make sure the job is completed quickly

Preparation is key. It isn’t enough to have the right field service technician at the right time for the job.

They also need the right type and number of parts at the time of service. For example, when a field service technician arrives to repair a 3D printer for an existing medical device customer, it’s critical they have all the necessary parts to get the job done right, the first time to avoid inconveniencing them with a follow up visit or delaying critical service requests.

Inventory management powered by artificial intelligence (AI) recommends the best parts based on previous work orders to make sure your mobile worker always has what they need.

Unlock revenue opportunities to drive business growth

Eighty percent of service leaders say field service drives significant revenue, and 79% say it drives new revenue streams. In addition to training your mobile workers to identify sales opportunities in the field, tap into AI-enabled asset performance insight to boost revenue. For example, AI provides visibility into asset data, enabling you to see when the warranty for a piece of equipment has expired or not covered by a preventative maintenance contract and get recommendations on additional services to sell.

Set up for success with Salesforce Field Service

The world is reopening and field service organisations are addressing their backlogged jobs. With field service management, you can be more innovative in how you safely, proactively, and efficiently meet customer needs and drive business growth through automated communication, connected information, and AI-driven insights.

Learn how Salesforce Field Service can help you to succeed in field service delivery today, the next normal, and beyond @ www.salesforce.com/products/field-service/overview/

This article first appeared on the Salesforce corporate blog https://www.salesforce.com/blog/remote-virtual-assistance-service/

Customer Service in 2020 and Beyond: Global Study Details Reveals the Pandemic’s Lasting Impact

Dec 09, 2020 • News • Research • Salesforce • Covid-19

As the serial crises of 2020 redefine customer engagement, customer service leaders are transforming their operations, accelerating digital transformation, and overhauling their workforce management strategies. That’s according to Salesforce’s fourth State of Service research report, released today, which provides a snapshot of the priorities, challenges, and trajectories of customer service teams around the world. This edition is based on Salesforce’s largest and most global survey of customer service agents, decision makers, mobile workers, and dispatchers: over 7,000 respondents across 33 countries.

“We knew based on our previous research that businesses no longer view their service and support operations as cost centers, but as strategic assets that benefit revenue and retention as customer expectations soar,” said Bill Patterson, EVP and GM of B2B CRM at Salesforce. This research helps us and our customers understand how the playbook is changing, and what the best teams do differently from their competitors as they move back into growth mode.” [CTT]

From the channels they use to serve customers to the spaces employees work from to the skill sets agents require, there’s not much that hasn’t changed for customer service organizations. Here are some key takeaways.

The pandemic has exposed customer service shortcomings, but leaders are taking decisive action

The impacts of COVID-19 were a wake up call for customer service organizations used to the status quo. As workers stayed at home and customers asked questions for which there were no answers, customer service leaders were faced with conundrums with far reaching consequences for their teams.

Eighty-eight percent of service professionals say the pandemic exposed technology gaps, and 86% say the same for service channel gaps as customers flocked away from physical locations and towards digital methods of engagement. Teams also found shortcomings that went beyond the obvious. For example, 87% realized that their existing policies and protocols — such as cancellation fees for events that were prohibited by public health measures — were not suited for current circumstances.

Faced with these challenges, service teams and their leaders are making transformations that will endure beyond the current crisis. Eighty-three percent of service organizations have changed policies to provide customers with more flexibility, for instance, and 78% have invested in new technology as a result of the pandemic.

“Leaders are taking this time to rethink the value of experiences and reimagine engagement with customers and employees alike,” said Brian Solis, Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce.”It’s not just about technology. Sometimes technology is at its best when invisible. We’re going to see significantly more agile, innovative, and relevant organizations emerge from this crisis that provide modern and sought-after experiences that change the game for everyone.”

Digital transformation is accelerating for customers and employees alike

A related research report shows the extent to which customers have shifted to digital, as well as how that shift is expected to persist. Consumers and business buyers estimate that six out of ten of their interactions with companies will occur online in 2021, up from 42% in 2019.

This uptick has coincided with a surge in adoption of various digital channels by service organizations. Video support saw the highest rate of increase in adoption since 2018 (+42%), followed by live chat (+35%) and messenger apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger (+29%). Conversely, the share of organizations offering in-person service and support fell by 16%.

The digital transformation of customer service goes beyond the increased use of digital channels. Service teams also ramped up their adoption of artificial intelligence by 32% since 2018, and their adoption of chatbots shot up by 67%.

"It's never been more important to remove friction from every user experience." says Jim Roth, Executive Vice President of Customer Support at Salesforce. "In our personal lives, we so often solve issues on our own with a simple Google search. We reach out to our friends and family on our preferred communication channels, during a time that's good for us. When we interact with companies, we expect the same level of easy, seamless interactions. If a company makes it too hard for customers to engage, they may become former customers."

Service teams are being challenged by a new era of workforce engagement

Customer service workforces, rooted in contact centers, were spun into upheaval as stay at home orders spread across the world and social distancing became part of daily life. Over half (54%) of global customer service professionals worked from home during 2020, and only 43% expect to return to their normal workplace in 2021.

The shift to remote work has not impacted productivity as much as some may assume, with a majority (72%) of service agents agreeing they have all the tools and technology they need to work remotely. But as 54% of organizations experienced increased case volume, many of them have brought on contractors (42%) or employees from other departments (62%) to help. Just 25% of service professionals say their organizations excel at training such employees from afar, and even fewer (19%) say the same for their ability to onboard these employees in the first place.

Training is a focus as requisite skill sets evolve

Particularly during a crisis, the role of a customer service agent can no longer be limited to closing tickets. Agents are now expected to be knowledgeable, consultative, and above all, empathetic to customers’ unique needs and circumstances. A mix of hard and soft skills — communication, listening, and product knowledge — are in the highest demand. What’s more, service organizations accelerated their tracking of revenue more than any other metric since 2018 (up 57%), putting new expectations for sales savviness on agents’ plates.

Despite tightened budgets, service organizations by-and-large continue to invest in training programs and infrastructure, with a particularly significant bump in the share of teams with access to on-demand training (61%). Far from an entry level position, customer service agents see their roles as providing increasing opportunity even amidst an economic downturn. Sixty-seven percent of agents say they have a clear career path, up from 59% in 2018.

“You’re going to see more blurred lines between different roles moving forward,” predicted Salesforce Global Growth Evangelist Tiffani Bova. “This isn’t new, but it’s accelerating. It’s why so many companies have realized that ‘customer success’ is a more appropriate term than ‘customer service,’ especially when they’ve committed to being more customer-centric. Service has to be part of growth strategies. That’s when customer success truly has a significant impact on the bottom line.”

Field service is thriving, even amid a pandemic

Over the summer of 2020, Salesforce found that 70% of consumers, including 67% of Americans) still preferred in-person appointments where on-site support was a must, such as appliance repairs or internet installs, with the remainder opting for digital alternatives. Accordingly, three-quarters of decision makers with field service continue to see significant revenue from their operations and nearly seven in ten (69%) continue to make significant investments in their mobile workers through tactics such as additional hiring, training, technology investment.

Field Service News Analysis:

Having had access to a selection of the key data relating to the service sector in the UK, some additional key findings Field Service News has identified that will be of interest to Field Service Directors include:

In response to the pandemic:

82% of service teams say they’ve shifted workflows/processes
85% of service teams say they’ve changed policies to provide more flexibility to customers
60% of service decision makers say they’ve invested in new service technology

Agents’ ability to find information needed to do their job:

83% of agents can remotely access all the data and information they need
57% of service teams have brought in employees from other departments to work in service and support roles
49% of agents see a clear path for career growth at their job
61% of service decision makers say they’re making significant investments in agent training

Field Service spotlight:

76% of service decision markets say field service is a key part of their overall strategy
68% of service decision makers say field service drives significant revenue for their company

Sustainability Can be the Outcome of COVID (podcast highlight)

Nov 20, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation • Salesforce • The Field Service Podcast • Covid-19 • Remote Services

In this final excerpt from a series featuring conversation between Salesforce's Gary Brandeleer and Field Service News' Kris Oldland the conversation takes a more philosphical turn as Brandeleer outlines why we should be taking the opportunity to...

Want to hear more head over to our podcast library @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts

A SERVITIZED WORLD IS A SUNSTAINABLE WORLD

In a recent white paper authored by Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News, published in partnership with Salesforce we looked at one of the big questions as we build the new normal and we plot our route to recovery – ‘should we be redefining the very definition of what the value proposition is of field service in a world of remote service delivery, zero touch service delivery?’

Of course, in this post pandemic, new world, it's an embryonic conversation. It's early days as we find our way towards these new modes of working, but it is imperative that we, as service leaders, are having these kinds of conversations today as we all build towards recovery together.

The white paper, which is available on the button beneath this article, goes into a number of aspects of this conversation and it's designed to promote the leaders of our sector to start thinking about these kinds of conversations. To further build on this discussion Oldland invited Salesforce’s Gary Brandeleer onto the Field Service Podcast to push that discussion further and to hear Brandeleer’’s insight reflecting on the many conversations he has had working with companies from all different parts of the world across many all different industries, in terms of embracing digital transformation.

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the discussion was how Brandeleer outlined that what we're doing now isn't just reaction to the pandemic but can also really be building a much more sustainable future as well.

"Can we actually sell much more services and our experience, and really think about the impact on the climate when we do this?"

- Gary Brandeleer, Salesforce

“I think if you look at optimization right now there is a really deep advantage at moving towards these more advanced services-based relations on a recurring basis,” begins Brandeleer.

“What I mean by this is that if we want to achieve sustainability on this planet, consuming more products is not the way forward. We know that literally every single time you consume anything it's pollution one way or another. When you consume a service, well, there is not always pollution behind it. Going back to outcome-based services, sometimes actually, the outcome can be where the device is going to be more efficient, which is going to consume less energy, which at the end of the day, we make it a more sustainable device.

“The criteria we're going to have to think of is ‘can we use everything that is going right now in the world, especially in the field service world where many of the companies we have as customers, make the world a better place by servicing the device making the product better and keeping the world running.

“Can we use now all the skills we have around us to actually say, ‘Well, you know what COVID-19 that's one thing, but there is also climate change going on?’ I mean, literally three weeks ago in San Francisco, we had a day where it was night during the day, which was pretty disturbing, for sure. I was thinking like, well, these are sharp, guys. I mean, that's where we are going, we need to make sure that we are creating differentiation for services and that we literally stop selling too many products.

“Can we actually sell more services, leverage our knowledge and experience, and really think about the impact on the climate when we do this? Of course, we are not going to stop selling every product out there and for the install base that is 40 years old, actually keeping it running is more polluting than not having a new product. However, for some products, it may be a case of thinking ‘I can keep it for three years more, it's fine’. ‘I'm going to be fine with that, I'm going to maintain the asset to improve the efficiency of the device for two more years and that's going to save us maybe a little bit of steel, a little bit of co2 emission and we can optimise this.

“I think there is really a spot we can reach which this kind of optimal place with a balance between new products and services which by the way, we need to be offered in a trusted relationship style and get to a world where there are no surprises with the product, it's not breaking anymore - but on top of that, actually, it's helping the world to be more sustainable. I think that's really all Holy Grail I would love to reach at one point of time."

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A Future of Field Service Without Break Fix? (podcast highlight)

Nov 18, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation • Salesforce • The Field Service Podcast • Covid-19 • Remote Services

Salesforce's Gary Brandeleer and Field Service News' Kris Oldland discuss the true value of the service engineer and outline a future of field service where break-fix is no longer part of our day-to-day lexicon...

Want to hear more head over to our podcast library @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts

IF A DEVICE FAILS, CSAT WILL GO DOWN

Perhaps one of the biggest questions of the current times for the field service sector, as we plot our way towards the new normal, is should we be redefining the value proposition of what field service delivery means, in an age of remote service and a post-pandemic world? It's an embryonic question. Indeed, it's an embryonic conversation, but it's one that the field service sector needs to be having.

Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News recently authored a white paper on this topic, published in partnership with Salesforce to kick start the discussion. To get further insight into the area Oldland invited Salesforce's Gary Brandeleer onto the Field Service Podcast to gain further understanding and learn from Gary's experience working with a number of different organisations in the areas of digital transformation so we can start to piece together exactly how we should be rethinking the value proposition of service delivery.
In the above highlight from that conversation, Brandeleer and Oldland start discussing what the real value is of the field service engineer.

"The key aspect and all the research that we've run on where the value is regarding service engineers, suggests that the value lies in the fact that they are subject matter experts, and that's come from across research projects, interviews, Think Tank Sessions that we've run at Field Service News. It is a constant, consistent theme," explains Oldland.

"The real value of the engineer is having a subject matter expert on-site, so I think we might see an annual, biannual, or even quarterly review process where that engineer, the subject matter expert, goes on and spends the day with the customer. A scenario where they aren't just on-site to fix a couple of issues, but looks at how those assets are interacting looks at how the data that they have from other organisations, across the fleet and outlines to the customer how to optimise for those.

"Then the more day to day routine, or the quick break, fix problems that can be solved remotely, that's where that level of remote-first comes in," he adds.

What if you could transform this relationship into one where the customer will never expect and never experience a failure?"

- Gary Brandeleer, Salesforce

"I think, I wish that, in 10 years from now we will not even know what break-fix is," adds Brandeleer.

"What I mean by this is with more and more new products being developed, the product shouldn't break anymore. It will need to be maintained - and it needs to be very clear how to maintain it, so it doesn't break. I think that's really where I wish all our customers were right now because when one of your devices is breaking, essentially, you can't have a good CSAT - it's nearly impossible.
"Yes, the service provider can get in to fix the problem quickly, and they can get the CSAT up again, but the break is going to see the CSAT going down for sure.

"What if you could transform this relationship into one where the customer will never expect and never experience a failure? Where they will never experience breaking points with your device? To say to the customer, we are going to create this relationship where we guarantee you that the assets won't break. We are going to make sure that we execute on this promise, delivering you a device and a service that leads to a position where the asset you need won't ever let you down - and at the same time, the customer understands clearly what they're going to pay for it. It's much easier as a relationship to say 'okay, yes, you're paying $1,000 a month for the service contract, but you have no break-fix, no surprises.'"

"I think that's really where I think these relationships can grow into true partnerships."

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The Potential Downsides of a Remote First Approach to Field Service (podcast highlights)

Nov 16, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation • Salesforce • The Field Service Podcast • Covid-19 • Remote Services

Salesforce's Gary Brandeleer and Field Service News' Kris Oldland discuss potential downsides to adopting a remote first-approach to service delivery and explore the potential for a hybrid model that blends on-site and remote service...

Want to hear more head over to our podcast library @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts

WE WILL SEE A HYBRID MODEL EMERGE IN THE NEW NORMAL

In a recent exclusive white paper authored by Field Service News Editor-in-Chief, Kris Oldland, we explored a number of different aspects of the emerging conversation centred around the importance of remote first service delivery.

The white paper looked at a number of different facets of that discussion including the technology and tools required to make sure we're delivering remote service effectively and also looking at some of the pros and cons of adopting a remote first by default approach both for the service customer and the service provider.

However, as this is a fairly embryonic conversation that has only recently gained significant traction as we see a huge host of companies beginning to embrace remote service delivery as a direct result of the pandemic, Oldland invited Salesforce’s Gary Brandeleer to join him on the Field Service Podcast to hear his insight and to learn from his direct experience. With Brandeleer and his colleagues at Salesforce having helped so many organisations through digital transformation journeys, it was also an excellent opportunity to disseminate some of the thinking that goes on alongside that.

In the above excerpt from that podcast, the two begin discussing some of the nuances within the conversation, particularly looking at the challenges of remote service delivery and also the potential loss of benefits to having the field service engineer on site for the service organisation.

For example, it has long been said that the field service engineer is the eyes and ears of the organisation and their being on site could be a significant loss from the service providers side of the equation.

"I think that's an interesting discussion to have because I really think that there is going to be this hybrid model..."

- Gary Brandeleer, Salesforce

“So there is an idea of the loss of the trusted advisor to consider that is for sure,” begins Brandeleer.

“Before, your trusted advisor was really just a technician on site, now I have a feeling that we will see this decrease a bit, but it's a balance. Companies must decrease that approach of having 100% of that trusted advisor relationship with the technician. Now, the balance may be 50% of that trusted relationship is done through contact on site, but 50% of that relationship is now built with the back office,” he explains.

“I think that's where this loss of the trusted advisor will be covered by other things,” Brandeller adds.

However, what about the issue from the other side of the equation, what value to the service provider lose in not having someone on-site, with a captive and attentive audience of the customer?

“I think there is nothing better than having someone on site to actually look at if there are other devices that the service provider could also service. Having a subject matter expert on there to interpret and understand how the site is working, what is the criticality of an asset against the whole system and the whole operation of the customer?

Indeed, it does seem that there are arguments in either way to the advantages of remote service delivery and on-site both for the customer and the service provider.

“Companies are getting these kind of quick fixes done via remote assistance, which is really helping on uptime,” Brandeleer muses. “However, some customers may say, Well, that was a quick fix that you did for me remotely and yes the device is fixed, but it seems like you need to send someone anyway. So when really is my problem really going to be completely fixed?”

“I think that's an interesting discussion to have because I really think that there is going to be this hybrid model where the first quick fix is done remotely – for example it could be like your pipe leaking. It might be quite annoying right now. Well, you, you do the quick fix of putting tape literally around the pipe and say, okay, for now shut down the machine, keep it like this, we will be on-site very fast.

“So somehow, yes, the leak was fixed, but it was a quick fix and now you need to really need to have someone on-site. So how can you add this discussion with customers where you say, okay, we really solve your problem completely, and when was the problem really considered as fixed completely?

“I think that's where the only way to have this kind of discussion is always going back to data.”

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The New Thinking Required for the New Normal (podcast highlight)

Nov 13, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation • Salesforce • The Field Service Podcast • Covid-19 • Remote Services

Salesforce's Gary Brandeleer and Field Service News' Kris Oldland discuss why there is foundational new thinking required as we build the new normal of field service...

Want to hear more head over to our podcast library @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts

THE BENEFITS OF REMOTE SERVICE DELIVERY

Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News recently authored a white paper in partnership with Salesforce, that focused on one of, if not the biggest questions of the moment in our sector. Should we be redefining the value of field service delivery in an age of remote service, especially if we move to remote first as a default. It was a wide ranging white paper that looked at a number of different areas including the benefits and the negatives for both the customer and the service provider themselves.

To further add to the initial thoughts raised in that paper, Oldland invited Salesforce’s Gary Brandeleer onto the Field Service Podcast, to take the conversation a little bit further. Brandeleer was able to bring his own experience and of course, the wider experience of the team at Salesforce who've been instrumental in the digital transformation of so many organisations to the table. In the above highlight from that conversation Oldland and Brandeleer discuss some of the benefits of remote first approach for field service customers.

“The safety factor is number one, and is very real, especially right now,” explains Brandeleer.

“I think it will continue even after COVID. Safety is number one in field service, in general, and having someone on-site, COVID or not, is always risky. There is always a risk for the human there doing his job.

“So in some areas we definitely think remote assistance will help, even without COVID. For example, can you just have only one person on the roof whereas before you may have had maybe two or three technicians working at the same time in a small and dangerous area when maintaining a roof top device? So there are some safety aspects that will remain I think.

“What's also going on as well with the move to remote service delivery is that, we may lose out in some instances in having the trusted advisor on site, but at the same time it does create better customer relations with the back office. Before, often the only face of the company was the technician - now I have the faces of people that are working in the office, and helping me to find issues to my problem here on site. Where that's really a benefit is that suddenly instead of having just one single person as being the face of your company, you might have an easier way to present multiple persons in front of the customer.

“Even though it's virtual, having a face to respond to you on a call is still creating this trusted relationship,” Brandeleer adds.

"This is where field service companies can really start creating new business models, where you create a real partnership-based relationship with your customer..."

- Gary Brandeleer, Salesforce

“I think the second thing that is also really important that remote assistance brings is the concept of the quick fix - can you really quickly fix the problem right now? Then maybe the service provider will also send someone in one month, or maybe in two weeks, to fully resolve all the problems, but at least the issue is resolved for now. The concept being to try to keep uptime as high as possible and I think that's where companies need to think about how they can create a business model with that first step of remote assistance.

One challenge that I'm hearing from some customers is that it’s challenging to invoice these remote assistance calls. This is because the customer is saying ‘you didn't send a technician on site so are you going to charge me the same price? Why are you invoicing me that much?

“I think that's where you need to go back to customers and say, ‘okay, maybe we change this kind of variation and we have now a service contract review.' Perhaps one suggestion could be a subscribed contract yearly where the customer can have 20 remote assistant calls within the year and on top of that you have the regular maintenance and most probably at one point of time, even preventive maintenance and predictive maintenance.

“This is where field service companies can really start creating new business models, where you create a real partnership-based relationship with your customer. You tell them very clearly the outcome they are going to get such as the device is going to be operational for 97% of the three percent remaining is where it would be down for maintenance. This is where you are saying to the customer ‘we guarantee you this and on top of that for good service and maximising this outcome, we are going to provide you multiple ways of calling us and asking for a quick fix.

“I think that's where people really start to get into the thinking around this. It is really bringing new base line for innovation for new business models. I think that's really something which is very important too.”

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ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘salesforce’ CATEGORY

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A SERVITIZED WORLD IS A SUNSTAINABLE WORLD

"Can we actually sell much more services and our experience, and really think about the impact on the climate when we do this?"

- Gary Brandeleer, Salesforce

Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.

If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!

Further Reading:

Want to hear more head over to our podcast library @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts

IF A DEVICE FAILS, CSAT WILL GO DOWN

What if you could transform this relationship into one where the customer will never expect and never experience a failure?"

- Gary Brandeleer, Salesforce

Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.

If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!

Further Reading:

Want to hear more head over to our podcast library @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts

WE WILL SEE A HYBRID MODEL EMERGE IN THE NEW NORMAL

"I think that's an interesting discussion to have because I really think that there is going to be this hybrid model..."

- Gary Brandeleer, Salesforce

Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.

If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!

Further Reading:

Want to hear more head over to our podcast library @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts

THE BENEFITS OF REMOTE SERVICE DELIVERY

"This is where field service companies can really start creating new business models, where you create a real partnership-based relationship with your customer..."

- Gary Brandeleer, Salesforce

Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.

If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!

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