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Manufacturing process software company secures investment for future growth.

Having addressed service leaders at a conference recently, Cheryl- Anne Sanderson felt something was missing from the sector. Here, she outlines how mentors and leaders can work together to approach the issue of the ageing workforce...

As a mantra, fixing the customer first and the problem second, has served Martin Summerhayes well in his 30-plus years in service profession. Mark Glover, caught up with Fujitsu’s Head of Delivery Strategy and Service Improvement to discuss what it really takes to deliver client satisfaction. 

Let’s go back to the mid-80s, 1985 to be precise. The first of excellent Back to the Future films was released, Nintendo launched its first games console and music was being sold on small, shiny discs called CDs.  

At the same time, Martin Summerhayes was taking his first step on the first rung of the service ladder. And what a tall ladder it turned out to be, for when we speak some 33 years later, Martin is still in the sector and just as wide-eyed and enthusiastic as he was when he stepped out of college with a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Computer Technology. 

His course was sponsored by IT companies including IBM and Hewlett Packard who provided a route into employment for students following their graduation. Martin’s first role was to install and support a dealing room system for Morgan Stanley in the heart of London’s financial district; a fascinating first placement, however Martin fears those opportunities for young engineers just don’t exist anymore, making the industry’s skill-set gap widen further. “When I first started you went to college – not university – and you got a qualification that was equally respected, equally of value,” he says. “Then you got out there and then you went into the workplace. “Then about 10 or 15 years ago, the mindset changed. What we have now is a maturing population of engineers. Most of them are in their 40s or 50s, certainly some of the more experienced ones are in their 50s but then they retire and they leave. “But there isn’t an educational ground that backs this through. Most young people wouldn’t be interested in technology, around computer science or electronics, for example. At the end of the day, most people just don’t get into that,” he says. 

It’s a damning verdict but one that carries weight. The work-place disparity between new technicians coming into the industry and those retiring is vast and has been well commented. But what, if anything, can be done? Martin suggests a re-positioning of what service is could help. “It goes back to when I first started out,” he says. “I think field engineering or field service is as much around customer service as it is technology. “You can bring people into the organisation, who might not have a technology background but have a customer service background but we give them those skills and we cross-train them into the different environment. “Effectively what we want to do is to give this training to the more senior and experienced engineers and you might get three or four juniors working with senior and the whole process can start to work. You start to build up a little network and can start to see results.” 

Martin comes from a place where the customer sits at the heart of all service theory. “You should fix the customer first and the problem second,” he tells me; it’s a mantra he cultivated very early on in his career. Does it still carry weight today? “It is prevalent now as it was then,” he says confidently, “and in fact in some respects more so.  “When you’re visiting the customer, how do you present yourself? You’re the face of the company you’re presenting, how do you talk to the customer? How do you actually let the customer know you’ll deal with the problem they have? Even if you don’t manage to fix the problem you have to give reassurance to the customer that they’re important. At the end of the day the problem will get resolved at some point, even if you don’t fix in on the first visit. “But if you send out someone who doesn’t talk to the customer, or doesn’t acknowledge the issue but goes out to fix the part, even if they fix it first time, the customer will end up with a negative experience of that service interaction,” he warns. 

We now live in an age of ‘keyboard’ warriors, of negative social media reviews that can spread like wildfire across a company’s reputation. “When I first started, we talked about how it takes ten positive interactions to change one negative interaction,” Martin says. “These days, the amount of connections people have on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram could be up to 2,000 people. The fact that we’re more connected today, it means we’re more likely to share those negative experiences. “Customer service is even more critical today than it was 10, 20 or even 30 years ago.”   

 

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"If you send someone out who doesn't talk to the customer, or doesn't acknowledge the issue , even if they fix it first time, the customer will end up with a negative experience..." 

 

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Martin is currently Head of Delivery Strategy and Service Improvement at Fujitsu, a firm he joined in 2008, prior to which he spent nearly 20 years at Hewlett Packard, his first role following his apprenticeship with Data Logic. At HP he sampled an array of various service and operational roles, working his way up to become its EMEA Customer Services Performance Director. Given his years in the industry Martin has witnessed enablers such as connectivity, mobility and the internet come to assist in the engineer’s role, almost as much as a screwdriver and notebook, but does the end-user, the customer care about new technologies such as machine learning and Artificial Intelligence? “Not, really, no,” he says quickly. “When a function doesn’t occur the issue then becomes, how do you as my service provider resolve it as quickly as possible? Whether you use Artificial Intelligence or Augmented Reality or whatever technology platform people are talking about these days, they are enablers.” 
He suggests a future when customers will pick up their i-pads, connect to a portal and are guided through the fixing-process interactively, perhaps live-streaming a remote-service technician for extra support, is on the horizon. As advanced as this sounds, Martin strips back it back to customer empowerment. “All you’re doing is enabling the customer to self-solve that event quicker and more effectively than what you would have done 20 years ago,” he says. “You’re moving the technology closer to the customer.”    

And what about customer satisfaction? What can service professionals do to ensure this most important of factors? Martin outlines five things that every service professional needs to be asking themselves “How do you get the right engineer, with the right skills, with the right parts, to the right call? If you can guarantee those five things,” he says confidently, you’ll end up with really good customer satisfaction.” 

A lot has changed in movies, music and computer since 1985, but Martin’s approach to achieving excellent customer service has not. It’s a career we should all take note of. 

You can listen to the Field Service Podcast with guest Martin Summerhayes here. 

Across recent weeks here on fieldservicenews.com we've published a series of features analysing an exclusive research project run in partnership with Si2 Partners, WorkAmmo and Service People Matters.

Previously we reflected on Si2 Partners founding partner Nick Frank's initial commentary on some of the headline findings of the research which were first aired in a recent episode of the Field Service Podcast.

Now in the final part of this exclusive research analysis, we dig deeper into the findings and see how the trends the research has revealed support Frank's Si2 Partners initial hypotheses...

 

The Key Characteristics of a Service Manager

So, to begin let’s explore what the key characteristics field service organisations are looking for when recruiting new service managers.

We asked our survey respondents “What are the key attributes you look for in a service manager” with a list of 14 options to select as well as the option to submit additional information - and we asked respondents to list any options that were applicable to them.

Interestingly, and very much in line with Frank’s comments, the most common response was leadership capability in which 86% of respondents stated was a key attribute they sought within their service managers.

This in itself is a particularly intriguing insight given that as Frank alluded to, leadership capabilities may not be particularly evident based on past performance if organisations are promoting from within and selecting their new service managers from a pool of their highest performing field engineers.

This is not to say that they won’t necessarily exist within that pool, however, the skill set of strong leadership is as we have mentioned in the introduction a different skill set to what makes an excellent field service engineer.

 

"The most common response was leadership capability in which 86% of respondents stated was a key attribute they sought within their service managers..."

 

Yet it seems indeed that leadership is absolutely viewed as pivotal within the role of service management today - something that is surely a reflection on the strategic importance of service delivery as a growth driver that Frank refers to.

However, whilst the research findings reveal that whilst leadership skills are the most commonly sought after trait when recruiting service managers, it seems that many service organisations continue to seek out similar attributes within their service managers as those that are often highly valued within field service engineers and technicians.

Specifically, field service organisations were commonly looking for potential service managers to show technical knowledge and application (77%) and be good problem solvers (50%) both key traits often sought after in field service engineers and technicians.

Additionally, both an ability to fight fires and demonstrated performance delivery were both identified as key traits by just under a third (30%) of field service companies look for when recruiting new service managers - again highlighting how the roles of service managers are seen as being a linear progression from field-based roles.

However, given that this number is relatively low, it could also be argued that this could indeed be indicative of a changing tide and that this is part of the evolution which Frank described as service becomes a strategic growth drier rather than merely a cost centre.

Yet, when we look for the skills and attributes that are more firmly in line with what Frank describes as business management skills, again the data sits very much in line with his hypothesis, that perhaps not enough service organisations are showing the levels of ambition that one might expect given the large shift towards service as a profit centre we have seen in recent years.

 

"A third of companies (33%) who stated that a good head for business is something they look for in a service manager, whilst slightly more (40%) stated that an important trait they look for in service managers is for them to be analytical and metric driven..."

 

In fact, again it is a third of companies (33%) who stated that a good head for business is something they look for in a service manager, whilst slightly more (40%) stated that an important trait they look for in service managers is for them to be analytical and metric driven - another attribute that is perhaps more aligned to business management than the traditional requirements of service management.

What these findings to appear to reveal is that we do seem to be in the midst of an evolution within the role of the service manager, with some companies still leaning towards selecting the best performers within their field service teams, whilst others are adopting a slightly more ambitious approach to selecting their service management personnel in looking for traits that are more aligned with the strategic business aspects of the role.

There are of course merits in both approaches, as Frank points out, however, there are also a number of traits that are fundamental to being able to ensure that field service operations are delivered optimally and this was also evident in the research findings.

One big attribute that was commonly cited as important for field service companies to seek within their service managers was a customer-centric outlook - which was, in fact, the second most frequently cited of all the options within the survey with 80% of companies stating this is something they look for within a potential service manager.

Alongside this, a large percentage of companies felt that potential candidates for their vacant service manager roles should ideally have a good operational understanding, which two thirds (66%) cited as well as a good rapport with their service engineers which over half (55%) cited.

Whilst both of these latter two attributes could, of course, be developed by an external candidate these are both areas where an internal recruit would certainly have an advantage.

 

Service Manager Development

So, based on the research findings around the desired attributes of service managers, there remains a strong case for hiring from within, yet at the same time we are certainly starting to see a developing appetite for and a gradual shift towards the more business focussed service management role that Frank describes.

So does this mean that field service organisations are looking to recruit within and then develop the layers of business acumen required for managing a service business as a profit-generating entity?

The research would appear to suggest that this may not yet be the case and the role remains to be seen as being both technical and supervisory rather than being focused on business performance and strategic thinking.

Having  asked our respondents ‘What training do you give to your service managers?’ we found out that indeed, leadership training was the most popular response being cited by just over half (53%) of respondents, whilst technical training was also cited by half (50%) of respondents.

 

"Less than a quarter of our respondents (23%) stated that they gave their service managers any financial or business acumen training..."

 

In addition to these attributes ‘coach-the-coach’ style training and also ‘soft-skils’ were both cited by 30% of companies, is another attribute that fits more within a supervisory focused service manager role.

In contrast to this, less than a quarter of our respondents (23%) stated that they gave their service managers any financial or business acumen training.

This would certainly suggest that whilst aspirationally many companies may be beginning to see service as a driver for revenue growth, in reality, the majority of field service organisations still see the role of the service manager as being one firmly rooted in the operational side of the business.

Of course, one answer for this could simply be that many organisations see the more business-focused aspects of service management as belonging within the realm of the service director, rather than the service manager - but that begs the question as to whether we are developing the necessary characteristics within our service managers to make the necessary step up to become highly effective service directors who can drive both a service operation and business growth forward simultaneously?

Could it be that as field service delivery continues to becoming increasingly interwoven within business strategy - particularly as the trend towards servitization and outcome-based contracts become more prevalent that we are seeing demand outstrip supply in terms of service managers who are equally comfortable being operationally efficient, business savvy and who also have a natural proclivity to customer-centricity?

 

"Over two thirds (70%) of respondents stating that they didn’t feel there were enough candidates to meet demand for service managers roles..."

 

The research would again certainly add weight to this argument with over two thirds (70%) of respondents stating that they didn’t feel there were enough candidates to meet demand for service managers roles given the fact that field service has become increasingly important operation within many companies wider business strategies.

This lack of suitable candidates again asserts the validity and importance of being able to recruit from within - in essence, to be able to grow your own service management leaders. However, if companies are to do so and to do so effectively, then it would appear that many need to rethink how they approach their management level training programs to incorporate more focus on the business aspects if they are to truly align the role of service manager, with the premise of service as a profit centre.

Yet it is by no means an impossible task and the fact that just under half (44%) of the field service organisations who participated in the research involve their service directors within the recruitment process would suggest that these concepts may well filter down over time.

It seems that there is a small portion of field service organisations who are one step ahead of the pack in terms of developing their service managers to not only be able to deliver operationally but also strategically. The question now must be how long before the rest catch up? how long before the rest catch up?

 

Executive Findings: 

 

• 86% of field service companies state that Leadership Capabilities are a key attribute they look for in potential service managers
• 77% of field service companies state that Technical Skills are a key attribute they look for in potential service managers
• 80% of field service companies believe their Service Managers must have a customer-centric outlook.
• 55% of field service companies expect their Service Managers to have an excellent rapport with their service technicians
• 23% of field service companies provide their Service Managers with business or financial acumen training.
• 70% of field service companies believe that there are not enough suitable candidates to fill the demand for Service Managers

 

About The Research:

The research was conducted over a six week period reaching out to fieldservicenews.com subscribers as well as the respective audiences of our partners inviting recipients to complete a detailed online survey. In total there were 131 respondents.

In addition to this Field Service News Editor-in-Chief conducted a live polling session at the recent Field Service Connect event, held at the Belfry, UK which was hosted by WBR at which an additional 33 senior field service executives were present bringing the total respondent level to 164 field service professionals - a sufficiently large enough response base to provide a fairly robust snapshot of the current trends around recruitment and development amongst field service organisations today.

The respondents represented a diverse range of industries including; Heavy Manufacturing, Healthcare, Consumer Electronics, Power Generation and Facilities Management. There were respondents from all across the globe including the UK, Belgium, Germany, UAE, Canada, Spain and the USA and there were responses from companies of varying sizes ranging from those with less than 10 engineers through to those with over 800 engineers.

 

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Across the last five weeks, we've been presenting you with the findings from our most recent research project, which we ran in partnership with ServiceMax from GE Digital. 

Our focus was to see what the field service engineer of the near future will look like and across the first three features of our analysis, our focus was on the changing face of the field service engineer as we see an ageing Baby Boomer workforce reaching retirement age being replaced by a new wave 'millennial'  field service workers.

In the first feature, we looked at the threat of the ageing workforce and the changes in training methodologies that are emerging. In part two we explored if and if and how field service companies are utilising their experienced field service engineers to train the incoming generation and in part three we asked if field service companies were reacting quickly enough to these challenges.

In part four we changed tack slightly and looked at how technology is playing a role in attracting new field service talent and in the final part of this series we look at how field service companies are utilising technology within their training methodologies and bring together some conclusions from the research project as a whole

There is also a detailed white paper outlining the wider findings of this report which is available to fieldservicenews.com subscribers...

Not a subscriber yet? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry practitioner email and get this resource sent to you instantly

(Please note that by applying for your subscription via this link you accept the terms and conditions here and a plain English version is available from our main subscriptions page here) 

Technology as a training tool:

In the previous feature, we discovered that technology appears to play an increasingly important role in attracting new field service engineers to an organisation, and our research revealed that it also plays an important role in their development and training as well.

Indeed, just under three-quarters of companies in our response group stated that they use smartphone or tablet apps as part of their training, over two thirds (69%) utilise knowledge bases and over half utilise video conferencing.

The use of video conferencing is of particular interest as 57% of companies also stated that they have programs in place for older technicians to support newer recruits and video conferencing is a highly convenient means of facilitating this.

The use of video conferencing is of particular interest as 57% of companies also stated that they have programs in place for older technicians to support newer recruits and video conferencing is a highly convenient means of facilitating this.However, it is interesting to note that only 9% of companies are currently using Augmented Reality (AR) tools as part of their training programs.

This raises the question of why companies are yet to make what on the surface seems to be a natural transition from video to AR. Given that the processes for offering remote support via video conferencing are essentially the same as for AR it would seem that many field service companies are already well positioned to take advantage of these tools.

Competition amongst AR providers is increasing which will likely drive down prices, whilst case studies and use cases are becoming more apparent - meaning the increased efficiency that AR offers over video conferencing will become more widely acknowledged.

Therefore, it would seem a likely assertion that we may soon see wider adoption of AR amongst field service organisations.

What is abundantly clear, however, is that technology is playing a crucial role in the training and development of field service engineers. In fact, only 7% of field service companies stated that they didn’t use any of the various technologies we listed in the survey as training tools.

The reason for such widespread use of technology in field service organisations training programs was also made apparent within the research. 87% of companies stated that technology was at least partially responsible for reducing the length of time necessary it takes to train a new field service engineer.

Just 10% of companies commented that for them the delivery platform of their training wasn’t an important factor.Of that 87%, well over a third of companies (37%) went on to state that incorporating the latest technology into field service engineer training can reduce the amount of time taken to onboard new field service engineers significantly, whilst just 10% of companies commented that for them the delivery platform of their training wasn’t an important factor.

Of course, with technology being ever more integrated with field service delivery it perhaps makes sense to be embracing technology throughout the onboarding process and beyond.

The good news here for field service companies recruiting new millennial talent is that in general, our respondents experienced that they found that Millennials are able to familiarise themselves with mobility tools etc far quicker than the existing Baby Boomer workforce.

In fact, over half 53% of our respondents commented that they believed this to be the case whilst just 4% disagreed and stated that their older field service engineers see the benefits of technology and adapt just as well as the younger engineers now entering the workplace.

One final point on the insights gained from this section of the research is that whilst the use of new technologies such as AR may be an important element in attracting talent and also in reducing training times, it is also can play a role in keeping that talent and reducing attrition rates.

In fact, over three-quarters of the respondents (80%) stated that for them harnessing the latest technology is a factor in keeping attrition rates low.

The Key Stats:

• 67% of field service companies believe that the technology they employ can have a positive effect on attracting talent
• 69% of field service companies use digital knowledge bases as part of their Field Service Engineer development
• 57% of field service companies use their more experienced Field Service Engineers to support younger members of the team
• 87% of field service companies stated that their technology was at least partially responsible for reducing the time it takes to train a new Field Service Engineer
• 53% of respondents felt that the incoming generation of workers would be abe to adapt to mobile tools quicker than their existing Field Service Engineers
• 80% of field service companies believe that the use of emerging technologies such as Augmented Reality will help them reduce attrition rates

The Conclusions:

Firstly, it is absolutely clear that the threat of an ageing workforce is real – yes it may not be of a critical pressing nature just yet for many organisations but the research would certainly indicate that for those companies who fail to address it, it could become so in the not too distant future.

Secondly, the difference between the incoming generation of millennial workers and the exiting baby boomers should not be underestimated.

Fortunately, it seems that the industry at large is aware of the challenge which is a good starting point - although the fact that 84% of companies who have identified the issue have yet to take any action on it is a worrying one.

The answer to both challenges is actually a fairly obvious one.

By using more experienced engineers edging closer to retirement to support those new engineers working in the field it is possible to stop tribal knowledge walking out of the door, whilst also providing training via a platform that is both attractive and familiar to a millennial.

Again, whilst this seems to be a reasonably well-accepted wisdom, those who are practising what they preach remain in the minority with just 17% actually having such a solution in place.

This really needs to change.

Our research has also revealed just how high the expectations are for field service engineers. Technical skills are viewed as-as important as ever, yet modern field service engineers are also expected to have great people skills and be expert problem solvers.Our research has also revealed just how high the expectations are for field service engineers. Technical skills are viewed as-as important as ever, yet modern field service engineers are also expected to have great people skills and be expert problem solvers.

Perhaps counter-intuitively, the rise of knowledge banks has meant that when an engineer is sent out on a call he is not only expected to achieve a first-time fix but often he is trying to establish a fix that wasn’t easily resolved through an initial triage at the contact centre stage. With this in mind surely we should be doing everything possible to empower those in the field – and giving them access to the knowledge and experience of our seasoned engineers should be a fundamental part of that.

Technology has already become an integral part of both field service management and field service delivery.

Our research also confirms that it plays a highly important role in both the recruitment, training and development of Field Service Engineers.

It also absolutely offers the solution to two of the biggest challenges our sector currently face and we should absolutely be embracing tools like AR to overcome these challenges. The transition from a Boomer to the Millennial workforce is bringing with it an evolution of the field service engineer.

Such a significant shift will, of course, have problems and the technology available can certainly smooth out some of the bumps in the road Such a significant shift will, of course, have problems and the technology available can certainly smooth out some of the bumps in the road - as to will establishing new or redesigned processes.

Ensuring your organisation comes out of this transition phase (which all companies will have to go through at some point in the next few years) without major impact to your business will require an investment of time, resources and money in your field service engineers.

With this in mind, it is perhaps even more important than ever before, that field service organisations are able to retain those engineers they have invested so heavily in. It is, therefore, no surprise that the majority of field service companies understand the importance of clearly defined career progression paths.

In summary, across the various key factors of this research, we have identified that in the main the challenges and solutions field service companies are facing are understood by the majority. However, it is those companies who act on these challenges today that will be best positioned to take advantage of the sector-wide disruption we are set to face, whilst those who too long may well find themselves in a precarious position sooner than they think.

The question is which of these will your company be?

Want to know more? There is also a detailed white paper outlining the wider findings of this report which is available to fieldservicenews.com subscribers...

Not a subscriber yet? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry practitioner email and get this resource sent to you instantly

(Please note that by applying for your subscription via this link you accept the terms and conditions here and a plain English version is available from our main subscriptions page here) 

 

Be social and share 

Our latest research project, run in partnership with ServiceMax from GE Digital has take a deep dive into how the role of the field service engineer is evolving. Across the next few months we will be publishing a series of articles both in print and online exploring the findings of this research.

In the first part of this series we looked at the research aims, the threat of the ageing workforce and the changes in training methodologies that are emerging.

Now in part two we explore if and if and how field service companies are utilising their experienced field service engineers to train the incoming generation.

There is also a detailed white paper outlining the wider findings of this report which is available to fieldservicenews.com subscribers...

Not a subscriber yet? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry practitioner email and get this resource sent to you instantly

(Please note that by applying for your subscription via this link you accept the terms and conditions here and a plain english version is available from our main subscriptions page here) 

Utilising experienced FSEs to train the next generation:

Of course, an optimal solution that keeps older FSEs in the work place longer and ensures their knowledge is transferred to those FSEs entering the workforce, is to implement training programs whereby the more experienced techs are directly involved in the training process.

Traditionally, the potential for such undertakings was limited somewhat by the very nature of a field service role. Some senior technicians could take on trainer roles perhaps, providing classroom style learning, but such positions are by default limited. Also, much of a young FSEs true training begins once they’ve left the classroom and are actively in the field. Again, some companies run highly successful programs, pairing up newer engineers with more experienced counterparts to deliver on-job training - doing so can be costly and an inefficient use of FSE resources - doubling up engineers on each job.

Over half (54%) of respondents stated that such an undertaking was certainly something that they are exploring but that they currently don’t have the technology/processes in place.However, emerging technologies - in particular Augmented Reality have shown huge potential to widen the possibilities of using older FSEs in a training and support role. This has dual benefit of both extending the FSEs potential career within the field service organisation whilst putting valuable insight, knowledge and experience in to the hands of less experienced engineers as and when they need it.

But are field service companies harnessing both the power of technology and the experience of their older engineers in such a manner?

We asked our respondents: “A number of companies are now using remote assistance technologies (e.g. Augmented Reality) to keep their older and experienced FSEs in the work place for longer, both as a means of training new recruits and also as a way of ensuring that the knowledge and experience of older engineers is not just walking out of the door. Does this apply to your organisation?’

The responses again somewhat reflect the findings of the previous question around training methodologies, in that whilst the majority of companies agree with the notion of using their older, more experienced FSEs as part of training and support programs and that technology was key to that process, most were still (at best) just beginning down that path.

In fact, over half (54%) of respondents stated that such an undertaking was certainly something that they are exploring but that they currently don’t have the technology/processes in place.

However, perhaps surprisingly just under a quarter of companies (24%) stated that they did not envisage implementing any such plans. This is a surprisingly large number given those companies who do not involve their older engineers in the training process risk seeing years of amassed ‘tribal knowledge’ simply walking out of the door in the not too distant future.

Looking forward it may well be that it is these companies, i.e those who have gotten the head-start over their competitors in such programs, will reap the benefits of doing so and it may well be at the expense of those who don’t.

However, with currently just 20% of companies actively using senior engineers in a remote expert capacity - it seems there could still be room at the top table, for a while at least.

Soft skills taking precedence?

Another major driving factor which is often seen to be impacting how we view the core skills of the field service engineer is the widely reported increase in customer expectations and demands - largely driven by disruptive companies such as Uber and Amazon raising the bar in terms of visibility and immediacy.

Today’s customers are empowered by technology, and easier access to information than ever before makes them more insightful and more expectant. They also have a louder voice than ever before thanks to social media, whilst the ongoing digitisation of all industries makes finding competing service providers a quick and easy process for dissatisfied customers.

And of course the majority (if not all) of this can now be done without the need to actually meet another human being in person. But what does this mean for the FSE?

Well given that in many instances the FSE may be the only face-to-face touch point your customers have with your customers, the old image of a FSE being a recluse, lurking in dark corners, happier tucked away fixing machines than speaking to those pesky customers who just get in the way - has thankfully made way for a new breed of confident, customer-friendly FSEs.

An incredible 98% of respondents stated that people skills were now a higher priority for them than they had been beforeToday’s FSE is armed with all the knowledge they need to hand courtesy of a modern FSM system. They’re confident speaking with customers at all levels of seniority and are true brand ambassadors and are as comfortable selling as they are fixing.

But, is this actually a true reflection of how field service companies are beginning to view their FSEs? Have soft skills become more important than technical skills? There is an argument that it is simpler to train technical skills and that good inter-personal skills are that much harder to teach - but does this hold any truth and are field service companies moving towards placing greater emphasis on soft-skills in their recruitment today? We asked our respondents ‘Is the need for softer, interpersonal skills – becoming a higher priority than before when recruiting new FSEs?

From the results it would appear that this is indeed a major trend amongst field service organisations. An incredible 98% of respondents stated that people skills were now a higher priority for them than they had been before with 46% of companies going as far as stating that people skills are at the top of their list when recruiting new FSEs.

Want to know more? There is also a detailed white paper outlining the wider findings of this report which is available to fieldservicenews.com subscribers...

Not a subscriber yet? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry practitioner email and get this resource sent to you instantly

(Please note that by applying for your subscription via this link you accept the terms and conditions here and a plain english version is available from our main subscriptions page here) 

Be social and share 

Our latest research project, run in partnership with ServiceMax from GE Digital has take a deep dive into how the role of the field service engineer is evolving. Across the next few months we will be publishing a series of articles both in print and online exploring the findings of this research.

There is also a detailed white paper outlining the wider findings of this report which is available to fieldservicenews.com subscribers...

Not a subscriber yet? Click here to apply for a complimentary industry practitioner email and get this resource sent to you instantly

(Please note that by applying for your subscription via this link you accept the terms and conditions here and a plain english version is available from our main subscriptions page here) 

Here in the first article of this series we look at the question of the ageing workforce and the entry of millennials into the field service workforce...

Much has been written about an ageing workforce crisis but how much of the worry is based on hyperbole? And what of the Millennial generation entering the workforce - is our industry ready to embrace them?

Our industry is rapidly evolving. Technology is continuously pushing the boundaries of field service efficiency whilst simultaneously customer expectations are becoming ever more demanding.

Companies like Uber and Amazon have disrupted the very concepts of what good service looks like, shifting the goal posts and creating a race across almost every industry vertical for companies to embrace service excellence.Companies like Uber and Amazon have disrupted the very concepts of what good service looks like, shifting the goal posts and creating a race across almost every industry vertical for companies to embrace service excellence.

At the same time digital transformation is the other major trend sweeping across our sector – one direct side effect of which is that increasingly the Field Service Engineer (FSE) is often the only face to face human interaction between a company and their customers.

So what does this mean for the FSE of tomorrow?

How is their role evolving? What are the skills that will be vital to their role and how do these differ from those that we have previously sought in our FSEs?

To try to find the answers to these questions Field Service News has undertaken a new research project in partnership with ServiceMax by GE Digital.

Across the last few months we’ve reached out to our readers across the globe to gain their insight in order to build a picture of what the FSE of 2022 (incredibly only five years away!) will look like and what role does the growing  importance of technology in field service delivery play in shaping the way we approach acquiring, training, and developing talent within the field service sector?

Across the next few months we will be publishing a series of articles based on the findings of this research and in this first article in the series we ask is the ageing workforce crisis actually really happening or is it all hyperbole? And what about the Millennial workforce entering the field service sector - are we ready to embrace and empower them?

About the research:

The research has been conduct via an online survey across the last two months and our respondents have come from all over the globe including; the UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, USA, Canada, Brazil and beyond.

There was also an equally wide split of industries represented with respondents coming from numerous sectors including; Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, Utilities, Telcos, Print/Copy, Med Tech and many others.

Finally, there was also a balanced representation of companies of all sizes with some companies having less than 10 field service engineers right through to companies with more than 800 engineers.

In total there were 126 respondents which is a large enough sample to provide a reasonable snap-shot of the thinking and the trends amongst field service management professionals.

So what were the findings? Let’s take a look.

The threat of an ageing workforce:

One of the biggest drivers for the rapid evolution of the role of the field service engineer is the fact that the core demographic of those working in field service roles is going through seismic change as we see an ageing Baby Boomer workforce reach retirement age being replaced by a new generation of workers, the Millennials.

Perhaps never before has there been such a significant difference between the generation leaving the workforce and those that are just beginning their working lives. From the way knowledge is gained and shared through to the key motivational drivers, ‘Boomers and Millennials are often chalk and cheese. One of the key challenges for field service companies of all shapes and sizes is how they adjust to this shift in thinking within their workforce and for many time is not on their side as they endeavour to make this adjustment.

There has been much talk of an ageing workforce crisis as the existing Boomer workforce reaches retirement age - perhaps magnified amongst field service organisations by the simple fact that field work can often be relatively physically demanding compared to more sedentary office based roles.

With this in mind our opening question in the survey was focussed on assessing just how real this ageing workforce crisis is amongst field service organisations. We asked our respondents ‘For your organisation how big a threat to your field service delivery do you think this issue will be across the next 5 years?’

The responses revealed that whilst perhaps there may be some hyperbole around the urgency of the issue - it still remains very much a concern for a huge percentage of companies.The responses revealed that whilst perhaps there may be some hyperbole around the urgency of the issue - it still remains very much a concern for a huge percentage of companies.

Whilst only 8% of organisations stated that for them an ageing workforce represented a severe threat i.e. that it is a major issue they are facing that could put their field service operations at risk, 40% of companies taking part in the research stated that the threat was significant for them and that unless addressed quickly they are likely to face major disruption to their field service delivery within the next five years.

In addition to this a further 34% of the respondents stated that they believed the challenge of an ageing FSE population was moderate that they acknowledged it as possible issue that they need to be aware of, although they didn’t anticipate it having a major impact on field service operations.

At the other end of the spectrum just under a fifth of respondents (18%) stated that the impact for them would be limited and that whilst there may be some workforce attrition due to FSEs reaching retirement age, it is unlikely to have any significant impact on their field service operations.

So, it would indeed appear that in the main the issue of an ageing workforce is at the very least a consideration for more than four out of five field service companies.

Changes in training methodologies:

This puts many field service organisations in a challenging position.

The need to recruit younger talent for FSE roles is clearly pressing, but given the aforementioned differences between ‘Boomers and Millennials are the existing on-boarding and training methods suited to this incoming generation?

Our next question was therefore focussed on understanding if field service companies did in fact feel the need to change their training methodologies and whether they were actively doing so. We asked our respondents; ‘Have you adapted your training and development strategies to reflect this?’

Only 10% of companies had stated that they had already redeveloped their training strategies to be more geared to the incoming Millennial workforce. Here the research revealed that whilst there was a clear understanding that changes to the traditional means of training FSEs does indeed need updating, it seems that there is something of a general inertia amongst field service companies to currently tackle such change.

In fact, only 10% of companies had stated that they had already redeveloped their training strategies to be more geared to the incoming Millennial workforce. However, just over half (52%) of companies taking part in the research are currently in the process addressing the issue in their organisation.

Further to this just over a quarter (26%) stated that they had yet to start making changes to their FSE training to reflect the shift from ‘Boomers to Millennials but accept that they need to do so and is something they are currently considering.

Meanwhile, 12% of companies do not believe they need to make any changes to their FSE training at all.

Want to know more? There is also a detailed white paper outlining the wider findings of this report which is available to fieldservicenews.com subscribers...

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Whilst technology can play a big part in improving the efficiency of a field service operation, nothing is as important as ensuring your field service managers are fully armed to do their job. With this in mind we have teamed up with specialist field service training organisation SGSA to bring this series that looks at some of the key concepts that make a good field service manager great. 

The topics included in this series, written by SGSA’s Senior Consultant Steve Brand, are based around the content of SGSA’s 4 and half day, university standard training course for field service managers and Field Service News readers are eligible for a discounted attendance. Further details, a discount code and links to registration are all included at the bottom of the page…

Management is the intervention of getting work done through others, so the success of the field service manager is directly linked to the performance of his team. When the team is meeting its goals, the manager receives the credit. The analogy with the manager of a football team is very apt. When the team lifts the trophy at the end of the match, the manager receives the greatest accolade even though he never set foot on the pitch.

Conversely, when the team is plummeting through the league, the chairman sacks the manager not the team. The previous concepts in this series support this analogy. Concept #1 is to Close the Knowing Doing Gap; in football, the strategy is defined in the changing room but if the tactics are not put into action on the pitch then the match will be lost. Concept #2 is to Put the Whole Team’s Brain to Work; the different talents of everyone on the team are needed for success: forwards, mid-field, defenders and goalkeeper, all working together. Concept #3 is Fair Process; the players actually play the game so their input on how they can win is crucial. Concept #4 is Build a Values System; the manager defines how the team is expected to work together. Concept #5 is People Development; training of the players is the responsibility of the manager. Concept #6 is Empowerment; the manager provides feedback during the match but doesn’t run alongside the players telling them who to pass the ball to next.

You can catch up on the early parts of this series here. Read part one here, part two here and part three here

For the last of our series of four articles, we are providing two more powerful management tips to help Field Service Managers improve working relationships with their engineers and increase productivity.

Concept #7: Manage Behaviours not Metrics

Managers need to compare and increase engineer productivity so they frequently set goals on activity metrics. Activities, for example, the number of service calls made per engineer per day, are easier to count than the results of that activity, for example, an increase in customer loyalty. Technology also allows activities to be easily and accurately reported, whereas it is still ineffective at measuring value creation.

A problem with setting goals on activities (‘input’) rather than value (‘output’) is that it is often simple for field service engineers to manipulate their activity numbers. For example, an engineer being measured on service calls could ignore rather than replace a worn part on a unit being serviced so that he is called out again. Hence, focusing on activity metrics can actually lead to unwanted behaviours being introduced into the operation. The result could be that engineers are commended for meeting their goals when the reality is that they are very busy doing the wrong things to make their numbers look good.

The alternative is for managers to focus on the behaviours that result in added value for the customer, for example, picking up service calls quickly, arriving on time for appointments, setting realistic expectations, explaining the solution, cleaning up properly after the job, etc. The challenge for managers is finding the time to make sure that all of these things actually happen rather than reply on a report alleging that they are happening.

 

An ongoing field service training program is the most effective method of ensuring that engineers know, develop and perform the best practice behaviours for field service. The program consists of two stages: first, teaching all engineers and subsequent new hires the tips and techniques that ensure customer satisfaction and high productivity; and second, providing regular feedback on how many and how well they do each best practice in the field. Ideally, but depending on the size of the team, each engineer should be assessed on his handling of service calls for half a day per month. This means being observed on the job by a manager, team leader, mentor or experienced colleague, and given a score and constructive feedback on how to improve. This isn’t a cheap program but the return on investment is substantial.

In summary, ensuring that engineers adhere to field service best practices is a key responsibility of the manager and one that generates more satisfied and loyal customers, which is obviously good for business. Setting goals on engineer activities will ensure that they are keeping busy but, by itself, can never be effective in ensuring that they are on their best behaviour. And, to continue our earlier analogy, a football manager doesn’t sit in his office waiting to be told the final score, he stands on the side line watching and assessing each player in action.

Concept #8: Eliminate Self-Interest Behaviour

It is human nature to try and make the most out of whatever situation we find ourselves in. Given the choice, most employees would prefer not having to work, but they have to if they want to put a roof over their heads. So, given that employees have the constraint of having to go to work, they will strive to make going to work as enjoyable as possible for them personally. There is nothing wrong with this, in fact, making work enjoyable should be encouraged the manager, but not if the actions or behaviours taken to make themselves happy has a negative impact on the customer, the company or their colleagues.

Self-interest behaviour, or maximizing personal happiness at the expense of others, can manifest itself in many ways; tardiness, laziness, cutting corners, poor documentation and manipulating metrics are amongst the most common. Another problem with self-interest behaviour that is not eliminated by the manager is that it can creep, both in terms of the degree of the behaviour and to other members of the team. If the manager has not said anything about me being ten minutes late every few days then perhaps I can get away with fifteen minutes? And if I see someone else isn’t completing their site reports then it must be ok for me not to do mine.

 

The key to eliminating self-interest behaviour is to let the engineer know that you have seen it as soon as you see it. State the facts casually the next time you see the engineer alone and give him a chance to respond, for example, “I notice that you’ve been late a couple of times this week. Is everything ok?”

In most cases, just letting the engineer know that you’ve seen the behaviour will be enough to stop it. If the self-interest behaviour continues then the second step is to repeat the statement and remind the engineer of the goal. Words such as “I notice that you’re still coming in late. You know that we need everyone here on time to ensure that we meet service levels. Is there anything that I should know?” There is a third and fourth step to resolving poor work behaviours before taking the official route of a Performance Improvement Plan, but 80% or more issues are resolved after the engineer has been subtly told twice that his behaviour is unacceptable.

Speed is of the essence in eliminating self-interest behaviour. Delaying the conversation until the next performance review or one-to-one meeting allows time for the behaviour to get worse and can also make the behaviour seem more serious, especially if it is included in the meeting documentation. The football manager speaks to the team about what they are doing wrong at half-time, not the end of the season.

 

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Could you or your colleagues benefit from attending the next SGSA Field Service Manager Course?

The Field Service Manager program is dynamic and interactive, with students frequently working in small groups, presenting findings and working on the course case study.

The program is four and a half days of course content and university-level instruction and learning that is focused on managing a field service operation.

If you want to see more information or register for the course you can do so by clicking here

PLUS! Field Service News subscribers receive a 10% discount on the course fee when quoting reference FSN0407.

 

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Whilst technology can play a big part in improving the efficiency of a field service operation, nothing is as important as ensuring your field service managers are fully armed to do their job. With this in mind we have teamed up with specialist field service training organisation SGSA to bring this series that looks at some of the key concepts that make a good field service manager great. 

The topics included in this series, written by SGSA’s Senior Consultant Steve Brand, are based around the content of SGSA’s 4 and half day, university standard training course for field service managers and Field Service News readers are eligible for a discounted attendance. Further details, a discount code and links to registration are all included at the bottom of the page…

In the last article, we highlighted how many field service managers work their way up through the ranks and learn a management style through trial and error or from their managers and their managers’ manager.

In summary, management training is often informal.  And yet, John Maxwell, author of The 5 Levels of Leadership, identified that one of the five key reasons that employees choose to follow a leader is because the leader has helped them to progress their career.

Quite simply, managers should take a more formal approach to discussing career aspirations with field service engineers and to help them gain skills that will move them towards their personal career goals.  In return, employees show appreciation through greater loyalty to the leader and by working harder.

 

Just taking an interest and providing career guidance is a good start because it demonstrates to the engineers that we are interested in their success beyond them meeting our monthly targets.  Empowerment is also a form of career development.

Continuing our series of four articles, here are two more powerful management tips to help Field Service Managers improve working relationships with their engineers and increase productivity.

Concept #5: People Development

A key difference between training and development is who is ultimately responsible for making sure that both of these things happen.  Training is the responsibility of the field service manager.

The manager must provide training to the field service engineer so that the engineer is capable of doing the job that he is being paid for.  If the field service engineer has not been properly trained then he is unlikely to have the skills required to be able to do the job.  Without skill, there can be no performance.  On a side note, having the skills does not guarantee that the field service engineer will perform to his highest level.  For high performance, the field service manager needs to provide training and motivation.

Conversely, development is the responsibility of the field service engineer.  Only the engineer can know how he would like to see his career progress.  Hence, there is little benefit to be gained from a lengthy career discussion with a field service engineer who is content with his job and doesn’t see that it is in his interest to gain new skills.  For the rest of the team, the career development discussion gives the manager the opportunity to understand the aspirations of the field service engineer and to demonstrate his commitment to helping the engineer prepare for his next job.

 

Training and development plans are often updated and agreed by the field service manager and the engineer annually, typically in the final few minutes of the performance review meeting.  The recommendation is that the training and development discussions take place separately and within two weeks of the performance review meeting.

This gives the field service engineer time to consider the job skills that were highlighted in the review as needing improvement and what actions he thinks he could take to help him meet the required standard.

The training and development meeting should be conducted in two stages with the field service engineer clearly understanding the difference in the stages.  The first stage is the training discussion led by the manager.  The second stage is the career development discussion led by the field service engineer.  In some cases a career development discussion is inappropriate, for example, for a new hire who needs a large amount of training or an engineer who is subject to the performance improvement process.  In these cases, the manager will need to say that a discussion on career development should be delayed until the field engineer is competent in his current role or the unsatisfactory performance issues have been resolved.

Concept #6: Empowerment

Micro-management is widespread because many managers do not realise that they are micro-managing their employees.  Assigning tasks, giving directions on how things should be done and unnecessary checking of what has been done are common forms of micro-management.

With the exception of new hires and less experienced members of staff, field service managers should take the approach of setting the goals and letting the field service engineers decide for themselves on how best to achieve those goals.  Also, given that the engineers have more knowledge about the customer, machine, situation, etc., they are often in the best position to make the decisions.  The alternative is for the engineers to try and transfer their knowledge to the manager so that he can make the same decision as they would have done anyway!  The latter approach wastes time for the manager, engineer and customer.

 

It is important that managers understand the difference between delegation and empowerment and use language that reinforces a culture of empowerment.  Consider these statements: ‘Please call the customer, tell him the part is out of stock, apologise and re-schedule the appointment’, versus ‘Do what you have to do to make the customer satisfied and let me know if you need me to help’.

The first statement is an example of delegation, i.e., these are the tasks that I want you to do.  The second statement is an example of empowerment, i.e., I am giving you authority to take whatever actions you think are necessary.  Managers are often surprised as to how field service engineers rise to the occasion when they are trusted to get on with the job by themselves.

Some caution is required before empowering field services engineers and it is not necessary to give all engineers the same level of authority at the same time.  Managers need to consider the return on investment of empowerment in terms of time saved, customer satisfaction, employee motivation and so on, versus the cost of a poor decision.

A frequently made decision that if made badly once per year would cost the company £100 is worthy of empowerment.  A decision with a business cost of £10,000 in a worst case scenario is not.

A ‘top four’ factor of employee motivation is the level of responsibility that they are given and empowering field service engineers is equivalent to saying ‘I trust you’.  As mentioned in the previous article, as trust goes up, productivity increases and costs come down.  Hence, empowering employees is a win-win situation for the field service manager and the engineers in many ways.

 

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Could you or your colleagues benefit from attending the next SGSA Field Service Manager Course?

The Field Service Manager program is dynamic and interactive, with students frequently working in small groups, presenting findings and working on the course case study.

The program is four and a half days of course content and university-level instruction and learning that is focused on managing a field service operation.

If you want to see more information or register for the course you can do so by clicking here

PLUS! Field Service News subscribers receive a 10% discount on the course fee when quoting reference FSN0317

 

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