WBR's Laura Anne Danaraj speaks to Margerat Dizon from Globe Telecom about balancing customer demands with efficient operations.

Communication through technology has become an integral part of everyone’s life. Today, we as consumers rely on a combination of mobile phones, broadband, and wireless data to stay connected with people, look up information or for entertainment. Think of a time where you are not using your phone, computer, or dependent upon the internet… Not easy is it?

Exceptional Customer Service

Just like how easy it is to connect online with a press of a button, the telecommunication industry understands there is phenomenal value in using technology to provide exceptional customer service and to transform practices in keeping their customers happy.

I had a casual chat with our Field Service & B2B CX Asia speaker, Margaret Dizon, VP of Customer Field Services, Broadband Business at Globe Telecom, a major telecommunications provider in the Philippines. She shared her experience and knowledge in managing their field service operations.

According to Marge, “Field servicing is not just exclusive to our field service agents. It is also empowering our customers to be part of the field servicing loop all together”.

Hence, Globe Telecom is trying to get the right formula for its balancing act in managing the demands of its customers while making sure operations are efficient.

“We try a personalized approach, making sure that we are physically present vis-à-vis leveraging remote tools, remote management and remote troubleshooting. As we are currently geographically dispersed, we want to ensure we have the right capacity and the right skills set in the field so we can deliver on time and of high quality, with no repetition.”

It seems then that the key to winning customer service drills down to technology and coordination – leaving customers feeling directly catered to while optimizing digital tools. Therefore, building a strategic approach to integrate digital technologies into field service management gives a business really an edge.

With several Telcos in the market for customers to choose from, and companies competing to gain market share, does cost eventually act as a barrier to provide good customer experience?

 

"Apart from CX, in a digital first world, Telcos need to ensure customers have a good omnichannel experience to survive and thrive..."

 

 “Our cost enhances the type of approach in delivering field service to our customers. So rather than seeing it as a barrier, I take it as a way to identify and deliver the best approach based on the customer persona we are dealing with.”

Given that, some customers might need a specific type or a premium brand to provide them personalized service.

“The fact is if they feel the sincerity from us, they would see the value of the service. It does not matter whether you have the basic or premium subscription with us; we always provide the right outcome. And with that, I would say it’s not really dependent on the cost,” affirmed by Marge.

A study by PwC, titled ‘Experience is Everything: Here’s How To Get It Right stated that 42% of consumers said they would pay more for a friendly, welcoming experience, and 52% would pay more for a speedy and efficient customer experience. Customer experience has become the number one aspect for businesses to focus on, overtaking price and product as the key brand differentiator.

Apart from CX, in a digital first world, Telcos need to ensure customers have a good omnichannel experience to survive and thrive in such a volatile and complex ecosystem. How does Globe Telecom achieve this?

“We plot a map of a customer journey, where all the teams are engaged and all the channels that deliver customer experience are aligned. Once we have that map in place, we make sure we follow the guidelines whether it is the type of words that we use, the timing, the approach, the type of feeling that we evoke and the manner of how we deliver their expected service. We are all aligned to the kind of journey we are supposed to deliver to them (our customers).”

It comes down to the planning and execution as shared by Ms. Dizon. As Telco’s transform from a traditional communication service provider to a digital service provider, they have to develop the ability to orchestrate customer experience that supports them at every touchpoint in order to achieve their desired outcome.   

To end our casual chat, Marge shared that attending Field Service Asia gives her the chance to gather together with fellow Field Service leaders to share their experiences, challenges and best practices. Instead of just looking out for information on the internet, she gets to secure real life applicable case studies through this summit.

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Futher Reading: 

• Read more about the Field Service and B2B CX Asia event @ https://fieldserviceasia.wbresearch.com
• Read more articles by Laura Anne Danaraj @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/lAURADANARAJ
• Read the PwC study, Experience is Everything: Here's How to Get it Right @ https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/library/consumer-intelligence-series/future-of-customer-experience.html
• Read more about customer experience in service @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/CUSTOMER+EXPERIENCE
• Read more about Globe Telecom @ https://www.globe.com.ph/

In a turbulent automotive market Japanese manufacturing giant Nissan have had to take the hard path to find success writes Laura Anne Danaraj...

The automotive industry has been going through a state of disruption in recent years challenged by consumer-centric approaches, driving transformational changes and adopting new technologies.

With so many options available in the market, automakers need to stand out amidst economic, environmental, and emotional preferences. But how? At Field Service Asia, organized by WBR Singapore, we had the privilege to interview Jamie Morais, Head of Aftersales Dealer Operations, APAC, Nissan to learn more.

Full Cycle Service Management Across OEM, Dealer and Customer

Well, apart from doing what they do best - designing and manufacturing cars, automakers have realized the importance of giving a full spectrum of services to build brand loyalty. In the case of Nissan, the Japanese automaker is working hand-in-hand with an authorized network of dealers from different countries as their partners, seeing them as an integral part of their ecosystem.

“They (dealers) are the ones who take care of the cars for the customer," Morais explained. "Therefore, what we do from our side is to come up with policies and strategies that focus on enhancing customer experience and customer’s journey. We then work with the dealers to ensure that the kind of service delivered to the customer is accomplished.”

As such, when automakers and dealers form a collaborative partnership, customer retention improves, brand loyalty is achieved and customer engagement process is standardized. This in turn influences the overall market share gained.

However, some relationships have often been fraught with friction, as automakers appear to be occupying the passenger seat, with dealers engaging with the customers directly. How then does Nissan manage expectations and delight customers in this situation?

“Well, it’s only a challenge if you don’t put yourself in your customer’s shoes." Morais continued, "If you do put yourself in your customer’s shoes, thinking from a customer’s point of view, it becomes a delight. If you can achieve or exceed you customer’s expectation, you are already building loyalty. Our focus now is customer retention, in order to build what we call a ‘family’ of Nissan owners.”

"To minimize disruption, predictive maintenance can be performed while equipment is operating..."

Since dealers manage customer relationships, they are in the best position to build trust and personalize experience, thus, seen as enabler rather than a hindrance, a partner rather than a competitor. For Nissan, getting the buy-in of the dealers to deploy their strategies is a priority. When both manufacturer and dealer have the same goal, training and development is next to ensure that what the frontliner is saying and acting are according to the designed strategy.

And one of the strategies include embracing technology to satisfy customers, which as we all know influences the customer’s perception of the brand, and decision to buy. What kind of projects involving technology did Nissan have in place for their customers then?

“We are working on this project for ‘last mile, first mile’." Morais responded. "After you buy a car, you would then need servicing. The question is when. So instead of waiting for the customer to call you for servicing, why not call the customer instead. You are predicting when the car is going to need servicing. And, this requires technology. For us (Nissan) to be able to communicate with the car – like an indication when it needs servicing, the car should inform us of its problem first.”

To minimize disruption, predictive maintenance can be performed while equipment is operating. The transition from a reactive to a predictive mindset enables automakers to respond to the warning indication the moment it is received. Going the extra mile to provide high quality aftersales, enables manufacturers to reinforce their ties with their customers through a satisfying experience.

"Automakers should adapt to their customer’s preferred communication channel..."

Nissan is also going digital when it comes to customer interaction. With the prevalence and ease of mobile phones and tablets, Morais believes customers are after non-verbal communication these days. Looking at how customers currently interact with them, service appointment and engagement process are done without opening their mouth, but all in the palm of their hand. And with this, automakers should adapt to their customer’s preferred communication channel to make information readily available through these commonly used platforms.

“When they come in for a service, actually coming in and bringing the car to us, we try to make the process more convenient, making sure that the time that they come in to the time they go out is the shortest possible, with least disruption to their regular routine,” he said.

Convenience is key in fueling high quality aftersales; and should be infused into every single customer experience. Automotive industry is no exception when it comes to dealing with the ramifications of customer’s expectations. These expectations have a profound effect on brand loyalty, and are crucial in firming up purchasing decisions. No longer separated by dealers, automakers have to collaborate with them in bringing the brand closer to their customers. 

Finishing, Morais shared the benefits of attending Field Service Asia, how it gives him the chance to not only discover the latest technology in the market at present, especially when it comes to aftersales service, but also engage with like-minded people.

 

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If you want to learn more about digital transformation in your business or on how to engage with your customers, then make sure you attend Field Service & B2B CX Asia . 

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Further Reading:

• Read more about digital transformation in field service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital_transformation
• Read more about Customer Satisfaction @ www.fieldservicenews.com/Customer_Satisfaction
• Read more articles from Laura @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/author/laura-danaraj
• Find out more about Field Service Asia @ fieldserviceasia.wbresearch.com
• Follow Laura and the Field Service Asia TeaM on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/fieldserviceap

The challenging act of balancing the equation of increasing need for field service resources with a dwindling current labour pool is one impacting field service organisations in every corner of the globe. Here, the editorial team at WBR Singapore explain more in a special article for Field Service News…

Field service as an industry has seen significant growth over the past decade or so but, while the amount of work available to field service providers is likely to continue exponentially on its present course, the number of engineers available to carry out these contracts is rapidly dwindling.

 

Talent Crisis

There are many reasons behind the talent crises presently being experienced in the field service industry and all need to be addressed if the issue is to be satisfactorily resolved. From the issues related to an ageing workforce, the challenges of attracting fresh young talent, and the transfer of skills between the two, to the implementation of new technology and the training which must be put in place as a result, the obstacles which must be overcome are many.

Let’s take a slightly more detailed look at the field service talent gap crises, the reasons underpinning it, and how they might be overcome.

Ageing Workforce

The demographics of the field service workforce are currently experiencing a dramatic paradigm shift. The previous generation of baby boomers is now reaching retirement age, and the industry is now looking to the Millennial and GenZ generations to take up their mantle.

 

"It’s a sad fact that many of the younger people now taking their place in the global workforce do not find field service an attractive career prospect..."

 

The impact of this phenomenon on the field service industry would perhaps be felt more keenly than in other workforces due to the physical demand placed on the engineers compared to more sedentary employment. An ageing workforce is likely to find the physical demands of field service work increasingly challenging. Similarly, the more sedentary, digital, generations which exist today may also find the work difficult - albeit from the other end of the scale. It’s a sad fact that many of the younger people now taking their place in the global workforce do not find field service an attractive career prospect. Huge numbers of these people are looking for jobs with the latest tech and digital service providers rather than in maintenance and field service provision.

However, this challenge can be addressed by using the very technology these demographics find so attractive to simultaneously modernize field service and make the industry a far more appealing prospect to youngsters.

Digital Transformation

Industry 4.0 technology is already finding its way into field service work. IoT connected sensors are making predictive service contracts possible by alerting engineers to failing components before they break down entirely, while automation and AI are enabling appointments to be booked automatically and helping with intelligent scheduling and route planning.

"Augmented reality is also providing engineers with real time schematics..."

 

“There is a great deal of hype these days about the importance of optimizing dispatch and routing schedules for field service technicians – and there should be,” reports Field Technologies Online. “Assigning and dispatching technicians using ideal scheduling algorithms and optimal turn-by-turn directions can yield tremendous gains in productivity, significant service cost reductions, and much happier customers – all of which have an appreciable positive impact on the bottom line.”

Augmented reality is also providing engineers with real time schematics which can be overlaid onto real-world machines to assist with troubleshooting and repairs – especially useful with legacy equipment for which service documents are not always easy to locate.

While these technologies enable field service providers to give their customers a faster, more efficient, and overall better service, they will also serve to make your brand more attractive to young would-be engineers.

When attending recruitment drives or colleges, always promote your company’s use of the very latest digital technology and make sure you’re giving your brand the best chance of inspiring the next generation of engineers.

Skills Transfer

Digital technology can not only be used to attract young talent to your brand, but also help facilitate training and the transfer of skills between the old and new generations.

 

"Digital technology can help address many of the issues relating to the field service talent gap..."

 

“There is a growing need for well-trained technicians,” reports Ortec. “If you have them, how do you keep them? How do you educate younger generations? Start a training and leadership development program for experienced staff members to train or guide less experienced technicians. In a recent survey, 69% of next-generation workers stated that they desire digital access to experts while in the field. It’s time to start considering new approaches for knowledge transfer – even remotely, in real time – to provide the best possible service to customers.”

By staffing a contact center with experienced engineers, they can offer real-time guidance and advice to on-site staff. Using aforementioned augmented reality technology, they can draw on a screen at base and have their instructions be displayed on the companion device on-site. This allows those staff nearing retirement to take a more relaxed and less active role within the company while remaining productive, and simultaneously training the newer employees.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, digital technology can help address many of the issues relating to the field service talent gap. By not only deploying, but also promoting, its use within your organization, you will have the best chance of maintaining a well-staffed brand for generations to come.

Tackling the skills gap in the field service industry is set to be a hot topic at Field Service & B2B CX Asia, 3-5 November 2020 at Equarius Hotel, Singapore. Scan the code for further information. 

 

Ahead of Field Service Connect this year, being held 12 to 13 May in Windsor, UK, Becky Johnson, Content Director at WBR and curator of the speaker line-up joins us on the Field Service Podcast to give us a sneak preview of what delegates can expect this year.

The service conference circuit is a crowded one. For professionals who operate in a time-precious environment choosing the right event to attend, where you can garner the most amount of value for your time is an important business decision. Sharing challenges with other delegates, gaining insight on new tech and sharing a coffee with colleagues should be part of your event requirements.

In this special edition of the Field Service Podcast Becky Johnson from WBR who is overseeing the content at this year's Field Service Connect talks us through the speaker acquisition process: from the initial research involved and the overall honing of the talks and debates. Being close to the trends in the industry Becky also shares some of the insight she has gained during this research process. It's a fascinating listen.

 

You can reach out to Becky on LinkedIn here. 

Becky Johnson, Content Director at WBR, says technology will compliment the human touch in service.

Becky Johnson, Content Direct at WBR looks into her crystal ball (and delegate feedback from this year’s Field Service Connect event) to predict service’s future trends...

WBR held their annual gathering of senior Field Service leaders - Field Service Connect – at Celtic Manor in Wales in May. Field Service Connect’s Head of Production, Ailsa Hardy, shares a snapshot of the themes discussed, delegates in attendance, and how conservation of the African Rhino through technology is uniting field service leaders even after the event… 

WBR Asia’s Wendy Zheng, explains why the Asia Pacific region has become a hot bed of field service innovation...
Field service is on an upward trajectory all over the world, and one region is leading the charge to challenge the US dominance of the industry. The worldwide market size of the field service management industry is expected to grow to $5.08 billion by 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 14.7%.

This growth is being driven, in part, by the onslaught of innovative new technology which is making the whole industry more efficient and cost effective. Mobile applications, wearable devices, cloud hosting, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are all helping field service engineers and the administrative staff who support them to deliver superior customer experience.

However, while North America still holds, and is expected to continue holding, the largest market share, the Asia Pacific region is predicted to exhibit the most rapid rate of growth during the period. With the increase in the number of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the emerging countries, such as China and India, competition in APAC is expected to grow at a because of automation in various business processes, including job scheduling, billing and invoicing, and service delivery.

Asia Pacific
One reason for this rapid rate of growth is attributed to the fact of the emerging markets of the region (such as India and China) being home to a large number of small and medium sized enterprises.

The continued increase in the number of these enterprises leads to a sympathetic increase in competition. This, in turn, drives the introduction of innovative technology, such as automation for various business processes such as job scheduling, billing and invoicing, and service delivery.

“Asia Pacific is expected to witness the highest CAGR in the global field service management  market during the forecast period,” writes Globe Newswire. “This is primarily due to large-scale industrialization in Asian countries such as China, India, and Japan. With enhanced geographic zones and a high client base, the Asia Pacific region is expected to exhibit a strong growth in the field service management market. Increasing number of technology users in Asia Pacific region further propels the growth of field service management market in this region.”

Competition has always driven innovation as individual companies try and outdo one another in the eyes of their clients. It’s the same reason why the greatest leaps forward in technology occur during times of war, with the business world being just as susceptible to an arms race as the military can be.

Cloud Field Service Management
One of the new technologies which is particularly helping the Asia Pacific region grow at a rapid rate is the adoption of cloud-based field service management systems.

Cloud-based field service management solutions continually harvest and archive data, allowing businesses to use the resultant historical archives to identify trends and patterns and improve the necessary processes, leading to a better customer experience.
For example, it could be identified via automated cloud-based field service management tools that a certain part or component seems to have a recurring fault. Once this has been identified the manufacturer of the component can be contacted so they can make the necessary design changes, or the field service company can change to a different provider.

Likewise, data can help identify factors which are leading to field service engineers making wasted journeys or becoming delayed. Changes can then be made to scheduling or work shifts to make sure the right people are always in the right place, at the right time. Similarly, when it comes to spare part stock control, if a particular item is shown to regularly run low, purchasing can be adjusted as necessary.













Final Thoughts
The Asia Pacific region is leading the way in adopting this kind of cloud-based technology. It is technology such as this, combined with the competition being driven by the increase in small and medium sized enterprises, which is helping these emerging countries take the fight to North America as the new hot contender in the global field service marketplace.


“There is increasing demand to increase productivity and reduce operating costs,” writes IT Tech Herald. “Players are adopting field service management solutions to enhance customer experience, with customer demands and the logistics of managing field teams continuing to increase in complexity. Emergence of new technologies such as IoT and mixed labor models are promoting the market growth. Thus, increasing demand to enhance productivity and advent of various technologies are anticipated to drive the market growth during the forecast period.”
Asia’s position as the up and coming new stage for field service is sure to be a hot topic at Field Service Asia 2019, Asia’s Leading Conference for Service, Support and Customer Care on 12-14 November, at the Amara Sanctuary Resort, Sentosa, Singapore.

The world we live and work is changing fast, being pushed forward by rapid technological evolution. Becky Johnson reviews key industry data to see what trends we need to be focusing on...

Customer Service & Brand
There can be no doubt that the traditional interpretation of Field Service is changing: a fundamental shift is being made to focus on service and its incorporation and development into existing, more product-centric, business models.

Where once it was enough to rely on a stellar product, now competition is fierce and margins are being squeezed this is no longer the case. Where excellent service is being provided and taken for granted in everyday life, it makes sense that this is now being expected, if not demanded, within business transactions.

A new age is dawning and customers are continuing to ask how a product and company ‘adds value’. Engineers in the field have access to, and interactions with, potentially hundreds of contacts within a specific customer base. So it’s no surprise that those customers will come to associate a product’s ‘worth’ based on the dealings they have had with these field service representatives.

As the American poet Maya Angelou is attributed to have said ‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel’. By 2020 customer experience is slated to overtake price and product as a key brand differentiator. (Source: Capterra)

Women in Field Service, Diversity & Mindset
With this shift to customer centricity there must also be a shift in perception. Traditionally seen as male dominated, a career in Field Service has not attracted women. However, with service coming to the fore this situation is starting to change and the skills that women offer are becoming more vital than ever. The ‘soft skills’ required for customer service roles are often attributed to women, but it’s not a question of gender, the focus must be on what skills can be brought to the table as a whole and how these can be used to improve a company’s Field Service offering.

In order to ensure that quality talent is acquired and retained, Field Service must also diversify so that the next generation of bright minds can see themselves working in this sector. If a certain demographic is only ever highlighted and portrayed then it is no wonder that it is presumed that this is all there is.

As you would market a brand, the same must be done throughout Field Service. Why would you choose this career? What is there to offer? What is the long term career outlook? Although diversity may be a difficult and taboo subject for some, this does not make it any less important or integral to the way companies must continue to grow and exist.

The business world has long debated the effect of gender diversity on business outcomes, asking does diversity make a company more productive and in turn increase financial performance? In a Harvard Business Review a study of 1,069 leading firms across 35 countries and 24 industries found that gender diversity relates to more productive companies (as measured by market value and revenue) only in contexts where gender diversity is viewed as “normatively” accepted. In other words, beliefs about gender diversity create a self-fulfilling cycle. Countries and industries that view gender diversity as important capture benefits from it. Those that don’t, don’t. They also found that the most-diverse enterprises were also the most innovative, as measured by the freshness of
their revenue mix, proving that diversity is crucial in so many factors. 

"Service must also diversify so the next generation of bright minds can see themselves working in the sector..."

In order to keep up with rising expectations it will require a massive change in mindset, starting at board level and moving downwards, to truly transform a company ethos. For some this will mean a transformation in culture that has formed over decades but must now be changed rapidly if they are not to be left behind by the competition. This will be easier said than done; as change is happening so fast it’s fundamentally hard to move quickly enough! However, as the old adage goes, ‘just because something is difficult, it doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing’.

Haier, the world’s number one home appliance manufacturer, is a Chinese colossus with 70,000 employees. Since the 1980’s, Haier has reinvented itself several times, most recently breaking the company into >4,000 micro-enterprises effectively creating self-organizing micro businesses acting as separate entities (and in some cases, actually are). At the core of this idea is that employees get ownership, decision-making rights and a customer paid salary. They truly became pioneers. Such a change in mindset comes within the RenDanHeYi model. With “Ren” referring to each employee, “Dan” referring to the needs of each user, and “HeYi” referring to the connection between each employee and the needs of each user. The CEO Zhang Ruimin says: ’With the RenDanHeYi model we truly enter the network age. But the network aspect is not even the most important. 

What is more important is that we no longer try to delegate to, or ‘empower’, employees. It’s now time for every employee to be his or her own boss. So, with the RenDanHeYi model we move away from being like an empire (with a traditional, closed pyramid) to be more like a rain forest (with an open networked platform). Every empire will eventually collapse. A rain forest, on the other hand, can be sustained. 

Digital Transformation
Alongside the cultural shift needed to meet customer expectations, Field Service is also being driven by digitalization, which Gartner defines as ‘the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and valueproducing opportunities; it is the process of moving to a digital business.’

‘Digitalisation’ and ‘digital transformation’ have become such buzz words in recent years that some have lost sight of not only what it means but what they are actually trying to do. Digitalisation is a tool by which to achieve an end goal, but is not the goal itself. Gartner predicts that by 2020 10% of emergency field service work will be both triaged and scheduled by artificial intelligence.

With AI assisting with everything from scheduling to predictive maintenance to using past data to make future plans. The human element within Field Service is still very much relied on and future technologies and solutions will be there to support these interactions - to make life easier and more efficient, not to replace humans altogether.

People still want to do business with people and until the customer becomes more Terminator than terrestrial this will probably always be the case.

Becky Johnson is Content Director at WBR, overseeing the Field Service Connect conference, which takes place on 14 and 15 May at Celtic Manor, South Wales.