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Feb 18, 2022 • Features • Augmented Reality • White Paper • Digital Transformation • customer experience • CareAR
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper published by CareAR.
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content CareAR who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Considering CareAR, a Xerox Company
CareAR provides a full suite of end-to-end service experience management (SXM) SaaS-based solutions across service, support, sales, and marketing workflows. The CareAR SXM platform makes expertise accessible instantly for customers, employees, and field workers through live visual AR and artificial intelligence (AI) interactions, instructions, and insights as part of a seamless digital workflow experience. CareAR helps bridge the skills gap and accelerate knowledge transfer through augmenting intelligence while providing greater efficiencies, customer outcomes, and safety as well as reduced carbon emissions.
AI/AR-Powered Service ExperiencesCareAR delivers critical context through real-time visual AR interactions, instructions, and intelligence as part of a seamless digital workflow. The CareAR SXM platform takes advantage of smartphones, tablets, and other devices such as smart glasses and drones to capture real-time video for a personalized perspective of every support engagement, linking a remote expert with a customer or a field technician. Graphical guidance such as a laser pointer, circles, and annotations is overlaid on video in 3D to create an immersive AR experience. Rear-facing smartphone camera use focuses on the target issue while eliminating visible video lag or latency. Computer vision automatically frames the area being considered. Digital information is overlaid on real-time video with "stickiness" to its intended area despite movement, which is a defining CareAR characteristic. As a result, the real-world visual is blended with digitally created images to focus attention with graphical direction to improve service and support outcomes.
Contextualization of Content
CareAR Insight delivers contextual data for greater insights into specific assets, issues, and resolutions. By combining AI with AR, CareAR augments the intelligence of service teams to bridge knowledge gaps and uncover insights into hidden problems. The technology helps the service professional get to the root cause of the issue faster by accessing a full view of the asset's data, reducing the duration of a service call, and eliminating costly repeat visits.
Self-Solve Instructions
CareAR provides a simple but powerful tool to create AR-enabled visual instructions and make information accessible to users. AI-powered computer vision is used to access the collective intelligence of multiple users and then put that information into action. CareAR merges contextual video data with interactive guides to increase a user's level of knowledge, whether the user is a field service technician looking to fill a gap in knowledge or skills or a customer needing instruction to assemble a device after unboxing.
Integrated Workflow
CareAR natively integrates with service management platforms such as ServiceNow across customer, field, and IT service management. This end-to-end integration allows field technicians to capture images and recordings during service sessions. That content is automatically saved in the originating work order, case, incident, or knowledge base, eliminating a series of steps to enhance knowledge transfer and ensure proof of work completion or compliance.
SXM Use Cases
AR guidance generated by a remote expert or in the form of self-serve instructions is the most common way AR value is realized. Primary use cases for the company's solution include:
- Field Service. Supporting technicians paired with an expert located elsewhere using AR is a common use case. Multiple experts or field service technicians may be included in an AR session. Key drivers for this case include:
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Skills. Experts are increasingly in short supply. Field technicians are frequently junior level and/or contractors lacking experience.
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Effectiveness and efficiency. Reduced time to resolve, improved first-time fix rates, reduced truck rolls, and enhanced customer experience are examples of key field service metrics that benefit from the technology.
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Integration. Silos of data lead to disconnected outcomes. Integration across data sources enables intelligence on AR effectiveness, frequency of uses, and CRM connectivity to establish a single view of the data for the field service team.
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Customer Service. Contact center and customer support agents work with customers to resolve issues faster. This is an AR use case that moves the needle on customer experience with emotional impact and enhanced engagement. Key drivers for this case include:
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Internet of Things (IoT). Home devices are becoming more connected and complex. Customers require assistance to overcome language and jargon barriers for effective diagnosis and resolution.
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Customer experience. Customers increasingly prefer to self-serve. But when they fail, they call. When they call, expectations are high and commonly emotionally charged.
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Fewer technician visits. Remote assistance reduces technician visits, which many customers resisted during the pandemic and still prefer to avoid.
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Industry 4.0. AR-enhanced procedural instructions aid employees with assembly and troubleshooting and also help QA staff increase their own efficiency and effectiveness. Key case drivers include:
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Hands free. Wearables tend to play a more significant role in this use case.
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Step by step. AR guidance and insights are emphasized. Remote expert support also plays a role, especially with complex environments.
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Integration. Instrumentations and procedural adherence are frequently required.
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Challenges
Technologies to enable collaboration and real-time remote support are moving beyond the pilot stage for many organizations, especially due to the disruption to the market in 2020. However, any innovative technology, regardless of market shifts, will face challenges in adoption, deployment, and full utilization. Technology firms such as CareAR must address three primary challenges in the market:
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Historically, the adoption of innovative technologies in the customer support and field service market has moved slowly from concept to pilot to scalable production. Establishing a clear adoption path that solves various use cases will help CareAR navigate pilot purgatory.
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Service technology and digital transformation sometimes take a back seat to other digital investments within the manufacturing and service industry. This trend is changing as the impact and importance of the service experience rise in the hierarchy of strategic initiatives, but it is still a challenge.
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Companies such as CareAR must improve the content creation and best practice sharing, validation, relevance, and updating process. Technology to collaborate and capture knowledge is only as good as the content being shared.
The service experience companies deliver to customers is at an inflection point whereby customers demand immersive experiences, collaboration with the service organization when necessary, and resolution on a first call or visit. Manufacturers and service organizations should consider the following actions as they digitally transform and look to engage customers, field and customer support teams, and partners differently:
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Enable dynamic service resolution models where physical presence is not the only path to addressing a failure or customer issue
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Foster an environment of real-time collaboration and best practice sharing between the service team and with the customer
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Move beyond efficiency to prioritize customer and field service employee experiences and outcomes
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Hasten digital transformation as reactive service and failed first service visits lead to lower customer satisfaction and lost future revenue.
Remember that AR technology is a starting point and not the end goal. The ability to intelligently engage, collaborate, and resolve will be the differentiator of the future.
Field Service News subscribers can access the full white paper sponsored by CareAR and written by Ali Pinder, Program Director, Service Innovation and Connected Products at IDC, and Tom Mainelli, IDC's Group Vice President, Device and Consumer Research, by clicking on the button below.
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with Exel Computer Systems..
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content CareAR who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
- Read more about Customer Experience @ www.fieldservicenews.com/customer+experience
- Learn more about CareAR @ carear.com
- Follow CareAR on Twitter @ twitter.com/carear_com
- Connect with CareAR on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/carear/
Feb 11, 2022 • Features • White Paper • Digital Transformation • Data Management • customer experience • CareAR
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper published by CareAR.
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content CareAR who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
As manufacturers and service organizations shift their business and customer engagement models, they must address a few areas to truly bring together the service experience and the customer experience:
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Establish the knowledge capabilities to address reactive, proactive, and self-service needs. No one model will be in place in all situations, and organizations will need to be nimble to adjust to the need efficiently.
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Deliver support and resolution for both simple and complex work with a diverse workforce with various degrees of expertise. Customers want a resolution to ensure that their operation or experience is not negatively impacted by downtime. To provide this level of service, organizations need to solve problems of varying complexity. What has changed is this level of response needs to happen on the first visit because extended downtime due to a lack of expertise to solve a problem is unacceptable.
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Harness the convergence of the customer experience with the service and support experiences, strengthening the partnership with customers. Data must flow across the organization, and manufacturers are beginning to understand they need to make data accessible across functional teams to offer an integrated customer experience. Customer centricity has shifted the focus of manufacturers to prioritize the needs of the customer and the service employee, providing them with the visibility to go beyond standard engagements to deliver "wow" experiences. Meeting service-level agreements (SLAs) is table stakes; organizations need to go beyond the standard contract to connect the service experience with other activities such as sales, marketing, and product improvements.
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Leverage innovative technologies such as augmented reality (AR) to drive innovation and an enhanced customer experience. The pandemic helped drive a rapid shift where AR moved from being a cool future technology to a technology that's delivering tangible value around remote service, remote collaboration between a service worker and a customer, and self-service experiences with technical support. Nearly three-fourths (72.2%) of manufacturers in IDC's May 2021 Product and Service Innovation Survey pointed to AR as important or very important to their current efforts around service innovation.
AR technology has evolved dramatically over the past few years. The pandemic drove a big part of that evolution, as companies adapted to an ever-evolving set of circumstances on the ground. In a 2021 survey of AR adopters, IDC found that the top 3 benefits the technology brought to their businesses were increased worker efficiency, improved real-time collaboration, and improved knowledge transfer between expert and novice workers.
Another driving force behind the current uptick in AR adoption is that an increasing number of companies are finding ways to integrate AR capabilities into their existing workflows and back-end systems. Any organization looking at new technologies to become more dynamic and less reactive must consider the impact on its current processes to leverage existing systems and partners to drive improvements without creating disruption.
Field Service News subscribers can access the full white paper sponsored by CareAR and written by Ali Pinder, Program Director, Service Innovation and Connected Products at IDC, and Tom Mainelli, IDC's Group Vice President, Device and Consumer Research, by clicking on the button below.
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with Exel Computer Systems..
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content CareAR who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
- Read more about Customer Experience @ www.fieldservicenews.com/customer+experience
- Learn more about CareAR @ carear.com
- Follow CareAR on Twitter @ twitter.com/carear_com
- Connect with CareAR on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/carear/
Feb 04, 2022 • Features • White Paper • Digital Transformation • Data Management • customer experience • CareAR
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper published by CareAR.
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content CareAR who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Manufacturers and service organizations need to manage various priorities to ensure they can survive, thrive, and excel in a competitive environment where customer expectations continue to rise.
BENEFITS
Service management with field technicians — and directly with customers — has long been held back by a reactive break/fix model. In this model, customers have to notify the service organization of a failure or a break. The field service team then must attempt to solve the issue with limited information gleaned from the customer or historical data from the last service visit. This process typically involves dispatching a service technician or engineer to a customer site to validate a diagnosis, often leading to a secondary or tertiary service call. Real-time visibility into the product or asset with detailed collaborative capabilities can transform the service and customer experience.
The shift from reactive service models to proactive service experiences has an impact that transcends operational efficiency to enhance the customer relationship. Establishing an operating model where the customer and the service employee are at the heart of the service experience is transformative and can be a true industry differentiator. This framework establishes a new partnership of shared goals, outcomes, and experiences that optimize service and deliver new value.
Connected service insights are part of the innovative future for manufacturers and service organizations. A few of the most impactful benefits derived from this approach are:
- Having the right content and insights at the point of need, which speeds up service resolution and avoids the need to sift through irrelevant manuals and work instructions with reactive and proactive service interactions
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Capturing and then sharing institutional knowledge, which minimizes the impact of an aging or retiring field and service workforce
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Improving increased first-time fix and lower mean-time-to-resolution metrics, which enhances the customer experience through proactive support
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Avoiding unnecessary truck rolls that impact fuel usage, emissions, and safety, which helps improve operations
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Establishing an emotional and personalized bond between the service team and the customer through contextual awareness of the problem at hand, integration of a full view of the customer, and self-service experiences
TRENDS
Manufacturers and service organizations are racing to digitally transform their business operations to deliver a new experience to customers, enhancing both the brand and the engagement model. Competition has forced manufacturers and service organizations to rethink how they strengthen bonds with customers, which wasn't historically necessary as they owned the customer life cycle. In IDC's November 2020 COVID-19 Impact on IT Spending Survey, nearly half of manufacturers said they prioritize creating new digital products and services and now look to deliver digital-first customer experiences — 46.2% and 31.9%, respectively
Field Service News subscribers can access the full white paper sponsored by CareAR and written by Ali Pinder, Program Director, Service Innovation and Connected Products at IDC, and Tom Mainelli, IDC's Group Vice President, Device and Consumer Research, by clicking on the button below.
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with Exel Computer Systems..
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content CareAR who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
- Read more about Customer Experience @ www.fieldservicenews.com/customer+experience
- Learn more about CareAR @ carear.com
- Follow CareAR on Twitter @ twitter.com/carear_com
- Connect with CareAR on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/carear/
Jan 28, 2022 • Features • White Paper • Digital Transformation • Data Management • customer experience • CareAR
Organizations are at an inflection point when it comes to the service experience. In this new series of excerpts from a recent IDC white paper, sponsored by CareAR and now available at Field Service News, we discuss how service organisations can...
Organizations are at an inflection point when it comes to the service experience. In this new series of excerpts from a recent IDC white paper, sponsored by CareAR and now available at Field Service News, we discuss how service organisations can enhance customer relationships using a new engagement model where service management and customer experience unite to transform and differentiate the brand in a disrupted competitive environment.
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper published by CareAR.
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content CareAR who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
The field and customer service operation has seen a dramatic shift in the past 15 months. Due to the pandemic, the ability to physically get access to equipment or a customer site has been limited or, in some cases, restricted completely. As regions of the world reemerge into a "next normal" state at different rates, organizations will operate using a variety of service models that rely on remote resolution, collaboration, and engagement. A change is occurring across industries whereby the customer experience is becoming a critical differentiator, and the way organizations engage customers will become a higher priority. Customers expect organizations to solve the stated problem efficiently and enhance the experience by going beyond the work order to establish a partnership that requires little effort on the customer's part.
In this transformed business landscape, manufacturers and service organizations will need to address the following challenges to achieve success and relevance with customers:
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» Enabling data and knowledge accessibility for all relevant stakeholders
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» Eliminating silos across service, customer support, and other functions that hinder a shared and enhanced customer experience
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» Automating manual processes and static work instructions that delay responses and resolution
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» Contending with an aging workforce and a related knowledge drain
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» Addressing the need to be more customer focused to personalize experiences and deliver enhanced value at each engagement point
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» Providing service employees and customers with new tools that optimize remote and self-solve support, moving from a reactive break/fix service model to a more proactive and predictive approach
KEY STATS
According to IDC's May 2021 Product and Service Innovation Survey, the top 6 drivers for service management solutions are:
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» Enabling faster response to product quality and service issues — 58.9%
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» Improving key customer metrics such as NPS, customer effort, and CSAT — 55.7%
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» Establishing more capabilities around remote service, collaboration, and resolution — 53.2%
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» Improving collaboration between cross-functional teams — 52.5%
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» Using information from actual product and asset performance — 51.7%
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» Capturing and making accessible service knowledge and best practices — 49.2%
Watch out for the next feature next week where we discuss some of the top business priorities for manufacturers and service organizations in this "next normal" environment.
Field Service News subscribers can access the full white paper sponsored by CareAR and written by Ali Pinder, Program Director, Service Innovation and Connected Products at IDC, and Tom Mainelli, IDC's Group Vice President, Device and Consumer Research, by clicking on the button below.
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with Exel Computer Systems..
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content CareAR who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
- Read more about Customer Experience @ www.fieldservicenews.com/customer-experience
- Learn more about CareAR @ carear.com
- Follow CareAR on Twitter @ twitter.com/carear_com
- Connect with CareAR on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/carear/
Dec 21, 2021 • Features • White Paper • OverIT • Covid-19 • Servitization and Advanced Services
In the last feature from a recent white paper we published in partnership with OverIT, we analyse the key aspects of migrating from a legacy system to a new FSM solution.
In the last feature from a recent white paper we published in partnership with OverIT, we analyse the key aspects of migrating from a legacy system to a new FSM solution.
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with OverIT.
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared withOverIT, sponsor of this premium content, who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
There are two key aspects of migrating from a legacy system to a new solution. The first is project planning for the migration itself. The second is to understand the human aspect of change- management as we seek to ensure quick adoption of the new tools from our end users.
In the concluding part of this paper, we shall take a look at each of these
PLANNING AND INTERATIVE DESIGN ARE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL MIGRATION
As with all significant projects, it is essential to establish a strong, robust, and well-considered planning period.
This planning process should include identifying the key personnel within the planning team and outlining a project timeline. Given the mission-critical nature of field service delivery and the growing importance of service delivery to broader business strategies, wherever possible, it is worth considering making the critical appointments of those who will be most crucial to this project a full- time focus for the duration of the migration.
Moving from one system to another in any aspect of the business is challenging. In field service operations, a dedicated team focused solely on making the migration process seamless could be the difference between successful adoption and rapid evolution within your service organisation and catastrophe that could push progress back by years.
It is also important to have voices with different areas of expertise within that project team. Viewing such migration as an IT-only implementation is flawed. Leaders should view it as a business improvement initiative. Therefore, stakeholders from field service operations and IT, with their respective expertise, should be included within the core team, with relative subject matter experience to bring to the table. Experts also recommend seeking input from other relevant stakeholders, especially end-users such as field engineers and technicians.
However, perhaps the most critical voice in the process should be those who have been through this process before.
The solution provider you select to work with will have gone through this migration process with other clients and will know the pitfalls to avoid and the shortcuts to success. Throughout this entire process, they should be there to help guide you as you move from your legacy system to their next-gen solution, so lean on them for support as much as possible. It may even be that they can connect you to a trusted systems integrator that knows about taking companies from your existing system to your new system. While an additional cost, such insight and expertise can be invaluable and pay for itself within a short amount of time as you begin to see a return on your investment in these more sophisticated FSM tools.
One thing to consider is that the more traditional approach to implementation, where such projects can be active for at least six months before even taking the first actual steps to roll-out, is becoming less and less common. Increasingly, companies are adopting a more rapid approach of multiple small iterations, focusing on rapid development, issue resolution, and redevelopment as a solution moves from a minimum viable product to complete an adoption in incremental phases.
Systems integrators or solutions providers have the opportunity to utilize the knowledge of their existing environment, future environment, and transition practices. In this way, teams are not just recreating what existed previously into a new system, but they are simultaneously taking advantage of the new capabilities and new processes that the system offers.
Finally, as you begin to move through iterations and towards an actual go-live date, thinking about training and deployment becomes critical.
Training is also a crucial aspect of the change management process, which we shall look at in the concluding section of this paper.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT MUST BE FOCUSED ON PEOPLE ABOVE ALL ELSE IF IT IS TO SUCCEED
In any technology implementation, effective change management is critical. However, the stakes are even higher in this context, where the technology implementation can lead to significant new processes and even new service strategies.
Therefore, following a well-established path to managing the human aspect of change management is vital. Some key considerations include:
Understand the Task Ahead
Change is hard, and without a clear definition of your goals and the challenges you face, managing any change effectively can be at best a complicated and drawn-out process and, at worst, an abject failure.
In fact, according to change management guru John Kotter, 70% of change management efforts fail. This is mainly due to a lack of preparation, a lack of understanding of best practices, or a combination of both. However, at the heart of every successful change management exercise, one maxim holds. Change Management is always about people.
Engage Individuals in Their Heads and the Heart
For a change management program to succeed, we must acknowledge that change is about individuals, not organisations. Organisational needs and requirements will drive the change, but individuals will implement it and determine its success.
Given this notion, we must next consider how individuals will react to change. Successful change management is as much about feeling as it is about thinking. Change management is one of the fundamental principles in the Kotter Change Management philosophy and is widely accepted to be an essential step on the change management journey.
Embrace the Principles of Influence
Robert Cialdini’s six principles of influence are certainly also worth considering when planning your change management program.
The Six Principles include:
• Reciprocity
• Commitment and consistency
• Social Proof
• Liking
• Authority
• Scarcity
These key principles of influence are widely utilised in sales and marketing as they are fundamental pillars of communication that we universally understand as humans.
So as you begin engaging with your team around the changes you are introducing, a firm grounding in Cialdini’s principles can be a tremendous tool to have in your communications kit.
The Importance of the Change Agent
Building on the point above, by working with change agents, you will establish internal champions within the field workforce that can encourage widespread quick adoption amongst peers.
Gartner’s Elise Olding neatly sums up this approach stating, “Change resistance is a myth. Employees support enterprise goals when they understand what needs to be done. Change Agents put a face on change and leverage trusted informal leaders to create understanding among employees and influence organisational change.”
Breaking Down the Barriers of Resistance
The goal of a successful change management program should not be to eradicate resistance to change completely- this is an impossible task that will take too much energy.
Instead, focus on reducing the impact of resistance and overcoming it as quickly as possible to move the change management project from concept to full adoption as swiftly as possible.
The true key to successful change management is minimising the impact of resistance in your workforce- and to achieve this, we must understand the types of resistance we are likely to encounter.
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with OverIT..
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content OverIT who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Servitization & Advanced Services @ www.fieldservicenews.com/servitization-and-advanced-services
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
- Learn more about the impact of COVID-19 in the Field Service Industry @ www.fieldservicenews.com/covid-19
- Read more about OverIT on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/exel
- Learn more about OverIT @ www.overit.it
- Follow OverIT on Twitter @ twitter.com/OverITSpA
Dec 14, 2021 • Features • White Paper • OverIT • Covid-19 • Servitization and Advanced Services
In the second feature from a white paper we recently published in partnership with OverIT, we take a look at what tools are included in the new FSM solutions and how they have evolved from the previous iteration of FSM software that we are currently...
In the second feature from a white paper we recently published in partnership with OverIT, we take a look at what tools are included in the new FSM solutions and how they have evolved from the previous iteration of FSM software that we are currently using.
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with OverIT.
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared withOverIT, sponsor of this premium content, who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Having laid out the case that we are now entering a new era of field service, one which will fully harness the technologies and tools embedded within next-generation FSM solutions, let us now take a look at what tools are included in such systems and how they have evolved from the previous iteration of FSM software that is currently in place.
DATA INTEGRATION
Field service has always been a complex beast with many moving parts. However, modern field service in some respects is more complicated than ever due to the various systems of record (SOR) that may be in place. In previous iterations of FSM solutions, all too often, field service operations remained in a silo. Today, however, the benefit and value of widely available data flow across multiple business units are becoming increasingly acknowledged.
Therefore, there must be the potential to import and export data from one system to another within any modern FSM solution. Whether feeding into a CRM for sales, an ERP for resource planning, or even into a SOR that sits across production and R&D to drive forward product improvements, easy integration across non-service focused systems is critical.
GIS CAPABILITIES / INTEGRATION
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has become an increasingly important part of many field service organizations workflows. However, while incredibly valuable, GIS data may come from multiple data sources, potentially stored in different SORs.
In the fast-moving world of field service, particularly if we are looking at reactive emergency response scenarios, then the ability to surface data from multiple sources both in the back office and, most notably for the engineer in the field, is crucial.
Although inclusion of GIS capability within next-gen FSM solutions like Geocall is relatively new, this practice is happening more frequently and will likely become the standard. While this may not be relevant for every industry vertical, within specific sectors such as Oil and Gas or Utilities, this could be a real game- changer that we will see emerge in the FSM 3.0.
SCHEDULING OPTIMIZATION
The old mantra of getting the right engineer, with the right skills, to the right job, at the right time will never fade as being the most central tenet of field service management and indeed service delivery as a whole. Across the last decade, we have seen tremendous strides made in scheduling with various approaches such as truly dynamic optimized scheduling and Darwinian algorithm-based scheduling. Such algorithm-based scheduling is paving the way for the increasingly widespread adoption of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and AI leveraging the support of field service processes.
However, such sophisticated solutions are not always the right choice for each company or even for each type of service a single organization may have within its portfolio. The more sophisticated solutions are fantastic, for example, in dealing with large-scale service workflows, with large teams of field service engineers. They are also exceptionally effective in scenarios where there
may be complex requirements to place the right combination of skills across multiple engineers to meet the needs of the job.
In each of the above scenarios, we could see a different use case. In the first scenario, we could view an optimized scheduling engine as an opportunity to automate much of the dispatch workload, allowing the service organization to place human resources in roles that are more aligned to revenue generation than cost reduction. In such an instance, the human dispatcher adopts the role of supervisor. For example, ensuring the automation process is handling 80% of calls within standard parameters while taking control of the 20% that require a more nuanced approach (in line with the Pareto or 80:20 rule).
In the second scenario, where such a nuanced understanding of a more complex service scenario is required, we may consider assisted scheduling rather than automation.
The flexibility to have both solutions covered within a next-gen FSM solution is essential. However, what differentiates the new breed of FSM solution to many of the older legacy solutions is that scheduling tools, whether fully automated or assisted scheduling, should now always be expected to be dynamic. A dynamic solution can react to real-time data from the field, including engineer updates, traffic information, and customer data. This is a crucial aspect of next- gen solutions and allows for the work schedule to be constantly optimized.
EFFECTIVE REPORTING TOOLS
As we discussed earlier in the paper, the importance of data flowing between your FSM and other SOR has never been more critical. Service operations are now becoming a key driver in multiple core aspects of the broader business operations, and as such, the flow of information across the business must be seamless. Directly aligned to the importance of that data flow moving beyond the traditional silos is the ability for data to be surfaced in an easy yet meaningful way.
Within the context of next-gen FSM solutions, this primarily relates to dashboards that can be customizable for various levels of management allowing them to see the data in the manner they need. Modern-day reporting should give us the tools to simultaneously cut out the background noise of data unnecessary to the job at hand while tapping into the vast data lakes that are the bi-product of modern-day service management and bringing to the fore the data insight that is of use. It is also an expectation of next-gen FSM solutions such as Geocall to utilize different algorithms to translate the data into multiple use cases.
To illustrate this, let us look at an example most field service leaders would be familiar with, capacity planning.
We may have several data sets that we utilize in our capacity planning, say operations metrics that give us mean-time-per-job and technician utilization time. Alongside this, we may have customer job schedule data by volume and location. Then we may also have historical asset data that outlines the complexity of a given task.
In a next-gen FSM solution, we can apply different scheduling models, which allows us to compare and contrast based on various priorities and parameters. In essence, it is a glimpse into the future to see what could work and what may not.
In one scenario, we could run a model based on equity distribution to apportion workload fairly across all resources. Alternatively, we may want to run the same data against a logistic optimization to try to reduce travel and reduce time and reduce cost for the business.
In either scenario, we may want to factor in contingency capacity to accommodate any emergency work that comes in to ensure we have appropriate resources available to offer our customers total service support whenever called upon.
This scenario is just a brief example of the importance of effective reporting tools for service operations. The ability for a service leader to ask, “I want to make a change, what’s the impact?” and to effectively model out the answer to that question is a cornerstone of next-gen FSM.
MOBILE CAPABILITY
As we mentioned earlier in this paper, one of the significant shifts from FSM 1.0 to FSM2.0 was the inclusion of mobile. In the current status quo there is widespread provision of mobile solutions in the iterations of FSM solutions. However, next-gen solutions greatly magnify the complexity of such elements.
It is critical here to note that the complexity should always remain under the bonnet. Ultimately, the more sophisticated the technology on offer is, the more intuitive and seamless the experience should be for the end-user.
With this in mind, the mobile app of 2021 looks very different from those we would see just a few years ago, which were often little more than glorified push notifications showcasing job updates.
A modern FSM embedded mobile app should empower the engineer to capture accurate materials or asset data. It should guide them through structured workflows based on the job at hand while pulling in data from the asset itself.
It should play a pivotal role in ensuring that health and safety standards are met every time by placing clear checklists that technicians must complete before releasing additional information to the engineer. It should allow for a seamless customer interaction process- from having direct access for the engineer to order parts required when on-site, through the automated dispatch of invoices on receipt of an e-signature.
And returning to our concept of making the point of service as seamless as possible, the very best modern systems can do so in a truly dynamic fashion.
In Geocall, for example, the screen presents a truly dynamic experience for the field engineer or technician. The mobile solution understands the type of operation being undertaken and the most appropriate associated forms to capture the required data. Hotlinks are provided to the most relevant information within the knowledge library. The potential to record a solution to a currently unlisted problem allows the service organization to improve their knowledge base continuously.
The longer technicians use this tool, the more powerful it becomes.
And perhaps the most essential element of all, when it comes to identifying modern FSM technology, is that the mobile app links seamlessly to a virtual collaboration tool
VIRTUAL COLLABORATION / AUGMENTED REALITY
In the first section of this paper, we touched on how one of the primary shifts we will see as the dust settles and the new normal of field service begins to crystallize, is the more extensive use and many forms of remote service delivery will continue.This will take many forms. It may become a tool that technicians use for empowering self-service and self-maintenance for the customer. Workers may utilize it as the first level of support and enhanced triage tool. It may also support engineers in the field should they face an issue new to them requiring guidance from a more experienced colleague.
There are numerous papers dedicated to remote service tools available already on www.fieldservicenews.com, which are essential reading for all service companies seeking to embrace this modern approach to service delivery.
As a result, we won’t dwell on the topic too much here in terms of the benefits and considerations of adopting such a mechanism for service delivery. However, in the context of this paper, suffice to say, remote or virtual service collaboration tools are perhaps one of the most essential ingredients of FSM 3.0.
“Remote Service delivery and asset connectivity, however, are the agents of digital transformation. They do not just allow us to take the same processes and optimize them; they will enable us to rethink processes entirely and redefine service delivery...”
Embedding a remote service tool within an FSM system is currently the hallmark of next-gen systems. Some solutions have embedded remote service capability such as SPACE1 solution, whereas others will utilise 3rd party solutions and are reliant upon API based integration, increasing complexity and overhead.
Such a solution allows the service provider to have an experienced pair of eyes on-site almost instantaneously. It allows the service organization to access a site environment to either triage the information or resolve the problem remotely.
In more sophisticated tools such as SPACE1, we see the emergence of an intelligence-led knowledge management approach. Improved knowledge management means that a service organization can field the correct information at the right time to the engineer or the customer on-site via the tool. At the same time, the data automatically passes through image recognition technology, so it can automatically tag the correct information to make it more easily found at a later point if needed.
Such tools allow for rich information capture, whether images, videos or audio, while being utilized on-site, so every aspect of the maintenance or repair is catalogued correctly. Cataloging allows it to be fed back into the knowledge base to be used again in the future or even provide supporting documentation for invoicing or warranty disputes.
Additionally, we are seeing the rise in such tools in both training and on- boarding and critically reducing the time it takes to bring an engineer into the team before becoming a productive member of the workforce.
While all of the above tools are key factors in why service organizations should now upgrade or replace legacy systems, remote service tools are very much the poster boy of modern FSM solutions.
Again, the comparison to how Cloud and Mobile dramatically changed the game in FSM 2.0 holds true. Remote service, alongside IoT, are two technologies that will be the hallmark of FSM 3.0 as Cloud and Mobile where previously.
While there are therefore apparent comparisons, there is, however, a distinct difference.
The introduction of Cloud and Mobile, were perhaps the high watermarks of digitalization, allowing us to improve upon the efficiencies of traditional field service management processes.
Remote Service delivery and asset connectivity, however, are the agents of digital transformation. They do not just allow us to take the same processes and optimize them; they will enable us to rethink processes entirely and redefine service delivery in a more optimal way for the customer and the service provider.
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with OverIT..
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content OverIT who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Servitization & Advanced Services @ www.fieldservicenews.com/servitization-and-advanced-services
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
- Learn more about the impact of COVID-19 in the Field Service Industry @ www.fieldservicenews.com/covid-19
- Read more about OverIT on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/exel
- Learn more about OverIT @ www.overit.it
- Follow OverIT on Twitter @ twitter.com/OverITSpA
Dec 07, 2021 • Features • White Paper • OverIT • Covid-19 • Servitization and Advanced Services
Field service has changed dramatically in the last 18 months, although we were already on a path of development from one phase of our evolution to the next as an industry.
In the first excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership...
Field service has changed dramatically in the last 18 months, although we were already on a path of development from one phase of our evolution to the next as an industry.
In the first excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with OverIT, we start looking at what we should expect from an FSM solution suited to the post-pandemic world and how do we map an effective path from our existing legacy solutions.
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with OverIT.
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared withOverIT, sponsor of this premium content, who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
The pandemic alone didn’t distrupt how we approach service delivery, we had already planted the seeds some time ago. Undoubtedly, the pandemic accelerated our journey, but it pushed us faster down a path we were already on. It was the catalyst for change rather than the reason.
Servitization, for example, had already grown from a niche strategy to a mainstream concept discussed in service organization boardrooms around the world.
However, as we begin to see a clearer picture of the new normal, servitization is shifting from a nice to have to an essential strategic move for many companies.
Our post-pandemic world is one where we may begin to see a reversal of the drive to the globalization of the supply chain. Many manufacturers are still reeling from the disruption that was brought to their business by external factors. One solution is a more decentralized approach that, while proving more costly, would be far more robust should we face similar challenges once again.
Another external factor driving servitization is the focus on the circular economy becoming more pressing as we address climate change issues impacting us all. A focus on sustainability suddenly moves beyond nice- sounding PR. It is now an essential facet of how we, as an industry, must embrace bold thinking as we consider field service in such a context.
Servitization, for many companies, allows for shifting the responsibility of output to the service provider, leading by necessity to more intelligent design of assets that are designed to last longer and can be more easily maintained.
Similarly, with remote service delivery, we see external factors come into play that could shape its role in the future of service delivery. Remaining on the point of sustainability, for example, the ability to reduce the carbon footprint of the field workforce is hugely boosted by the adoption of remote service tools and technologies.
Yet, only a few years ago, remote service delivery was very much the domain of best-in-class leading-edge adopters. Today it is being embraced across our industry. Remote service delivery, an approach to maintenance that companies adopted mainly out of necessity during the times of lockdown, has shown us en masse that there could be another way of approaching service delivery, problem triage, and issue resolution.
These are two very brief examples of how the industry is currently going through a significant process of evolution, driven in part by factors outside of our control. However, ours is an industry that adapts well. Ours is an industry populated with problem solvers and forward thinkers, a natural result of the often linear progression from field engineer to management that many of our industry’s leaders have chosen to take.
Indeed, it was not that long ago that we went through a similarly significant shift, as service moved from cost-centre to profit centre for a majority of service organizations. Again, this shift was, at first, glance a reaction to external disruption. Many point back to the 2008 recession as a pivotal moment in that shift.
With the global economy fractured and product margins being pushed to paper-thin levels, we witnessed a focus on service both as a critical differentiator to win and retain business but also as a vital revenue generator.
This came at a time when CAPEX investment for new assets was scarce and a desire to sweat assets that much longer, was wholly reliant on strong service agreements. Yet, while the 2008 recession certainly played its part in shaping that phase of industry evolution, much like the ongoing uncertainties in both economic and other factors are doing today, that first decade of the new century showed individuals at the forefront of innovative service design focuisng on service as a profit center.
Equally, like today, that shift in thinking was inspired by and empowered by a wave of technological innovation. As much as Augmented Reality, the Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence are changing the way we approach service delivery moving forward now, both Cloud and Mobile Computing radically altered the idea of what was possible then.
If we think back to the systems that preceded that era, there was a basic foundational layer within those early FSM solutions that were built and expanded upon, thus creating a new generation of solutions.
Elements such as scheduling and engineer-orientated mobile applications were often best-of-breed solutions designed for one purpose that integrated into the FSM platform. Then as we began to see these elements become standard inclusions, we moved into an era of FSM2.0.
Similarly, we have now begun to see new technologies like remote assistance tools, AI-based triage, and next-generation dynamic scheduling move through maturation. These tools that were often external to the FSM solution are becoming embedded in sophisticated next-generation platforms such as Geocall from OverIT as we begin to see the emergence of FSM 3.0.
In this paper, we shall explore what we should expect from such solutions and outline some guidance on the migration from an existing legacy solution to a solution designed with the emerging challenges of the new normal in mind.
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with OverIT..
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content OverIT who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Servitization & Advanced Services @ www.fieldservicenews.com/servitization-and-advanced-services
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
- Learn more about the impact of COVID-19 in the Field Service Industry @ www.fieldservicenews.com/covid-19
- Read more about OverIT on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/exel
- Learn more about OverIT @ www.overit.it
- Follow OverIT on Twitter @ twitter.com/OverITSpA
Nov 26, 2021 • Features • White Paper • FieldAware • Leadership and Strategy • customer experience • customer success
In this final feature from a recent white paper we published in partnership with FieldAware, we discuss if customer satisfaction metrics are suitable to identify a measure of success in a servitized or customer success-based service model.
In this final feature from a recent white paper we published in partnership with FieldAware, we discuss if customer satisfaction metrics are suitable to identify a measure of success in a servitized or customer success-based service model.
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with FieldAware.
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content FieldAware who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Do we need to rethink how we measure success within our organization if we move towards a servitized or customer success focused model? This is something of a complex question, and in many ways, the answer is both yes and no.
From an operational perspective, as we put forward earlier in this paper, broadly what defines operational success in a transactional break-fix service offering largely remains the same definition of success that we would see in a servitized model.
To reiterate, in the traditional break-fix setup, metrics like mean-time-to-repair, first-time-fix-rate, and technician utilization are all indicators of how efficiently the service organization can meet the customer’s external demands and expectations.
In a servitized offering, those same metrics remain vital for ensuring that the field service operation is running at a level of efficiency that makes it both feasible and financially rewarding for the service provider to offer such as solution.
Yet as the Field Service News Research study from late 2019, Understanding the metrics that matter in a rapidly changing field service sector, revealed, of those organizations that had introduced some level of servitization into their service portfolio, over 80% of them had made changes to the KPIs they measure.
Also, remember the statistic we referenced earlier in this paper from that same report- over half (51%) of all field service organizations now placed equal importance on CSAT metrics as they did operational metrics – a statistic that has steadily risen year on year since Field Service News Research began hosting benchmarking studies in this area back in 2013.
Yet, when we think of customer satisfaction metrics, are these suitable to identify a measure of success in a servitized or customer success-based service design model?
Rudimentary statistics such as Net Promoter Score can offer a broad overview of service standards. More detailed tools like customer surveys allow more specific insights to come to the fore, and modern tools such as sentiment analysis can fill in the gaps between the two.
However, all CSAT metrics are the equivalent of driving while looking in the rearview mirror and while valuable indicators, are perhaps not focused enough for the end-goal of defining customer success.
“CSAT metrics are the equivalentof driving while looking in the rearview mirror and while valuable indicators are perhaps not focused enough for the end-goal of defining customer success...”
In earlier sections of this paper, we have touched on how co-creation often lies at the heart of many successful servitization case studies and the potential importance of an onboarding team.
When it comes to defining the core metrics for a customer success-based service model, a critical role of the onboarding team (and also of pre-sales and/or account management) should be to work with the customer to identify a shared set of metrics that will shape how success is defined.
This may require data sets from both organizations to combine a new set of KPIs that allow the service provider to ensure they meet the requirements. Should these KPIs indicate an issue, then traditional operational KPIs can provide an insight as to why. Meanwhile, broader CSAT metrics can offer an indication of the overall temperature of the service organisations success.
This more complex understanding not only of what success looks like for each customer but also leveraging existing KPIs to ensure that is happening at the macro and granular level, serves once more to re-enforce the importance of not only having the tools to empower effective service delivery but also the critical importance of reporting tools that allow the service provider to quickly and easily keep their finger on the pulse of how the service operation is performing.
In addition, such reporting tools allow the service provider to offer a layer of transparency that is crucial in communicating with the customer. This transparency leads to a relationship founded on trust. In summary, new metrics will evolve, but the old metrics remain vital and access to data is key in all areas.
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with FieldAware..
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content FieldAware who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
- Read more about Data Management @ www.fieldservicenews.com/data-management
- Read more about FieldAware on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/exel
- Learn more about FieldAware @ www.fieldaware.com
- Follow FieldAware on Twitter @ twitter.com/fieldaware
Nov 19, 2021 • Features • White Paper • FieldAware • Leadership and Strategy • customer experience • customer success
In this new feature from a recent white paper we published in partnership with FieldAware, we discuss the proper technological infrastructure to ensure that the service operation can operate at maximum efficiency.
In this new feature from a recent white paper we published in partnership with FieldAware, we discuss the proper technological infrastructure to ensure that the service operation can operate at maximum efficiency.
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with FieldAware.
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content FieldAware who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
In the previous section of this paper, we discussed the importance of a new role at the executive level, the CRO, that has oversight of revenue generation and operational efficiency. We also noted that core to this role is an understanding of how the wider business must adapt, support and buy into the broader servitization strategy.
However, perhaps of equal importance is the flow of data across the business.
Often, data is locked away in silos across a business, yet in a servitized model, the seamless movement of data is essential. For example, asset data that provides actionable insight for when service is required, which is the key to unlocking genuinely efficient predictive maintenance, is also exceptionally valuable to the product design teams as it enables them to see the common causes of asset failure and work to resolve these issues.
If accessible to account managers in a customer success model, that same data allows for a level of transparency within the relationship that can be the foundation of trust that is required for deeper, more effective partnerships. Similarly, data flow into the accounting tools used within an organization can significantly reduce the service-to-cash cycle.
To achieve this flow of data, there is an inherent need for critical systems to be able to talk to each other. Two approaches are applicable here. Either a broad platform that encompasses all of the solutions required, such as FSM, ERP and CRM or a focus on best of breed solutions in each of these areas that have easy to use APIs that allow for effortless data flow across the broader system.
While there are arguments that can be put forward for both approaches, largely, it is the latter that is the more common.
There is a degree of complexity in any organization that operates a field service division that means multiple systems in place will be running alongside each other. Replacing all of these with one platform may seem like a straightforward proposition, but in fact, it is a challenge not only from a technology standpoint but also from a change management perspective. Put simply, such a project requires time and resources that many organizations, especially those in the mid-market, just don’t have.
The alternative is not only more achievable for companies of all sizes, but with an open approach to integration, the ability for data flow to drive forward customer success efforts can be harnessed while also having the added advantage of best in class solutions where they are most needed.
When we look at the field service operation, the tools and technology that enable the efficiency required for a servitized approach are now mature and well established, with most field service organizations having at least a legacy form of FSM. Indeed, technology has become a critical aspect of field service operations. As we continue to move towards more advanced service offerings, this symbiosis of processes and technology will only increase.
Ultimately, the ability to deliver effective and efficient field service is firmly wedded to having a technology infrastructure in place.
The pandemic has been shown to have significantly driven investment within digital transformation amongst field service organizations. A study by Field Service News Research, Benchmarking the New Normal from Year Zero, from late 2020 revealed that two-thirds (65%) of field service companies stated that their digital transformation programs had been accelerated since Covid-19.
Technologies that enable remote service delivery and accurate predictive maintenance scheduling such as Augmented Reality and Internet of Things connectivity have rapidly evolved from being at the leading edge of an adoption curve to becoming utilized far more prevalently by field service organizations.
Adoption of such new technologies, of course, only strengthens the argument for core systems such as CRM and FSM to have robust API development.
However, while it is the newer technologies that often dominate the headlines when we consider the shift in focus of servitization and customer success models from being a mere service provider to becoming a genuine partner with a vested interest in the optimal performance of an install base, then the need for a robust technological foundation underpinning field service operations is more crucial than ever before.
From the back-office perspective, tools such as asset management, work order management, scheduling and dispatch and route optimization are now table stakes for field service organizations to deliver effective field service delivery.
Tools that can empower our field service technicians and engineers such as knowledge management, easily accessible forms, alerts and notifications and more, all packaged in an intuitive mobile app, are equally essential.
In addition to these more traditional tools found within an FSM system, customer portals, reporting and insight surfacing tools and invoicing are all becoming increasingly critical to allow the field service organization to operate at a sufficient level of efficiency where servitization or customer success models can be effectively executed.
Having looked at the potential requirements of both management structure and technologies needed to adopt a customer success orientated approach to service strategy, the final question we shall address next week is whether these changes mean that we must also change the way we measure success...
This feature is just one short excerpt from a recent white paper we published in partnership with FieldAware..
www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content FieldAware who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
- Read more about Data Management @ www.fieldservicenews.com/data-management
- Read more about FieldAware on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/exel
- Learn more about FieldAware @ www.fieldaware.com
- Follow FieldAware on Twitter @ twitter.com/fieldaware
Field Service News is published by 1927 Media Ltd, an independent publisher whose sole focus is on the field service sector. As such our entire resources are focused on helping drive the field service sector forwards and aiming to best serve our industry through honest, incisive and innovative media coverage of the global field service sector.
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