Managing a high-risk technology switchover

The interest in using cloud-based software and mobility solutions to enhance the performance of field service operations is really taking off. This is largely driven by the cost management and efficiency focus of Australian businesses. It is also due to the recognition of our leading chief executives of the correlation between customer satisfaction and revenue, and the nexus between great service and happy customers.

Consequently, this is leading to a great deal of discussion about the merits of using mobile devices to manage the field workforce. While many important points are being made about the benefits of mobile in field service, a vital aspect of this discussion is missing, and that is the importance of managing your organisation’s service knowledge as you manage the transition to cloud and mobile.

There are two aspects to consider when shifting from paper and whiteboards to an integrated mobile and cloud field service management platform:

1. Understanding the composition of your workforce and where the knowledge about your customers and service business resides today.
2. Having an understanding of the different levels of familiarity and know-how of your field workforce with iPads and other mobile devices.

If, like many businesses, you have a mix of staff including long-serving employees nearing retirement, university and TAFE graduates, school leavers and apprentices, you can bet the unwritten knowledge about your customers and their preferences is in the heads of your ‘near retirement’ employees. So when they leave you lose that knowledge.

This is where the well-thought-out introduction of mobile devices (as part of your service management transformation) and the integration of your customers into your service business can effectively counter this risk, while re-skilling your field workforce across all ages and capabilities.

There are several ways to address the two points above - the simplest and most effective is to leverage the knowledge and technology leaders from within your service business.

1. Ask your service leaders who within the organisation achieves the highest accolades from your customers for services delivered.
2. Ask your customers who within your service business understands their unique needs and their relationship with your company.

Armed with this information, you know who your customers consider their trusted advisors and where knowledge about your relationships resides within your service business.

Having identified the best sources of knowledge about your customers’ preferences, you now need to identify which of your service staff is most adept at learning new technologies.

If you don’t already know, the easiest way to find out is to ask your field service staff who, amongst their peers, they consider to be the best at using and explaining new and innovative tools, in particular mobile apps. Internal champions can be crucial in getting such initiatives early momentum.

Once you have identified your knowledge leaders and your technology leaders, it is then a case of bringing them together and encouraging them to share their knowledge (via a buddy system) as you transition from pen and paper to cloud and mobile.

With a flexible cloud-based field service management solution, you also have the option of paring back the detail that is shown on the mobile device until your staff are used to the new system. It may also be a case of providing different devices to address the different comfort levels and needs of your workforce. For example, we’ve seen one customer, with a mix of young and older workers, find that their younger workers preferred using iPads to record service calls and collaborate with their peers via Chatter (on the Salesforce.com platform).

By comparison, many older workers preferred to use smartphones, because they are similar to the phones they have been using and fit into a pocket. This may seem counterintuitive, but it brings us to the third key aspect of effective mobile integration, and that is how important it is to get the facts and involve your workforce in the transition. In this way, you won’t find yourself rolling out iPads only to find some of your workforce would be better served with a smartphone, or phablet.

Using an agile approach to implementing your field service management solution gives you the freedom to test and amend the amount of information that can be accessed on the mobile device. It also means you can gradually increase the capability of your mobile solution as your engineers become more familiar with having all your customer and service information in the palm of their hand.

So, while the introduction of cloud and mobile field service management solutions can and does produce measurable improvements to the performance of your business, it does not have to be implemented in a do-or-die high-risk switchover. It can provide the additional benefit of re-skilling your field workforce, addressing the engineering skills shortage and driving innovation.

*Clive Roberts is the Managing Director and founder of Sydney-based ProQuest Consulting, a Platinum Partner for Salesforce.com and a strategic implementation partner for ServiceMax, a comprehensive solution for field service management.

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Alex Slobodkin