Third-Party Field Service – Stay On The Same Page To Deliver Resolution

By Aly Pinder Jr., research analyst, service management, Aberdeen Group, www.aberdeen.com

Is there anything more difficult than coordinating a dispersed group of people to attain a complex set of goals & tasks? Buzz-y concepts like “herding cats” come to mind when we contemplate the challenges of managing a dynamic workforce to meet changing customer needs. In field service, each day (or hour) can be dramatically different, requiring varying levels of resources across the service network.

In order to meet the demands of field support, cost effectively, organizations have begun to look at a more diverse workforce who can adjust on the fly to the needs of operation and the customer. In Aberdeen’s 2013 field service research, 64% of organizations sampled used third-party technicians for the completion of at least some daily field service tasks. In order to ensure that the entire service organization can stay on the same page, top performers have focused on a few key areas (prioritized areas for investment for organizations with a third-party field service team) and should be taken into account when managing a diverse field service team –

Create a source of service insight. Data proliferation in this world of connected machines and people makes the capture, storage, and accessibility of information more integral than ever to the efficiency of the service organization. Too many handoffs for information can lead to inefficiencies, additional costs, and duplicated work. Top performing organizations look to enhanced knowledge management systems to turn data points into intelligence which can be leveraged by the entire team, not just IT.  Whether an outsourced technician or in –house, the technology infrastructure must be able to integrated in order to ensure valuable insights are not lost, and ultimately service can be improved for the collective customer.

Schedule dynamically to predict the next failure. The main goal of field service should be resolving customer issues, before they happen if possible. In order to ensure technicians get in front of the next problem, organizations with third party technicians are looking to add strength to their workforce allocation engines (40% of respondents). No longer is it sufficient to have static schedules which do not adjust to changes in the work day. Planning for fluctuations in resource levels and customer needs is integral to becoming an agile partner servicing customers.

Excellence starts at the top, but should be seen down to the front line. Organizations that excel in field service, whether leveraging a third-party workforce or not, must have clear service leadership which has a strategic mandate to continuously improve. These organizations also hold management and the service team accountable for meeting and exceeding the expectations of the customer. Having the right leader in place is only one step, executing on a clear strategy to provide a differentiated level of support must be a team effort. Organizations that do not have this top down to the front level of alignment will inevitably encourage teams to focus on their own disparate goals, which may not be in the best interest of the customer. Leadership must keep internal teams as well as third-party employees on the same page to ensure the level of service desired by the customer is delivered regardless of employee or touch point.

These are just a few of the best practices embodied by the Best organizations in regard to delivering exceptional field support with a diverse workforce. Service can be complicated, but providing the entire team with the tools to work together for the customer can lead to improved efficiency despite a changing and challenging environment.