Field Service: The Importance (And Challenge) Of Ongoing Dialogue

By Sarah Howland, Editor In Chief, Field Technologies magazine

If you attend service industry trade shows — like WBR Field Service that just wrapped up — you understand the level of excitement that builds while you’re at the show. You have a chance to see emerging technologies and imagine the positive impact they could have on your business, you feel inspired by hearing what companies like yours are doing to improve their organizations, and you talk firsthand with peers in the industry about their experiences, missteps, and best practices. You leave the show feeling educated, connected, and excited about how to take the information you gathered and put it to good use. But, what happens from there can sometimes prove disappointing. You plan to stay connected to the people you talked with during the show, but return to your busy everyday life, and your plans fall to the wayside. The excitement you felt at the show about everything you were learning fades as you get caught up in the work that’s on your plate.

Leverage Service Industry Resources
Field Technologies recently partnered with an organization that was founded with the intent to solve this dilemma — The Service Council (www.TheServiceCouncil.com). The mission of The Service Council is to provide a forum platform for innovation sharing, shaping, and sharpening — to extend the exciting conversations that happen at trade shows and industry events throughout the year. The community offers free membership to all qualifying candidates, and there is a wide variety of service organizations already involved, including Sears, Mettler-Toledo, Steris, and Philips.

I like the idea of what The Service Council represents — an ongoing interaction with people facing the same challenges as you — and I believe it aligns nicely with the mission of Field Technologies — ongoing education about how companies like yours are leveraging mobile technology to drive efficiency. I’ve invited The Service Council to share with you some of the topics of conversation, challenges, and ideas that are being discussed in the group (in the form of a column titled “Spotlight On The Service Council,” see page 30 for the first edition). For this issue, John Carroll, the founder of The Service Council, wrote a column highlighting the views the group has on the important role service will play this year. As always, I value your feedback — take a look, and please feel free to let me know what you think.