Moving Beyond The Service Schedule To An Empowered Field Workforce

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

Showing up on time is important — but it’s just the beginning.

The field service technician is the lifeblood of the service organization. Technicians have the ability to positively impact operational efficiency, profitability, and the customer’s relationship with the organization. A bad service visit can lead to a customer finding a new provider of service resolution, or a costly second truck roll. However, a great service experience may end with an invaluable referral.

This may seem like a rudimentary analysis of a complex ecosystem, and to a certain extent it is. Yet, frequently, service organizations primarily look at the impact of scheduling and efficiently routing technicians to turn wrenches, as opposed to how the relationship between a technician and customer can impact the organization. In Aberdeen’s Field Service 2014: Access to the Right Information Empowers a Results-Driven Workforce (January 2014), we see that top performing organizations have focused on empowering the technician with tools of collaboration and insight in order to solve the customer issue and not just show up on time. Here are a few of the key trends that have helped top performers excel in key metrics.