When Was The Last Time You Asked If Your Techs Were Happy?

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

Practical advice for improving your field technician engagement

What is the goal of field service? Close out work orders? Reach customers within a certain window of time? Sell more products or equipment? I think the answer is a bit loftier — deliver value to customers and keep them happy!

As seen in Aberdeen Group’s recent Field Service 2016: Strengthen the Team and Bond with Your Customers report (June 2016), the top challenge facing service businesses is the need to improve as a result of changing customer dynamics. The customer not only has a stronger voice than ever because they can report on your wins or losses via social media and amplify their influence, but they can also move their business to third-party service providers if they’re not satisfied. Historically, manufacturers had a monopoly of sorts on selling service contracts for the equipment they made. But that is no longer a given.