Aligning People, Processes and Technology in Field Service

Editor's Notes

• #4: Good afternoon or good morning depending on where you are calling in from. Today we are going to discuss best practices around implementing field service, specifically addressing the people, process and technology aspects of implementing field service. I am very pleased to have Victora Van Dem Hagen of Bergen Refrigeration with us today and lend personal insight and share their experience of transforming a paper based field service operation to an automated one. A lot of companies evaluate and select technology based on a list of features they think they need. The technology is purchased and implemented and they fail to focus on change management, training, integration needs, etc..
• #5: Victoria what were your challenges Very paper based and lost work orders, go paperless mobile Brought in a consultant with strong IT background who did the research brought back top 5 or 6 and went through a trail / evaluations process.
• #7: Victoria what are some of the business gains that Bergman has experienced?
• #9: In a recent study by Harvard Business review regarding field service, they found that organizations able to skillfully manage the entire experience reap enormous rewards: enhanced customer satisfaction, reduced churn, increased revenue, and greater employee satisfaction. 
• #10: The retention of key talent in field services has never been more important due to an aging workforce, a diminishing talent pool for new hires, and technological change that is occurring faster than anyone expected.  In addition to keeping up with the current role, the changing nature of field service requires employees to acquire new business skills, business process troubleshooting, and the ability to drive increased adoption and consumption within the client’s site.  Your team of service technicians is the face of your organization. Beyond being service techs, they’re salespeople, customer service professionals and marketers for your business. And the great ones can be REALLY difficult to find.The pool of candidates is small, and training costs are high; avoid having to start from scratch by rewarding and retaining the very best. Learn how in the latest episode of Field Force Friday. 
• #11: Once the affected people, processes, applications and systems have been identified. The next step is to build a team comprised of stakeholders that represent those people, processes and systems. It’s important that the team maintain open communications as a group - and with areas of the business that they represent. It’s also critical that team members have decision making authority that enables them to modify processes, upgrade applications or systems and address key issues (like the implementation plan itself, training, testing, etc.) as they arise. At FieldAware, we’ve found that companies that build the good teams, with the most autonomy, get the best results. At BRAC, Inc. our team consisted of the business owner, myself, and an outside consultant that we brought in with a highly skilled IT background. Such expertise helped us in choosing the right program for us and he also helped to break down the foreign language that technology can be when it’s not your specialty. Understanding hiring a consultant is not an option for everyone, the important take-away is to reach out to those that have better knowledge in this department. Just as you would when hiring a sub-contractor for a part of a job that your business does not regularly cover but is part of the job.
• #13: This step may seem obvious, but preparation of a comprehensive implementation plan can sometimes get overlooked when team members are managing multiple priorities. We recommend that companies designate a project manager as the “owner” of the plan and responsible party for notifying the team, and executive management, when any project benchmark date is in jeopardy. We also recommend that the project manager serve as the single point of contact for communication with providers of mobile devices and the field service management solution. In our organization, I was the leader of such implementation and seeing as though FieldAware had done the implementation for countless other clients, they had a suggested plan/timeline and we stuck to it. The key is to plan for time spent doing research and preparation. The time spent researching and preparing is well worth the investment, you will not regret it!
• #14: Once the plan is in place, it’s time to prepare everything and everyone for change. If the mobile field service management solution will integrate with an existing ERP, CRM or accounting system preparation will probably include development of an API connection between the systems. If security and management of the mobile devices is important, implementation or upgrades to an existing mobile device management system (or service) might be in order. Changes to processes will need to be outlined and documented. And last, but not least, the coming change needs to be communicated to the people who will be affected - in the field and in the office. At FieldAware, we’ve found that the companies As we reached this point we did our research on mobile devices and purchased the new Apple iPads for each of our technicians to include the data required, insurance, and covers/ chargers, cases, required. We also spoke about the implementation of FieldAware with our staff on a frequent basis, promising that it would make everyone’s daily tasks easier and less time consuming than ever before. who have taken the time to inform have higher user adoption rates and achieve higher returns on their mobile field service management investment.
• #15: In step five the “rubber meets the road”. It is at this time that the system is tailored to meet the unique needs of the business and where all processes, existing and new data sources are integrated to produce a mobile field management system that delivers double digit improvements in productivity and profitability. At this point, it’s essential to work with the mobile field service management solution provider to determine the best ways to leverage their system in your environment. System configuration, roles and rights of users, custom fields and, where integration with an existing CRM, ERP or Accounting system is required, configuration of the API are just some of the areas where the provider can help. Once the system has been configured, a good next step is to create a mock-up of the system. Take a sample of some existing electronic data and load it into the now configured system. Does the system meet your requirements? The mock-up also helps eliminate problems later by ensuring that: There is a proven template for all existing data uploads Back office, mobile and user configurations as well as API and roles and rights settings are correct If the mock-up system is on target, existing electronic data is now uploaded and it’s on to step seven. As we designed and constructed our FieldAware profile, it was important for us to keep in mind the give and tae that was necessary and ultimately well worth the changes that needed to be made. It is at this point that the time and effort spent in the research phase became apparent in significance throughout the process.
• #16: As the implementation plan goes forward, it’s a good idea to include periodic progress reviews. Often these reviews uncover systems and processes that must be upgraded or changed to accommodate mobile field service management that weren’t discovered in the initial verification process. Reviews also are good for eliminating project road blocks, finalizing decisions on interdepartmental process modifications and assigning responsibility for new tasks. Work with your provider to determine the best ways to leverage their system to meet the unique needs of your business. At BRAC, Inc. it took all we could to stay on task and stick to the recommended timeline and even though some were missed, I’d always set 2nd deadlines and stick to them. For my experience weekly/bi-weekly calls/meetings are most beneficial as to not let too much time pass and to also remained caught up with current business operations. I also tried to take FieldAware recommendations and re-format the way we did things, as they know what works best for their program.
• #18: At FieldAware we recommend that end user training include a combination of: On site training by the mobile field service management solution provider Train the trainer (again by the provider) In-house training (new processes and applications) Web-based training (videos, online documentation and “how tos”) This combination of training delivery methods accommodates not only a variety of learning strategies, it is also very cost effective. Per FieldAware’s advice and set out plan we had a rep onsite in our offices for 2 full days, spending 1.5 days with our office staff and the other ½ day with our technicians teaching and testing the application of the new program. Though there was obviously a cost associated with such a training plan, the investment has absolutely paid off! On launch there were regular questions, but we are sure that the amount of questions were much less than we would have gotten had we not made the investment.
• #19: Best practices and lessons learned
• #20: Before rolling the system out, test it using a “select” user community (field, back office, management). Make sure that the system performs as expected and that any new processes are efficient as well. If there are any “kinks” in the system or processes, take the time to work them out, then retest to ensure that any problems are fixed. At BRAC, Inc. we used both paper and mobile to complete business for a 2 week period as we all adjusted to FieldAware. Each day we also reviewed our technician’s work order/job and we able to pick up and correct any mistakes made before being made on a continued basis.
• #21: The system has been tested and the users trained. It’s time to roll it out - and begin taking advantage of the business benefits that a mobile field service management solution can bring. In working with our customers, FieldAware has found that during launch, it’s important for companies to continue to communicate the business - and personal - benefits of the system to everyone involved. Change is difficult - little antidote or customer story here Remind technicians of: The time they’ll save The number of paper forms they won’t have to fill out, maintain and file How easy it is to use - and get the information they need, when they need it Schedulers and dispatchers will love how easy it is to create, schedule and dispatch work orders - and view the status of them in real time. Managers will have instant access to the status of every job and every technician as well as insight into the profitability of jobs, the productivity of technicians and much, much more. And make sure to get feedback from users. What is good? What can be improved? This feedback is essential for the step. Our launch point was not a date but a point in time where we stated that no more carbon copy work orders would be ordered. Once we tested the program and decied the work orders being submitted were truly duplicates and unnecessary, we took the leap and went mobile! By choising a visual point-of-time, we saw our launch point grow closer as an hour glass loses sand. It was important for us to set a deadline and stick to it. I as the head of implementation kept everyone on track and did not take any “no’s” or “not yet’s” for an answer. I knew we were ready based on the time spent on research, prep, and training; there was no going back.
• #23: [Michael] So what does FieldAware do exactly? (Paper and clip board will appear) “We take paper work orders on clipboards and.. <click> (to bring up mobile devices and text) Convert them into jobs on mobile devices.
• #24: [Michael] The FieldAware solution has two parts FieldAware Web and FieldAware Mobile. FieldAware has a Web portion for you to manage your jobs and business. In the web portal you can schedule and dispatch jobs. You can attach any documents or photos that would be helpful for the job assigned. Technicians can also take pictures and upload documents while on site. You can also run our built-in reports for insight into business trends and performance. The FieldAware Mobile App is for the techs in the field to gain access to quotes and estimates, job and customer history, and they also have the ability to capture pre and post work signatures from the customer. FieldAware optimizes your business processes and provides you a total field service solution that makes your business more productive and translates to more profit.