#svcforce

by Christopher Esselborn

The number of technicians that any one field service business employs ranges greatly; one common characteristic common to all is the workforce resistance to change. As managers we have to be sensitive to a lot of different personalities and if you’re like most, you know that it can be very difficult to transition a large workforce away from something they are very comfortable with; regardless of how good or bad it is!  So how do you get your staff to adopt a new mobile solution?

1. Work with Familiar Solutions

It’s no surprise that the majority of the enterprise work force today has a high level of familiarity with Microsoft products.  Back offices across the world have been using Windows and Windows-related products for decades and with the recent/upcoming release of products like Office 365 and Windows 8, it’s easy to see why businesses are faithfully sticking with Microsoft.  By adopting a product like, SvcForce which integrates directly into Microsoft Office Outlook, you’ll be removing the fear of an unfamiliar solution by leveraging a common user interface that your workforce is already used to using on a daily basis.

2. Ensure that Your New Provider has a Good Pilot Program

You would be surprised at the number of companies who jump headlong into a new solution.  It’s good to be enthusiastic about moving forward, but one misplaced step can easily sidetrack the best of intentions.  By making sure that your provider has a sound pilot program, you make it possible for a small team of your senior techs to construct workflows that improve efficiency by removing operational redundancies.  And with the senior techs on board, you can expect higher rates of adoption from your less experienced staff members.

3. Choose a Device Your Workforce can Depend Upon

When I ask people to think about popular mobile devices today, they usually mention the iPad or sometimes they’ll mention an Android based Tablet, but the reality is that even though these are great consumer devices, they don’t always meet the business requirements of your field techs.  Remember, solutions drive devices and not the other way around.  Using a device like a Dell Venue 11, on the other hand, gives your techs more than a glorified browser based tablet; it gives them a device with powerful desktop computer capabilities—something that our old laptop using techs are used to using on the road.

4. Give Them the Ability to Customize the User Interface

As simple as that sounds, there are several mobile solution providers that give you the option of having just one set of views with just one set of colors, etc. So what happens when your company thinks that a tech needs to see the estimated hours for a job more than they need to know the equipment ID?  Or maybe your company uses purple instead of green to show open jobs?  Customizing your mobile solution should be easy.  In SvcForce, there are user interface tools available to show techs as much or as little content as necessary, have the ability to re-column content, views or even change display colors to meet alerting needs.

5. Choose a Product that Works Offline

The one aspect of a paper-based company that technicians miss is the ability to work without the internet.  But having the power of mobile field service automation shouldn’t prevent your team from doing their job whether or not they have a broadband connection to the internet. A sound mobile solution will give your techs the ability to transact job details, finish the job offline and have the solution automatically synchronize to the back office when the internet connection becomes available. Remember, a mobile solution should be designed to do more than just get rid of paper; it should be designed to improve the lives of your techs, operations staff and most importantly, your customers. 

By Christopher Esselborn

By definition, field technicians’ work remotely in a wide variety of settings and at times a site is not conducive to internet connectivity. Techs are now able to access vital information that can make the difference between a repeat visit or a first time fix, but what happens to a tech when they arrive on site and there isn't an available internet connection?

Nothing!

Applications like SvcForce have been designed to keep the workforce operating regardless of internet connectivity. With SvcForce, techs not only retain the ability to view jobs and other important information, they also have the ability to continue processing their work.  Here are some ways that SvcForce enhances the offline experience:

SvcForce is built within Microsoft Office Outlook which already optimizes the offline experience with ‘Microsoft Cached Exchange Mode.’ You can simply toggle it on and start caching emails ‘locally’ rather than on your server.

All jobs enter SvcForce via email.  After you receive a job, you never have to worry about losing any of the details.  It’s stored on the system, just like the rest of your emails.

Job Details include site information, equipment history, warranty information, service level agreements and more.  

Tech’s can still enter all of their important details: Job Notes, Repair Details, Labor Time, Inventory, Purchases, Materials, Signatures and Payment.  Data is stored on the Tech’s device until an internet connection is reestablished at which point it is communicated back to the office.

SvcForce Calendars are available at all times so you’re always in sync with the back office even if your internet connection isn't.

by Christopher Esselborn

Field service has come a long way since its traditional ‘break-fix’ model, but customers are still demanding more from their service providers.  It is no longer enough to just send out a technician, clients expect resolution right away. So how can you take advantage of this trend in your operational efforts? Here are 3 tips to improving your first call resolution rates.

1. Use All Your Resources

When business is booming, it can be nearly impossible to get a technician who has the right set of skills to the job site.  Service centers, however, can overcome this dilemma by using an appropriate mobile software solution.

By using a mobile solution like, SvcForce, field technicians are able to troubleshoot problems in real time with experts in their back office or with their peers in the field via video conferencing technology.

This ability to communicate information ‘visually’ greatly expedites resolution by allowing techs to show-not just ‘describe’-the root of the problem, to an expert.  In today’s world, there is no more room for miscommunication or for waiting on an email, results are needed immediately.

2. Calendars Aren’t Just an Asset for Your Back Office

It’s no surprise that calendars are a business-critical aspect of scheduling for dispatchers, in any service organization.  They are used to help the back office track and guide the flow of service workforce resources in relation to demand in order to be as efficient as possible.

Field technicians can reap those same benefits and more when given access to the same information. Improved arrival time on site and route optimization quickly come to mind, but let’s not forget about the time saved avoiding phone bottlenecks and office visits.

Techs that use SvcForce have access to their daily, weekly and monthly schedules.  New jobs enter the system as ‘alerts’ and are automatically queued into the system so you never have to worry about missing another job.

3. Information, Information and More Information

Technicians are now expected to know everything about their client and their machines - even if they have never personally worked with the customer before.  This means equipment history, service level agreements, new regulations and more are imperative for success.

Mobile software provides the proper framework and information to take advantage of the ever changing landscape of competitive field service.

by Christopher Esselborn

Mobility for service organizations is becoming necessity rather than a luxury in today’s quickly evolving mobile workforce environment. The idea of doing more with less is attractive for those companies looking to maximize revenues while also reducing costs, but service manager’s  must keep in mind that mobile adoption is about more than just IT expenditure—there must be a strategy in place.  So how do you plan for mobile success?  We've come up with a few tips to help you jump-start you mobile field service strategy.

1.       Plan on Reducing Your Touch Points

Overlooking something as simple as system integration is easy with all the bells and whistles-like GPS routing & video conferencing-being marketed today, but it could be the biggest mistake you make.  The number of employees that ‘touch’ or interact with a service request influences cost, accuracy, timeliness of service and cash flow.  Service related data that is re-keyed multiple times creates areas of redundancy within an organization and also provides inconsistent results.  By planning ahead and using mobile software that automatically communicates and integrates field details to the back office, there is no need to worry about data reentry or even worse, data reentry mistakes which can dramatically increase operational costs.

 2.       Ensure Access to Mission Critical Information

Just because your remote technicians are able to receive jobs and transmit work details back to the office does not mean they are equipped to compete in today’s market.  Customers expect fast service which often requires more than just a prompt arrival.  In order to wow your clients and improve first time fix rates, you need a system that empowers your field technicians with all your customer information: SLA; Equipment History; Job Notes: Purchase History; Warranties and more.  Not only will your techs be better positioned to give top level customer service, you’ll also notice that your phone lines have less incoming traffic from information seeking techs.

 3.       Keep Your Customers in The Loop

Your field techs are up to date, but what about your customers?  Utilizing cloud based portals-like Ascent’s Online Service Portal-will dramatically improve your mobile strategy by allowing your customers to place and track service jobs in ‘real-time’ without needing to waste their or your valuable time on a phone call.  All information is immediately and automatically transmitted to and from the back office without ever needing to reenter information.  You’ll not only delight your customers, you’ll also be reducing your administration time in the process.