What should the field service organizations expect in the post-pandemic world?

The year is coming to an end so we can finally look back and reflect on the year we have had. While the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t entirely behind us, much of the world is getting back to a new normal of operating, and the global economy is improving. But there is no doubt that some of the effects are still being felt. How has the field service sector changed and how is it expected to look like in the future?

New requirements have forced many field service organizations to adopt new processes and technologies quickly. They had to meet the requirements and take responsibility for the timing and biosecurity of their dispatched resources. In addition, businesses and employees had to adapt to the remote environment. One of the biggest lasting transformations that have happened on the field service side is the consumerization of the end-to-end service experience.

The most important outcome

Field service organizations are rapidly adopting new processes and technologies to accommodate expanded service delivery requirements as part of their required response to COVID protocols. However, many of these efforts were rushed into production, leaving the overall customer experience more flat. Now that the new normal operations are stabilizing, advanced service organizations are taking a closer look at their execution models and identifying necessary enhancements and optimizations to deliver the customer experience anticipated. They know the patience for adapting to and getting the workflows right has shortened, and B2B expectations have risen.

One of the most critical elements of any modern field service management system is interconnectivity and data transparency across various systems of record.

With the rising consumerism of the service experience, customer data, history, and the workflows associated with field activities must be thoroughly interconnected and transparent. It is not sufficient to have a closed-loop field service workflow. The workflows must interact and leverage data and insights across the organization to enable a seamless 360-degree customer experience.

While this sounds intuitive, many single-vendor solutions lack the functionality or easy connectivity to accomplish tasks without significant customization and professional services investment. The right software and service can offer better ROI and additional functional advantages by providing unconflicted integration, improved specialized usability, and scale. This flexibility and robust field service-specific capabilities help meet the changing needs and requirements of the service organization – now and in the future.

The challenge

Many field service segments are bracing for a surge in demand and must be agile to respond. This surge in demand and hyper-focus may create a new mini “crisis” in the supporting field service management activities. Leading vendors in the segments impacted by this surge (and similar surges) will need to closely evaluate their service delivery model to ensure they can deliver on the rising expectations and capitalize on the boom in demand.

https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/what-field-service-organizations-should-expect-in-the-post-pandemic-world

Covid-19 field service management pandemic