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Is it possible to plan for the future in field services?

Written by MyMobileWorkers

Managing field service operations can feel like the the business equivalent of herding cats. It’s a fast-paced environment, with so many dynamic elements that are out of your direct control.

It’s what makes trying to plan for the future so tough. Handling all of the day-to-day challenges is enough of a headache — never mind, staring into a crystal ball. But by planning ahead, you can build up your ability to handle whatever’s heading your way.

planning for the future field service

Amidst all the day-to-day unpredictability, there are some ‘known unknowns’ that all mobile service businesses can prepare for.

Here’s a look at some of the ways to plan for the future in field services:

  • Managing technological changes
  • Handling compliance requirements
  • Meeting customer expectations
  • Responding to disruptions

Managing technological changes

While you can’t predict the exact nature of technological change, you can clearly see the general trend. For mobile services, that’s the move to replace any paper-based and manual tasks with digital alternatives.

The obvious example is the switch to digital workforce management systems but this applies throughout operations. If any tasks rely on paperwork or info having having to be transferred by hand, you need to look for ways that digital technology could deliver faster, simpler and more efficient work processes.

Handling compliance requirements

Every field service business needs to be ready for evolving compliance demands. The rules and regulations companies need to meet are particularly liable to change as a result of Brexit and it’s an area that needs to be constantly reviewed.

Compliance means, not only working within industry regulations, but also having the documentation to prove it. This is one area where digital systems provide a significant advantage - automatically generating a record of safety checks and procedures.

Meeting customer expectations

Digital communications have raised the bar in terms of customer and client expectations. To meet these demands means more than just providing a fast and efficient service, it also has to be a service that’s open and accessible.

People have become used to tracking their orders and deliveries online with service providers providing them with access to real-time information. If your company isn’t yet able to offer this kind of accessibility, it’s an area that needs to be reviewed.

Responding to disruptions

Effective planning for the future requires accepting the idea of Murphy’s Law - anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Whether it’s missing deliveries, failing systems or schedule mix-ups, you can’t manage a mobile service operation without occasional spanners in the works.

What matters is how well you’re set-up is able to handle this kind of disruption. That requires constantly honing and improving work processes to  build-up resilience. A major part of this is to look for ways of improving communications so that issues can be identified early and responded to instantly.

So while trying to develop longer term strategies can be difficult in the hectic world of field service operations, there are some areas which all businesses can make sure they’re ready for. The bottom line is having the kind of robust set-up in place that can handle whatever surprises the future in field services may hold.

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