3 Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing a Field Service Solution

Searching for the right field service solution for your business is a major decision that can make or break your service operations. With many options on the market, all with varying qualities, it can feel impossible to find the best fit. Keep these 3 mistakes in mind to avoid wasting your time, energy, and money on substandard field service solutions.

1. Not Understanding Your Needs

When choosing a field service solution, it is important that the solution is ideal for your specific requirements. Some questions you should ask yourself are:

• Why are you looking for a solution/what problems are you hoping to solve?

Not all solutions on the market are created equal; by knowing what problems you would like to solve will help choose the best fit for you, and compare solutions. Imagine how the solution can work for you now and in the future.

• How many people and functions does the solution need to serve in your organization? 

Some solutions are geared towards larger orgs, certain customer segments, and some are spectacular in the mid-market space. Based on the size of your workforce, you can easily vet out solution providers of the wrong size caliber. Consider back-office, technicians, dispatchers, executives, etc.

• What stage are you at in the maturity model? 

Check out the link above to find out what stage your organization is at in the maturity model. This model will help you understand where your business stands in the digital landscape, and plan for the future, courtesy of MSI Data. Not knowing what you are looking for, or not being clear on the needs of your organization can make for a lengthy discovery process. One key prerequisite before you start discussing options with providers is to align internally with all stakeholders. This can be accomplished internally alone or through a VAR (value added reseller) to consult with you on what is important to your organization.

2. Communication and Responsiveness

Often, the communication and responsiveness of representatives in the beginning of the process is indicative of the rest of your business relationship. If team members are timely, prompt, and thoroughly address questions and concerns, then there is a higher likelihood the whole process will be supportive and smooth. If team members are slow to respond, don’t fully answer questions or downplay concerns, or start off with lots of communication but then slowly decrease responsiveness, then the trend is likely to continue and the process might prove difficult and frustrating. Pay attention to the communications that take place with consultants/VARs, and make sure you take their responsiveness into account.

3. Not keeping technicians at the forefront of your mind

At the heart of our product are the ones who use it the most: field technicians. Not aligning your solution with the central users of the solution is a detrimental mistake. Choosing a solution that places great importance on accessibility for field technicians will be the most valuable for all parties in your organization. After all, technicians are the ones who benefit most. One of the easiest ways to set your technicians up for success is through a solution with a true mobile app. These apps are designed for technicians to use when working, prioritizing accessibility with features such as speech-to-text, GPS tracking, inspection forms and surveys, inventory search, and image tracking via the device camera. Ensure you put another tool in the hands of your technicians, not another task.

Conclusion

By making sure solution providers and team members understand your needs, assessing communication and responsiveness, and keeping the end user in mind, you can whittle down the market of solutions and find the best solution for you and your team. Need a place to start? Click here to schedule your free demo.

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