3 Key Findings about Scheduling Automation, Based on the Report: Leveraging Technology and Bolstering Your Field Service Workforce Using Field Service Connect

Industry reports are among the most opinion-forming bodies from the business perspective, in terms of needs and strategy-building for products. Whether they are expert based or questionnaire-based, they provide valuable knowledge about the state of the industry, trends, and expectations. WBR Insights recently published a report surveying 100 heads of service delivery to find out about the challenges they are facing and the innovations they are looking to adopt. These are the three key findings for Comarch FSM.

Finding 1: Scheduling automation is a fundamental building block of service operations

Nearly a third of  respondents have implemented AI/ML for scheduling. Nearly half are interested in doing so. These results prove that effort put into scheduling automation and dispatching is the right decisions. AI/ML technologies provide scheduling with real-time capability. This part of the business is closely related to other areas, such as KPIs. Exactly 53% of respondents said workforce utilization was the most important KPI, and there is a direct link between scheduling and proper stuff utilization. Only a market-proven solution can guarantee lower costs, increased utilization and less financial outlay due to missed SLAs. To find out how AI/ML real-time scheduling is adopted by Comarch FSM, please refer directly to the report or click here: https://www.comarch.com/field-service-management/effective-planning-and-scheduling/

Finding 2:  Organizations are not willing to delegate tasks to subcontractors

Only 2% or respondents are planning to delegate more than 36% of tasks to external resources. This comes to us as a big surprise. It may seem that the need to cut costs will force enterprises to delegate the majority of their tasks to subcontractors, but these results show that it is not going to happen quickly. Organizations are likely to delegate only 11-25% of tasks in the next three years. This is very thought-provoking in terms of the product strategy and maintaining a balance between effort invested in in-house technician enablement and subcontractor management. Either way, Comarch FSM provides wide capabilities to support any task delegation: https://www.comarch.com/field-service-management/third-party-workforce-management/

 
Finding 3: Employees want to feel accomplished, but not only financially.

Exactly 50% respondents said they are building a supportive working environment for technicians, to give everyone a chance to thrive. In addition, they also plan (or have already made) significant investments in technologies such as AR, VR or wearable devices which are used mainly by the workforce. On the other hand, only 2% of respondents said bonus schemes were a way to motivate staff. Field workers want to be efficient, reliable, independent, and self-organized. Money is no longer the key factor that influences the level of job satisfaction. Field workers want to achieve KPIs by using their knowledge and experience, to support co-workers with lower seniority levels, and to upsell. To do that, automation scheduling software need to be aligned to their  needs and be truly supportive in everyday routine. Check out how Comarch FSM mobile apps with augmented reality are enabling dynamic field service: https://www.comarch.com/field-service-management/augmented-reality-apps/