As organizations make the shift to remote work, especially in today’s particular environment, it is difficult to imagine a world without the vast communication network we have today. 1876 is recent history, after all. That fact is made all the more stark when considering mobile phones only recently gained mainstream adoption, around 2002. And, yet, they’ve become an integral part of our everyday lives. So much so that, according to a Pew Research study, around 96% of Americans own a mobile phone today (Source: Pew Research Center, Mobile Fact Sheet).
Think about it, what is one of the first things you do when you wake up? Check email? Check social media? You probably do so without even thinking.
For telecommunications services providers, an entire fabric of field service work takes place to keep the lines of communication around the world operating. You may be a service operations manager reading this blog post right now, recalling the work your technicians conducted over the past week, month, year, and all that went into completing those work orders.
Prior to founding Field Squared and developing our field service automation software with my own two hands, I worked in the telecommunications industry. My experience in the telecom space was the driving force behind my decision to help found the company.
Over the years, I have spoken with many telecommunications customers about their field service operations. Today in particular, telecommunications services providers play a crucial role as they take on the burden of managing unprecedented load across networks as entire industries shift to a remote workforce where many employees are working from home.
Installation of cable, maintenance and construction of cellular towers as well as site survey inspections work continues, rain or shine.
In this post, I will explain why now is an opportune time to adopt field service management software to improve your telecom field service operations and tools you can use to increase field operational efficiency.
Reduce Repeat Visits via Scheduling and Dispatch by Skills, Certifications and Parts
Telecommunication services work often involves utilizing technicians with specialized skills for certain repair or maintenance work.
You can easily reduce repeat visits and increase first time fix rate by employing scheduling and dispatch software. Skill tags enable operations managers to get the right technician with the right skills, certifications, parts or other criteria, to the right job at the right time.
Things can get hectic in the field. If a technician is running behind, dispatchers can quickly find the next available or nearest technician of the same criteria to assign the job to.
Track Crews and Assets in Real-Time
Remote work across the telecommunications services industry comes with many challenges. You do not want to spend your time wondering where your technicians are, you want to know.
In the case of Field Squared, our Field Service Mobile Application takes advantage of the device-native GPS capabilities to provide real-time visibility into the location of your field crews as well as your inventory and assets (internal or customer-owned). Some software goes a step further allowing you to import/sync network asset data from GIS or other source of truth, into the field service software.
Real-time technician tracking, provides the ability to:
- Plan field service jobs in remote locations
- Enable technicians to work in offline/disconnected mode without any loss of data
- Access accurate drive time and mileage reports for auditing purposes
- Track the location of assets and inventory in real-time
Location information can be utilized to make more informed business decisions. Additionally, it aides in resource planning.
Improve Your Customer Service Experience
Oftentimes, your customer is on the other end of the work order. They’ve been waiting for your technician to make a service call. Is your technician prepared? You can empower technicians with the tools to delight your customers, increasing referrals, upsells, and satisfaction.
It’s easy with the right field service management software to improve your customer service experience in challenging times. Here are a few ways you can get the most out of a mobile service app:
- Automate customer notifications of a technician’s arrival status or schedule change
- Email customers directly from the job site all work order related documents – no need to wait or fill out paperwork; everything is digital
- Technicians have access to full customer information on the work order which helps reduce callbacks
Competition in the telecommunications industry is fierce. Forbes provided this quick resource to 7 telecom industry trends to watch. Is your company going after any of these markets? Retaining current customers is a great way to maintain revenue streams. I suggest taking that a step further. Field service software can provide tools to help you garner new customers via quoting/estimation solutions, so you never miss an opportunity.
Making incremental changes can improve your service experience while improving your image at the same time.
With the right field service management app, you can future proof your business. It’s easy to get started. Field Squared is software as a service, implemented and delivered online. Get a demo and see how we can help your telecom services organization manage your remote workforce today.
