One of the signature elements of a field service management company is having a mobile workforce. It’s the nature of the beast for businesses that dispatch their employees directly to customers’ homes, businesses, and job sites. With the advent of new technology, at least some of those tasks can now be completed from the comforts of the employee’s home.
Among other things, that newfound functionality has thrust the concept of remote support teams into the spotlight. What many field service management businesses find themselves struggling with is building a remote team that is efficient and effective. If that sounds like you, read on as we provide a few of our favorite tips on getting the most out of this team’s time.
There’s a lot to be said about who comprises the remote support team and what their tasks entail. The first thing you’ll want to avoid is meshing your on-site support staff with your remote staff. That means don’t try to take on-site staff technicians and transition them into remote technicians.
If that process works well, there’s no point in fixing something that isn’t broken. Plus, these employees may enjoy the facetime they receive with customers and getting out of the office. You should also skip using remote support for customers early on in this process. Some customers may need a bit more hand-holding.
It’s in your best interests to try to make every task one for the remote support team. There are many different reasons for this, but the most obvious is that remote support is ultimately less expensive than in-person support. You aren’t spending time and money on the technician moving from site to site. Basically, it’s a faster, more efficient fix. That also means the technician should be able to complete more tasks and solve more problems in a day than an on-site technician.
Making remote support the first priority also helps the company elude instances where the technician visits the customer but isn’t equipped to fix the problem. If remote support isn’t an option, it’s perfectly acceptable to route it to an on-site technician, but remote should be the first priority.
We briefly mentioned technology earlier, but it bears repeating how valuable the right technology can be for remote support staff. In order to optimize this team’s time and efforts, consider using augmented reality platforms. They can merge the real world with a digital replica on the consumer’s electronic device. For example, a plumber’s remote support staff may be able to walk a customer through unclogging a drain by using an AR platform. It will give the customer a digital look inside their sink and pipes.
Additionally, field service management software based in the cloud empowers on-site technicians and remote support staff to interact within one shared platform—no matter where they are. These solutions provide staff with a single source of truth and historical documentation on work performed for the client in the past that can efficiently lend helpful guidance during the repair.
The field service management software solution from EnSight+ can be fully customized to each company’s unique preferences and workflows, a beneficial perk for companies that feature both on-site and remote support teams. Interested in learning more about our solution and what we can do for you? Book your demo today, and let’s chat.
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