Field service is, by its very nature, a volatile business. Sure, companies plan and schedule installations, inspections, preventive maintenance, upgrades, and the like in advance. But that\u2019s where the predictability ends. Dispatchers, managers, parts specialists, technicians, and everyone working in a field service capacity know that volatile project demand and unanticipated customer service needs are likely to disrupt the best-laid plans.<\/p>\n
Field service organizations typically have finite scheduling flexibility due to numerous constraints, including the number of available technicians, the skill sets of those technicians, the geographic disparity between customer and technician locations, the time differences between customer needs and technician schedules, and so on. Companies can significantly reduce these flexibility constraints by using a blended workforce comprised of both direct employees and independent contractors. A blended service workforce allows companies to make optimal use of their highly trained and skilled direct service staff. When companies offload less specialized, lower impact work, or work that requires travel to professional on-demand workers, they are enabling their direct employees to focus on higher-value activities.<\/p>\n<\/a> Service Council<\/a> interviewed two executives at Pomeroy (www.pomeroy.com<\/a>), Stephen Vandegriff, VP of Digital Strategy, and Dennis Hinkel, VP of Operations, about Pomeroy\u2019s use of a blended service workforce.<\/p>\n Pomeroy provides IT implementation and support services that help its clients innovate, automate and optimize their IT infrastructures and speed digital transformation across their workplace. Pomeroy\u2019s stated objective is to provide end-users with tools and solutions that enhance their satisfaction and increase their flexibility and productivity, regardless of their location or device.<\/p>\n The Pomeroy executives acknowledged that they are not the best-known name-brand provider of such services. Still, both execs emphasize that Pomeroy has a very happy and loyal customer base. The reason? The quality of service Pomeroy provides.<\/p>\n Pomeroy\u2019s value proposition is multi-faceted. Consistently fulfilling that value proposition has earned Pomeroy a reputation for unswervingly high-quality service delivery. Pomeroy prides itself on:<\/p>\n Pomeroy passionately believes that \u201cquality of service\u201d<\/strong> is the best differentiator between companies offering similar products or services. Service Council certainly agrees with this sentiment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Stephen and Dennis also stress that \u201cjust delivering a fix\u201d is not enough. A vital part of the service value proposition is the ability to measure the customers\u2019 experience. Pomeroy employs multiple methods to track that all-important data:<\/p>\n To underscore the importance of the customer experience at Pomeroy, Stephen conveyed that the theme for Pomeroy\u2019s 2021 annual kick-off meeting was \u201cCustomer Obsessed.\u201d It\u2019s one more way Pomeroy reinforces a service excellence ideology.<\/p>\n<\/a> Service Council interviewed Dennis Hinkel to explore the role on-demand workers play in protecting and enriching Pomeroy\u2019s service excellence tradition. As the VP in charge of field service, Dennis oversees all service operations, including break\/fix work, scheduled maintenance, projects, staging and configurations, repair depot, and advance\/exchange operations.<\/p>\n Pomeroy does employ a direct staff of highly qualified, well-trained W2 (full-time employees) service employees, of course. But as we alluded to in the opening paragraphs of this paper, direct service staffs often need to be augmented with external support to stay on top of varying demand, to help with project work, to fill in for illnesses and vacations, to cover geographic gaps, and more. Such is the case at Pomeroy.<\/p>\n Dennis highlighted areas where Pomeroy engages on-demand workers to assist with field service work. Pomeroy works exclusively with Field Nation to provide that on-demand support for such things as:<\/p>\n Dennis stresses that flexibility and scalability are key reasons why customers choose Pomeroy. On-demand workers provide that flexibility and scalability. When unanticipated circumstances, such as a spike in demand, obligations in uncovered geographies, new engineering or safety change requirements, unforeseen absences, or other unexpected events occur, on-demand workers can fill the gaps and maintain consistent service levels.<\/p>\n When unanticipated circumstances, such as a spike in demand, obligations in uncovered geographies, new engineering or safety change requirements, unforeseen absences, or other unexpected events occur, on-demand workers can fill the gaps and maintain consistent service levels.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Pomeroy now works directly with Field Nation to provide all the on-demand worker support it needs. Dennis explains that the Field Nation platform works extremely well for Pomeroy. It gives Pomeroy visibility into the skills and qualifications of the Field Nation marketplace’s on-demand technicians. Pomeroy can see technicians\u2019 ratings and know what they\u2019re good at. Dennis shared that the \u201cself-governing\u201d nature of the platform arms his team with the information they need to find technicians they can trust to complete the job successfully. The Field Nation platform provides Pomeroy a unified view of on-demand service resources that they wouldn\u2019t have without Field Nation. Pomeroy does of course continue to use its own W2 (full-time employees) service workforce, but being able also to leverage the Field Nation platform and on-demand workforce results in a tightly integrated service operation.<\/p>\n<\/a> Service Council also spoke with Steve Salmon, VP of Business Development, at Field Nation, to obtain his insights and observations. Field Nation contracts with thousands of professional service workers to provide supplemental service delivery support to its customers. More than 7,000 companies engage Field Nation\u2019s services to fulfill more than one million work orders per year. Field Nation provides high-quality supplemental service support to its customers, such as Pomeroy, resulting in a higher return on assets, increased win rate, and a positive customer experience.<\/p>\n Steve noted that a wide range of industries are reporting:<\/p>\n These observations are consistent with data gathered in Service Council\u2019s 2021 Service Leaders\u2019 Agenda Survey<\/strong>, where nearly 50% of executive respondents report a workforce and talent shortage, and 42% cite an overall lack of resources.<\/p>\n A well-trained on-demand workforce will alleviate the difficulties imposed by these issues.<\/p>\n Companies are also focusing on revising and reaffirming internal service operational processes. Well-defined service processes are intended to ensure that service is always delivered consistently, correctly, and completely, whether the person providing that service is a direct employee or by an independent contractor. Indeed, nearly 40% of executives responding to the Service Leaders\u2019 Agenda Survey say service operations and processes are important focus areas in 2021.<\/p>\n<\/a> The Service Council continues to track major trends in Field Service. Among them is the propensity to deploy on-demand workers as an integral part of service operations. In other words, to operate a blended service workforce comprised of both direct W2 (full-time employees) employees and qualified on-demand workers. The benefits of doing so are many, some of which we discussed in this paper. Others may include:<\/p>\n These and other benefits may be obvious to many service executives already. For example, nearly four in ten service executives who have participated in the 2021 Service Leaders\u2019 Agenda Survey say they either currently use or are seriously considering employing a blended field service workforce to provide service to their customers.<\/p>\n Service Council endorses this effort, with these cautions:<\/p>\nCase in point<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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The role of an on-demand workforce at Pomeroy<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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The view from Field Nation<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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