Whitepaper eldnation.com
Workforce
Field
Service
Future
OF
THE
THE
The Future of the Field Service Workforce • 2eldnation.com
Introduction
Across industries from retail to healthcare, customers expect a awless, highly
personalized experience whenever they interact with a company. According to a recent
study, customer experience has overtaken product and price as the main way businesses
dierentiate themselves.
1
A positive customer experience can build lasting loyalty but
today’s consumers are more ckle than ever, and won’t hesitate to switch to a competitor if
they’re dissatised.
New technologies are powering all of these customer experiences—from point-of-sale
machines that enable self-checkout in a retail store to interactive kiosks for patient check-in
at a medical clinic.
How important are the following to your business strategy –
Now and in 2020? Average out of 100 points.
43
50
37
34
20
16
Experience Products Price
TODAY 2020 TODAY 2020 TODAY 2020
1
Walker Customer Experience report: https://www.walkerinfo.com/Portals/0/Documents/Knowledge%20Center/Featured%20Reports/WALKER-Customers2020.pdf
The Future of the Field Service Workforce • 3eldnation.com
All tech companies are in
the service business
As technology transforms how companies interact with
customers, eld service organizations face particular
challenges in adapting their business models to meet
rising customer expectations. The need for skilled
technicians to deploy and maintain the technology
required to create engaging customer experiences has
never been greater. At the same time, companies are
challenged to nd new ways to cost-eectively source the
talent they need in the tightest labor market in decades,
with unemployment at a 50-year low.
2
Workers in skilled
trades such as electricians and HVAC technicians, along
with IT sta, have the most in-demand skills in today’s
labor market.
3
Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of the
technology products facilitating self-service customer
experiences face a competitive global market with intense
margin pressure. As a result, many manufacturers now
provide services to supplement their traditional product
oerings and generate an ongoing revenue stream beyond
the initial device purchase. These OEMs have traditionally
been “pure-play” service providers focused solely on
service oerings for the products they manufacture. But,
this dynamic is changing as customers prefer a “one-stop-
shop” for services across all of the product lines they have
deployed.
Contracting with value-added resellers (VARs), third-party
maintainers (TPMs) and managed service providers (MSPs)
is an increasingly popular way for companies to source
eld-service talent because these providers act as a single
source for all services. In addition, they typically deliver
these services at a lower total cost to end customers than
multiple service contracts with OEMs because of their
leaner cost structure.
While established market categories exist for manufacturers
and service providers, the lines between these companies
are blurring, and many manufacturers now oer a
combination of hardware and services to their customers.
Traditional sources of eld
technicians that serve end customers
Field Service Technicians
Original Equipment Manufacturers
Value-
Added
Resellers
3rd Party
Maintenance
Firms
Managed
Service
Providers
End Customers
2
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/05/jobs-report-april-analysis-unemployment-rate-hits-50-year-low.html
3
https://www.manpowergroup.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MG_TalentShortage2018.pdf
The Future of the Field Service Workforce • 4eldnation.com
Evolution of the field service
labor market
Traditional Model: 100% full-time employees
The traditional eld service stang model—used by end
customers, OEMs and service providers alike—includes
hiring full-time employees with specic skill sets. This
model of 100% full-time employees has high xed costs,
particularly given the rising cost of health insurance,
training costs and other employee benets. In addition,
the eld service industry’s evolution from xed-price
agreements to event-based pricing makes it dicult to
anticipate revenue and plan appropriate stang levels.
With increased uncertainty in revenue, companies
risk over-hiring sta and diluting their prot margins.
Furthermore, the larger a company becomes, the more
dicult it is to optimize employee utilization. For example,
if a company has 900 workers in the eld, it would be
nearly impossible to keep all 900 employees working 40
hours a week consistently due to uctuations in demand
for dierent skills and dierent projects. In addition, the
company would have to pay overtime to cover spikes
in work.
The traditional stang model also limits growth. Today’s
customer experience-driven industries require a wide
variety of specialized technical skills. However, OEMs and
service companies typically focus on one segment of the
market and hire accordingly. For example, a manufacturer
of printers and copiers generally hires technicians who
can service printers and copiers. They do not have the
in-house expertise to service a customer that needs
assistance with a networking project, and will miss that
revenue opportunity. Customers want a one-stop-shop for
service across their technology portfolio, yet it is nearly
impossible for manufacturers and service companies to
deliver all of the specialization required using 100% full-
time employees. Furthermore, the traditional model does
not allow service businesses to keep up with seasonal
spikes in demand, which is another lost opportunity for
companies using an inexible stang model.
Max full-time
employee
WORK COMPLETED
TIME
Additional costs of meeting demand:
Overtime, contracting, etc.
Additional costs of idle time:
Decreased productivity, disengagement
Workload
Fixed Workforce Model Variable/Blended Workforce Model
100% full-time
employees
Outsourced
Direct-to-technician
Managed in-house
Field service
network
Min full-time
employee
Full-time employee
Capacity
The Future of the Field Service Workforce • 5eldnation.com
Outsourced Model
During the Great Recession, many companies began
outsourcing their eld service function to third-party
service businesses in response to market pressure
to shrink their full-time workforce. In addition to
cost reduction, the outsourced model allowed these
companies to focus on their core business, rather than
managing a large eld services organization.
Field service outsourcing was popular for many years
and oered several advantages over the traditional xed
stang model. However, its limitations also became clear
as many companies encountered issues over the quality
of service delivery, and sought more visibility and control
over work outcomes.
Cost Growth Opportunity
Quality Risk
$$$$
! ! ! !
The limitations of the
outsourced model
became clear as many
companies encountered
issues over the quality of
service delivery...
The Future of the Field Service Workforce • 6eldnation.com
Direct to technician: Preferred vendor networks
(managed in-house)
In the past several years, the eld service industry moved
away from both the 100% full-time employee and 100%
outsourced models. The modern approach to eld service
stang has evolved toward using a blend of full-time
and contingent labor. This trend takes advantage of
the emerging “Gig Economy” and the growing number
of self-employed technicians that organizations use to
complement their full-time employee base.
The direct-to-technician model gives companies more
control over quality of delivery while allowing them to
reduce costs, typically by 30 to 40 percent over full-
time workers. Initially, companies have begun using this
approach by creating and maintaining their own
preferred contractor networks.
In this model, the hiring company is
responsible for:
Sourcing
company recruits its own workers through networking, job
boards, LinkedIn or other methods.
Managing work
hiring company assigns the right worker to the right job and
ensure all SLAs are met.
Managing workers
hiring company is responsible for onboarding, training,
credentialing, issuing 1099s, ling payroll taxes in all
applicable states, paying contractors and procuring insurance.
While a direct-to-technician model is attractive from
a cost and exibility standpoint, a “do-it-yourself”
approach is far more complex and potentially risky
than it may appear on the surface.
This model generally requires a dedicated vendor
management team to handle the complexity involved
with managing hundreds, or even thousands, of eld
service contractors. From a technology standpoint,
do-it-yourself solutions quickly become outdated, are
dicult to maintain and are cumbersome to integrate
with other tools.
Cost Growth Opportunity
Quality Risk
$$$$
! ! ! !
The Future of the Field Service Workforce • 7eldnation.com
Platform-enabled, direct-to-technician model
A new workforce model has recently emerged that gives
companies the cost advantages of a direct-to-technician
approach without the complexity of managing a contingent
workforce. Used by both OEMs and third-party service
providers, the platform-enabled, direct-to-technician
model improves both the eciency and quality of
service delivery.
This model provides the benets of a
network of pre-qualied technicians
and access to a platform that ooads
the complexities of contractor
management, including:
Sourcing
Platforms continuously curate technicians based on a real-
time rating system so that customers can connect with the
top tier of service professionals nationwide. Companies
have access to eld service professionals with a variety of
specialized skills and certications, saving recruiting time and
minimizing the risk of hiring someone that is not qualied
to do a particular job. In addition, matching algorithms help
identify top talent quickly, and reviews provide access to
feedback from companies that have worked with technicians
in the past.
Managing work
Platforms provide visibility into in-ight work so dispatchers
can manage any work orders that are at risk. They also track
project budget against actual spend, and provide pricing
insights to attract the right workers with standard pricing in
their area.
Managing workers
The platform-enabled approach automatically handles
issuing 1099 forms, ling taxes and paying contractors.
Streamlining workforce onboarding
Curating a list of well-prepared technicians requires some
work up front when adopting a platform, but platforms,
by necessity, oer services and technology designed to
train technicians on how to successfully use their product.
Furthermore, because technicians are increasing platform
workload, they are incentivized to do the work accurately or
risk future jobs. Platforms also allow clients to add their own
employees or third-party vendors so that they benet from
the eciency the platform provides across all talent types in
the organization.
Cost Growth Opportunity
Quality Risk
$ $$$
! ! ! !
The Future of the Field Service Workforce • 8eldnation.com
Choosing a eld service network and platform
New platform-enabled, eld service communities are
emerging in response to the market need for cost-ecient,
high-quality eld service talent. Here are a few essential
qualities to look for:
Number of technicians
Look for a network with more than 10,000 members and
expertise in the specialized skills you need. Like social
networks, these eld service networks take advantage of
a powerful “network eect.” As new technicians join the
network, more value is created for all of the hiring companies
looking for eld service talent. Likewise, as more eld service
jobs are posted, the more technicians can benet from being
part of the network. Thus, the network with the most critical
mass will provide the most value for all.
Fill time
Fill time, or the time required to assign a technician to a job,
should be measured in minutes. Leading platform-enabled
communities have average ll times of 8 minutes or less,
whereas nding technicians on craigslist, Indeed, Monster or
other job boards can take hours.
Service level agreement (SLA) compliance
Look for an SLA compliance rate of 99%+. This is one of the
ways to ensure consistency and quality of the technician base.
Fault rating
Fault rating represents how often a technician causes a
problem on the job, and is a key measure of marketplace
quality. Leading platforms have less than .02% at-fault rating
by including pre-qualied technicians who will complete work
correctly the rst time, and weeding out ineective providers.
Conclusion
Access to specialized contingent labor — combined with a
platform that takes the complexity out of managing a
blended workforce—makes it possible to fulll customer
demand in a way that would be time- and cost-prohibitive
with other stang methods. Using a platform-enabled eld
service network, companies can optimize the cost and quality
of their eld service workforce while setting themselves up
for growth.
Marketplace
Supply
Supply
Supply
Demand
Demand
Demand
Value
Value
Network eect
eldnation.com 1122-01 • © 2019 Field Nation, LLC. All Rights Reserved • 9
Source.
Manage.
Engage.
About Field Nation
Field Nation connects companies with thousands of highly-skilled IT
contractors to complete on-site projects throughout North America.
With Field Nation companies can source, manage, and engage onsite
talent in one place.
About the Author
MYNUL KHAN, FOUNDER & CEO, FIELD NATION
Mynul Khan founded Field Nation
in 2008 when he identied a need
for a contingent workforce platform
for onsite eld service companies. With a background
in programming and data analysis, and an anity for
growth hacking, Mynul’s experience drives Field Nation’s
growth strategy and motivates him to grow the Field
Nation team. Mynul has a B.S. in Computer Science and is
actively involved in technology decisions as well as strategy
direction. Today, Mynul focuses on aggressive company
growth and expanding opportunities around the world
through regional partnerships and local incubators.
